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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments regarding the 103 rejection have been considered and are moot because they do not apply to the new reference used in the current office action.
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) 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 16, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mise (US 20060057966) in view of Xu (20220295480).
Regarding claim 14, Mise discloses an electronic apparatus comprising:
a control module; and a communication module (fig. 13, a position detecting unit or control unit, and a transceiver unit or communication unit),
wherein the control module is configured to:
acquire location information and state information of the electronic apparatus (fig. 24, S901, [0031], acquires the current location from the PGS; fig. 12, acquire opening and closing degree or state of the electronic apparatus),
generate a control signal for functions being executed by the communication module based on at least one of the location information of the electronic apparatus and the state information of the electronic apparatus ([0134], the control unit 101 changes the setting of the cellular phone device 100, that is, such that that incoming call sound becomes silent or the supply of power to the cellular phone device stops (Step S403). The control unit 101 also changes the function of the cellular phone device 100 to a function corresponding to the setting after change (Step S404)), and transmit the control signal to the communication module ([0135], the cellular phone device 100 operates according to the changed function and setting (Step S405). Here, the operation that changing the incoming call sound to salient implicitly involves many interval steps/communication within the cell phone, such as the communication unit (or transceiver) within the cell phone receives the control signal (changing the setting of the phone) transmitted from the control unit and controls the incoming or received call sound); and
wherein the communication module is configured to: change the setting of a target function corresponding to the control signal based on the transmitted control signal ([0135], the cellular phone device 100 operates according to the changed function and setting (Step S405). Here, the operation that changing the incoming call sound to salient implicitly involves many interval steps/communication within the cell phone, such as the communication unit (or transceiver) within the cell phone receives the control signal (changing the setting of the phone) transmitted from the control unit and controls the incoming or received call sound),
wherein the control module is configured to generate a first control signal for functions executed by the communication module when the electronic apparatus is located within a target area based on the location information of the electronic apparatus ([0132], if it is determined that the current location is the conference room or the subway, the position change detecting unit 103 transmits the position change detection signal or a first control signal to the control unit).
Mise does not explicitly disclose transmit a setting completion signal of the target function to the control module,
wherein the first control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of:
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in a same radio access technology (RAT) as a RAT of the electronic apparatus,
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the same RAT,
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in another RAT than the RAT of the electronic apparatus,
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the another RAT,
an on/off item for a cell handover function,
an on/off item for a cell reselection function,
an item of a decoding period for paging,
an item for controlling a feedback value of physical channels.
Xu discloses transmit a setting completion signal of the target function to the control module (Xu, fig. 2, step 26a, transmit a handover completion message),
wherein the control module is configured to generate a first control signal for functions executed by the communication module when the electronic apparatus is located within a target area based on the location information of the electronic apparatus (Xu, fig. 2, generate a measurement report, based on location information; [0140-42]), wherein the first control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of:
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in a same radio access technology (RAT) as a RAT of the electronic apparatus (Xu, fig. 2, step 21, a measurement report, here, the position change signal taught by Mise can be replaced by the measurement report),
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the same RAT,
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in another RAT than the RAT of the electronic apparatus,
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the another RAT,
an on/off item for a cell handover function (Xu, fig. 2, step 21, a measurement report, here, the position change signal taught by Mise can be replaced by the measurement report/handover request),
an on/off item for a cell reselection function (Xu, fig. 2, step 21, a measurement report, here, the position change signal taught by Mise can be replaced by the measurement report/handover request/cell reselection),
an item of a decoding period for paging,
an item for controlling a feedback value of physical channels.
It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
These references establish a well-known request/acknowledge pattern in which a module, after acting on a control request, transmits an acknowledge/completion signal back to a controller. A person of skill in the art when implementing the location/state based control of a communication module as in Mise would have found it obvious to apply the same request/acknowledge pattern taught by Xu so that the communication module sends a completion/acknowledge signal to the control module once the requested function setting change is completed. The claimed “setting completion signal of the target function” is thus an obvious instance of such an acknowledge signal applied to function setting control.
Claim 1 and 10 are rejected similarly as claim 14.
Regarding claim 7, Mise and Xu disclose the AP of claim 1, wherein the location information of the AP comprises at least one of global positioning system (GPS) information (Mise, [0126]), cellular positioning system (CPS) information, and Wi-Fi positioning system (WPS) information.
Regarding claim 16, 3, Mise and Xu disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 14, wherein the control module is further configured to generate a second control signal for functions being executed by the communication module after identifying, based on the location information of the electronic apparatus, that the electronic apparatus is moving (Mise, fig. 24, determine if the current location has been changed to area that has been previously registered or visited, that is, the electronic apparatus is moving, S904, [0124][0200], when the cellular phone device is moved to a place).
Regarding claim 18, 5, Mise and Xu disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 16, wherein the control module is further configured to generate a third control signal for functions being executed by the communication module after identifying, based on wireless communication state information of the electronic apparatus, that the communication state of the electronic apparatus is an out of service state (Mise, fig. 14, the communication is not suitable or in out of service state, S404).
Claim(s) 4, 12, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mise in view of Xu further in view of Islam (US 20210314959).
Regarding claim 17, 4, 12, Mise and Xu disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 16,
Mise and Xu do not explicitly disclose wherein the second control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of:
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in a same radio access technology (RAT) as a RAT of the electronic apparatus,
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the same RAT
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in another RAT than the RAT of the electronic apparatus, and
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the another RAT.
Islam discloses wherein the second control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of:
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in a same radio access technology (RAT) as a RAT of the electronic apparatus,
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the same RAT (Islam, fig. 10, 1008, [0113]),
an on/off item for a measurement function of a neighboring cell in another RAT than the RAT of the electronic apparatus, and
an item of a measurement period and the number of measurements for the measurement function of the neighboring cell in the another RAT (Islam, fig. 10, 1008, [0113]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to combine the teachings as given by Mise with the teachings given by Islam. The motivation for doing so would have been to efficiently conduct measurements based on the network state.
It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
Claim(s) 6, 8, 13, 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mise in view of Xu further in view of Alam (US 20140194086).
Regarding claim 19, 6, 13, Mise and Xu disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 18,
Mise and Xu do not explicitly disclose wherein the third control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of a search period item and a search number item for a cell search function for each neighboring radio access technology (RAT) of the electronic apparatus.
Alam discloses wherein the third control signal comprises a control signal for at least one of a search period item and a search number item for a cell search function for each neighboring radio access technology (RAT) of the electronic apparatus (Alam, abstract, adaptive out-of-service search behavior by a wireless user equipment (UE) device. The UE may perform cellular communications according to a radio access technology (RAT), [0009][0072] [0084]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to combine the teachings as given by Mise with the teachings given by Alam. The motivation for doing so would have been to adaptively perform service scans in out-of-service scenarios in a manner that appropriately balances power consumption and battery concerns with device performance (Alam, [0006]). It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
Regarding claim 20, 8, Mise and Xu disclose the electronic apparatus of claim 18,
Mise and Xu do not explicitly disclose wherein the control module determines whether to transmit at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal to the communication module, based on remaining battery capacity information among pieces of the state information of the electronic apparatus.
Alam discloses wherein the control module determines whether to transmit at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal to the communication module, based on remaining battery capacity information among pieces of the state information of the electronic apparatus (Alam, abstract, the selected search algorithm may be chosen based on any or all of an estimated remaining battery life of the UE; [0009], any of various possible activity indicators might be considered (either individually or in combination with battery life considerations) to determine how aggressively to search for service in out-of-service conditions, [0072][0084]). It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to combine the teachings as given by Mise with the teachings given by Alam. The motivation for doing so would have been to adaptively perform service scans in out-of-service scenarios in a manner that appropriately balances power consumption and battery concerns with device performance (Alam, [0006]). It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mise in view of Xu further in view of Alam further in view of Zhou (US 20190278465).
Regarding claim 9, Mise, Xu and Alam disclose the AP of claim 8, wherein the AP is further configured to execute the at least one instruction not to generate at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal based on identifying that the remaining battery capacity information is greater than or equal to a threshold value (Alam, [0072], if the battery reserves of the UE 106 are above the battery level threshold (or possibly if the UE 106 is connected to an external power source such as a charging station), the UE 106 might implement a different ("second") search configuration. If desired, multiple such battery level thresholds may be defined, with each of multiple defined battery level ranges corresponding to different search configurations. Here, the second search configuration is different from the first search configuration, and could be doing nothing) , and
wherein the AP is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to generate at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal based on identifying that the remaining battery capacity information is less than the threshold value (Alam, [0072], if the battery reserves of the UE 106 are below the battery level threshold (and possibly if the UE 106 is also not connected to an external power source such as a charging station), the UE 106 might implement one (a "first") search configuration).
Even though the second search configuration taught by Alam may include doing nothing Alam does not explicitly disclose wherein the AP is further configured to execute the at least one instruction not to generate at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal based on identifying that the remaining battery capacity information is greater than or equal to a threshold value.
Zhou discloses wherein the AP is further configured to execute the at least one instruction not to generate at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal based on identifying that the remaining battery capacity information is greater than or equal to a threshold value (Zhou, [0065], it is determined, by the determining module 204, that the remaining power ratio is higher than the first predefined threshold, the confirming module 202 would perform nothing),
Zhou also discloses wherein the AP is further configured to execute the at least one instruction to generate at least one of the first control signal, the second control signal, and the third control signal based on identifying that the remaining battery capacity information is less than the threshold value (Zhou, [0065], if the first predefined threshold is 30%, and the current remaining power ratio is 25%, then, the determining module 204 determines that the remaining power is lower than the first predefined threshold, the confirming module 202 determines the screen size information corresponding to the remaining power information. Here, one of the control signals can be related determining the screen size).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to combine the teachings as given by Alam with the teachings given by Zhou. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce power consumption and improve power-on time capability of the battery (Zhou, [0005]). It is noted that the applicant uses selective language in this claim and the examiner is only showing one of the claimed options.
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 ZHENSHENG ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1985. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00am-6:00pm.
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, Michael Thier can be reached at 571-272-2832. 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.
/ZHENSHENG ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474
Prosecution Insights