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 .
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.
Claims 23-30 are 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.
Claim 23 recites the limitation "after the user equipment" in the second limitation. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In regards to dependent claims 24-30, the same and/or similar rejection is applied by virtue of dependency on the rejected independent clam 23.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 34, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Da Silva et al. (US Publication No. 20230180065).
As to claims 1 and 34, Da Silva teaches a method and an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor (fig. 1, fig. 9, network node 12), cause the apparatus at least to: transmit a configuration to a user equipment (fig. 1, fig. 2, #10, pp0049, first network node 12-1 also sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the wireless device 14, with the CHO configuration), the configuration comprising a conditional cell change initiated with a master node (fig. 1, fig. 2, #10, pp0049, first network node 12-1 also sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the wireless device 14, with the CHO configuration, and pp0055, first network node 12-1 may be a M-SN, such as a Source Master gNB (MgNB)); and transmit a notification to a source secondary node from the master node in response to a preparation of the conditional cell change (fig. 1, fig. 2, #1, determine to configure CHO, #5, sends information to the second network node 12-2, to initiate the early data forwarding (Item 5, “INFO. TO INITIATE EARLY DATA FORWARDING”), and pp0055, second network 12-2 may be a S-SN, such as a Source Secondary gNB (SgNB)), the notification being related to the conditional cell change initiated with the master node (fig. 1, fig. 2, #1, determine to configure CHO, #5, sends information to the second network node 12-2, to initiate the early data forwarding (Item 5, “INFO. TO INITIATE EARLY DATA FORWARDING”), and pp0055, second network 12-2 may be a S-SN, such as a Source Secondary gNB (SgNB)); wherein the notification comprises an indication of whether the source secondary node is to perform early data forwarding from the source secondary node to a target secondary node (fig. 1, fig. 2, #1, #5-#9, sends information to the second network node 12-2, to initiate the early data forwarding (Item 5, “INFO. TO INITIATE EARLY DATA FORWARDING”), and pp0050, data is early-forwarded from the second network node 12-2 to the first network node 12-1, which then forwards it to the third network node 12-3).
As to claim 3, Da Silva teaches wherein the notification comprising the indication of whether the source secondary node is to perform early data forwarding is transmitted using at least one of: a modification required procedure or message; an address indication procedure or message (fig. 2, pp0046, the first network node 12-1 may initiate an address indication procedure with the second network node 12-2); or a new message or procedure.
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(s) 2, 4, and 5, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Da Silva et al. (US Publication No. 20230180065) in view of Zhang et al. (US Publication No. 20230097891).
As to claim 2, Da Silva teaches the limitations of the independent claims as discussed above. However, fails to explicitly teach wherein the conditional cell change comprises a conditional primary secondary cell change.
In an analogous field of endeavor, Zhang teaches the concept wherein the conditional cell change comprises a conditional primary secondary cell change (fig. 4, fig. 6, S407, the source MN 606 may send an RRCReconfiguration message with CHO configuration to the UE 604. The CHO configuration may include the configuration of the target cell (including both PCell and PSCell configuration) and the corresponding CHO execution condition of the target cell on the target PCell and PSCell frequency). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Da Silva with the teachings of Zhang to achieve the goal of efficiently and reliably improving the mobility performance to meet the requirements for minimal interruption and high reliability in a communication system (Zhang, pp0088).
As to claim 4, Da Silva teaches the limitations of the independent claims as discussed above. Da Silva further teaches the concept of early data forwarding is to be performed from the source secondary node to the target secondary node (fig. 1, fig. 2, #1, #5-#9, sends information to the second network node 12-2, to initiate the early data forwarding (Item 5, “INFO. TO INITIATE EARLY DATA FORWARDING”), and pp0050, data is early-forwarded from the second network node 12-2 to the first network node 12-1, which then forwards it to the third network node 12-3). However, fails to explicitly teach wherein the indication of whether the source secondary node is to perform early data forwarding comprises a presence or absence of a parameter, and where the absence of the parameter or the parameter having a second value indicates that early data forwarding is not to be performed from the source secondary node to the target secondary node.
In an analogous field of endeavor, Zhang teaches the concept wherein the indication of whether the source secondary node is to perform early data forwarding comprises a presence or absence of a parameter (fig. 4, fig. 6, S405, pp0013, pp0014, the first message includes a cause value corresponding to an early data forwarding indicator and the first message further causes the SN to begin forwarding data, and pp0128), and where the absence of the parameter or the parameter having a second value indicates that early data forwarding is not to be performed from the source secondary node to the target secondary node. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Da Silva with the teachings of Zhang to achieve the goal of efficiently and reliably improving the mobility performance to meet the requirements for minimal interruption and high reliability in a communication system (Zhang, pp0088).
As to claim 5, Da Silva teaches the limitations of the independent claims as discussed above. However, fails to explicitly teach wherein the notification related to the conditional cell change initiated with the master node is transmitted to the source secondary node when the source secondary node is not configured with early data forwarding.
In an analogous field of endeavor, Zhang teaches the concept wherein the notification related to the conditional cell change initiated with the master node is transmitted to the source secondary node when the source secondary node is not configured (i.e. requested) with early data forwarding (fig. 4, fig. 6, S405, pp0013, pp0014, the first message includes a cause value corresponding to an early data forwarding indicator and the first message further causes the SN to begin forwarding data, and pp0128), and where the absence of the parameter or the parameter having a second value indicates that early data forwarding is not to be performed from the source secondary node to the target secondary node. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Da Silva with the teachings of Zhang to achieve the goal of efficiently and reliably improving the mobility performance to meet the requirements for minimal interruption and high reliability in a communication system (Zhang, pp0088).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-11 are 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.
Claims 23-30 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
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/OMONIYI OBAYANJU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
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