DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 6, 11 and 16-17 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 15 and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12,507,054 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations recited in the present application are transparently found in US 112,507,054 B2 with obvious wording variations. For example, comparing claims 1, 6, 11 and 16-17 of pending application and claims 1, 15 and 20 of the U.S. Patent No. 12,507,054 B2:
Current application: 18/438,999
Patent # US 12,507,054 B2
1. An emergency service handling method, comprising: in a case that a terminal satisfies a preset condition and needs to initiate an emergency service, preforming, by the terminal, a target operation; wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN; the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
6. A terminal, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform: in a case that the terminal satisfies a preset condition and needs to initiate an emergency service, preforming a target operation; wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN; the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
11. A non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by a processor of a terminal, causes the terminal to perform: in a case that the terminal satisfies a preset condition and needs to initiate an emergency service, preforming a target operation; wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN; the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
16. A chip, wherein the chip comprises a processor and a communications interface, the communications interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instructions to implement the steps of the method according to claim 1.
17. A computer program product, wherein the computer program product is stored in a non-transitory storage medium, and the computer program product is executed by at least one processor so as to implement the steps of the method according to claim 1.
1. A control method for obtaining an emergency service, performed by a terminal and comprising: obtaining access control information provided by a cell, wherein the access control information is used to indicate whether a terminal working in a target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service; and in a case that a network mode in which the terminal works matches the target network mode and that the access control information indicates that the terminal working in the target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service, determining that the cell is a cell in which the emergency service is available; characterized in that the target network mode comprises a standalone non-public network, SNPN, mode; and the access control information comprises: at least one piece of first indication information, each of which corresponding to a first SNPN, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal working in the SNPN mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service through the first SNPN.
15. A terminal, comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored on the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein when the instructions are executed by the processor, steps of a control method for obtaining an emergency service are implemented, the steps comprising: obtaining access control information provided by a cell, wherein the access control information is used to indicate whether a terminal working in a target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service; and in a case that a network mode in which the terminal works matches the target network mode and that the access control information indicates that the terminal working in the target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service, determining that the cell is a cell in which the emergency service is available-; characterized in that the target network mode comprises a standalone non-public network, SNPN, mode; and the access control information comprises: at least one piece of first indication information, each of which corresponding to a first SNPN, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal working in the SNPN mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service through the first SNPN.
20. A non-transitory readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, steps of a control method for obtaining an emergency service are implemented, the steps comprising: obtaining access control information provided by a cell, wherein the access control information is used to indicate whether a terminal working in a target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service; and in a case that a network mode in which the terminal works matches the target network mode and that the access control information indicates that the terminal working in the target network mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service, determining that the cell is a cell in which the emergency service is available; characterized in that the target network mode comprises a standalone non-public network, SNPN, mode; and the access control information comprises: at least one piece of first indication information, each of which corresponding to a first SNPN, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal working in the SNPN mode is supported in obtaining the emergency service through the first SNPN.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the Patent claims include all the limitations of the instant application claims, respectively. The patent claims also include additional limitations. Hence, the instant application claims are generic to the species of invention covered by the respective patent claims. As such, the instant application claims are anticipated by the patent claims and are therefore not patentably distinct therefrom (See Eli Lilly and Co. v. Barr Laboratories Inc., 58 USPQ2D 1869, " a later genus claim limitation is anticipated by, and therefore not patentably distinct from, an earlier species claim", In re Goodman, 29 USPQ2d 2010, "Thus, the generic invention is 'anticipated' by the species of the patented invention" and the instant “application claims are generic to species of invention covered by the patent claim, and since without terminal disclaimer, extant species claim preclude issuance of generic application claims”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tiwari et al. (US 20220232670 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tiwari teaches an emergency service handling method (handling of the emergency service method of Fig. 6), comprising:
in a case that a terminal satisfies a preset condition (The UE 206 can support the SNPN 204 and the PLMN 202, [0141]) and needs to initiate an emergency service (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service, [0142]), preforming, by the terminal, a target operation (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]);
wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN (The UE 206 can support the SNPN 204 and the PLMN 202, [0141]);
the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or
the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
Regarding claim 2, Tiwari teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the performing, by the terminal, a target operation comprises: starting, by the terminal, operating in an SNPN access mode (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]); and attempting, by the terminal, to access an SNPN cell (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]).
Regarding claim 3, Tiwari teaches the method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises: stopping, by the terminal, operating in the SNPN access mode in a case of satisfying a first condition (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service. In such a case, the UE 206 disables the SNPN access mode by disabling an Access Stratum (AS) layer and NAS capability related to SNPN, [0142]); wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: an emergency service of the terminal has been completed; or, an emergency service of the terminal has been released (UE 206 enters into the idle mode on the release/completion of the initiated emergency service, [0143]).
Regarding claim 4, Tiwari teaches the method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises: attempting, by the terminal, to access a PLMN cell (The UE 206 may select any one of the non-CAG cells that are available in the location of the UE 206, wherein the non-CAG cells can be gNBs or eNBs connecting to the 5GC or the EPC, [0142]; The non-CAG cell/RAN 202b can be a public cell/RAN, which can be accessed by the UE 206 to obtain the normal communication service (for example: IMS voice call, internet services, and so on) provided by the public PLMN, [0107]).
Regarding claim 5, Tiwari teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the emergency service comprises an emergency call service (The emergency services can support real-time, high priority total conversation services such as, but not limited to, voice calls, video calls, real-time text messages, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) emergency calls, or the like, [0095]).
Regarding claim 6, Tiwari teaches a terminal (UE 206 of Fig. 3), comprising a processor (controller 308), a memory (memory 302), and a program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor (emergency mode enabling module 308c), wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform:
in a case that the terminal satisfies a preset condition (The UE 206 can support the SNPN 204 and the PLMN 202, [0141]) and needs to initiate an emergency service (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service, [0142]), preforming a target operation (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]);
wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]);
the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or
the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
Regarding claim 7, Tiwari teaches the terminal according to claim 6, wherein when performing a target operation, the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to perform: starting operating in an SNPN access mode; and attempting to access an SNPN cell (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]); and attempting, by the terminal, to access an SNPN cell (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]).
Regarding claim 8, Tiwari teaches the terminal according to claim 7, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to further perform: stopping operating in the SNPN access mode in a case of satisfying a first condition (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service. In such a case, the UE 206 disables the SNPN access mode by disabling an Access Stratum (AS) layer and NAS capability related to SNPN, [0142]); wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: an emergency service of the terminal has been completed; or, an emergency service of the terminal has been released (UE 206 enters into the idle mode on the release/completion of the initiated emergency service, [0143]).
Regarding claim 9, Tiwari teaches the terminal according to claim 8, wherein the program, when executed by the processor, causes the terminal to further perform: attempting to access a PLMN cell (The UE 206 may select any one of the non-CAG cells that are available in the location of the UE 206, wherein the non-CAG cells can be gNBs or eNBs connecting to the 5GC or the EPC, [0142]).
Regarding claim 10, Tiwari teaches the terminal according to claim 6, wherein the emergency service comprises an emergency call service (The emergency services can support real-time, high priority total conversation services such as, but not limited to, voice calls, video calls, real-time text messages, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) emergency calls, or the like, [0095]).
Regarding claim 11, Tiwari teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium (memory 302 of Fig. 3), wherein the non-transitory readable storage medium stores a program or instructions (emergency mode enabling module 308c), wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by a processor of a terminal, causes the terminal to perform:
in a case that the terminal satisfies a preset condition (The UE 206 can support the SNPN 204 and the PLMN 202, [0141]) and needs to initiate an emergency service (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service, [0142]), preforming a target operation (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]);
wherein the preset condition comprises one or more of the following: the terminal is capable of accessing SNPN (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]); the terminal is in a non-SNPN access mode; or the terminal is unable to access any public land mobile network (PLMN) providing emergency services.
Regarding claim 12, Tiwari teaches the non-transitory readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein when performing a target operation, the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor of the terminal, causes the terminal to perform: starting operating in an SNPN access mode (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]); and attempting to access an SNPN cell (UE 206 registers with the SNPN 204 and camps onto the SNPN cells/CAG cells for accessing the 5GC 202a (i.e., configured to operate in the SNPN access mode, [0141]).
Regarding claim 13, Tiwari teaches the non-transitory readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor of the terminal, causes the terminal to further perform: stopping operating in the SNPN access mode in a case of satisfying a first condition (UE 206 receives a request from the user for the emergency service. In such a case, the UE 206 disables the SNPN access mode by disabling an Access Stratum (AS) layer and NAS capability related to SNPN, [0142]); wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: an emergency service of the terminal has been completed; or, an emergency service of the terminal has been released (UE 206 enters into the idle mode on the release/completion of the initiated emergency service, [0143]).
Regarding claim 14, Tiwari teaches the non-transitory readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor of the terminal, causes the terminal to further perform: attempting to access a PLMN cell (The UE 206 may select any one of the non-CAG cells that are available in the location of the UE 206, wherein the non-CAG cells can be gNBs or eNBs connecting to the 5GC or the EPC, [0142]).
Regarding claim 15, Tiwari teaches the non-transitory readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein the emergency service comprises an emergency call service (The emergency services can support real-time, high priority total conversation services such as, but not limited to, voice calls, video calls, real-time text messages, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) emergency calls, or the like, [0095]).
Regarding claim 16, Tiwari teaches a chip, wherein the chip (UE of Fig. 3) comprises a processor and a communications interface, the communications interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instructions to implement the steps of the method according to claim 1 (FIG. 3 depicts the UE 206 configured to perform the emergency services by camping on the non-CAG cell 202a, [0116]).
Regarding claim 17, Tiwari teaches the computer program product (UE of Fig. 3), wherein the computer program product is stored in a non-transitory storage medium, and the computer program product is executed by at least one processor so as to implement the steps of the method according to claim 1 (FIG. 3 depicts the UE 206 configured to perform the emergency services by camping on the non-CAG cell 202a, [0116]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Shih et al. (US 20220361098 A1): A method related to emergency service and a user equipment (UE) are provided. In the method, SNPN access mode is operated. A SNPN selection for a selected SNPN is performed in response to operating in the SNPN AM. A cell selection for a selected cell is performed in response to the SNPN selection. A support indication associated with the selected SNPN is received in response to the cell selection. The support indication indicates whether the selected SNPN supports IMS emergency service. The support indication is forwarded to a NAS layer of the UE from a RRC layer of the UE when the support indication indicates that the selected SNPN supports the IMS emergency service. The cell selection is performed for an acceptable cell of another SNPN supporting the IMS emergency service when the support indication indicates that the selected SNPN does not support the IMS emergency service.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICOLE M LOUIS-FILS whose telephone number is (571)270-0671. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Appiah can be reached at 571-272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICOLE M LOUIS-FILS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2641
/CHARLES N APPIAH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2641