Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The IDS has been considered by the examiner.
The specification and drawings have been accepted by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 11 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia (US 2024/0121692) in view of Santhanam (US 2018/0213454).
Referring to claim 1:
Jia discloses an electronic device (FIG. 2, Par. 45, “UE”) comprising: a communication circuit (Claim 11, “processor”, “memory”, note that a processor includes circuitry for performing the processing functions) configured to support cellular communication through a terrestrial network and a non-terrestrial network (Abstract and FIG. 1-3, Par. 39, “Mobile device transitions between terrestrial and non-terrestrial network connections can be streamlined by predicting transitions in advance and by advance mobile device acquisition of network transition data. Terrestrial and non-terrestrial network functions can provide prediction data and network transition data to mobile devices.”, “the UE 202 can process the terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211 to predict a movement out of the service area 221A and into the service area 223”, note that the UE 202 communicates with both satellite (non-terrestrial) and cellular (terrestrial) networks, thus, it supports both cellular (terrestrial) and satellite (non-terrestrial) systems ); and at least one communication processor, comprising processing circuitry, wherein at communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to:
perform a search for the terrestrial network in a section in which data is not received, based on a location of the electronic device (Par. 56, “the UE 300 of a nearby cell site or access point, to enable the UE 300 to search/scan for nearby terrestrial network access points”, Par. 55, “to search for terrestrial cell sites and/or other access points. During its periodic wake ups from sleep mode, the UE 300 can scan terrestrial network bands, e.g., cellular/Wi-Fi bands”, note that the UE searches for the terrestrial network that’s closest to the location of the UE, thus, it searches for terrestrial network based on its location); and
determine whether to release a connection with the non-terrestrial network and make the connection to the found terrestrial network according to whether a specified condition is satisfied based on the terrestrial network being found (FIG. 9, step 912 and Par. 92, “in response to the second terrestrial network communication service availability check identifying an available terrestrial node 221B of the terrestrial network communication service, switching from the non-terrestrial network communication service to the terrestrial network communication service”. Par. 97, “switching from the non-terrestrial wireless communication service to the terrestrial wireless communication service”, “The terrestrial wireless communication service can comprise, e.g., service via the identified terrestrial node 221B of the terrestrial wireless communication service.” Note that the UE determines to switch (or handover) from the non-terrestrial network to the available terrestrial network. This action of switching from the non-terrestrial network is equivalent to releasing a connection with the non-terrestrial network and connecting with the terrestrial network).
Jia is not relied on for disclosing the limitation: determine, based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network and/or frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network, a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found.
In an analogous art, Santhanam discloses determining based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network and/or frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network, a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found (Par. 75, “search for cells on a particular frequency included in an ultra-reduced performance group (URPG) list. The URPG list may include a list of frequencies for which at least one cell has not been detected by the UE 104”, “select frequencies that may not be present in an acquisition database (e.g., list of frequencies which the UE 104 has camped on recently) or in the neighbor frequency List in the cell history database 430”, note that the UE (equivalent to communication device) selects a terrestrial communication frequency based on previous connection history (previous frequencies used and now stored in database), which reads on based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history. Further note that the cellular network of Santhanam is terrestrial network. Further, note that the claim language includes phrases “and/or” phrase”. Thus, based on a broad interpretation, the phrase “based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network” is not considered in the rejection. The examiner has considered the alternative limitation based on frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Jia by incorporating the teachings of Santhanam so that the handover to the next network would be according to previous frequencies used by the device, for the purpose of facilitating and expediting the switching the network handover of Jia by using prior knowledge of what frequencies were successful and which frequencies to avoid . Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Regarding Claim 2:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: identify that the electronic device is within a specified distance from a location at which a signal of the terrestrial network is detected before the connection to the non-terrestrial network; and perform a search for the terrestrial network (Jia, Par. 39, “the UE 202 can detect that the UE 202 is nearing the edge of the service area 221A. In response to detecting that the UE 202 is nearing the edge of the service area 221A, the UE 202 can retrieve terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211. Terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211 can define geographical areas corresponding to nearby service areas 221A and 223. The UE 202 can process the terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211 to predict a movement out of the service area 221A and into the service area 223”, note that the UE detects the coverage edge of the service area which a signal of the next terrestrial network is detected. This is equivalent to identifying that the electronic device is within a specified distance from a location at which a signal of the terrestrial network is detected before the connection to the non-terrestrial network; and perform a search for the terrestrial network).
Regarding Claim 4:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to perform a search for the terrestrial network during the connection to the non-terrestrial network regardless of the location of the electronic device (Jia, Par. 17, “mobile device searches for terrestrial network connections while a mobile device has an active non-terrestrial network connection.”. Par. 56, “the UE 300 of a nearby cell site or access point, to enable the UE 300 to search/scan for nearby terrestrial network access points”, Par. 55, “to search for terrestrial cell sites and/or other access points. During its periodic wake ups from sleep mode, the UE 300 can scan terrestrial network bands, e.g., cellular/Wi-Fi bands”, note that the UE searches for the terrestrial network that’s closest to the location of the UE, thus, it searches for terrestrial network based on its location).
Referring to claim 11:
Jia discloses a method of operating an electronic device (Abstract and FIG. 1-3, Par. 39, “Mobile device transitions between terrestrial and non-terrestrial network connections can be streamlined by predicting transitions in advance and by advance mobile device acquisition of network transition data. Terrestrial and non-terrestrial network functions can provide prediction data and network transition data to mobile devices.”, “the UE 202 can process the terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211 to predict a movement out of the service area 221A and into the service area 223”, note that the UE 202 communicates with both satellite (non-terrestrial) and cellular (terrestrial) networks, thus, it supports both cellular (terrestrial) and satellite (non-terrestrial) systems), the method comprising:
performing a search for the terrestrial network in a section in which data is not received, based on a location of the electronic device (Par. 56, “the UE 300 of a nearby cell site or access point, to enable the UE 300 to search/scan for nearby terrestrial network access points”, Par. 55, “to search for terrestrial cell sites and/or other access points. During its periodic wake ups from sleep mode, the UE 300 can scan terrestrial network bands, e.g., cellular/Wi-Fi bands”, note that the UE searches for the terrestrial network that’s closest to the location of the UE, thus, it searches for terrestrial network based on its location); and determining whether to release a connection with the non-terrestrial network and make the connection to the found terrestrial network according to whether a specified condition is satisfied based on the terrestrial network being found (FIG. 9, step 912 and Par. 92, “in response to the second terrestrial network communication service availability check identifying an available terrestrial node 221B of the terrestrial network communication service, switching from the non-terrestrial network communication service to the terrestrial network communication service”. Par. 97, “switching from the non-terrestrial wireless communication service to the terrestrial wireless communication service”, “The terrestrial wireless communication service can comprise, e.g., service via the identified terrestrial node 221B of the terrestrial wireless communication service.” Note that the UE determines to switch (or handover) from the non-terrestrial network to the available terrestrial network. This action of switching from the non-terrestrial network is equivalent to releasing a connection with the non-terrestrial network and connecting with the terrestrial network).
Jia is not relied on for disclosing the limitation, determining, based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network and/or frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network, a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found.
In an analogous art, Santhanam discloses determining based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network and/or frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network, a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found (Par. 75, “search for cells on a particular frequency included in an ultra-reduced performance group (URPG) list. The URPG list may include a list of frequencies for which at least one cell has not been detected by the UE 104”, “select frequencies that may not be present in an acquisition database (e.g., list of frequencies which the UE 104 has camped on recently) or in the neighbor frequency List in the cell history database 430”, note that the UE (equivalent to communication device) selects a terrestrial communication frequency based on previous connection history (previous frequencies used and now stored in database), which reads on based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history. Further note that the cellular network of Santhanam is terrestrial network. Further, note that the claim language includes phrases “and/or” phrase”. Thus, based on a broad interpretation, the phrase “based on a frequency of a terrestrial network having a previous connection history before a connection to the non-terrestrial network” is not considered in the rejection. The examiner has considered the alternative limitation based on frequency information of a pre-stored terrestrial network.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Jia by incorporating the teachings of Santhanam so that the handover to the next network would be according to previous frequencies used by the device, for the purpose of facilitating and expediting the switching the network handover of Jia by using prior knowledge of what frequencies were successful and which frequencies to avoid . Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Regarding Claim 14:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the performing of the search for the terrestrial network, based on the location of the electronic device, further comprises performing the search for the terrestrial network regardless of the location of the electronic device during the connection to the non-terrestrial network (Jia, Par. 17, “mobile device searches for terrestrial network connections while a mobile device has an active non-terrestrial network connection.”. Par. 56, “the UE 300 of a nearby cell site or access point, to enable the UE 300 to search/scan for nearby terrestrial network access points”, Par. 55, “to search for terrestrial cell sites and/or other access points. During its periodic wake ups from sleep mode, the UE 300 can scan terrestrial network bands, e.g., cellular/Wi-Fi bands”, note that the UE searches for the terrestrial network that’s closest to the location of the UE, thus, it searches for terrestrial network based on its location).
Claim(s) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia (US 2024/0121692) in view of Santhanam (US 2018/0213454) and further in view of Zhang (US 2012/0309391).
Regarding Claim 3:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the electronic device of claim electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to identify location information of a terrestrial network cell, and perform a search for the terrestrial network, based on the location of the electronic device within a specified distance from the terrestrial network cell (Par. 39, “UE 202 is nearing the edge of the service area 221A, the UE 202 can retrieve terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211. Terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211 can define geographical areas corresponding to nearby service areas”, “A mobility management service at the UE 202 can detect that the UE 202 is nearing the edge of the service area 221A. In response to detecting that the UE 202 is nearing the edge of the service area 221A, the UE 202 can retrieve terrestrial and non-terrestrial network coverage information 211”, note that the UE).
The above combination is not relied on for the claim language: based on pre-stored terrestrial network cell location information.
In an analogous art, Zhang discloses identify location information of a terrestrial network cell based on pre-stored terrestrial network cell location information (Par. 43, “the mobile device retrieves pre-stored information identifying one or more networks for the determined location. Thereafter, the mobile device only searches for networks from the one or more identified networks”. Note that the mobile device (e.g., UE) retrieves network location information from a pre-stored sources which identifies the location of network, which reads on the claim language).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of Zhang so that the locations of potential networks can be identified faster, for the purpose of being more self-sufficient and providing capability to locate networks without relying solely on the network signaling. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Regarding Claim 13:
Dependent claim 13 recites features analogous to the features of dependent claim 3, thus, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth above.
Claim(s) 7 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jia (US 2024/0121692) in view of Santhanam (US 2018/0213454) and further in view of TAO (US 2023/0164647).
Regarding Claim 7:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the electronic device of claim electronic device of claim 1.
The above combination is not relied on limitation: wherein the communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to, based on a terrestrial network being found, make a connection to the found terrestrial network, based on reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the found terrestrial network being greater than reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the non-terrestrial network.
In an analogous art, TAO discloses a communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to, based on a terrestrial network being found, make a connection to the found terrestrial network, based on reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the found terrestrial network being greater than reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the non-terrestrial network (Par. 294, “the UE can autonomously decide when to perform the handover to the target cell, the UE can determine when to handover to the target cell based on channel-related conditions (such as RSRP/RSRQ/SINR)”, note that the UE includes the processor and the means for handover connection based on RSRP).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of TAO, for the purpose of preventing ping-pong effect and thus using communication resources more efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Regarding Claim 17:
The combination of Jia/Santhanam discloses the method of claim 11.
The above combination is not relied on limitation wherein the determining whether to release the connection with the non-terrestrial network and make the connection to the terrestrial network, based on whether the specified condition is satisfied, further comprises making the connection to the found terrestrial network, based on reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the found terrestrial network being greater than reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the non-terrestrial network.
In an analogous art, TAO discloses a communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to, based on a terrestrial network being found, make a connection to the found terrestrial network, based on reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the found terrestrial network being greater than reference signal received power (RSRP) of a signal transmitted by the non-terrestrial network (Par. 294, “the UE can autonomously decide when to perform the handover to the target cell, the UE can determine when to handover to the target cell based on channel-related conditions (such as RSRP/RSRQ/SINR)”, note that the UE includes the processor and the means for handover connection based on RSRP).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of TAO, for the purpose of preventing ping-pong effect and thus using communication resources more efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 5, 6, 8-10, 12, 15, 16 and 18-20 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is the examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding Claims 5 and 15:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “wherein at least one communication, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: based on a terrestrial network cell being found, store frequency information of the found cell in a memory in the form of a list; and based on the search for the terrestrial network being performed, determine a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found using the list stored in the memory”, as recited in claims 5 and 15, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
Regarding Claims 6 and 16:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to: store frequency information of at least one terrestrial network cell received from an external server in a memory; and based on the search for the terrestrial network being performed, determine a frequency of the terrestrial network to be found using frequency information of the terrestrial network cell stored in the memory”, as recited in claims 6 and 16, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
Regarding Claims 8 and 18:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to, based on a terrestrial network being found:
make a connection to the found terrestrial network, based on progress of data transmission of the non-terrestrial network being less than a specified level; and maintain the connection with the non-terrestrial network without making the connection to the found terrestrial network, based on the progress of data transmission of the non-terrestrial network being greater than a specified rate, and wherein the progress of the data transmission is determined using an amount of data which has been currently completely transmitted and a total amount of data”, as recited in claims 8 and 18, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
Regarding Claims 9 and 19:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to, based on a terrestrial network being found: determine a time left until data transmission is completed in the non-terrestrial network; make the connection to the found terrestrial network, based on the time left until data transmission is completed being greater than a specified time; and maintain the connection with the non-terrestrial network without making the connection to the found terrestrial network, based on the time left until the data transmission is completed being less than a specified time”, as recited in claims 9 and 19, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
Regarding Claims 10 and 20:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “wherein at least one communication processor, individually and/or collectively, is configured to make the connection to the found terrestrial network based on a terrestrial network being found, and wherein the section in which data is not received comprises a guard period (GP) in a time division duplex (TDD) system and a section in which communication is not performed in a frequency division duplex (FDD) system”, as recited in claims 10 and 20, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
Regarding Claim 12:
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest the limitations “the performing of the search for the terrestrial network, based on the location of the electronic device, further comprises: determining a location at which a signal of the terrestrial network is last detected before a connection to the non-terrestrial network; and performing the search for the terrestrial network, based on the location of the electronic device within a specified distance from the corresponding location, based on the location at which the signal of the terrestrial network is last detected”, as recited in claim 12, along with the limitations of the intermediate and/or base claims.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kawamura (2008/0287067) discloses portable device 10 selects frequencies having higher priority based on the frequency history information recorded in the memory 11M. Thus, when setting the transmission frequency, a frequency with a higher communication establishment probability is given priority (Par. 156).
Applicant is invited to contact the examiner to discuss claim amendments in order to place claims in condition for allowance and thereby expedite prosecution.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRED A CASCA whose telephone number is (571)272-7918. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, Applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst, can be reached at (571) 270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/FRED A CASCA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644