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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments filed 6/19/2026 with respect to claims 1 and 11 have been considered but they are mooted in view of the new ground(s) of rejection as necessitated by Applicant’s amendments to the claims.
Applicant’s amendments to claims 1, 6, 11 and 16 to delete the term “dual active” overcome the rejection of the claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claims 1 – 20 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US Pub. No.: US 2020/0374773; hereinafter Zhang).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang discloses a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a first base station, a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including configuration information for a handover (see abstract, para. 0004, the UE configures a target protocol stack for a target gNB upon receiving a reconfiguration message from a source in a wireless network…where the reconfiguration message indicates to establish a new data radio bearer (DRB) for the target gNB); performing a random access procedure to a second base station based on the configuration information for the handover through a dual active protocol stack of the terminal for the second base station (see para. 0004, performs random access (RA) procedure and establishes RRC connection with the target gNB through the target protocol stack…para. 0026, 0028, the UE 103 contains a protocol stack for the target gNB); transmitting, to the second base station, uplink data after the random access procedure to the second base station is completed (see Fig. 7A, para. 0034, at step 733, syncs to the target gNB 703 and performs random access towards the target gNB 703,… at step 741, handover is complete and packet data is transmitted between the UE 701, source gNB 702 and target gNB 703); and receiving, from the first base station, downlink data until a connection to the first base station is released (see Fig. 7A, para. 0034, at step 752, packet data is transmitted between the UE 701 and source gNB 702 until the UE auto release with source at step 761).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang discloses wherein the dual active protocol stack of the terminal for the second base station comprises at least one of a physical layer entity, a medium access control (MAC) entity, or a radio link control (RLC) entity (see Fig. 1, para. 0004, 0026, 0028, the target protocol stack includes a PHY layer, a MAC layer, and a RLC layer).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang discloses a terminal for a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising: a transceiver; and a controller (see Fig. 1, UE 103 includes a transceiver 153 and a processor 152) configured to: receive, from a first base station via the transceiver, a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message including configuration information for a handover (see abstract, para. 0004, the UE configures a target protocol stack for a target gNB upon receiving a reconfiguration message from a source in a wireless network…where the reconfiguration message indicates to establish a new data radio bearer (DRB) for the target gNB), perform a random access procedure to a second base station based on the configuration information for the handover through a dual active protocol stack of the terminal for the second base station (see para. 0004, performs random access (RA) procedure and establishes RRC connection with the target gNB through the target protocol stack…para. 0026, 0028, the UE 103 contains a protocol stack for the target gNB), transmit, to the second base station via the transceiver, uplink data after the random access procedure to the second base station is completed (see Fig. 7A, para. 0034, at step 733, syncs to the target gNB 703 and performs random access towards the target gNB 703,… at step 741, handover is complete and packet data is transmitted between the UE 701, source gNB 702 and target gNB 703), and receive, from the first base station via the transceiver, downlink data until a connection to the first base station is released (see Fig. 7A, para. 0034, at step 752, packet data is transmitted between the UE 701 and source gNB 702 until the UE auto release with source at step 761).
Regarding claim 12, Zhang discloses wherein the dual active protocol stack of the terminal for the second base station comprises at least one of a physical layer entity, a medium access control (MAC) entity, or a radio link control (RLC) entity (see Fig. 1, para. 0004, 0026, 0028, the target protocol stack includes a PHY layer, a MAC layer, and a RLC layer).
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.
Claims 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US Pub. No.: US 2020/0374773; hereinafter Zhang) in view of Lee (Pub. No.: US 2014/0295868; hereinafter Lee).
Zhang does not disclose the claimed features as recited in claims 4 and 14.
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses wherein a medium access control (MAC) entity for the first base station is reset, in case that the terminal is configured to release the connection to the first base station, and wherein the receiving of the downlink data from the first base station is stopped, in case that the MAC entity for the first base station is reset (see para. 0075, 0128, …to release the RRC connection, which includes the release of the established radio bearers as well as all radio resources. E-UTRAN (e.g., eNB) initiates the RRC connection release procedure to a UE in RRC_CONNECTED, and transmits a RRC connection release message to the UE in RRC_CONNECTED. Upon leaving RRC_CONNECTED, the UE enters RRC_IDLE, resets a MAC, releases all radio resources…this also include releasing the connection to the base station).
Regarding claim 14, Lee discloses wherein a medium access control (MAC) entity for the first base station is reset, in case that the terminal is configured to release the connection to the first base station, and wherein the receiving of the downlink data from the first base station is stopped, in case that the MAC entity for the first base station is reset (see para. 0075, 0128, …to release the RRC connection, which includes the release of the established radio bearers as well as all radio resources. E-UTRAN (e.g., eNB) initiates the RRC connection release procedure to a UE in RRC_CONNECTED, and transmits a RRC connection release message to the UE in RRC_CONNECTED. Upon leaving RRC_CONNECTED, the UE enters RRC_IDLE, resets a MAC, releases all radio resources…this also include releasing the connection to the base station).
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Zhang, and have the features, as taught by Lee, in order to efficiently manage a communication connection, as discussed by Lee (para. 0004).
Allowable Subject Matter
The cited prior arts do not disclose the claimed features of “stopping reception of uplink data from the terminal upon completion of a random access procedure between the terminal and a second base station, wherein the random access procedure is performed based on the configuration information for the handover through a protocol stack of the terminal for the second base station” as recited in claims 6 and 16 when considering each claim individually as a whole.
Claims 6 – 10 and 16 – 20 are allowed.
Claims 3, 5, 13 and 15 are 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.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 Anh Ngoc M Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 270-5139. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kwang Bin Yao can be reached on ((571) 272-3182. 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 .
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.
/ANH NGOC M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473
Prosecution Insights