CTNF 18/646,151 CTNF 81189 DETAILED ACTION DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-20 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claims 1 and 11 recites “ one radio link protocol data unit has arrived at an empty layer 2 buffer of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell” and it is not clear how one radio link protocol data unit arriving at both primary cell and secondary cell. Is the same RLC PDU arrived at both the primary as well as secondar cells. Also it is not clear from where the RLC PDU has arrived. Regarding claim 12 , claim recites “start a new time” and is not sure whether this timer is different from the previously cited “start new timer” recited in claim 11. Claim also recites “report from a primary cell …has been received. Then the apparatus has to be different from primary cell. However, claim 11 recites determining one radio link protocol data unit has arrived at an empty layer 2 buffer of a primary cell and at least one secondary cell. It is not clear how the apparatus of the claim 12, determines the arrival of RLC PDU at the buffer of primary cell. Also it is not clear what applicant is referring to as “ low buffer of primary cell”. Also, it is not clear from where the one radio link protocol data unit has arrived(uplink or downlink). Also the acronyms must be explicitly defined at the first occurrence. The dependent claim also rejected since it depends on rejected independent claims that are vague and indefinite. 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, 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) 1, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2023/13/0100939) and Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2021/0176772) . Regarding claim 1 , Zhang teaches an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine whether at least one radio link control protocol data unit has arrived at an empty layer 2 low buffer of a primary cell and at least one related secondary cell; upon determining that the at least one radio link control protocol data unit has arrived at the empty layer 2 low buffer of the primary cell and at least one related secondary cell(P[0247-0248], macro base station may obtain downlink data; Fig. 14, items 1402-1404; item 1401, RLC PDUs of a macro base station; also RLC PDUs at micro base station(secondary cell); P[0183], sending end may also include a transmission buffer). Zhang did not teach specifically start at least one new burst. However, Kollar teaches in an analogous art start at least one new burst(P[0106], start of a new burst). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to start at least one new burst in order to have improved monitoring. Zhang in view of Kollar did not teach specifically determine whether at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received. However, Kuo teaches in an analogous art determine whether at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received(P[0051], PDU session ID list in measurements; P[0032], measurements report transmitted). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine whether at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received in order to have improved efficiency. Regarding claim 7, Zhang teaches the apparatus, wherein the determining is performed at a layer 2 medium access control(P[00114], RLC PDUs to processing MAC layer) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2023/13/0100939), Kuo et al. (hereinafter Kuo)(US 2026/0040117) and Wang et al. (hereinafter Wang)(US 2023/0276457) . Regarding claim 2 , Zhang in view of Kollar and Kuo did not teach specifically wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received, determine whether the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one. However, Wang teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received, determine whether the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one (P[0114], no non-overlapping has been received then starts timer 2). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report determining layer 2 low burst comprising at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit from a list of primary cell or related secondary cell layer 2 low instances has been received, determine whether the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one in order to have improved latency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2023/13/0100939), Kuo et al. (hereinafter Kuo)(US 2026/0040117) and Kun et al. (hereinafter Kun)(US 2004/0203971) . Regarding claim 3 , Zhang in view of Kollar and Kuo did not teach specifically wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one, continue counting the new burst. However, Kun teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one, continue counting the new burst (P[0006], how many time rollover (overlap) detected in the sequence numbers of transmitted RLC PDUs). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previous one, continue counting the new burst in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2023/13/0100939), Kuo et al. (hereinafter Kuo)(US 2026/0040117) and Morris et al. (hereinafter Morris)(US 2023/0071391) . Regarding claim 4 , Zhang in view of Kollar and Kuo did not teach specifically wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previous one, consider the new burst as having ended. However, Morris teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previous one, consider the new burst as having ended(abstract, does not overlap in time with the previous transmission; refraining from transmitting the non-overlapping portion). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previous one, consider the new burst as having ended in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kollar et al. (hereinafter Kollar)(US 2023/13/0100939), Kuo et al. (hereinafter Kuo)(US 2026/0040117) and Ramachandra et al. (hereinafter Ramachandra)(US 2023/0039192) . Regarding claim 5 , Zhang in view of Kollar and Kuo did not teach specifically, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the new burst, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports as a volume of the new burst. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the new burst, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports as a volume of the new burst. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art (P[0087-0092]). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the new burst, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports as a volume of the new burst. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art in order to have improved efficiency. Regarding claim 6 , Zhang in view of Kollar and Kuo did not teach specifically wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the burst, determine a burst duration according to a point in time of the last layer 2 low burst end minus the start of the new burst. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the burst, determine a burst duration according to a point in time of the last layer 2 low burst end minus the start of the new burst (P[0087-0092]). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining the end of the burst, determine a burst duration according to a point in time of the last layer 2 low burst end minus the start of the new burst in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) and Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang-1)(US 2023/0156847) . Regarding claim 8, Zhang teaches a method comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine determining whether at least one radio link control protocol data unit has arrived at an empty layer 2 low buffer; upon determining that the at least one radio link control protocol data unit has arrived at the empty layer 2 low buffer (P[0247-0248], macro base station may obtain downlink data; Fig. 14, items 1402-1404; item 1401, RLC PDUs of a macro base station; also RLC PDUs at micro base station(secondary cell); P[0183], sending end may also include a transmission buffer). Zhang did not teach specifically start at least one new burst. However, Kim teaches in an analogous art start at least one new burst(abstract, timer is started after transmitting first RLC PDU). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to start at least one new burst in order to have improved monitoring. Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically determine determining whether the layer 2 low buffer is not empty. However, Zhang-1 teaches in an analogous art determine determining whether the layer 2 low buffer is not empty(item 1103 in Fig. 11). ). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to determine whether the layer 2 low buffer is not empty in order to have improved efficiency. Regarding claim 9, Zhang-1 teaches the method of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: including, upon determining the layer 2 low burst is empty, provide providing reporting to a layer 2 radio link configured to determine at least one of layer 2 low burst duration, at least one identifier, and at least one of an identifier of the at least one radio link control protocol data unit and related volume(item 1103 and item 1131 reports BSR in Fig. 11). Regarding claim 10, Zhang-1 teaches the method of claim 9, wherein the determining is performed at a layer 2 medium access control(abstract, MAC PDU) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 11, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) . Regarding claim 11, Zhang teaches an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine whether at least one radio link control protocol data unit has arrived at an empty layer 2 low buffer of a primary cell and at least one related secondary cell(P[0247-0248], macro base station may obtain downlink data; Fig. 14, items 1402-1404; item 1401, RLC PDUs of a macro base station; also RLC PDUs at micro base station(secondary cell); P[0183], sending end may also include a transmission buffer). Zhang did not teach specifically start at least one new burst; and start at least one timer. However, Kim teaches in an analogous art start at least one new burst; and start at least one timer(abstract, timer is started after transmitting first RLC PDU). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to start at least one new burst; and start at least one timer in order to have improved monitoring. Regarding claim 17, Zhang teaches the method , wherein the determining is performed at a layer 2 medium access control(P[00114], RLC PDUs to processing MAC layer) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) and Wang et al. (hereinafter Wang)(US 2023/0276457) . Regarding claim 12 , Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report from a primary cell or any related secondary cell layer 2 low instance has been received within the at least one timer, determine whether a reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst and start at least one timer. However, Wang teaches in an analogous art upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report from a primary cell or any related secondary cell layer 2 low instance has been received within the at least one timer, determine whether a reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst and start at least one timer(P[0114], no non-overlapping has been received then starts timer 2). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention upon determining that at least one layer 2 low report from a primary cell or any related secondary cell layer 2 low instance has been received within the at least one timer, determine whether a reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst and start at least one timer in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) and Kun et al. (hereinafter Kun)(US 2004/0203971) . Regarding claim 13 , Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst, count the new burst. However, Kun teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst, count the new burst(P[0006], how many time rollover (overlap) detected in the sequence numbers of transmitted RLC PDUs). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst overlaps in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst, count the new burst in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) and Morris et al. (hereinafter Morris)(US 2023/0071391) . Regarding claim 14, Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst or that no layer 2 low burst report has been received within the timer, consider that the new burst has ended. However, Morris teaches in an analogous art upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previously reported burst or that no burst report has been received within the timer, consider that the new burst has ended(abstract, does not overlap in time with the previous transmission; refraining from transmitting the non-overlapping portion). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to upon determining that the reported layer 2 low burst does not overlap in time domain with a previously reported layer 2 low burst or that no layer 2 low burst report has been received within the timer, consider that the new burst has ended in order to have improved efficiency . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang)(US 2015/0244429) in view of Kim et al. (hereinafter Kim)(US 2013/0100939) and Ramachandra et al. (hereinafter Ramachandra)(US 2023/0039192) . Regarding claim 15 , Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically upon determining that the new burst has ended, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports to determine a volume of the new burst. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art wherein the at least one memory and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to: upon determining that the new burst has ended, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports to determine a volume of the new burst(P[0087-0092]). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to upon determining that the new burst has ended, sum a volume of all reported layer 2 low reports to determine a volume of the new burst in order to have improved efficiency. Regarding claim 16 , Zhang in view of Kim did not teach specifically upon determining that the new burst has ended, subtract a point in time of a last layer 2 low report end from a start of a new burst to determine a new burst duration. However, Ramachandra teaches in an analogous art upon determining that the new burst has ended, subtract a point in time of a last layer 2 low report end from a start of a new burst to determine a new burst duration(P[0087-0092]). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to upon determining that the new burst has ended, subtract a point in time of a last layer 2 low report end from a start of a new burst to determine a new burst duration in order to have improved efficiency. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUTHUSWAMY GANAPATHY MANOHARAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5515. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30am-3:00pm. 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, Alison T Slater can be reached at 571-270-0375. 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. /MUTHUSWAMY G MANOHARAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 2 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 3 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 4 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 5 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 6 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 7 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 8 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 9 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 10 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 11 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 12 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 13 Art Unit: 2647 Application/Control Number: 18/646,151 Page 14 Art Unit: 2647
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