DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Application, submitted on 01/09/2024, has been received, entered, and made of record. Currently, claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/09/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner as indicated. However, Applicant has not provided an explanation of relevance of cited document(s).
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, 12, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C.102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu (US 2022/0086721 A1).
Referring to claim 1, Wu discloses a method for sending a request (fig.5), performed by a terminal (fig.5, UE 102), comprising:
determining a first next generation node B (gNB) (fig.5, gNB 106) accessible, when initiating an analysis subscription request (fig.5, IMS video call connection (510)), and in response to a currently accessed base station (fig.5, eNB 104) being a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) ([0084]-[0088]) (Note: when initiating an IMS video call connection while currently accessed to the eNB 104, a gNB 106 is determined based on NR (New Radio) measurements between the UE 102 and the gNB 106 (next generation node B)); and
handing over to the first gNB (fig.5, step 542), and sending the analysis subscription request to the first gNB ([0089]-[0090]) (Note: the UE 102 is handed over to the gNB 106 and the IMS video call is established between the UE 102 and the IMS 150 (or the IMS 152) via the gNB 106).
Referring to claim 2, Wu discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein determining the first gNB accessible comprises: detecting a signal strength of a received signal; and determining a base station corresponding to a 5th generation (5G) signal with a signal strength greater than a strength threshold as the first gNB ([0087]-[0088]) (Note: The UE 102 measures signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)) between the UE 102 and a base station; and the gNB 106 is determined when the signal strength and/or the signal quality included in the NR measurement results at least meet a respective threshold amount).
Referring to claim 12, Wu discloses a device (figs. 2 and 5, UE 102) for sending a request, comprising: one or more processors, configured to perform the method according to claim 1 ([0049] and fig.5).
Referring to claim 15, Wu discloses a communication device (fig.2, UE 102), comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing a computer program; wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the method for sending the request according to claim 1 is implemented ([0049]).
Referring to claim 18, Wu discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes act in the method for sending the request according to claim 1 to be performed ([0049] and [0143]).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Lee et al. (hereinafter referred to as Lee, US 2022/0095403 A1).
Referring to claim 4, Wu discloses the method according to claim 1, except sending the analysis subscription request to a gNB in a New Radio (NR) eNB dual connection (NE-DC) when the currently accessed base station is the gNB in the NE-DC.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Lee discloses a concept of sending a request to a gNB in a New Radio (NR) eNB dual connection (NE-DC) when the currently accessed base station is the gNB in the NE-DC ([0148] and [0154]) (Note: the reference discloses a concept of NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC), in which a UE is connected to one gNB that acts as a MN and one ng-eNB that acts as a SN, and wherein if the SN is a gNB (i.e., for EN-DC, NGEN-DC and NR-DC), the UE can be configured to establish a SRB with the SN (SRB3) to enable RRC PDUs for the SN to be sent directly between the UE and the SN).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the method of Wu a concept of a New Radio (NR) eNB dual connection (NE-DC) as taught by Lee to obtain the claimed invention. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to improve users experience by improving data speeds and reducing latency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Referring to claim 3, the searched prior arts individually or combined fail to disclose or make obvious the claimed subject matter. That is, Examiner did not find any reference that discloses or would have rendered obvious: “requesting an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) to determine a second gNB that is configured to perform data analysis for the analysis subscription request, in response to not detecting a 5th generation (5G) signal with a signal strength greater than a strength threshold; and sending the analysis subscription request to the second gNB.”
Claims 5-11, 13-14, 16-17, and 19-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Referring to claim 5, the searched prior arts individually or combined fail to disclose or make obvious the claimed subject matter. That is, Examiner did not find any reference that discloses or would have rendered obvious: “A method for determining a base station, performed by an operation administration and maintenance (OAM), comprising: receiving an analysis subscription request sent by a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB), and determining a next generation node B (gNB) configured to perform data analysis for the analysis subscription request; determining the gNB; and sending data analysis configuration information to the gNB and the ng-eNB, wherein the data analysis configuration information is used to indicate that an analysis result for the analysis subscription request is to be sent by the gNB to the ng-eNB.”
Referring to claims 6-8, 13, 16, and 19, it follows that the claims are inherently allowed for being depend on base claim 5.
Referring to claim 9, the searched prior arts individually or combined fail to disclose or make obvious the claimed subject matter. That is, Examiner did not find any reference that discloses or would have rendered obvious: “A method for sending a request, performed by a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB), comprising: sending an analysis subscription request to an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) when initiating the analysis subscription request or receiving the analysis subscription request from a terminal, to request the OAM to determine a next generation node B (gNB) configured to perform data analysis for the analysis subscription request; and receiving an analysis result for the analysis subscription request sent by the gNB.”
Referring to claims 10-11, 14, 17, and 20, it follows that the claims are inherently allowed for being depend on base claim 9.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOUSTAPHA DIABY whose telephone number is (571)270-1669. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 9AM-6PM.
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, ABDERRAHIM MEROUAN can be reached at (571) 270-5254. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MOUSTAPHA DIABY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
Prosecution Insights