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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MURUGAN US 20240187982 in view of Hwang US 20190174406
1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:
judging a plurality of service types for a plurality of cells (MURUGAN: [0064-0068, 0081] determine list of features or cell types (e.g., CSG, NSA, HST, etc.)), [[wherein some of the plurality of cells correspond to more than one service types]];
judging a plurality of achieving levels of the plurality of service types for the plurality of cells (MURUGAN: Table 1, 4 [0010, 0064-0068, 0070, 0081] adaptively (i.e., identify) prioritize different features or cell types for different regions, different OEMs, different operators, [0081] For example, a frequency (e.g., F1) may have three cells, Cell A, Cell B and Cell C, in which cell A supports eMBMS; cell B does not support eMBMS support but is a high bandwidth cell; and cell C does not support eMBMS support and is not a high bandwidth cell…);
obtaining a service type favor setting of a user equipment, wherein the service type favor setting of the user equipment is used to indicate a plurality of preferred orders of the plurality of service types for the user equipment (MURUGAN: [0064-0068, 0081] provide a list of features or cell types (e.g., CSG, NSA, HST, etc.) that the UE 115-a is to use for ordering cells (e.g., in decreasing order of priority));
obtaining a plurality of weighted priority values for the plurality of cells according to the plurality of service types and the service type favor setting indicating the plurality of preferred orders of the plurality of service types for the user equipment (MURUGAN: [0065-0068, 0081] monitor (i.e., determine) for one or more SIBs transmitted that indicate a cell type, cell features, or combinations and Likewise, the UE 115-b may monitor a second downlink carrier 215 of the second base station 105-b for second cell information 220-b. The UE 115-a may order each of the first cell and the second cell based on cell preference criteria in a FPL 230, and based on the ordering may transmit a connection establishment request 225 via uplink carrier 210 to the first base station 105-a);
obtaining a plurality of weighted signal quality values for the plurality of cells and the user equipment according to the plurality of service types, the plurality of [[gears]] achieving levels of the plurality of service types for the plurality of cells and the service type favor setting for the user equipment (MURUGAN: [0010, 0065-0068, 0070, 0081] the UE 115-a may identify that measurements from each of the first cell and the second cell meet channel quality criteria (e.g., a reference signal received power (RSRP) that meets or exceeds a threshold RSRP value), and may order the first cell and the second cell (and other cells having a RSRP that meets the threshold RSRP value) based on the FPL 230);
in an idle mode, triggering mobility via cell reselection which uses the plurality of weighted priority values or the plurality of weighted signal quality values (MURUGAN: [0074] Based on the FPL 330 and one or more idle mode measurements, such as measurements of reference signals 320, the UE 115-b may determine to trigger cell reselection and perform subsequent communications with the second base station 105-d); and
in a connected mode, triggering mobility via measurement reports which are generated based on the plurality of weighted signal quality values (MURUGAN: [0081] prioritize including preferred cells in the measurement report 625 so that connected mode mobility/handover or network triggered redirection happens to a preferred cell).
MURUGAN merely teaches “wherein some of the plurality of cells correspond to more than one service types”
Hwang teaches wherein some of the plurality of cells correspond to more than one service types (Hwang: fig. 3-4, [0068] first base station 120 that supports the first service and the second service; table 1 [0072-0073, 0078, 0080, 0095, 0138, 0146] e.g., check at the first frequency (frequency 1) whether a cell supports all the services (slices) of the UE, in the order of the best cell, the second best cell, and the third best cell)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to include the above recited limitation into MURUGAN’s invention in order to provide a method for a terminal to (re)select a cell in an RRC idle mode or an RRC connected mode, as taught by Hwang.
2. The method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of weighted values for the plurality of service types are determined according to the plurality of preferred orders (MURUGAN: [0121] priority order for each cell).
3. The method for wireless communication according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of weighted priority values for the plurality of cells are obtained based on the plurality of weighted values (MURUGAN: [0073] priority in accordance with FPL values as in Table 1-3).
4. The method for wireless communication according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of weighted values are different (MURUGAN: [0073] priority in accordance with FPL values as in Table 1-3 reselection algorithm).
5. The method for wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of cell offset collections for the plurality of service types are determined (MURUGAN: [0067, 0073] frequency offset can be used to prioritize preferred cells).
6. The method for wireless communication according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of cell offsets in each of the plurality of cell offset collections are determined based on the plurality of achieving levels of the plurality of service types (MURUGAN: [0067, 0073] frequency offset can be used to prioritize preferred cells).
7. The method for wireless communication according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of weighted values for the plurality of service types are determined according to the plurality of preferred orders (MURUGAN: Table 1-3 reselection algorithm).
8. The method for wireless communication according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of weighted values are decremental based on the plurality of preferred orders (MURUGAN: 0065-0067, 0081] Table 1-3 - ordering cells (e.g., in decreasing order of priority)).
9. The method for wireless communication according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of weighted signal quality values for the plurality of cells are obtained based on the plurality of cell offsets and the plurality of weighted values (MURUGAN: [0067, 0073] frequency offset can be used to prioritize preferred cells).
10. The method for wireless communication according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of weighted values are different (MURUGAN: table 1-4 reselection algorithm).
Regarding claims 11-20, the independent claim and each dependent claim are related to the same limitation set for hereinabove in claims 1-10, where the difference used is a “wireless modem device” with a controller(s) (MURUGAN: Referring to FIG. 9, unit 900) and the wordings of the claims were interchanged within the claim itself or some of the claims were presented as a combination of two or more previously presented limitations. This change does not affect the limitation of the above treated claims. Adding these phrases to the claims arid interchanging the wording did not introduce new limitations to these claims. Therefore, these claims were rejected for similar reasons as stated above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 08/30/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant Argument:
According to amended claim 1,
Feature A: "the service type favor setting of the user equipment is used to indicate a plurality of preferred orders of the plurality of service types for the user equipment."
Feature B: "obtaining a plurality of weighted signal quality values for the plurality of
cells and the user equipment according to the plurality of service types, the plurality of achieving levels of the plurality of service types for the plurality of cells and the service type favor setting for the user equipment.” Such a distinction is not disclosed in prior art(s).
Response to Arguments:
With respect to the above argument, Examiner would like to draw attention to that it is the claims that define the claimed invention, and it is claims, not specifications that are anticipated or unpatentable. Constant v. Advanced Micro-Devices Inc., 7 USPQ2d 1064.
Examiner would like to draw attention to ([0010, 0065-0068, 0070, 0081]) of MURUGAN – for example: the FPL 230 may provide a list of features or cell types (e.g., CSG, NSA, HST, etc.) that the UE 115-a is to use for ordering cells (e.g., in decreasing order of priority). For example, the FPL 230 may include a preferred feature list1={eMBMS, NSA, CSG} that implies the feature priority order of eMBMS>NSA>CSG. Thus, for each cell that meets the measurement threshold RSRP value, the cell features from the FPL may be used to determine a relative priority order for each cell. In the event that two or more cells have a same order according to the FPL, such cells may be ordered based on a RSRP value, for example. A cell feature can refer to any functionality, defined feature, or priority item for the UE 115-a. For example, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) levels, estimated throughput, transmission power, CSG, eMBMS, CV2X, HST, NSA, enhanced coverage, EUTRAN-NR dual connectivity (ENDC) capability, or any combinations thereof, could be classified as features. In some cases, the FPL 230 may be based at least in part on carrier, OEM, or user preference, or combinations thereof. In some cases, the FPL 230 may be updated through OTA upgrades or user preference changes. Further, the FPL 230 may be subscription based and shared across different RATs (e.g., shared across 2G/3G/4G/5G RATs, or any other RAT). In some cases, cell types, such as CSG cell type, or any other cell type, may be treated as a feature and included in FPL (e.g., in decreasing order of priority) (herein it’s considered same as obtaining a service type favor setting of a user equipment, wherein the service type favor setting of the user equipment is used to indicate a plurality of preferred orders of the plurality of service types for the user equipment).
Examiner would like to draw attention to ([0010, 0065-0068, 0070, 0081]) of MURUGAN – for example: monitor (i.e., determine) for one or more SIBs transmitted that indicate a cell type, cell features, or combinations and Likewise, the UE 115-b may monitor a second downlink carrier 215 of the second base station 105-b for second cell information 220-b. The UE 115-a may order each of the first cell and the second cell based on cell preference criteria in a FPL 230, and based on the ordering may transmit a connection establishment request 225 via uplink carrier 210 to the first base station 105-a (herein it’s considered same as obtaining a plurality of weighted priority values for the plurality of cells according to the plurality of service types and the service type favor setting indicating the plurality of preferred orders of the plurality of service types for the user equipment).
Examiner would like to draw attention to ([0010, 0065-0068, 0070, 0081]) of MURUGAN – for example: the UE 115-a may identify that measurements from each of the first cell and the second cell meet channel quality criteria (e.g., a reference signal received power (RSRP) that meets or exceeds a threshold RSRP value), and may order the first cell and the second cell (and other cells having a RSRP that meets the threshold RSRP value) based on the FPL 230 (herein it’s considered same as obtaining a plurality of weighted signal quality values for the plurality of cells and the user equipment according to the plurality of service types, the plurality of achieving levels of the plurality of service types for the plurality of cells and the service type favor setting for the user equipment).
Furthermore, Examiner would like to draw attention to (fig. 8, unit 810-820 [0217]) of Hwang – for example: at step 810, the UE may determine a service type to be used for cell (re)selection. Then, at step 820, the UE may perform the cell (re)selection based on the selected service. At this time, the cell (re)selection may be performed according to a measurement rule, a prioritized frequency range, selection criteria, a frequency range to be measured, and the number of cells to be measured (herein it’s considered same as Weighted Calculation Mechanism such as calculating weighted priority values based on service types and a user-specific service type favor setting).
Thus, for the above reason, the prior art(s) meet the claim limitation.
The examiner stresses that the claims are too broad and require detail or specialization of the steps as recited in the claims. Alone and as claimed, the limitations are too open.
Examiner has cited particular portions of the references as applied to each claim limitation for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Regarding all other arguments presented by applicant, the arguments are substantially the same as those which have already been addressed above and in the interest of brevity; the Examiner directs the applicant to those responses above.
Remark:
In addition, an interview could expedite the prosecution.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sulaiman Nooristany whose telephone number is 571-270-1929. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday: 8:30am to 5:00pm (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeff Rutkowski can be reached on 571-270-1215. 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. 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.
/SULAIMAN NOORISTANY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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