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.
Claims 1-4, 9-13 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Pub 2011/0256869) in view of Lee (US Pub 2010/0081433).
As of claims 1, 9, 10 and 18, An electronic device (via mobile device 100; see fig. 1) comprising:
a display (via mobile device 100 comprising a display; see figs. 1 and 7);
an input device (via touchscreen or other input control; see paragraphs [0067]-[0068]) ;
memory configured to store instructions (memory 750; see fig 7);
a first communication circuit configured to support cellular communication (via mobile device including communication subsystems 724 designed to operate over a GSM network, a GPRS network, an EDGE network, hence comprising a first communication circuit; see paragraph [0065]));
a second communication circuit configured to support direct communication (via communication subsystem including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, hence comprising a second communication circuit; see paragraph [0065]); and
at least one processor operatively connected to the display, the input device, the memory, the first communication circuit, and the second communication circuit (via processor(s) 704; see paragraph [0062]), wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the electronic device to:
based on an input related to a public land mobile network (PLMN) scan being detected through the input device, perform a network scan related to a cellular network through the first communication circuit (see paragraph [0031], “When mobile device 100 is turned on or enters an active mode, for example, when mobile device 100 exits an "airplane" mode in which communications functions are turned off, baseband subsystem 304 can be activated to seek a wireless communications network (e.g., a cellular network));
acquire network information related to the cellular network of at least one external electronic device through the direct communication using the second communication circuit, based on the input (see paragraph [0032], “Configuration manager 310 can submit a request to PAN communications subsystem 306 to seek assistance from peers (e.g., other mobile devices) that are located in the PAN… Upon receiving the request from configuration manager 310, PAN communications subsystem 306 can broadcast the request and receive network configuration information from various mobile devices);
generate a network list comprising at least one PLMN and at least one radio access technology (RAT), based on at least one of a result of the network scan or the network information related to the cellular network of the at least one external electronic device (see paragraph [0026] “mobile device 102 (external electronic device) can respond by sending network configuration information 202, which can include information on technology used by a first cellular network to which mobile device 102 is connected in a RAT identifier (e.g., "UMTS"). Configuration information 202 can also include an MNC of the network (e.g., "MNC 02"), and the most recently connected cell IDs of the cells (e.g., "cell ID 2" and "cell ID 3"); see fig. 2; also see paragraphs [0022] and [0027]-[0028]); and
With regards to the limitation of provide information related to the network list through the display (see paragraph [0034], “Upon identifying one or more network operators, configuration manager 310 can determine a search order by which baseband subsystem 304 can perform the search for a network…user-configured search order that specifies a user preference as to which network is to be searched first. In order for user to configure the search order the information will be displayed to the user). In order to support the Examiner’s assertion Lee discloses an electronic device providing information related to a network list through the display of the electronic device; see paragraph [0012]).
From the teaching of Lee, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to display the network list as taught by Lee in order to allow a user to select a network to connect.
As of claims 2 and 11, Zhang discloses that the network information related to the cellular network of the at least one external electronic device is acquired using a message of a non-connectable type received from the at least one external electronic device via the direct communication using the second communication circuit, and wherein the network information related to the cellular network of the at least one external electronic device comprises information about at least one of a PLMN of the at least one external electronic device, an RAT of the at least one external electronic device, a frequency band of the RAT, a frequency of a serving cell, a signal quality of the serving cell, or a signal quality of direct communication (see paragraphs [0025]-[0026], “Mobile device 100 can broadcast a request for peer-to-peer assistance for network search. In response to the request, mobile devices 102, 104, and 106 can each send network configuration information that contain different data fields. For example, mobile device 102 can respond by sending network configuration information 202, which can include information on technology used by a first cellular network to which mobile device 102 is connected in a RAT identifier”).
As of claims 3 and 12, Zhang discloses that the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the electronic device to: detect a PLMN related to an RAT or a frequency band determined to be supported by the first communication circuit among at least one PLMN included in the network information related to the cellular network of the at least one external electronic device; and generate the network list, based on the detected PLMN and a PLMN collected through the network scan (see paragraphs [0025]-[0026], “Mobile device 100 can broadcast a request for peer-to-peer assistance for network search. In response to the request, mobile devices 102, 104, and 106 can each send network configuration information that contain different data fields. For example, mobile device 102 can respond by sending network configuration information 202, which can include information on technology used by a first cellular network to which mobile device 102 is connected in a RAT identifier”).
As of claims 4 and 13, Zhang discloses that the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the electronic device to, based on there being a previously generated network list based on an input related to the PLMN scan, combine the network list generated based on the detected PLMN and the PLMN collected through the network scan and the previously generated network list into one network list (see fig. 2; also see paragraph [0028], “Mobile device 100 can store the information while performing a first search using the network configuration information 202 and 206 received from mobile devices 102 and 106, individually or in combination. If that search does not result in finding a network that can provide service, mobile device 100 can perform a second search using the stored information. If none of the received network configuration information can result in finding a network that can provide service, or if no assistance is received, mobile device 100 can perform the service using all technologies, bands, and frequencies”).
Claims 5-6 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Pub 2011/0256869) in view of Lee (US Pub 2010/0081433) and further in view of Chen (US Pub 2016/0345151).
As of claims 5 and 14, combination of Zhang and Lee discloses all the limitations of the claimed invention as mentioned in claim 1 above, however it does not explicitly disclose
that the at least one detected PLMN is arranged according to a predetermined priority, and wherein at least one PLMN collected through the direct communication is arranged in a random order among remaining PLMNs except for the at least one detected PLMN in the network list as claimed in claim 5.
Chen discloses that the at least one detected PLMN is arranged according to a predetermined priority, and wherein at least one PLMN collected through the direct communication is arranged in a random order among remaining PLMNs except for the at least one detected PLMN in the network list as claimed in claim 5 (see fig. 5; also see paragraph [0026]- [0034]).
From the teaching of Chen, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the combination of Zhang and Lee to include the function of prioritizing and ranking the PLMN as taught by Chen in order to perform the search strategy by prioritizing some networks over others.
As of claims 6 and 15, Chen discloses that the detect at least one PLMN corresponding to a home PLMN (HPLMN), a user PLMN, or an operator PLMN among PLMNs included in the network list; measure a signal quality related to at least one PLMN collected through the direct communication among remaining PLMNs except for the at least one detected PLMN in the network list; and classify the at least one PLMN collected through the direct communication among the remaining PLMNs into high quality signal PLMNs or low quality signal PLMNs, based on a signal quality of each PLMN, wherein the at least one detected PLMN is arranged according to a predetermined priority, wherein at least one PLMN classified as the high quality signal PLMNs is arranged in a random order, and wherein at least one PLMN classified as the low quality signal PLMNs is arranged based on the signal quality (see fig. 5; also paragraphs [0037]-[0050]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 and 16-17 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NABIL H SYED whose telephone number is (571)270-3028. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 M-F.
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/NABIL H SYED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686