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 .
Examiner’s Note
An examiner had reached an attorney of record for compact prosecution, but no agreement had been reached.
CLAIM INTERPRETATION
Independent claims 1, 51 and 52 (and dependent claims 2 – 9, 14 – 17, 31 – 33, 41 – 44, and 46 – 48) are interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C.112, sixth paragraph, because they use a generic placeholder “remote units” coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claims should be interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof. A review of the specification shows that the radio network 12 includes controllers 22, 24 and remote unites 26a-26i connected by an Ethernet network 28 (Fig. 1, paragraph 0092 of US PGPub: US 2024/0284442A1, Aug. 22, 2024), appears to be the corresponding structure for the "remote units".
Information Disclosure Statement
Applicant's Information Disclosure Statements, filed have been received, and entered into the record.
However, it is impractical for the Examiner to review the references thoroughly with the number of references cited in this case. By initializing each of the cited references on the accompanying 1449 forms, the Examiner is merely acknowledging the submission of the cited references and merely indicating that only a cursory review has been made of the cited references.
MPEP § 2004.13 states: It is desirable to avoid the submission of long lists of documents if it can be avoided. Eliminate clearly irrelevant and marginally pertinent cumulative information. If a long list is submitted, highlight those documents which have been specifically brought to applicant's attention and/or are known to be of most significance. See Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc., 359 F. Supp. 948, 175 USPQ 260 (S.D. Fla. 1972), aft’d, 479 F.2d 1338, 178 USPQ 577 (Sth Cir. 1973), cert, denied, 414 U.S. 874 (1974). But of. Molins PLC v. Textron Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 33 USPQ2d 1823 (Fed. Cir. 1995).
Further, it should be noted that an applicant's duty of disclosure of material and information is not satisfied by presenting a patent examiner with "a mountain of largely irrelevant material from which he is presumed to have been able, with his experience and with adequate time, to have found the critical [material]. It ignores the real world conditions under which examiners work." Rohm & Haas Co. v. Crystal Chemical co„ 722 F.2d 1556, 1573 [220 USPQ 289] (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. Denied, 469 U.S. 851 (1984). Patent applicant has a duty not just to disclose pertinent prior art references but to make a disclosure in such a way as not to "bury" it within other disclosures of less relevant prior art; see Golden Valley Microwave Foods Inc. v. Weaver Popcorn Co. Inc., 24 USPQ2d 180i (N~D. Ind. 1992); Molins PLC v. Textron Inc., 26 USPQ2d 1889, at 1899 (D.Del1992); Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc. et al., 175 USPQ 260, at 272 (S.D. FI. 1972).
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.
Regarding claims 1, 51 and 52, the phrase "path gains between it and each respective remote unit of the remote units" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
The phrase, - path gains between it and each respective remote unit of the remote units – being found in claims 1, 51 and 52. Here, the processing system performs operations comprising: estimating for each mobile devices, path gains between it and each respective remote unit of the remote units. It is unclear from the claim language “it” refers to which element – is “it” refers to the processing units, the remote unit of the remote units or mobile devices. This makes the claim language failing to particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
The priors made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicants disclosure.
Frenger US PGPub: US 2010/0203882 A1 Aug. 12, 2010.
Method and arrangements for managing inter-cell interference in a communications network, comprising a scheduler in each cell which controls a set of shared radio resources, said radio resources being at least near orthogonal to each other. The method comprises the steps of: obtaining (601) data representing path gain measurements, obtaining (602) data representing a cell specific resource price from one or several interfered base stations, combining (603) said information into a user specific resource price value for each radio resource, calculating (604) a user specific weighted channel quality indication value for each radio resource by combining a channel quality indication (CQI) information available for each given user with at least a product of said user specific resource price and the required transmit power for each user, and making (605) a scheduling decision based on said user specific weighted CQI values.
Hu US PGPub: US 2016/0277143 A1 Sep. 22, 2016.
A transmission mode switching method and a device. The method includes: monitoring, by user equipment UE, pilot signals sent by at least two nodes, where the pilot signals sent by the different nodes are different, and the pilot signals are used for differentiating the at least two nodes; and sending, by the UE, a physical layer measurement result report to a base station (NodeB) if the UE determines, according to the detected pilot signals, that measurement results of the pilot signals of the at least two nodes meet a preset trigger condition, so that the base station performs downlink transmission mode switching. In this way, a latency for downlink transmission mode switching is reduced.
The physical layer measurement result report includes at least one of the following information: information about a channel quality indicator, information about a path gain, information about the received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band (Ec/No), and information about a received signal code power.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1-9,14-17,31-33,35,41-44,46-48 and 51-52 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.
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/NIMESH PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
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