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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 02/05/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-9 and 11-12 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kumar et al. (Patent No. US 10,623,946) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Chen et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0047213) as shown in the following rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-9 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0047213).
Regarding claim 1. (currently amended) Chen teaches an apparatus (Chen, the Abstract), comprising:
a memory storing a program (Chen, Fig. 4, pp [29]-[30]); and one or more processors (Chen, Fig. 4, pp [29]-[30]) configured to execute the program to:
receive, from a first network, a radio resource control (RRC) Reconfiguration message including first information for configuring the apparatus to transmit a user equipment (UE) Assistance Information message including second information, the second information being used for indicating a preferred RRC state of the apparatus in a case of leaving an RRC connected state in the first network, the preferred RRC state being an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to transition to from the RRC connected state (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], Fig. 1, pp [119]-[124]: a UE receives from a first network a RRC message indicating that the UE is allowed to transmit a network switch request message including a UE assistance information message indicating switching from the first network to a second network using a second USIM, wherein the switch request message indicates a preferred RRC state of the UE which may include RRC_idle or RRC_Inactive); and
transmit, to the first network, the UE Assistance Information message including the second information based on the first information before switching from the first network to a second network, in the RRC connected state in the first network (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], [123]-[124]: the UE transmits to the first network the UE Assistance Information message including a preferred RRC_Idle or RRC_Inactive state).
Regarding claim 5. (currently amended) Chen teaches a base station in a first network (Chen, the Abstract), comprising:
a memory storing a program (Chen, Fig. 4, pp [29]-[30]); and one or more processors (Chen, Fig. 4, pp [29]-[30]) configured to execute the program to:
transmit, to an apparatus, a radio resource control, RRC, (RRC) Reconfiguration message including first information for configuring the apparatus to transmit a user equipment (UE) Assistance Information message including second information, the second information being used for indicating a preferred RRC state of the apparatus in a case of leaving an RRC connected state in the first network, the preferred RRC state being an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to transition to from the RRC connected state (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], Fig. 1, pp [119]-[124]: a UE receives from a first network a RRC message indicating that the UE is allowed to transmit a network switch request message including a UE assistance information message indicating switching from the first network to a second network using a second USIM, wherein the switch request message indicates a preferred RRC state of the UE which may include RRC_idle or RRC_Inactive); and
receive, from the apparatus, the UE Assistance Information message including the second information, the UE Assistance Information message being transmitted based on the first information before switching from the first network to a second network in an RRC connected state in the first network (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], [123]-[124]: the UE transmits to the first network the UE Assistance Information message including a preferred RRC_Idle or RRC_Inactive state)..
Regarding claim 9. (currently amended) Chen teaches a method performed by an apparatus (Chen, the Abstract), comprising:
receiving, from a first network, a radio resource control, RRC, (RRC) Reconfiguration message including first information for configuring the apparatus to transmit a user equipment (UE) Assistance Information message including second information, the second information being used for indicating a preferred RRC state of the apparatus in a case of leaving an RRC connected state in the first network, the preferred RRC state being an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to transition to from the RRC connected state (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], Fig. 1, pp [119]-[124]: a UE receives from a first network a RRC message indicating that the UE is allowed to transmit a network switch request message including a UE assistance information message indicating switching from the first network to a second network using a second USIM, wherein the switch request message indicates a preferred RRC state of the UE which may include RRC_idle or RRC_Inactive); and
transmitting, to the first network, the UE Assistance Information message including the second information based on the first information before switching from the first network to a second network, in the RRC connected state in the first network (Chen, the Abstract, pp [88]-[89], [123]-[124]: the UE transmits to the first network the UE Assistance Information message including a preferred RRC_Idle or RRC_Inactive state).
Regarding claim 3. (currently amended) Chen teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus has capability of supporting two or more subscriber identity modules, SIMs (SIMs) (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Regarding claim 4. (original) Chen teaches the apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first network is a network corresponding to one of two or more SIMs of the apparatus, and the second network is a network corresponding to another one of the two or more SIMs of the apparatus (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Regarding claim 7. (currently amended) Chen teaches the base station according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus has capability of supporting two or more subscriber identity modules, SIMs (SIMs) (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Regarding claim 8. (original) Chen teaches the base station according to claim 7, wherein the first network is a network corresponding to one of two or more SIMs of the apparatus, and the second network is a network corresponding to another one of the two or more SIMs of the apparatus (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Regarding claim 11. (currently amended) Chen teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus has capability of supporting two or more subscriber identity modules, SIMs (SIMs) (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Regarding claim 12. (original) Chen teaches the method according to claim 11, wherein the first network is a network corresponding to one of two or more SIMs of the apparatus, and the second network is a network corresponding to another one of the two or more SIMs of the apparatus (Chen, pp [48]-[50], [131]).
Relevant reference but not used for the rejection above
Latheef et al. (Pub. No. US 2024/0049339), teaches a method for triggering a RRC state transition indication by UE in a wireless communication network includes receiving, by the UE, a radio resource control (RRC) Reconfiguration message from the wireless communication network, where the RRC Reconfiguration message comprises a configuration setting. The method includes enabling, by the UE, a capability to trigger a RRC state transition indication to the wireless communication network based on the configuration setting and determining, by the UE, a condition to trigger the RRC state transition indication to the wireless communication network is satisfied. The method includes triggering, by the UE, the RRC state transition indication by sending a UE assistance information message to the wireless communication network.
Specifically, the method for a user equipment (UE) performing communication in a wireless communication network, comprising entering a radio resource control (RRC) connected state; receiving an RRC reconfiguration message including configuration information regarding UE assistance information from a base station; and based on the configuration information regarding the UE assistance information, transmitting a UE assistance information message for one of a plurality of UE preference indications including: a first UE preference indication indicating that the UE prefers to transit to an RRC idle state, a second UE preference indication indicating that the UE prefers to transit to an RRC inactive state, and a third UE preference indication indicating that the UE prefers to transit out of the RRC connected state without a preferred RRC state.
Conclusion
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/HUY C HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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