CTNF 18/625,944 CTNF 90814 DETAILED ACTION 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-12, 17-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Gross et al (US20160218850) . Regarding claim 1 , the cited reference Gross discloses a device (Fig. 1) , comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations (Fig. 6 and ¶0079 discloses a processor 22 for processing information and executing instructions or operations) , the operations comprising: determining a quality of a communication path between a user equipment (UE) and a base station (¶0005 discloses a method may comprise predicting a link quality. ¶0060 discloses that the DL and UL measurements may be used to determine a link quality) , resulting in a determined quality; and based on the determined quality, controlling aggregation of one or more time division duplexing (TDD) carriers and one or more frequency division duplexing (FDD) carriers in an uplink (UL) (¶0078 discloses that determining a carrier aggregation to be used by the user equipment based on the predicted link quality and/or the uplink capacity) such that either the one or more TDD carriers or the one or more FDD carriers are selected for a Primary cell (Pcell) for the UE (¶0084 discloses that determines a primary cell for a user equipment based on the predicted link quality and/or the uplink capacity. The determining the primary cell comprises determining whether the user equipment should be served by a time-division-duplex carrier or by a frequency-division-duplex carrier) . Regarding claim 2 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 1. Gross further discloses the determining the quality involves an analysis of TDD downlink (DL) reference signal received power (RSRP), FDD DL RSRP, or both (¶0071 discloses that the TDD downlink quality may be determined based on the RSRQ (or RSRP) measurement) . Regarding claim 3 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 2. Gross further discloses the controlling the aggregation involves selecting the one or more TDD carriers for the Pcell based on the TDD DL RSRP being greater than or equal to a threshold or being greater than or equal to the FDD DL RSRP by more than a threshold amount (¶0070-¶0072 discloses that decisions are made relating to switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD… if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable… If the RSRQ (or RSRP) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD DL may be considered to be reliable) . Regarding claim 4 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 3. Gross further discloses the determining the quality further involves an additional analysis of a TDD DL reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a TDD DL signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), UL transmit power headroom, or an UL SINR estimate for the one or more TDD carriers (¶0070-¶0072 discloses that decisions are made relating to switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD… if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable… If the RSRQ (or RSRP) (TDD downlink quality) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD DL may be considered to be reliable) . Regarding claim 5 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 4. Gross further discloses the one or more TDD carriers are selected for the Pcell only if the additional analysis indicates that the TDD DL RSRQ, the TDD DL SINR, or the SINR estimate for the one or more TDD carriers is greater than or equal to a particular value (¶0070-¶0072 discloses that decisions are made relating to switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD… if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable… If the RSRQ (or RSRP) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD DL may be considered to be reliable) . Regarding claim 6 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 2. Gross further discloses the controlling the aggregation involves selecting the one or more FDD carriers for the Pcell based on the FDD DL RSRP being greater than or equal to a threshold or being greater than or equal to the TDD DL RSRP by more than a threshold amount (¶0070-¶0072 discloses that decisions are made relating to switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD… if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable… If the RSRQ (or RSRP) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD DL may be considered to be reliable) . Regarding claim 7 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 6. Gross further discloses the determining the quality further involves an additional analysis of an FDD DL RSRQ, an FDD DL SINR, or a SINR estimate for the one or more FDD carriers (¶0045 discloses that determine TDD UL capability from FDD carrier measurements by maintaining a historical/filtered set of measurements for both FDD and TDD carrier uplinks) . Regarding claim 8 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the one or more FDD carriers are selected for the Pcell only if the additional analysis indicates that the FDD DL RSRQ, the FDD DL SINR, or the SINR estimate for the one or more FDD carriers is greater than or equal to a particular value (¶0070-¶0072 discloses that decisions are made relating to switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD… if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable… If the RSRQ (or RSRP) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD DL may be considered to be reliable) . Regarding claim 9 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the controlling the aggregation involves selecting the one or more TDD carriers for the Pcell, and wherein the selecting causes the UE to allocate all or more than a threshold portion of transmit power resources for the one or more TDD carriers (¶0070 discloses that switching the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD, the difference in measured UL SINR when this switch occurs may be stored by the eNB. This stored difference in UL signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) (for any given UE), when the UE switches the UE's Pcell from FDD to TDD, may be filtered and used to predict the change in UL SINR when deciding whether to switch additional UEs P-cell from FDD to TDD . Estimated UL SINR (TDD) corresponds to Measured UL SINR (FDD)+ TDD_FDD_SINR_OFFSET , where TDD_FDD_SINR_OFFSET corresponds to the filtered historical value as defined above. With this method, if the Estimated UL SINR (TDD) is greater than or equal to a threshold, then the TDD UL may be considered reliable) . Regarding claim 10 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the controlling the aggregation involves selecting the one or more TDD carriers for the Pcell, and wherein the selecting causes the UE to allocate all or more than a threshold portion of transmit power resources for the one or more TDD carriers (¶0073 discloses that thresholds may be automatically adjusted to vector more UEs so that the FDD carrier acts as their P-cell and to utilize FDD and TDD carrier aggregation ) . Regarding claim 11 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the controlling the aggregation involves selecting the one or more FDD carriers for the Pcell, and wherein the selecting causes the UE to allocate all or more than a threshold portion of transmit power resources for the one or more FDD carriers (¶0073 discloses that thresholds may be automatically adjusted to vector more UEs so that the FDD carrier acts as their P-cell and to utilize FDD and TDD carrier aggregation ) . Regarding claim 12 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the one or more TDD carriers remain aggregated and active or enabled despite the UE allocating all or more than the threshold portion of the transmit power resources for the one or more FDD carriers (¶0073 discloses that thresholds may be automatically adjusted to vector more UEs so that the FDD carrier acts as their P-cell and to utilize FDD and TDD carrier aggregation ) . Regarding claim 17 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 7. Gross further discloses the one or more FDD carriers are in a lower frequency range than the one or more TDD carriers (¶0053 discloses that TDD spectrum 210 in higher frequency bands (e.g., 2.5 GHz or 3.5 GHz), and FDD spectrum 220 in lower frequency bands (e.g., 800 MHz or 1900 MHz)) . Regarding claim 18 , the cited reference Gross discloses a non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor (Fig. 6 illustrates an apparatus 10, the apparatus 10 can include a processor 22 for processing information and executing instructions or operations) , performing substantially the same features performed by the device of claim 1. Therefore, the claim is subject to the same rejection as claim 1. Regarding claim 20 , the claim is drawn to a method performing substantially the same features performed by the device of claim 1. Therefore, the claim is subject to the same rejection as claim 1 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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 of this title, 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross et al (US20160218850), in view of Barbieri et al (US20130121272) . Regarding claim 13 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 1. Gross further discloses in ¶0065 that link quality may be determined via measurement of… a channel quality indicator (CQI) for the TDD carrier(s). However, Gross does not explicitly teach determining the quality involves an analysis of throughput associated with the one or more TDD carriers, throughput associated with the one or more FDD carriers, or both. In an analogous art Barbieri teaches determining the quality involves an analysis of throughput associated with the one or more TDD carriers, throughput associated with the one or more FDD carriers, or both (¶0080 discloses compute the predicted data rate (i.e., throughput ) based on the channel quality metrics where ¶0079 discloses that channel quality metrics (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, or CQI )) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the method of Barbieri where the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) provide the maximum achievable throughput to optimize data transmission. A higher CQI value indicates a better channel quality, which can lead to higher throughput. Regarding claims 14 and 15 , the combination of Gross and Barbieri discloses all limitations of claim 13. The subject matter of claims 14 and 15 are similar as the claims 3 and 6 respectively, the only difference between claims 14 and 15 and the claims 3 and 6 is that the quality involves an analysis of throughput as cited in claim 14 and 15 but and quality involves an analysis of RSRP as cited in claims 3 and 6. However, the cited reference Barbieri teaches in ¶0079 computing the predicted data rate (i.e., throughput) based on the channel quality metrics where ¶0079 discloses that channel quality metrics (e.g., RSRP ). Therefore, the claims are subject to the same rejection as claims 3 and 6 respectively . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross et al (US20160218850), in view of Chen et al (US20220095389) . Regarding claim 16 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 1. However, Gross does not explicitly teach the determined quality approximates a position of the UE relative to the base station, and wherein the position ranges from a determined cell center to a determined cell edge. In an analogous art Chen teaches the determined quality approximates a position of the UE relative to the base station, and wherein the position ranges from a determined cell center to a determined cell edge (¶0135 discloses that area level classification may be performed on locations of a cell served by the network device from the center to an edge… signal strengths of communication between the network device and the terminal are different. Generally, a location closer to the cell center indicates a stronger signal, and a location closer to the edge indicates larger signal fading) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the method of Chen to determine terminal location which improve resource utilization efficiency and reduce power consumption of a terminal . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gross et al (US20160218850), in view of Kuang et al (US20240323829) . Regarding claim 19 , the cited reference Gross discloses all limitations of claim 18. However, Gross does not explicitly teach when the conditions indicate that the UE is located at or within a threshold distance from a cell center, the causing comprises causing the one or more TDD UL carriers to be selected for the Pcell, and wherein, when the conditions indicate that the UE is located at a cell edge or at greater than the threshold distance from the cell center, the causing comprises causing the one or more FDD UL carriers to be selected for the Pcell. In an analogous art Kuang teaches when the conditions indicate that the UE is located at or within a threshold distance from a cell center, the causing comprises causing the one or more TDD UL carriers to be selected for the Pcell, and wherein, when the conditions indicate that the UE is located at a cell edge or at greater than the threshold distance from the cell center, the causing comprises causing the one or more FDD UL carriers to be selected for the Pcell (¶0078 discloses that Quality of the first downlink carrier is affected by a transmission distance, a transmission environment, and the like, and presents a decreasing trend as a distance between the terminal device and the network device increases. Consequently, the downlink channel quality of the first cell and the second cell decreases as the distance between the terminal device and the network device increases. Therefore, the terminal device may identify, based on the downlink channel quality of the first cell or the second cell, whether the terminal device is located in a central coverage region of the first downlink carrier or an edge coverage region of the first downlink carrier, and select, based on the area in which the terminal device is located, the first cell or the second cell for access. ¶0008 discloses that the terminal device selects the first cell or the second cell for access includes: The terminal device obtains downlink channel quality of the first cell or the second cell; and when the downlink channel quality is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, the terminal device selects the first cell for access, or when the downlink channel quality is less than a first threshold value, the terminal device selects the second cell for access. ¶0067-¶0068 discloses that the first cell includes a first downlink carrier and a first uplink carrier, and the second cell includes the first downlink carrier and a second uplink carrier… the band to which the first downlink carrier belongs is a TDD band, and the band to which the second uplink carrier belongs is an FDD band) . It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to incorporate the method of Kuang to help ensure communication quality of the terminal device . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDELILLAH ELMEJJARMI whose telephone number is (571)270-1656. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri: 8AM-5PM EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yemane Mesfin can be reached on (571)272-3927. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. Respectfully submitted, /ABDELILLAH ELMEJJARMI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 2 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 3 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 4 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 5 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 6 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 7 Art Unit: 2462 Application/Control Number: 18/625,944 Page 8 Art Unit: 2462
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