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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicants' amendment received on 06/02/2026.
Claim Status
Claims 1-20 are currently presenting for examination.
This action has been made FINAL.
Response to Arguments
Applicants' arguments filed 06/02/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claim 1 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 is indefinite because of the following reasons:
For claim 1, since there are two “at least one processor” mentioned (one for the IAB donor and one for the IAB node), it’s unclear which of these two “at least one processor” the phrase “the at least one processor” refers to.
Similarly, since there are two “a set of instructions” (one for the IAB donor and one for the IAB node), it’s unclear which of these two “a set of instructions” the phrase “the instructions” refers to.
To resolve the issues, Examiner recommends Applicants to amend claim 1 as follow:
1. A communication system including at least an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor connectable to a network, and an IAB node that is connected to the IAB donor and relays communication between a User Equipment (UE) and the IAB donor, wherein
the IAB donor comprises:
at least one memory that stores a set of instructions; and
at least one processor that executes the set of instructions, the set of instructions, when executed, causing the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
transmitting, in a case where relay processing by the IAB donor is scheduled to stop and in response to a time up to a scheduled time of stop of the relay processing becoming equal to or less than a predetermined time, to the IAB node as a destination, a message concerning stop of relay[[,]];
wherein the IAB node comprises:
at least one second memory that stores a second set of instructions; and
at least one second processor that executes the second set of instructions, the second set of instructions, when executed, causing the at least one second processor to perform operations comprising:
executing, based on reception of the message, processing for connection to another IAB donor connectable to the network before the IAB donor stops relay, and
the message concerning stop of the relay is different from a message that notifies a Backhaul Radio Link Failure (BH RLF).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-20 are allowed.
Claim 1 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KHOA B HUYNH whose telephone number is (571)270-7185. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 1:00 PM - 9:35 PM.
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, Yemane Mesfin can be reached at (571) 272-3927. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KHOA HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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