DETAILED ACTION
This Action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed on 7/9/2026. Claims 1-20 are still pending in the present application. This Action is made FINAL.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Abraham et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0310836)
Referring to Claim 1, Abraham et al. disclose a method comprising generating or sending a message, comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication node from a wireless communication device, a first radio resource configuration (RRC) message including: an indication that a successful handover report (SHR) is available at the wireless communication device (pars 174-176, UE indicates Inter RAT successful handover report is available), and an indication of a type of radio access technology (RAT) associated with the SHR (pars 174-176, Inter RAT report (information); Also, for voice fallback; Also, par 129, Inter-RAT SHR including EUTRA, etc); and receiving, by the wireless communication node from the wireless communication device, a second RRC message that comprises: the SHR and first information of at least one node that triggered the SHR (par 129, SHR, CellID).
Referring to Claim 2 as applied to Claim 1 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, wherein the first information comprises: an indication of the type of RAT associated with the SHR, or at least one of: a source cell global identity (CGI) of a handover associated with the SHR, a target cell global identity (CGI) of the handover, a source new generation radio access node (NG-RAN) node identifier (ID) or source enhanced nodeB (eNB) ID of the handover, a source tracking area (TA) of the handover, a target NG-RAN node ID or target eNB ID of the handover, a target TA of the handover, a triggered CGI of a cell which configured a trigger condition of the SHR that was met, or a triggered NG-RAN node ID or eNB ID associated with the cell which configured the trigger condition (par 129, CellID, etc).
Referring to Claim 3 as applied to Claim 1 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, comprising determining, by the wireless communication node, a first target node to which the SHR is to be transmitted, wherein the first target node is a source node or a target node of a handover associated with the SHR, or a triggered node associated with a cell which configured a trigger condition of the SHR that was met, according to the second information (par 116 and 129, SHR, threshold).
Referring to Claim 4 as applied to Claim 3 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, comprising sending, by the wireless communication node, an Xn application protocol (XnAP) message to the first target node, the XnAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 70, 73, 116, 129, SHR, Xn, identifier).
Referring to Claim 5 as applied to Claim 1 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, wherein the SHR is encoded according to a type of RAT of a node that configured at least one condition for triggering the SHR (pars 36, pars 174-176, information, fallback; EUTRA).
Referring to Claim 6 as applied to Claim 3 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, comprising sending, by the wireless communication node, a new generation application protocol (NGAP) message to a core network, for transmitting the SHR to the first target node through the core network, the NGAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 67 and 114, SHR, 5G NR, C-RNTI, etc).
Referring to Claim 7 as applied to Claim 6 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, wherein the core network sends to the first target node, at least one NGAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in LTE format, or 5G NR format; the C-RNTI; or the mobility information (pars 67 and 114, SHR, 5G NR, C-RNTI, etc).
Referring to Claim 8 as applied to Claim 3 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, wherein the wireless communication node or the first target node comprises a centralized unit (CU), and the CU sends to a distributed unit (DU) of the wireless communication node or the first target node, a F1 application protocol (FlAP) message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in LTE format, or 5G NR format; C-RNTI; or mobility information (pars 67, 70, 73, 114, 116, SHR, Xn, 5G NR, identifier).
Referring to Claim 9 as applied to Claim 3 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, comprising: sending, by the wireless communication node, an X2 application protocol (X2AP) message to the first target node, the X2AP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 67, 70, 73, 114, 116, SHR, Xn, 5G NR, identifier).
Referring to Claim 10 as applied to Claim 3 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, comprising: sending, by the wireless communication node, a Si application protocol (SlAP) message to a first core network of long term evolution (LTE), for transmitting the SHR to the first target node through the first core network and a second core network, the SlAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 67, 70, 73, 114, 116, SHR, 5G NR, identifier).
Referring to Claim 11 as applied to Claim 10 above, Abraham et al. disclose the method, wherein the second core network sends a new generation application protocol (NGAP) message to the first target node, the NGAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in LTE format, or 5G NR format; the C-RNTI; or the mobility information (pars 67, 70, 73, 114, 116, SHR, Xn, 5G NR, identifier).
Referring to Claim 12, Abraham et al. disclose a method, comprising: sending, by a wireless communication device to a wireless communication node, a first radio resource configuration (RRC) message including: an indication that a successful handover report (SHR) is available at the wireless communication device (pars 174-176, UE indicates Inter RAT successful handover report is available), and an indication of a type of radio access technology (RAT) associated with the SHR (pars 174-176, Inter RAT report (information); Also, for voice fallback; Also, par 129, Inter-RAT SHR including EUTRA, etc); and sending, by the wireless communication device to the wireless communication node, a second RRC message that comprises: the SHR and first information of at least one node that triggered the SHR (par 129, SHR, CellID).
Referring to Claim 13, Abraham et al. disclose a wireless communication device (pars 174-176, UE), comprising: at least one processor configured to: send, via a transmitter to a wireless communication node, a first radio resource configuration (RRC) message including: an indication that a successful handover report (SHR) is available at the wireless communication device (pars 174-176, UE indicates Inter RAT successful handover report is available), and an indication of a type of radio access technology (RAT) associated with the SHR (pars 174-176, Inter RAT report (information); Also, for voice fallback; Also, par 129, Inter-RAT SHR including EUTRA, etc); and send, via the transmitter to the wireless communication node, a second RRC message that comprises: the SHR and first information of at least one node that triggered the SHR (par 129, SHR, CellID).
Referring to Claim 14, Abraham et al. disclose a wireless communication node, comprising: at least one processor configured to: receive, via a receiver from a wireless communication device, a first radio resource configuration (RRC) message including: an indication that a successful handover report (SHR) is available at the wireless communication device (pars 174-176, UE indicates Inter RAT successful handover report is available), and an indication of a type of radio access technology (RAT) associated with the SHR (pars 174-176, Inter RAT report (information); Also, for voice fallback; Also, par 129, Inter-RAT SHR including EUTRA, etc); and receive, via the receiver from the wireless communication device, a second RRC message that comprises: the SHR and first information of at least one node that triggered the SHR (par 129, SHR, CellID).
Referring to Claim 15 as applied to Claim 14 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the first information comprises: an indication of the type of RAT associated with the SHR, or at least one of: a source cell global identity (CGI) of a handover associated with the SHR, a target cell global identity (CGI) of the handover, a source new generation radio access node (NG-RAN) node identifier (ID) or source enhanced nodeB (eNB) ID of the handover, a source tracking area (TA) of the handover, a target NG-RAN node ID or target eNB ID of the handover, a target TA of the handover, a triggered CGI of a cell which configured a trigger condition of the SHR that was met, or a triggered NG-RAN node ID or eNB ID associated with the cell which configured the trigger condition (par 129, CellID, etc.).
Referring to Claim 16 as applied to Claim 14 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the at least one processor configured to determine a first target node to which the SHR is to be transmitted, wherein the first target node is a source node or a target node of a handover associated with the SHR, or a triggered node associated with a cell which configured a trigger condition of the SHR that was met, according to the first information (par 116 and 129, SHR, threshold).
Referring to Claim 17 as applied to Claim 16 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the at least one processor configured to send, via a transmitter, an Xn application protocol (XnAP) message to the first target node, the XnAP message comprising at least one of:the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 70, 73, 114, 116, 129, SHR, Xn, identifier).
Referring to Claim 18 as applied to Claim 14 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the SHR is encoded according to a type of RAT of a node that configured at least one condition for triggering the SHR (pars 36, pars 174-176, information, fallback; EUTRA).
Referring to Claim 19 as applied to Claim 16 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the at least one processor configured to send, via a transmitter, a new generation application protocol (NGAP) message to a core network, for transmitting the SHR to the first target node through the core network, the NGAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in long term evolution (LTE) format, or 5G new radio (NR) format; a source cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI); or mobility information (pars 67 and 114, SHR, 5G NR, C-RNTI, etc).
Referring to Claim 20 as applied to Claim 19 above, Abraham et al. disclose the wireless communication node, wherein the core network sends to the first target node, at least one NGAP message comprising at least one of: the SHR, which is in LTE format, or 5G NR format; the C-RNTI; or the mobility information (pars 67 and 114, SHR, 5G NR, C-RNTI, etc).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/9/2026 have been fully considered but are
not persuasive.
Applicant argues on page 9 of the Remarks that the IN 202241038836 Document that Abraham et al. claim priority to does not disclose the citations as cited in the Office Action. Examiner respectfully disagrees. At least pars 47 and 75-77 of the IN Document and related disclosure show support for SHR and the related citations.
Applicant argues on page 10 that Abraham et al. does not disclose indication of type of RAT associated with SHR as claimed. Abraham et al. disclose in pars 174-176, Inter RAT report (information); Also, that it is for voice fallback; And further in par 129, Inter-RAT SHR including EUTRA, etc.
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 extension fee 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 SUHAIL KHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7187. The examiner can normally be reached on M-TH 8:30am-6:30pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rafael Perez-Gutierrez can be reached on 5712727915. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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.
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/Suhail Khan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2642
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