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 2/4/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the combination of references does not teach {initiating transmission of an attach request to the RAN node, requesting establishment of a data connection with an emergency control center wherein the attach request includes an indicator that the attach request relates to the emergency situation}. In response, examiner respectfully does not agree.
Kuz teaches (Paragraph 33: the communication terminal 103: RAN node” may be capable of establishing data connections using a Wireless Application Protocol ("WAP") protocol or other protocol stack and data formats for a physical layer up to and including a session layer. WAP-enabled browsers on the application layer may be used to request, transmit, and receive data. The data, such as the emergency related information that may be transmitted to an emergency call assistance center 401, may be appended to an emergency call uniform resource locator ("URL") that may be transmitted to the emergency call assistance center 401.
Kuz does not teach “indicator” as claimed. Jost teaches (Paragraph 12: identity request message transmitted by a user equipment (UE), wherein said message indicates an emergency attach request, (Paragraph 15: a UE is provided. The UE may be adapted to send, to a server, a responsive identity request message indicating an emergency attach request, and receive, from the server, a response to the message, wherein the response comprises one or more connection parameters).
Applicant also argues that claim 54 already include the term “non-transitory” and request the rejection to be withdrawn, in response claim 54 is directed to a computer program product; and 17: a carrier containing an embodiment of the computer program is provided. The carrier comprises one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, and a computer readable storage medium. Examiner believe 101 rejection is proper.
Examiner maintains thew rejection.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because
From applicant’s specification, a computer-readable medium is open to transitory mediums and thus is non-statutory subject matter. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is obliged to give claims their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification during proceedings before the USPTO. See In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319 (Fed. Cir. 1989) (during patent examination the pending claims must be interpreted as broadly as their terms reasonably allow). The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer/processor readable medium (also called machine readable medium and other such variations) typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media, particularly when the specification is silent. See MPEP 2111.01. A claim drawn to such a computer/processor readable medium that covers both transitory and non-transitory embodiments may be amended to narrow the claim to cover only statutory embodiments to avoid a rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by adding the limitation "non-transitory" to the claim. Such an amendment would typically not raise the issue of new matter, even when the specification is silent because the broadest reasonable interpretation relies on the ordinary and customary meaning that includes signals per se. The limited situations in which such an amendment could raise issues of new matter occur, for example, when the specification does not support a non-transitory embodiment because a signal per se is the only viable embodiment such that the amended claim is impermissibly broadened beyond the supporting disclosure. Appropriate corrective action is required.
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 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.
Claims 39-44, 46, 50-54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuz (US 20070066276) in view of Jost (US 20200008055).
Regarding claim 37, Kuz teaches, a method in a computing device (Paragraph 23, Fig. 1, el. 101) for establishing a data connection with an emergency control center via a Radio Access Network, RAN (Paragraph 23 and Fig. 6: connection through RAN), the method comprising:
detecting sensor data indicative of an emergency situation (Paragraph 26: data obtained from various emergency sensors 111);
initiating transmission of an access request, requesting establishment of a connection, to a RAN node of the RAN (Paragraph 23, 33 and Fig. 4); and
in response to notification of an established connection, initiating transmission of an attach request to the RAN node, requesting establishment of a data connection with an emergency control center (Fig. 4 and Paragraph 33, 50).
Kuz does not teach wherein the attach request includes an indicator that the attach request relates to the emergency situation as claimed.
Jost teaches emergency service support (abstract), in response to notification of an established connection, initiating transmission of an attach request, requesting establishment of a data connection with an emergency control center wherein the attach request includes an indicator that the attach request relates to the emergency situation (Paragraph 15-17, 84, 103).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kuz with Jost in order to improve the system and enhance the emergency experience and emergency service.
Regarding claim 38, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, provisioning the computing device before deployment with emergency configuration information for use in connecting to the emergency control center (Jost: Paragraph 13: protocol configuration).
Regarding claim 39, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, requesting, by the computing device, emergency configuration information when connected to the RAN (Jost: Paragraph 36: he connection parameters can include indications from a User Equipment (UE), regarding connection modes. For instance, a UE may indicate whether its wants to use a single-connection mode or a multi-connection mode. According to certain aspects, and with respect to the single-connection mode, the UE may indicate an emergency attach or an emergency handover, a requested Packet Data Network (PDN) type (e.g., IPv4, IPv6, IPv4v6), and/or protocol configuration options. The term PDN typically refers to a network for transmitting data, such as packet-switched network, and a PDN type may refer to the specific type of network or one or more protocols used to communicate over such a network. As to multi-connection mode, the UE may indicate an emergency attach or an emergency handover. In certain aspects, connection parameters may include those set forth in clauses 6.4.2.6.2 and 6.4.2.6.3 of TS 24.302 and 6.4.2.6.2A and 6.4.2.6.3A of TS 24.302).
Regarding claim 40, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, requesting, by the computing device, emergency configuration information when data indicative of an emergency situation is detected (Jost: Paragraph 7-8, 10).
Regarding claim 41, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the emergency configuration information comprises at least one of: an Internet Protocol, IP, address for the emergency control center; a message format for use in contacting the emergency control center; authentication information (Jost: Paragraph 13, 36).
Regarding claim 42, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the access request comprises an emergency indication (Jost: Paragraph 7-8).
Regarding claim 43, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the attach request is transmitted as an Internet Protocol, IP (Jost: Paragraph 13, 36), communication via the established connection, and a data connection with the emergency control center is established via the established connection, wherein the established connection is an IP connection (Jost: Paragraph 13, 16, 36, 91).
Regarding claim 44, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the attach request is transmitted as a non- Internet Protocol, non-IP, communication, and a connection with the emergency control center is established (Jost Paragraph 39, 79).
Regarding claim 46, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein once the data connection with the emergency control center has been established, data is exchanged with the emergency control center, wherein each data exchange message between the computing device and emergency control center comprises an attribute indicating to the RAN that the data exchange message relates to an emergency situation (Jost: Paragraph 7-8, 10).
Regarding claim 50, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the computing device comprises one or more sensors (Jost: Paragraph 38).
Regarding claim 51, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein when a data connection with the computing device is established, the emergency control center uses the data connection to request sensor data from the computing device (Jost Paragraph 38 and Kuz: Paragraph 26, 31).
Regarding claim 52, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, wherein the emergency control center uses the data connection to trigger sensor readings (Jost Paragraph 38 and Kuz: Paragraph 26, 31).
Regarding claim 53, see claim 37 rejections.
Regarding claim 54, see claim 37 rejections.
Claims 45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuz (US 20070066276) in view of Jost (US 20200008055) in view of Mohammed (US 20140199962).
Regarding claim 45, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, the claimed method.
Kuz in view of Jost does not teach wherein the non-IP communication is an Unstructured Supplementary Services Data, USSD, communication.
Mohammed teaches in emergency situation using non-IP communication is an Unstructured Supplementary Services Data, USSD, communication (Paragraph 133).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kuz with Jost with Mohammed to use USSD in order to improve the system because USSD include lack of reliance on internet or data connections, making it accessible on basic mobile phones and in areas with limited connectivity. It offers cost-effective communication by bypassing SMS and data charges, enabling real-time, interactive sessions with low power consumption. USSD is also highly compatible with nearly all mobile devices, offers fast, real-time data transmission, and is not prone to data connection issues or costly roaming fees, making it ideal for mobile banking, service updates, and IoT device management.
Claims 47, 48, 49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuz (US 20070066276) in view of Jost (US 20200008055) in view of Horelik (US 20200244797).
Regarding claim 47, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, the claimed method.
Kuz in view of Jost does not teach wherein the request to establish a data connection with emergency control center is a request to establish a secure data connection.
Horelik teaches request to establish a data connection with emergency control center is a request to establish a secure data connection (Paragraph 31).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kuz with Jost with Horelik in order to improve the system and enhance the emergency experience by providing a secure and reliable connection.
Regarding claim 48, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, the claimed method.
Kuz in view of Jost does not teach wherein when the secure data connection with the emergency control center is established, a secure data exchange with the emergency control center is performed, wherein the emergency control center obtains sensor data from the computing device in the secure data exchange.
Horelik teaches when the secure data connection with the emergency control center is established, a secure data exchange with the emergency control center is performed, wherein the emergency control center obtains sensor data from the computing device in the secure data exchange (Paragraph 31).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kuz with Jost with Horelik in order to improve the system and enhance the emergency experience by providing a secure and reliable connection.
Regarding claim 49, Kuz in view of Jost teaches, the claimed method.
Kuz in view of Jost does not teach wherein the computing device is an Internet of Things, IoT, device.
Horelik teaches wherein the computing device is an Internet of Things, IoT, device (Paragraph 35).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kuz with Jost with Horelik in order to improve the system and increased efficiency and automation through real-time data collection and analysis, cost savings from optimized operations and predictive maintenance, improved safety by monitoring equipment and detecting hazards, enhanced customer experiences via personalization and convenient monitoring, and better decision-making driven by insights from connected devices and provides flexibility, allowing for scalable solutions and better resource management, while fostering innovation through data-driven product and service development.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARIA EL-ZOOBI whose telephone number is (571)270-3434. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7-4.
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/MARIA EL-ZOOBI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692