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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Applicant’s admitted prior art (USPN 20240334229) paragraphs [0002-0061] and FIGs. 1-7K, hereafter AAP, in view of NPL titled “Efficient Algorithm to Reduce Power Consumption for EUTRA-New Radio Dual Connectivity RAN Parameter Measurements in 5G” by Jha et al, IEEE Xplore 10/13/2020, and Marupaduga (USPN 11064372 B1).
Regarding claim 1, AAP discloses
a 4G network node configured to interact with a terminal node and a 5G node, the network node comprising: (eNB/4G node interacting with UE and SgNB/5G node [0002-0012], FIG. 1
a processor (processor, FIG. 3 #62, (column 14 lines 21-67)
a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions whereby the network node is operable to: (memory, FIG. 3 #64, coupled with processor and storing program instructions to be executed by processor to perform (column 14 lines 21-67)
receive, from the terminal node, a B1 measurement report which references a 5G new radio (NR) cell (MeNB receives B1 measurement report from UE which contains information regarding SgNB cell [0003-0005, 0013-0015, 0058], FIGs. 1-4
receive at least one of the following: consecutive SgNB addition request rejections associated with the 5G NR cell or a predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell (MeNB receives consecutive SCG failures associated with SgNB [0024, 0025, 0041]
AAP does not expressly disclose predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell; upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters; (1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report
Jha discloses predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell (predetermined number of SCG failures on NR cell (section III)
upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters: (after predetermined number of SGC failures, eNB transmits LTE RRC Reconfiguration message (Section III, FIG. 6)
(1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (fail timer with a pre-defined time of 5 seconds with NR frequency (Section III)
(2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report (block timer parameter represents a period of time UE not measuring NR frequency (Section III)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell; upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters; (1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report” as taught by Jha into AAP’s system with the motivation to reduce UE’s power consumption associated with 5G measurements (Jha, Sections I-II)
Combined system of AAP and Jha does not expressly disclose transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters:
Marupaduga discloses receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters 4G eNB transmitting RRC reconfiguration message to UE comprising multiple parameters (column 9 lines 24-43)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters” as taught by Marupaduga into combined system of AAP and Jha with the motivation to enable a 4G eNB to provide parameters to UE for implementation to connect to network in case of connection failure (Marupaduga, column 9 lines 24-43).
Regarding claim 5, AAP discloses
a method performed by a 4G network node which interacts with a terminal node and a 5G network node, the method comprising: (method performed by MeNB/4G node interacting with UE and SgNB/5G node [0002-0012], FIGs. 1-3
receiving, from the terminal node, a B1 measurement report which references a 5G new radio (NR) cell (MeNB receives B1 measurement report from UE which contains information regarding SgNB cell [0003-0005, 0013-0015, 0058], FIGs. 1-4
receiving at least one of the following: consecutive SgNB addition request rejections associated with the 5G NR cell or a predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell (MeNB receives consecutive SCG failures associated with SgNB [0024, 0025, 0041]
AAP does not expressly disclose predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell; upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters; (1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report
Jha discloses predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell (predetermined number of SCG failures on NR cell (section III)
upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters: (after predetermined number of SGC failures, eNB transmits LTE RRC Reconfiguration message (Section III, FIG. 6)
(1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (fail timer with a pre-defined time of 5 seconds with NR frequency (Section III)
(2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report (block timer parameter represents a period of time UE not measuring NR frequency (Section III)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell; upon receiving the predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures associated with the 5G NR cell, transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, at least two parameters; (1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell and (2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report” as taught by Jha into AAP’s system with the motivation to reduce UE’s power consumption associated with 5G measurements (Jha, Sections I-II)
Combined system of AAP and Jha does not expressly disclose transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters:
Marupaduga discloses receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters 4G eNB transmitting RRC reconfiguration message to UE comprising multiple parameters (column 9 lines 24-43)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “transmitting to the terminal node a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters” as taught by Marupaduga into combined system of AAP and Jha with the motivation to enable a 4G eNB to provide parameters to UE for implementation to connect to network in case of connection failure (Marupaduga, column 9 lines 24-43).
Regarding claims 2, 6, AAP discloses “the SgNB addition request rejections are received from the 5G network node in SgNBAdditionRequestReject messages; (SgNBAdditionRequestReject messages sent from SgNB to MeNB ([0013], FIG. 4
“and the SCG failures are received from the terminal node in RRC SCG FailureIndication messages” (SCG failures are provided by terminal in RRC SCG Failure Indication messages [0024], FIG. 3 #302
Regarding claims 4, 8, AAP discloses
the terminal node is an E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) User Equipment (UE); (terminal in dual connectivity with 4G and 5G nodes [0002], FIG. 1
the 4G network node is a Master eNodeB (MeNB); and, (enB being MeNB [0003], FIG. 1
the 5G network node is a SgNB (5G node being SgNB [0003], FIG. 1
Claims 9, 12, 14, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Jha in view of Marupaduga.
Regarding claim 9, Jha discloses
transmit to the 4G network node, a B1 measurement report which references a 5G New Radio (NR) cell (UE sends B1 measurement report to eNB which contains results for NR cell (Section III, FIGs. 2, 6)
receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message, least two parameters: (UE receives from eNB LTE RRC Reconfiguration message (Section III, FIG. 6)
(1) an offset value to be associated with the 5G NR cell has been associated with a predetermined number of consecutive SCG failures (fail timer with a pre-defined time of 5 seconds with NR frequency associated with predetermined number of SGC failures (Section III)
(2) a timer value indicating a period of time where the terminal node will not reference the 5G NR cell in a new B1 measurement report (block timer parameter represents a period of time UE not measuring NR frequency (Section III)
Jha does not expressly disclose receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters; a terminal node configured to interact with a 4G network node, the terminal node comprising: a processor; a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions whereby the network node is operable to
Marupaduga discloses a terminal node configured to interact with a 4G network node, the terminal node comprising: (UE interacting with 4G eNB and 5G eNB, comprising (column 3 lines 13-24)
a processor (processing unit, FIG. 4 #70, (column 15, lines 21-39)
a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions whereby the network node is operable to: (memory, FIG. 4 #72, coupled to processor and containing instructions to be executed by processor to perform (column 15, lines 21-39)
“receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters” 4G eNB transmitting RRC reconfiguration message to UE comprising multiple parameters (column 9 lines 24-43)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement “receive, from the 4G network node, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration message having at least two parameters; a terminal node configured to interact with a 4G network node, the terminal node comprising: a processor; a memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor interfaces with the memory to execute the processor-executable instructions whereby the network node is operable to” as taught by Marupaduga into Jha’s with the motivation to enable a 4G eNB to provide parameters to UE for implementation to connect to network for dual connectivity with gNB (Marupaduga, column 3 lines 13-24, column 9 lines 24-43).
Claim 14 is rejected based on similar ground(s) provided in claim 9.
Regarding claims 12, 17, Marupaduga discloses
the terminal node is an E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) User Equipment (UE); (UE in dual connectivity with 4G and 5G nodes (column 2 lines 59-67, column 3 lines 13-24)
the 4G network node is a Master eNodeB (MeNB); and, (enB being MeNB (column 3 lines 13-24)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pawar et al (USPN 11,051,186 B1) FIG. 1
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THAI NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7632. The examiner can normally be reached M-F campus 10:30-5pm, telework 6pm-8pm| Telework count days.
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, Ian N Moore can be reached at (571)272-3085. 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.
/THAI NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469