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 .
General Remarks
This communication is considered fully responsive to Applicant’s response filed 10/27/2025.
Application filed 09/23/2023
Applicant’s PgPUB: 2025/0112869
Claims:
Claims 1-10 and 12-26 are pending.
Claims 1, 12 and 20 are independent.
Claims 1-10, 12-18 and 20-23 are amended.
Claim 11 is canceled.
Claims 24-26 are new.
IDS:
Previous IDS:
IDS filed 09/28/2023 has been considered.
Previous Action:
Regarding Applicant’s request to amend the specification, Examiner has approved the request to amend the specification.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Applicant’s response, filed 04/26/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-23 under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive to overcome the prior rejection. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0141262 to Huang et al. (“Huang”) and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0329658 A1 to Li et al. (“Li”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As to claim 1, it states in part, “… assign a UE-assigned priority to a first application or downlink (DL) data flow and a second DL data flow, wherein the UE-assigned priority of the first application or DL data flow is higher than the DE-assigned priority of the second application or DL data flow;” The claims that UE can assign priority a first application or DL and a second DL. Later it states the priority of the first application/DL is higher than the second application/DL. However, a second application was not mentioned previously (i.e., antecedent basis). For the purposes of this Office Action, Examiner will interpret the claim was meant to include “second application” when assigning priority given the claim setup. However, Examiner will require amendment for clarification and avoid future confusion.
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)(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, 2, 5, 12, 13, 16, 20, 22 and 24-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”).
As to claim 1, Luna discloses:
a user equipment (UE) comprising a memory and one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to cause the UE to:
assign a UE-assigned priority to a first application or downlink (DL) data flow and a second DL data flow, wherein the UE-assigned priority of the first application or DL data flow is higher than the UE-assigned priority of the second application or DL data flow (¶0135 – Luna teaches that a user can set application-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook related transactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn related transactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all send message requests across all applications to have higher priority than message delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a high priority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.);
determine, based on the UE-assigned priorities, a reduced feedback rate for transmission of second UL feedback packets associated with the second application or DL data flow and a higher feedback rate for transmission of first UL feedback packets associated with the first application or DL data flow (¶0172 – Luna teaches the time that is delayed in transfer of a given content request can be determined based on priority of a specific application (e.g., as determined by the prioritization engine 241 of the application behavior detector 236) making the given content request, or based on the priority of the specific application relative to other applications on the mobile device.);
control a rate of transmission of the second UL feedback packets based on the reduced feedback rate (¶0174 – Luna teaches The delay of the first data transfer request can be determined by the delay module 258 and the decision can be made when, for example, the second application is of a higher priority relative to the first application, or that the second application is running in the foreground, or that a user is interacting with the second application and the second data request is initiated in response to the user interaction, or that the second application is more data intensive than the first application.); and
control a rate of transmission of the first UL feedback packets based on the higher feedback rate (¶0174 – Luna teaches the delay of the first data transfer request can be determined by the delay module 258 and the decision can be made when, for example, the second application is of a higher priority relative to the first application, or that the second application is running in the foreground, or that a user is interacting with the second application and the second data request is initiated in response to the user interaction, or that the second application is more data intensive than the first application.).
As to claim 2, Luna discloses:
UE of claim 1, and
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
identify the UE-assigned priority of the first application of DL data flow and the second application or DL data flow based on a metadata tag on DL packets that indicates a UE-assigned priority of an application or a data flow associated with the DL packet (0135 – Luna teaches a user can set application-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook related transactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn related transactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all send message requests across all applications to have higher priority than message delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a high priority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.);
As to claim 5, Luna discloses:
UE of claim 1, and
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to selectively transmit the UL feedback packets based on the prioritization ratio by
set a delay period between transmission of the second UL feedback packets by a time duration that is based on the reduced feedback rate (¶0174 – Luna teaches the delay of the first data transfer request can be determined by the delay module 258 and the decision can be made when, for example, the second application is of a higher priority relative to the first application, or that the second application is running in the foreground, or that a user is interacting with the second application and the second data request is initiated in response to the user interaction, or that the second application is more data intensive than the first application.); or
control relative numbers of the first UL feedback packets and the second UL feedback packets in a transmit queue based on the higher feedback rate and the reduced feedback rate.
The suggestion/motivation and obviousness rejection is the same as in claim 2.
As to claim 12, similar rejection as to claim 1.
As to claim 13, Luna discloses:
method of claim 12, and
comprising
determining the respective feedback rates for the respective UL feedback packets based on a metadata tag on the respective UL feedback packets that indicates the UE-assigned priority of the application or DL data flow associated with the UL feedback packet (¶0135 – Luna teaches A user can set application-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook related transactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn related transactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all send message requests across all applications to have higher priority than message delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a high priority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.).
As to claim 16, similar rejection as to claim 5.
As to claim 20, similar rejection as to claim 1.
As to claim 22, similar rejection as to claim 5.
As to claim 24, Luna discloses:
method of claim 12, and
wherein the UE-assigned priorities are independent of network assigned priorities for the applications or DL data flows (¶0135 – Luna teaches that a user can set application-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook related transactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn related transactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all send message requests across all applications to have higher priority than message delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a high priority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.).
As to claim 25, Luna discloses:
method of claim 12, and
wherein the first UE-assigned priority is a higher priority than the second UE-assigned priority (¶0135 – Luna teaches that a user can set application-specific priorities, (e.g., a user may set Facebook related transactions to have a higher priority than LinkedIn related transactions), for specific transaction types (e.g., for all send message requests across all applications to have higher priority than message delete requests, for all calendar-related events to have a high priority, etc.), and/or for specific folders.).
As to claim 26, Luna discloses:
method of claim 25, and
wherein the first feedback rate is a higher rate than the second feedback rate (¶0174 – Luna teaches the delay of the first data transfer request can be determined by the delay module 258 and the decision can be made when, for example, the second application is of a higher priority relative to the first application, or that the second application is running in the foreground, or that a user is interacting with the second application and the second data request is initiated in response to the user interaction, or that the second application is more data intensive than the first application.).
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 may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 3, 6, 14, 17 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”).
As to claim 3, Luna discloses:
UE of claim 1,
Zeng discloses what Luna does not expressly disclose.
Zeng discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
determine the reduced feedback rate and the higher feedback rate based on a prioritization ratio, wherein the prioritization ratio is based on a relative UE-assigned priority of the first application or DL data flow and the second application or DL data flow (¶0018, ¶0019, ¶0042, ¶0160, ¶0161 – Zeng teaches association/relationship information that can be of multiple types (e.g., first, second, third) (i.e., metadata tags); Further, Zeng teaches that a first type indicates transmit on priorities of a QoS Flow and a second type indicates to transmit based on transmission ratio information.); and
transmit the UL feedback packets according to the prioritization ratio (¶0018, ¶0019, ¶0042, ¶0160, ¶0161 – Zeng teaches association/relationship information that can be of multiple types (e.g., first, second, third) (i.e., metadata tags); Further, Zeng teaches that a first type indicates transmit on priorities of a QoS Flow and a second type indicates to transmit based on transmission ratio information.).
Luna and Zeng are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritized data transmission.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate data types (i.e., tags) as discussed in Zeng with a system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Zeng to the system/method of Pa/le and Huang in order to help determine the importance between different flows (Zeng, ¶0003).
As to claim 6, Luna discloses:
UE of claim 3, and
Zeng discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
determine a burst of UL application traffic packets will occur during a burst interval (¶0018-¶0019, ¶0041-¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong); and
during a pre-burst interval occurring before the burst interval, transmit the first UL feedback packets and the second UL feedback packets according to a burst prioritization ratio (¶0018-¶0019, ¶0041-¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong). The suggestion/motivation and obviousness rejection is the same as in claim 3.
As to claim 14, Luna discloses:
method of claim 12, and
Luna discloses:
transmitting the UL feedback packets according to the prioritization ratio, wherein UL feedback packets associated with lower UE-assigned priority applications or DL data flows are transmitted at a lower feedback rate than UL feedback packets associated with a highest UE-assigned priority application or DL data flow (¶0174 – Luna teaches the delay of the first data transfer request can be determined by the delay module 258 and the decision can be made when, for example, the second application is of a higher priority relative to the first application, or that the second application is running in the foreground, or that a user is interacting with the second application and the second data request is initiated in response to the user interaction, or that the second application is more data intensive than the first application.).
Zeng discloses what Luna does not expressly disclose.
Zeng discloses:
comprising:
determining the feedback rates for UL feedback packets based on a prioritization ratio that defines a relative feedback rates of UL feedback packets for different applications or DL data flows (¶0018-¶0019, ¶0041-¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong); The suggestion/motivation and obviousness rejection is the same as in claim 3.
As to claim 17, Luna discloses:
method of claim 14, and
Zeng discloses:
comprising:
determining that a high UE-assigned priority application will transmit a burst of UL application traffic packets during a burst interval (¶0041-¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong); and
during a pre-burst interval occurring before the burst interval, selectively transmitting the UL feedback packets according to feedback rates determined based on a burst prioritization ratio (¶0018-¶0019, ¶0041-¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong). The suggestion/motivation and obviousness rejection is the same as in claim 3.
As to claim 23, Luna discloses:
throttling circuitry of claim 21,
Zeng discloses what Luna do not expressly disclose.
Zeng discloses:
further configured to
control relative numbers of UL feedback packets for different applications or data flows in a transmit queue based on the feedback rates (¶0041- ¶0043 – Zeng teaches determinations based on time transmission intervals between data packet bursts, the bursts to which the data packets in the M Qos flows belong which denotes delay since certain bursts will be sent before others). The suggestion/motivation and obviousness rejection is the same as in claim 3.
Claims 4 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0048577 A1 to Gulati et al. (“Gulati”).
As to claim 4, Luna and Zeng discloses:
UE of claim 3, and
Zeng disclose:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
in response, selectively transmit first and second the UL feedback packets according to the prioritization ratio (¶0018, ¶0042, ¶0160, ¶0161, ¶0231 – Zeng teaches association/relationship information that can be of multiple types (e.g., first, second, third) (i.e., metadata tags); Further, Zeng teaches that a first type indicates transmit on priorities of a QoS Flow and a second type indicates to transmit based on transmission ratio information.).
Gulati discloses what Luna and Zeng does not expressly disclose.
Gulati discloses:
determine that a transmit capacity of the UE for the first application or DL data flow is below a threshold (¶0069 – Gulati teaches using utilization limits (i.e., capacity) as compared to a threshold to determine transmission of low and high priority packets); and
Luna, Zeng and Gulati are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritized data transmission.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate utilization limits as discussed in Gulati with data types (i.e., tags) as discussed in Zeng system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Gulati to the system/method of Luna and Zeng in order to determine when transmission of particular data priorities can be transmitted (Gulati, ¶0069).
As to claim 15, similar rejection as to claim 4.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0255053 A1 to Nelson et al. (“Nelson”).
As to claim 7, Luna and Zeng discloses:
UE of claim 6,
Nelson discloses what Luna and Zeng does not expressly disclose.
Nelson discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to, after the burst interval, discard buffered first and second UL feedback packets having a lower sequence number (SN) and transmit buffered first and second UL feedback packets having a highest sequence number (¶0093 - Nelson teaches historical payloads having packet sequence numbers less than or equal to the Acknowledged Feedback Sequence Number are removed from the TX Log, or data buffer.).
Luna, Zeng and Nelson are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to feedback data communications.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate data sequence numbers as discussed in Nelson with data types (i.e., tags) as discussed in Zeng system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Nelson to the system/method of Luna and Zeng in order to clear the buffer to a particular point (Nelson, ¶0093).
Claims 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0338077 A1 to Chin et al. (“Chin”).
As to claim 8, Luna and Zeng discloses:
UE of claim 3, and
Zeng discloses:
during a pre-break interval occurring before the given time and during the break or reduction in throughput capability of the UE, transmit the first UL feedback packets and the second UL feedback according to a break prioritization ratio (¶0232 – Zeng teaches the scheduling and reallocation of channels (i.e., at a given time) at a time where communication efficiencies are reduced (i.e., throughput reduction), the priority of QoS flows is used in scheduling (i.e, prioritization ratio)).
Chin discloses what Luna and Zeng does not expressly disclose.
Chin discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
determine that a break or reduction in throughput capability of the UE is to occur at a given time (¶0033 – Chin teaches dropping uplink and/or downlink information in some time slots of the first RAT to create the idle time slots (e.g., consecutive idle time slots) reduces the uplink and downlink throughput and degrades the quality of service of the communication system.); and
Luna, Zeng and Chin are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritzed data transmissions.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate throughput reduction as discussed in Chin with data types (i.e., tags) as discussed in Zeng system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Chin to the system/method of Luna and Zeng in order to create time for network measurements (Chin, ¶0033).
As to claim 18, similar rejection as to claim 8.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0338077 A1 to Chin et al. (“Chin”) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0255053 A1 to Nelson et al. (“Nelson”).
As to claim 9, Luna, Zeng and Chin discloses:
UE of claim 8,
Nelson discloses what Luna, Zeng and Chin does not expressly disclose.
Nelson discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to,
after the break or reduction in throughput capability of the UE, discard buffered first and second UL feedback packets having a lower sequence number (SN) and transmit buffered first and second UL feedback packets having a highest sequence number (¶0093, Nelson teaches teaches historical payloads having packet sequence numbers less than or equal to the Acknowledged Feedback Sequence Number are removed from the TX Log, or data buffer.).
Luna, Zeng, Chin and Nelson are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to networked data transmissions.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate data sequence numbers as discussed in Nelson throughput reduction as discussed in Chin with data types (i.e., tags) as discussed in Zeng system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Nelson to the system/method of Luna, Zeng and Chin in order to clear the buffer to a particular point (Nelson, ¶0093).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0141403 A1 to Akahane et al. (“Akahane).
As to claim 10, Luna discloses:
UE of claim 1,
Akahane discloses what Luna does not expressly disclose.
Akahane discloses:
wherein the one or more processors, when executing instructions stored in the memory, are configured to
adjust the reduced feedback rate or the higher feedback rate dynamically in response to available UE UL capacity (Fig. 11, ¶0051, ¶0071 – Akahane teaches adjusting the ratio between low and high priority packets).
Luna and Akahane are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritized data communications.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate ration adjustments as discussed in Akahane system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Akahane to the system/method of Luna in order to allow unoccupied bandwidth to be used more efficiently (Akahane, ¶0051).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0067851 A1 to Zeng et al. (“Zeng”) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0223626 A1 to Zhuang et al. (“Zhuang”).
As to claim 19, Luna discloses:
method of claim 14,
Zhuang discloses what Luna and Zeng does not expressly disclose.
Zhuang discloses:
comprising adjusting the feedback rates dynamically in response to available UE UL capacity (¶0010-¶0012 of Zhuang).
Luna, Zheng and Zhuang are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritized data communications.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate capacities as discussed in Zhuang system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Zhuang to the system/method of Luna in order to help determine capacities of particular devices (Zhuang, ¶0010).
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0007055 A1 to Luna et al. (“Luna”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0329658 A1 to Li et al. (“Li”).
As to claim 21, Luna discloses:
throttling circuitry of claim 20,
further configured to
Li discloses what Luna do not expressly disclose.
Li discloses:
determine the respective feedback rates for the respective UL feedback packets according to a prioritization ratio that defines relative UE-assigned priorities of applications or data flows (¶0042 – Li teaches a UE may be assigned different PUCCH resources for SRs of different priority levels. A high priority level SR may be sent by the UE to request resources for other applications that may have a strict (or low) maximum latency requirement for data transmission (e.g., very strict maximum packet transmission delay), and a low priority level SR may be sent by the UE for an application that has a longer maximum latency requirement (e.g., for an application that is not as time-sensitive and allows a higher latency or packet transmission delay)).
Luna and Li are analogous arts because they are from the same field of endeavor with respect to prioritized data communications.
Before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate applications and resource grants based on priority as discussed in Li system of UE-assigned priority transmission as discussed in Luna by adding the functionality of Li to the system/method of Luna in order to grant resources having a priority level; determining, by the user device, whether or not information to be transmitted has a priority level that matches the priority level of the granted resources (Li, ¶0006).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAYLOR A ELFERVIG whose telephone number is (571)270-5687. The examiner can normally be reached Monday (10:00 AM CST) - Friday (4:00 PM CST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Oscar Louie can be reached at (571) 270-1684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TAYLOR A ELFERVIG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2445