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 .
This communication is in response to the application filed on 12/22/25.
Claims 1-20 are presented for examination.
Claims 1, 10, 15 & 19 are currently amended.
Response to Arguments
5. Applicant's arguments and amendment filed on 12/22/25 regarding a 103 rejection (Claims 1-20) have been fully considered but they are moot with the new ground of rejection necessitated by applicant’s amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 (a) 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 of this title, 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
7. Claims 1-3, 7-10, 12-13 & 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Gopal et al. (hereinafter referred as Gopal) U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2022/0070953 A1, in view of Vemuri et al. (hereinafter referred as Vemuri) US Patent Application Publication 2005/0094640.
Regarding claim 1: Gopal discloses a device (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0101; a User Equipment (UE)), comprising:
a processing system including a processor (See FIG. 2 & Para. 0083-0084; a User Equipment (UE) includes a Controller/Processor); and
a memory (See FIG. 2 & Para. 0083-0084; a User Equipment (UE) includes a memory) that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
establishing a communication session utilizing a first radio access technology (RAT) (corresponding to LTE RAT) (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0102; The UE 120 may establish and communicate on a first communication link with the eNB using an LTE RAT and may establish and communicate on a second communication link with the gNB using an NR RAT);
obtaining data associated with a performance of the communication session via the first RAT (See Para. 0088, 0104; the UE 120 may transmit or receive data via the MCG and/or the SCG using one or more DRBs. In addition, the UE receive and process data and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI));
analyzing the data to determine that the performance of the communication session may be enhanced utilizing a second RAT that is different from the first RAT, resulting in a first determination (See Para. 0114; the UE may determine that the second communication link using the second RAT is to be prioritized and may accordingly select the antenna(s) (e.g., may select the antenna switched diversity configuration) for the second communication link prior to selecting the antenna(s) (e.g., the antenna switched diversity configuration) for the first communication link); and
based on the first determination, causing the communication session to utilize the second RAT (See Para. 0115; the UE may prioritize antenna selection for a communication link using an NR RAT).
Gopal does not explicitly discloses wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss.
However, Vemuri from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss (See Para. 0050-0051 & 0061; the UE detect service quality of the LTE network degrading. The degraded service quality can be due to changing network parameters, such as increased packet latency, packet loss, jitter, and/or lower throughput as some examples) and analyzing the data to determine that the performance of the communication session may be enhanced utilizing a second RAT that is different from the first RAT, resulting in a first determination (See Para. 0017, 0038 & 0041; the UE receives connectivity errors, signal quality (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio, signal-to-interference ratio, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, packet loss, packet latency, jitter, bandwidth, and/or other metrics that may be indicative of signal quality). Accessing the network carrier services may also include UE 270 continuing an accessed service on a first RAN, using a corresponding first RAT, or switching the existing access to a different second RAN, using a corresponding second RAT).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss as taught by Vemuri in the system of Gopal to improve the user experience when accessing wireless services of the network carrier and resolve quality issues whether due to poor signal strength, congested networks, or excessive network switching (See Para. abstract; lines 5-6).
Regarding claim 2: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the analyzing includes a second determination that the performance utilizing the second RAT is better than the performance utilizing the first RAT in an amount that is greater than a threshold (See Para. 0099; the UE 120 includes means for determining to prioritize antenna selection for the second communication link using the second RAT based at least in part on a determination that a second highest RSRP measurement associated with the first communication link satisfies a threshold).
Regarding claim 3: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the analyzing includes a second determination that a capacity of resources available via the second RAT is greater than a capacity of resources available via the first RAT in an amount that is greater than a threshold (See Para. 0099; the UE 120 includes means for determining to prioritize antenna selection for the second communication link using the second RAT based at least in part on a determination that a second highest RSRP measurement associated with the first communication link satisfies a threshold).
Regarding claim 7: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the obtaining of the data is based on an initiation of an execution of an application at a user equipment (See Para. 0104; the UE 120 may transmit or receive data via the MCG and/or the SCG using one or more DRBs).
Regarding claim 8: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the data includes first data pertaining to uplink signaling from a user equipment to network infrastructure (See Para. 0104; the UE 120 may transmit or receive data via the MCG and/or the SCG using one or more DRBs).
Regarding claim 9: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the data includes second data pertaining to downlink signaling from the network infrastructure to the user equipment (See Para. 0104; the UE 120 may transmit or receive data via the MCG and/or the SCG using one or more DRBs to the base station).
Regarding claim 10: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Vemuri discloses the device, wherein the data pertains to: latency, throughput (See Para. 0050-0051 & 0061; the UE detect service quality of the LTE network degrading. The degraded service quality can be due to changing network parameters, such as increased packet latency, packet loss, jitter, and/or lower throughput as some examples).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the data pertains to: latency, throughput as taught by Vemuri in the system of Gopal to improve the user experience when accessing wireless services of the network carrier and resolve quality issues whether due to poor signal strength, congested networks, or excessive network switching (See Para. abstract; lines 5-6).
Regarding claim 12: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the first RAT includes 5G standalone (SA) and the second RAT includes non-standalone (NSA) (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0101).
Regarding claim 13: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the first RAT includes non-standalone (NSA) and the second RAT includes 5G standalone (SA) (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0101).
Regarding claim 15: Gopal discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium (See FIG. 2 & Para. 0083-0084; a User Equipment (UE) includes a memory), comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor (See FIG. 2 & Para. 0083-0084; a User Equipment (UE) includes a Controller/Processor), facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
obtaining first data pertaining to a first performance of an execution of an application via a first radio access technology (RAT) in a first network (See Para. 0104; the UE 120 may transmit or receive data via the MCG and/or the SCG using one or more DRBs);
determining, based on an analysis of the first data, that the first performance is less than a first threshold, resulting in a first determination (See Para. 0114; the UE may determine that the second communication link using the second RAT is to be prioritized and may accordingly select the antenna(s) (e.g., may select the antenna switched diversity configuration) for the second communication link prior to selecting the antenna(s) (e.g., the antenna switched diversity configuration) for the first communication link);
determining, based on the first determination, that a second performance of the execution of the application via a second RAT in a second network would exceed the first threshold by a threshold amount, resulting in a second determination (See Para. 0099; the UE 120 includes means for determining to prioritize antenna selection for the first communication link using the first RAT based at least in part on a determination that a second highest RSRP measurement associated with the first communication link does not satisfy a threshold. In some aspects, the UE 120 includes means for determining to prioritize antenna selection for the second communication link using the second RAT based at least in part on a determination that a second highest RSRP measurement associated with the first communication link satisfies a threshold),
wherein the second RAT is different from the first RAT (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0102; LTE RAT and NR RAT); and
transferring the execution of the application to the second network in accordance with the second determination (See Para. 0115; the UE may prioritize antenna selection for a communication link using an NR RAT).
Gopal does not explicitly discloses wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss.
However, Vemuri from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss (See Para. 0050-0051 & 0061; the UE detect service quality of the LTE network degrading. The degraded service quality can be due to changing network parameters, such as increased packet latency, packet loss, jitter, and/or lower throughput as some examples) and analyzing the data to determine that the performance of the communication session may be enhanced utilizing a second RAT that is different from the first RAT, resulting in a first determination (See Para. 0017, 0038 & 0041; the UE receives connectivity errors, signal quality (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio, signal-to-interference ratio, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, packet loss, packet latency, jitter, bandwidth, and/or other metrics that may be indicative of signal quality). Accessing the network carrier services may also include UE 270 continuing an accessed service on a first RAN, using a corresponding first RAT, or switching the existing access to a different second RAN, using a corresponding second RAT).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include wherein the data pertains to jitter and packet loss as taught by Vemuri in the system of Gopal to improve the user experience when accessing wireless services of the network carrier and resolve quality issues whether due to poor signal strength, congested networks, or excessive network switching (See Para. abstract; lines 5-6).
Regarding claim 16: combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium, wherein the operations further comprise: causing an indication of the first performance and the second performance to be presented at a communication device associated with the execution of the application (See FIG. 3 & Para. 0101).
Regarding claim 17: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium, wherein obtaining, from the communication device, a selection of the second network based on the causing of the indication of the first performance and the second performance to be presented at a communication device, wherein the transferring is based on the selection (See Para. 0104-0106).
Regarding claim 18: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium, wherein the first RAT utilizes a first plurality of frequency bands and the second RAT utilizes a second plurality of frequency bands that is different from the first plurality of frequency bands (See Para. 0081 & 0103).
8. Claims 4, 11 & 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gopal, in view of Vemuri, further in view of Lee et al. (hereinafter referred as Lee) US Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0248256 A1.
Regarding claim 4: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri disclose all the limitations of the claimed invention with an exception of wherein the operations further comprise: based on the first determination, initiating a timer that causes the communication session to utilize the second RAT for at least a threshold amount of time.
However, Lee from the same field of endeavor discloses based on the first determination, initiating a timer that causes the communication session to utilize the second RAT for at least a threshold amount of time (See Para. 0049 & 0097; initiating a first timer upon transmitting the redirection command).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include based on the first determination, initiating a timer that causes the communication session to utilize the second RAT for at least a threshold amount of time as taught by Lee in the combined system of Gopal and Vemuri in order to perform, based at least in part on the indication to deprioritize the first RAT, an action to deprioritize the first RAT (See Para. 0007; lines 3-4).
Regarding claim 11: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri and Lee disclose a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the data includes an identification of a first network load associated with the first RAT and an identification of a second network load associated with the second RAT (See Para. 0137).
Regarding claim 14: The combination of Gopal and Vemuri and Lee disclose a device.
Furthermore, Gopal discloses the device, wherein the data includes an identification of a first network load associated with the first RAT and an identification of a second network load associated with the second RAT (See Para. 0137).
Allowable Subject Matter
9. Claims 19-20 are allowed.
10. Claims 5-6 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.
Conclusion
11. The prior art of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
A. Palle et al. 2023/0199676 A1 (Title: Uplink timing synchronization maintenance in SCG) (See Abstract, Para. 0012 & 0037-0038).
B. Xu et al. 2022/0086710 A1 (Title: MCG failure recovery for dual connectivity wireless devices) (See abstract, Para. 0006 & 00813-0016).
C. Zhang et al. 2020/0178331 A1 (Title: Enhanced PDCP duplication handling and RLC failure handling) (See FIG. 1, Para. 0046, 0050 & 0160).
12. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEWALE A AMBAYE whose telephone number is (571)270-1076. The examiner can normally be reached on M.F 6a.m.-2p.m.. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ian Moore can be reached on (571)272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MEWALE A AMBAYE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469