DETAILED ACTION
Status of Case
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to the amendment filed on 1/8/2026.
Claims 1-9 and 16-26 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 1/8/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant states that the prior art reference of Jheng does not disclose “while continuing use of a second connection of the dual connection by the first user equipment instance.”
In response, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Examiner notes that Applicant has acknowledged (on page 9 of the remarks filed on 1/8/2026) that “Jheng discloses suspending the active connection by SIM1 to allocate radio frequency (RF) resources for accessing a second network via SIM2.” Examiner notes that such use of SIM2 constitutes said claimed limitation of “…while continuing use of a second connection…” since SIM2 is used for accessing a second network while SIM1 is suspended.
Examiner further notes that Jheng’s disclosure does not explicitly disclose that SIM2 is suspended and, as such, Jheng at least suggests that SIM2 continues to be used even after SIM1 is suspended.
Thus, absent any claim amendments that clearly overcome the prior art reference of Jheng, Examiner maintains the rejection.
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 1-3, 5-6, 8-9, 16-18, 20-21, and 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jheng (WO 2014/000650 A1; cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on 10/12/2023).
Consider claims 1 and 16, Jheng discloses a method (see figure 4, reproduced below for convenience), and a corresponding apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (see figure 2, wherein disclosed is said apparatus comprising said processor 202 and said memory 203 comprising said computer program code 204), cause the apparatus to at least:
send, by a user equipment, a request to a first radio access network to switch a first connection of a dual connection, which is being used by a first user equipment instance of a first subscriber identity module at the user equipment, to a suspended state at the first radio access network while continuing use of a second connection of the dual connection by the first user equipment instance (see figure 4 step 414: “Connection Release Indication”; see page 7 lines 4-17: UE 401 is a Dual-SIM Dual-Standby UE having two SIM cards, SIM1 and SIM2, for accessing multiple networks and after detecting a trigger condition, UE 401 sends a signaling connection release indication (SCRI) IE to the network. The SCRI comprises a cause for UE requested suspension); and
receive a response indicating the first connection is suspended (see step 415 in figure 4: the network sends a RRC connection release message to UE 401).
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Consider claims 2, 17, and 25, Jheng discloses that the request is sent in response to a move, or a need to move, to a radio resource connection by a second user equipment instance of a second subscriber identity module at the user equipment (see page 7 lines 9-14: the trigger condition is based on upcoming activity for the UE to access a second network registered by SIM2, the upcoming activity may be the UE needs to switch the RF resources away from the first network and to monitor paging from the second network. The upcoming activity may be the UE needs to switch the RF resources away from the first network and to access the second network).
Consider claims 3, 18, and 26, Jheng discloses that the request further includes at least one of the following: a reason for the switch: an indication including a second user equipment instance of a second subscriber identity module connecting to the first radio access network; and an indication that the first user equipment instance is able to maintain radio link monitoring via the second user equipment instance of the second subscriber identity module (see step 414 in figure 4: Connection Release Indication cause; also, see page 3 lines 18-20: the UE sends a connection release indication (SCRI) with a new cause for “UE requested PS data suspension”. The SCRI may further include a suspension reason and a suspension period).
Consider claims 5 and 20, Jheng discloses that during the suspended state of the first connection of the dual connection, the first user equipment instance of the first subscriber identity module continues operation on the second connection of the dual connection (see page 4 lines 21-29: multiple SIM cards can be used to access multiple networks).
Consider claims 6 and 21, Jheng discloses that the first user equipment instance performs radio resource management measurements and reporting based on at least one of the following: one or more measurements obtained from the second user equipment instance; and one or more measurements obtained during one or more short gaps in the radio resource connection of the second user equipment instance (see page 5 lines 8-17: “In one novel aspect, UE 101 indicates upcoming gaps due to DSDS operation by sending an indication 110 to Network #1 when the UE monitors radio signals or performs periodic location update to Network #2 whiling having active PS data connection with Network #1. For example, UE 101 sends the indicator with “UE requested PS data suspension” before switching the RF resources from Network #1 to Network #2. Upon receiving indication 110, eNodeB in Network #1 can avoid radio resource allocation to the DSDS UE and allocate the reserved resources to other UEs more efficiently. Furthermore, eNodeB can prevent error interpretation due to the unexpected gap for DSDS. UE 101 may also indicates its DSDS capability to the network. As a result, eNodeB can be less sensitive to (or ignore) the unexpected gap generated by DSDS UE and thereby minimizing signaling overhead.”).
Consider claim 8, Jheng discloses requesting, via the second connection or a scheduling request for radio resources, a resumption of the first connection of the dual connection (see figure 6: resuming the first connection; also, see page 3 lines 8-10: after the suspension period, or when one or more resume events are received, the UE may determine to switch the RF resource back to the original registered network).
Consider claim 9, Jheng discloses that the request for resumption is in response to a radio resource connection being released for a second user equipment instance of a second subscriber identity module at the user equipment, and/or wherein the first user equipment instance in in dual connectivity with a eNB base station operating as a master node and a gNB base station operating as a secondary node (see figure 6, wherein disclosed is said request for resumption).
Consider claim 23, Jheng discloses that the apparatus is further caused to at least request, via the second connection or a scheduling request for radio resources, a resumption of the first connection of the dual connection, and/or wherein the request for resumption is in response to a radio resource connection being released for a second user equipment instance of a second subscriber identity module at the apparatus, and/or wherein the first user equipment instance in in dual connectivity with a eNB base station operating as a master node and a gNB base station operating as a secondary node (see figure 6, wherein disclosed is said resumption of the first connection of the dual connection).
Consider claim 24, Jheng discloses an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (see figure 4, reproduced below for convenience, wherein disclosed is that the UE communicates with a network node, which inherently comprises said processor, memory and computer program), cause the apparatus to at least:
receive a request to switch a first connection of a dual connection, which is being used by a first user equipment instance of a first subscriber identity module at the user equipment, to a suspended state at a first radio access network while the first user equipment instance of the first subscriber identity module at the user equipment continues use of a second connection of the dual connection (see figure 4 step 414: “Connection Release Indication”; see page 7 lines 4-17: UE 401 is a Dual-SIM Dual-Standby UE having two SIM cards, SIM1 and SIM2, for accessing multiple networks and after detecting a trigger condition, UE 401 sends a signaling connection release indication (SCRI) IE to the network. The SCRI comprises a cause for UE requested suspension); and
send a response to indicate the first connection is suspended (see step 415 in figure 4: the network sends a RRC connection release message to UE 401).
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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 4 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jheng (WO 2014/000650 A1; cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on 10/12/2023) in view of Wu (USPAN 2015/0201344).
Consider claims 4 and 19, although Jheng discloses performing radio resource management for the first user equipment instance (see above), Jheng does not specifically disclose an indication to continue radio resource management measurement and reporting as configured for the first user equipment instance.
Wu discloses an indication to continue radio resource management measurement and reporting as configured for the first user equipment instance (see paragraph 54: “The MBMS measurement result may be, for example, a measurement log. If there is/are measurement log(s) stored in the memory, the UE may inform the network (e.g., an eNB) of information indicating the existence of measurement log (s) via a RRC message or another uplink message. After the network receives this indication, the network may request the UE to report the measurement log (s) via another RRC message at a specific time. The UE then transmits the measurement log(s) to the network.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Jheng and combine it with the noted teachings of Wu. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a method for handling a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) minimization in a wireless communication system (see paragraph 3 of Wu).
Claims 7 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jheng (WO 2014/000650 A1; cited in Applicant’s IDS filed on 10/12/2023) in view of Chen (USPAN 2005/0170842).
Consider claims 7 and 22, Jheng discloses a radio resource connection of a second user equipment instance to a second radio access network that is in a different network than the first radio access network that provides the dual connection to the first user equipment instance (see above and see figure 1 of Jheng), but Jheng does not disclose a second radio access network that is in a different public land mobile network than the first radio access network.
Chen discloses a second radio access network that is in a different public land mobile network than the first radio access network (see paragraph 119: communication system 100 further includes a second network 140, such as a second PLMN, comprising a second Radio Access Network (RAN) 142 coupled to a second Support Node 148).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Jheng and combine it with the noted teachings of Chen. The motivation to combine these references is to provide a multimedia broadcast multicast service in a packet data communication system (see paragraph 2 of Chen).
Conclusion
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 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jamal Javaid whose telephone number is 571-270-5137 and email address is Jamal.Javaid@uspto.gov.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles Jiang, can be reached on 571-270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMAL JAVAID/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412
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