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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/29/2024, and 11/01/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 and 13 objected to because of the following informalities: “near-RT-RIC” , “RB” , “PRB”. Examiner suggest to add a full-form of abbreviation used. For example “near-RT-RIC” (Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller) and “RB” (resource block) .Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-17 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as failing to set forth 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.
Claim(s) 1 recite(s) ““state of the cell includes”. Based on the language on the language of claim(s) 1 it is unclear to the Examiner what the “state of the cell includes” correspond to . For example, is it mean that state of a cell including “a cell load and radio conditions for a plurality UEs... policies” ? or is it mean that “cellState” value indicating ““a cell load and radio conditions for a plurality UEs... policies” ?
Claim 5 recites the limitation "the DU" in line 3 claim 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim(s) 9 recite(s) “a cell state value“. Based on the language on the language of claim(s) 9 it is unclear to the Examiner what the “a cell state value ” correspond to . For example, is “a cell state value” a new value ? or is “a cell state value” is cellState in claim 1?
Claim(s) 9 recite(s) “the cell state“. Based on the language on the language of claim(s) 9 it is unclear to the Examiner what the “the cell state” correspond to . For example, is “the cell state” a value ? or is “the cell state” is state of a cell ?
Claim(s) 10 recite(s) “cell state values “. Based on the language on the language of claim(s) 10 it is unclear to the Examiner what the “cell state values” correspond to . For example, is “a cell state value” a new value ? or is “a cell state value” is cellState in claim 1? . Examiner are confuse If the mapping for cell state values here is for the two different cell-state in claim 9 or is it the mapping of cell sate defined in claim 1.
Claim 15 recites the limitation " each of a plurality of selected UEs ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Dependent claims 2-4, 6-8, 11-14, and 16-17 are rejected as being depend on rejected claim(s).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 9-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ranganath (US 20240259879 A1), hereinafter Ranganath in view of Maeder (US 20220400502 A1 ), hereinafter Maeder.
Regarding to claim 1,
Ranganath teaches A method for reducing interference effects in the absence of inter-cell coordination between gNBs over Xn interface comprising : determining, by a near-RT-RIC, an appropriate RB allocation policy from a plurality of RB allocation policies ([0065] The RRM xApps 423 provide RRM optimizations, which may include optimizations related to .... interference management... ) and ([0085] resource allocations 525 can be in the form of ... policies ... based on any type of inference to impact operational parameters of individual xApps 410) based on a cell state (cellState) value calculated from on a plurality of parameters, wherein the state of the cell includes a cell load and radio conditions for a plurality UEs, and ([0041 ] RT measurement data 315 include measurement data 315 that is used for analytics or other purposes that require live data between O-DUs 115/DUs 331 (e.g., gNB, ng-eNB, eNB, or the like) and UEs for one or more cells ... RT measurement data 315 includes radiofrequency (RF) health reports .... [0072] E2 measurement data 415 (e.g., the number of UEs, E2 KPMs such as radio resource utilization, measurements obtained per QoS flow, and/or the like) with platform telemetry to add to the aforementioned insights ... [0084] RM xApp 423 may be used to manage cell load of a group of cells provided by a set of RAN nodes.... based on a set of measurement data 415, ... a first RAN node in the set of RAN nodes is experiencing congestion or high user loads and a second RAN node in the set of RAN nodes is experiencing relatively low user/data volumes) and [0118]).
Ranganath does not explicitly teaches the plurality of RB allocation policies include at least one random RB allocation policy.
Maeder teaches the plurality of RB allocation policies include at least one random RB allocation policy. ([0107-0110] The parameters for the resource selection policy can be determined based on ... uniformly random choice .... weighted random choice ... random choice of K )
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Maeder to the teaching of Ranganath. The motivation for such an addition would be to have better interference cancellation (Maeder [0120]).
Regarding to claim 2,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 1,
Ranganath further teaches comprising: subscribing, by the near-RT-RIC, to receive a number of the plurality of the parameters from a E2 Node, the E2 Node being a DU or a CU. ([0150] ... (b) near-RT RIC 914 support functions, which include E2 Interface Management (e.g., E2 Setup, E2 Reset, Reporting of General Error Situations, and/or the like) ... A RIC service is a service provided by or on an E2 node to provide access to messages and measurements and/or enable control of the E2 node from the near-RT RIC 914..... [0174] E2 nodes (e.g., CU, DU, RU) ... [0208] periodic reporting of measurements subscribed from Near-RT RIC. ...E2SM-KPM set of services includes report services, which include: E2 node measurement; E2 node measurement for a single UE; condition-based UE-level E2 node measurement; common condition-based UE-level E2 node measurement; and E2 node measurements for multiple UEs.)
Regarding to claim 3,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 2,
Ranganath further teaches comprising: sending, by the near RT-RIC, an RIC event trigger for an RIC subscription procedure; and sending, in response to the RIC event trigger, the number of the plurality of the parameters from the E2 Node over an E2 interface to determine appropriate RB allocation policy. ([0177] xApps 410 may enhance the RRM capabilities of the near-RT RIC ... an xApp 410 may do ... make subscriptions via E2 interface to the RAN, receive E2 INDICATION messages from the RAN, and issue E2 POLICY and CONTROL messages to the RAN; and report metrics related to its own execution or observed RAN events)
Regarding to claim 4,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 3,
Ranganath further teaches comprising: implementing different time intervals for sending different parameters of the plurality of the parameters. (Fig. 5) and ([0075] During operation, the telemetry agent 520 collects, samples, or oversamples various telemetry data 515 in response to detecting one or more events/conditions or on a periodic basis (e.g., according to one or more timescales, and/or during one or more time periods or durations) ... [0208] condition-based UE-level E2 node measurement;)
Regarding to claim 5,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 1,
Ranganath further teaches wherein the plurality of parameters comprises one or more of: a Current RB allocation policy used (curRBAllocPolicy) including any one of the plurality RB allocation policies that are available for deployment at the DU; ([0066] The RRM functional allocation between the near-RT RIC 414 and the E2 node is subject to the capability of the E2 node exposed over the E2 interface by means of the E2 service model (E2SM) in order to support the use cases described in [O-RAN.WG1.Use-Cases]... [0174] E2 nodes (e.g., CU, DU, RU) ...) an Average SINR per RB based on the Current RB allocation policy (avgSinrPerRB), the average SINR per RB being calculated at the RAN when the current RB allocation policy is used; a Number of connected UEs in a cell (numConnUEs); a Number of active UEs in a cell (numActiveUEs), the numActiveUEs being the number of RRC connected UEs which have at least one LC/LCG whose Buffer Occupancy (BO) is non-zero; a Number of UEs in an overlapping area (numOverlapUEs) with other cells; and a RB utilization (rbUtilize), the rbUtilize being an average percentage of RB utilized in a slot.
Regarding to claim 6,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 5,
Ranganath further teaches wherein the parameters further comprise on or more of: the avgSinrPerRB includes a range having a minimum (minSinrPerRB) and a maximum (maxSinrPerRB); the Number of connected UEs in a cell (numConnUEs) includes a range having a minimum (minNumConnUEs) and a maximum (maxNumConnUEs); the Number of active UEs in a cell (numActiveUEs) includes a range having minimum minNumActiveUEs and a maximum maxNumActiveUEs, and wherein the maximum maxNumActiveUE equals the maxNumConnUEs (maxNumActiveUEs = maxNumConnUEs); the determining of the UEs that are in the overlapping cells (numOverlapUEs) includes determining a location of gNBs, a location of the UEs, and a cell radius; the numOverlapUEs includes a range having minimum minNumOverlapUEs and a maximum maxNumOverlapUEs; and a RB utilization (rbUtilize) includes a range of 0-100 (0,100). ([0072] E2 measurement data 415 (e.g., the number of UEs, E2 KPMs such as radio resource utilization, measurements obtained per QoS flow, and/or the like) )
Regarding to claim 7,
Claim 7 is rejected under the same reasoning as Claim 6, where it further limits unselected option.
Regarding to claim 9 ,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 1,
Ranganath does not explicitly teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation is deployed based on the cell state (cellState) value, and wherein the higher a cell state value of the cell state, the more favorable it is to employ a higher degree of randomization in the RB allocation policy.
Maeder teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation is deployed based on the cell state (cellState) value, and wherein the higher a cell state value of the cell state, the more favorable it is to employ a higher degree of randomization in the RB allocation policy. ([0110] (c) random choice of K out of N RBs (e.g., K≥1, replicas of the data are sent for increased reliability, or for increased throughput if successive interference cancellation is applied).)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Maeder to the teaching of Ranganath. The motivation for such an addition would be to have better interference cancellation (Maeder [0120]).
Regarding to claim 10,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 9,
Ranganath does not explicitly teaches further comprising a mapping of cell state values for the randomized RB allocation based on the cell state comprises includes a plurality cell state value ranges including a Low range and a High range.
Maeder teaches further comprising a mapping of cell state values for the randomized RB allocation based on the cell state comprises includes a plurality cell state value ranges including a Low range and a High range. ([0107] The parameters for the resource selection policy can be determined based on the same parameters as the pool dimensions, and according to the physical layer techniques used (e.g., whether interference cancellation is used or not). Example policies, assuming one time-frequency resource unit (e.g., a RB in one subframe) is sufficient to send the buffered data, include using one of the following non-limiting examples: [0108] a) uniformly random choice of one out of N RBs (where N is the number of RBs in the pool); or [0109] b) weighted random choice according to channel qualities ... [0110] c) random choice of K out of N RBs )
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Maeder to the teaching of Ranganath. The motivation for such an addition would be to have better interference cancellation (Maeder [0120]).
Regarding to claim 11,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 10,
Ranganath does not explicitly teaches wherein the plurality of cell state value ranges comprises the Low range of -> [0-0.33], a Mid range of -> [0.34-0.66], and the High range of -> High [0.67-1].
Maeder teaches wherein the plurality of cell state value ranges comprises the Low range of -> [0-0.33], a Mid range of -> [0.34-0.66], and the High range of -> High [0.67-1]. ([0107] The parameters for the resource selection policy can be determined based on the same parameters as the pool dimensions, and according to the physical layer techniques used (e.g., whether interference cancellation is used or not). Example policies, assuming one time-frequency resource unit (e.g., a RB in one subframe) is sufficient to send the buffered data, include using one of the following non-limiting examples: [0108] a) uniformly random choice of one out of N RBs (where N is the number of RBs in the pool); or [0109] b) weighted random choice according to channel qualities ... [0110] c) random choice of K out of N RBs )
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Maeder to the teaching of Ranganath. The motivation for such an addition would be to have better interference cancellation (Maeder [0120]).
Regarding to claim 12,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 9,
Ranganath further teaches wherein further comprising: when the parameters are received at the near RT RIC over the E2 interface, calculating the value of cell state; and mapping, by the near-RT RIC, the appropriate RB allocation policy based on the calculated value of the cell state. ([0074] The inputs, metrics/measurements, and/or KPM aspects used for calculating and enforcing dynamic xApp resource allocations and/or QoS within the near-RT RIC 414... [0092] In some examples, a second data tier (tier 2) involves data/KPIs that require near-real-time calculation and/or processing)
Claim(s) 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Ranganath and Maeder and further in view of Feng (US 20160330716 A1), hereinafter Feng.
Regarding to claim 13,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 9,
Ranganath does not explicitly teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation policy based on the cell state comprises: randomly choosing a starting PRB from a range of PRBs having a uniform distribution and a PRB minimum and a PRB maximum; continuously allocating the PRBs around the starting PRB; and randomly selecting the PRBs from the range of PRBs until a total required number of PRBs across all the UEs can be allocated.
Maeder teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation policy based on the cell state comprises: ... randomly selecting the PRBs from the range of PRBs until a total required number of PRBs across all the UEs can be allocated. ([0107] The parameters for the resource selection policy can be determined based on the same parameters as the pool dimensions, and according to the physical layer techniques used (e.g., whether interference cancellation is used or not). Example policies, assuming one time-frequency resource unit (e.g., a RB in one subframe) is sufficient to send the buffered data, include using one of the following non-limiting examples: [0108] a) uniformly random choice of one out of N RBs (where N is the number of RBs in the pool); or [0109] b) weighted random choice according to channel qualities ... [0110] c) random choice of K out of N RBs ).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Maeder to the teaching of Ranganath. The motivation for such an addition would be to have better interference cancellation (Maeder [0120]).
Ranganath and Maeder does not explicitly teaches randomly choosing a starting PRB from a range of PRBs having a uniform distribution and a PRB minimum and a PRB maximum; continuously allocating the PRBs around the starting PRB; and
Feng teaches randomly choosing a starting PRB from a range of PRBs having a uniform distribution and a PRB minimum and a PRB maximum; continuously allocating the PRBs around the starting PRB; and ([0006 -0007] randomly determining a resource block starting position allocated .... and allocating resource blocks ... from the starting position. )
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Feng to the teaching of Ranganath and Maeder. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce odds of mutual interference between resources ([0031] Feng )
Regarding to claim 14,
Ranganath and Maeder and Feng teaches The method of claim 13,
Ranganath and Maeder does not explicitly teaches wherein the continuous allocation of the PRBs around the starting PRB comprises selecting PRB(s) from the left or right of the starting PRB.
Feng teaches wherein the continuous allocation of the PRBs around the starting PRB comprises selecting PRB(s) from the left or right of the starting PRB. ([0006 -0007] randomly determining a resource block starting position allocated .... and allocating resource blocks ... from the starting position. )
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Feng to the teaching of Ranganath and Maeder. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce odds of mutual interference between resources ([0031] Feng )
Regarding to claim 15,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches The method of claim 9,
Ranganath and Maeder does not explicitly teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation policy based on the cell state comprises: choosing, for each of a plurality of selected UEs, a starting PRB between two available starting points for the PRBs; allocating the PRBs from either side of the two chosen starting PRBs; and continuously randomly allocating the PRBs from the sides of the two starting PRBs if there are more PRBs and UEs.
Feng teaches wherein the randomized RB allocation policy based on the cell state comprises: choosing, for each of a plurality of selected UEs, a starting PRB between two available starting points for the PRBs; allocating the PRBs from either side of the two chosen starting PRBs; and continuously randomly allocating the PRBs from the sides of the two starting PRBs if there are more PRBs and UEs. ([0006 -0007] randomly determining a resource block starting position allocated .... and allocating resource blocks ... from the starting position. ) ...
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Feng to the teaching of Ranganath and Maeder. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce odds of mutual interference between resources ([0031] Feng )
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Ranganath and Maeder and further in view of Yang (US 20250167956 A1), hereinafter Yang.
Regarding to claim 16,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches the method of claim 9,
Ranganath and Maeder does not explicitly teaches wherein the RB allocation policy based on the cell state is not random, and comprises: choosing a starting PRB from the beginning of an available bandwidth for the PRBs.
Yang teaches wherein the RB allocation policy based on the cell state is not random, and comprises: choosing a starting PRB from the beginning of an available bandwidth for the PRBs. ([0034] In particular, the starting PRB index, which increases with the time instance, associated to the small bandwidth transmission is determined)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Yang to the teaching of Ranganath and Maeder. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce the RS overhead ([0031] Yang ).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Ranganath and Maeder and further in view of Yang (US 20160103698 A1), hereinafter Yang3698.
Regarding to claim 17,
Ranganath and Maeder teaches the method of claim 10,
Ranganath and Maeder does not explicitly teaches comprising: determining, by the near-RT RIC if the selected RB Policy is currently being deployed, and if not, sending a control message to activate the selected RB policy.
Yang3698 further teaches comprising: determining, by the near-RT RIC if the selected RB Policy is currently being deployed, and if not, sending a control message to activate the selected RB policy. ([0010] In some embodiments, the event can include a request, the second policy can include a replication policy, and deploying the virtual machines and the virtual network functions can include replicating the virtual machines and the virtual network functions. In some embodiments, the event can include a failure, the second policy can include a relocation policy, and deploying the virtual machines and the virtual network functions can include relocating the virtual machines and the virtual network functions from failed hardware resources to the hardware resources.)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Yang3698 to the teaching of Ranganath and Maeder. The motivation for such an addition would be to reduce a possibility of site-level failover in the event that a virtual network function malfunctions. ([0071])
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The closest prior art, Ranganath and Maeder teaches method according to claim 5,
None of the prior art teach or fairly suggest the limitations of “wherein the cell state (cellState) value is calculated from the parameters as:
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” in combination with the other limitation of Claim 5. Although the other limitations are used in the art, none of the prior art of record teach or provide motivation to combine to reach a similar result.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VAN T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6178. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ayman A Abaza can be reached at (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VAN TA NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/YEE F LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
Prosecution Insights