CTNF 18/657,271 CTNF 86380 DETAILED ACTION This communication is response to the application filed 05/07/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination. 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. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/07/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1, 12, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2025/0203706 to WU et al. (hereafter Wu) in view of US 9,749,959 to Graham (hereafter Graham) . Regarding claim 1 , Wu discloses a method comprising: obtaining connectivity criteria for each of a plurality of user equipment (UEs) connected to a radio access network comprising a plurality of radio base stations (see Wu, ¶ 0008: receiving a system information block (SIB) from a network node of a wireless network. The SIB indicates at least one cell-specific discontinuous reception (DRX) parameter set; ¶ 0021: a radio access network (e.g., 5G NR access network) may include a plurality of base stations (BSs) (e.g., Next Generation Node-Bs (gNBs)) to communicate with a plurality of mobile stations referred as UEs ….. the BS may be configured with an energy saving mechanism, which can trigger the BS to transit into a sleep mode/power saving mode (e.g., SM1-SM4 depending on traffic, cycles/periodicities, and default settings, etc.) when the BS has no or low transmission/activity with one or more UEs; ¶ 0023: the radio access network includes at least one BS serving two UEs (e.g., a UE1 and a UE2) and provides services for a frequent traffic (e.g., the VoIP)); determining that at least one radio base station of the plurality of radio base stations can be placed in a low power operating mode based, at least in part, on the connectivity criteria of one or more user equipment connected to the at least one radio base station (see Wu, ¶ 0008: receiving a system information block (SIB) from a network node of a wireless network. The SIB indicates at least one cell-specific discontinuous reception (DRX) parameter set; ¶ 0021: Based on current network implementations, the BS may be configured with an energy saving mechanism, which can trigger the BS to transit into a sleep mode/power saving mode (e.g., SM1-SM4 depending on traffic, cycles/periodicities, and default settings, etc.) when the BS has no or low transmission/activity with one or more UEs. In one example, transmission/activity between the UE and the BS may be a bursting traffic (e.g., a video stream), a sparse and light traffic (e.g., an instant message), or a frequent traffic (e.g., a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP))); and causing the at least one radio base station to enter into the low power operating mode (see Wu, ¶ 0021: Based on current network implementations, the BS may be configured with an energy saving mechanism, which can trigger the BS to transit into a sleep mode/power saving mode (e.g., SM1-SM4 depending on traffic, cycles/periodicities, and default settings, etc.) when the BS has no or low transmission/activity with one or more UEs; ¶ 0023: BS to switch into a sleep mode). Wu discloses receiving system information block (see Wu, ¶ 0008) and placing radio base station in a low power operating mode depending on traffic, cycles/periodicities, and default settings (which is interpreted as connectivity criteria) (see Wu, ¶ 0021), thus, Wu implicitly disclose receiving connectivity criteria. However, Graham discloses obtaining connectivity criteria for each of a plurality of user equipment (UEs) and determining that at least one radio base station of the plurality of radio base stations can be placed in a low power operating mode based, at least in part, on the connectivity criteria of one or more user equipment (see Graham, Col 2 lines 16-27: a control mechanism configured to output a control signal based on the location of the one or more network users, the control signal controlling an operational state of a plurality of wireless access points associated with the network based on the location of at least one of the network users; wherein each of the plurality of wireless access points in response to receipt of the control signal takes an action to perform one of powering down, powering up, reducing an amount of power consumption, increasing an amount of power consumption, and maintaining an amount of power consumption; Col 2 lines 54-58: The network device comprises a monitoring mechanism configured to monitor one or more wireless connectivity parameters of the network at a selected sampling rate to detect a change in a number of wireless network users; Col 3 lines 28-33: determining one or more operational parameters of one or more network devices and associated functions, managing power consumption of a selected one or more of the network devices based on the one or more operational parameters of the one or more network devices and associated functions; Col 6 lines 9-15: After one or more operational characteristics have been determined, the power consumption of the device can be managed as seen in step 120 of FIG. 1. Managing the power consumption of the network device may involve powering off the device, powering on the device, placing the device in a cold, warm, or hot standby state, reducing power to the device; Col 7 lines 24-26: This may include powering down a network device to conserve power or placing the device in a reduced power mode). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve means of managing the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network. In this manner, power consumption and security issues can be minimized when there is low demand on the network by powering down or deactivating network devices that are not required to provide connectivity (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 2 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein determining that the at least one radio base station can be placed in the low power operating mode comprises determining, based on the connectivity criteria for each UE that is connected to the at least one radio base station, that each UE that is connected to the at least one radio base station can be disconnected from the radio access network during the low power operating mode. However, Graham discloses wherein determining that the at least one radio base station can be placed in the low power operating mode comprises determining, based on the connectivity criteria for each UE that is connected to the at least one radio base station, that each UE that is connected to the at least one radio base station can be disconnected from the radio access network during the low power operating mode (see Graham, Col 2, lines 5-12: determining a location of one or more network users; controlling a state of a first wireless access point associated with the network based on the location of at least one of the network users; and powering down a second wireless access point having no users associated therewith; Col 3 lines 6-13: sampling one or more network parameters; determining from the one or more network parameters a change in a number of wireless network users; controlling an operational characteristic of the network based on the change in the number of wireless network users; and powering off another network device associated with the network; Col 4 lines 3-21: a mechanism for controlling power to at least a portion of the one or more network communication devices, a mechanism for determining at least one of an area of the network environment having redundant network access coverage and an area of the network environment having other redundant capability, and a mechanism for adjusting parameters of the one or more network communication devices to change at least one of the size of the area of the network environment having redundant network access coverage and the area of the network environment having other redundant capability, wherein the mechanism for controlling power to at least a portion of the one or more network communication devices takes an action to power off at least one of the communications devices based at least one of the area of the network environment having redundant network access coverage and the area of the network environment having other redundant capability; Col 7 lines 16-26). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient managing of the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 5 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein determining that the at least one radio base station can be placed in the low power operating mode is further based on: identifying one or more UEs that are connected to the at least one radio base station and that are required to be connected to the radio access network based on the connectivity criteria. However, Graham discloses wherein determining that the at least one radio base station can be placed in the low power operating mode is further based on: identifying one or more UEs that are connected to the at least one radio base station and that are required to be connected to the radio access network based on the connectivity criteria (see Graham, Col 7 lines 9-29: managing power of a network device providing wireless connectivity to a network. In this embodiment, the first step 310 involves determining one or more operational characteristic such as a state of wireless connectivity provided by the network. For example, one or more network traffic characteristics, RF power settings and/or antenna characteristics for each wireless connection to the network provided by the network device. The parameters of the wireless network or network device may then be adjusted based on the state of the wireless network in step 320. This may include moving wireless users or services, changing QOS requirements, stopping or starting the advertisement of services, altering the frequencies or channels of operation or otherwise altering services. In step 330 the power of the network device is managed based on the state of wireless connectivity. This may include powering down a network device to conserve power or placing the device in a reduced power mode. In embodiments where the wireless network includes several wireless devices, this process may be performed for each network device and/or the system as a whole for the coverage area. Alternately activity of step 320 may be performed after the activity of step 330. Other steps may added be to move wireless users or services, change QOS requirements, stop or start advertising services, alter frequencies or channels of operation or otherwise alter services of a single device, sets of devices or the entire system; Col 9 lines 63-67: monitor one or more wireless connectivity parameters of the network. In certain embodiments this involves sampling at a selected rate to detect a change in a number of wireless network users). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient managing of the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 6 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 5, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein causing the at least one radio base station to enter into the low power operating mode further comprises: causing the one or more UEs identified as being required to be connected to the radio access network to be handed over to a different radio base station and then causing the at least one radio base station to enter into the low power operating mode. However, Graham discloses wherein causing the at least one radio base station to enter into the low power operating mode further comprises: causing the one or more UEs identified as being required to be connected to the radio access network to be handed over to a different radio base station and then causing the at least one radio base station to enter into the low power operating mode (see Graham, Col 2 lines 7-12: determining a location of one or more network users; controlling a state of a first wireless access point associated with the network based on the location of at least one of the network users; and powering down a second wireless access point having no users associated therewith). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient managing of the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 7 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein placing the at least one radio base station in the low power operating mode is performed when a defined condition is satisfied, and wherein the defined condition comprises a session count of UEs in the radio access network satisfying a threshold value. However, Graham discloses wherein placing the at least one radio base station in the low power operating mode is performed when a defined condition is satisfied, and wherein the defined condition comprises a session count of UEs in the radio access network satisfying a threshold value (see Graham, Col 3 lines 5-13: sampling one or more network parameters; determining from the one or more network parameters a change in a number of wireless network users; controlling an operational characteristic of the network based on the change in the number of wireless network users; and powering off another network device associated with the network). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient managing of the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 8 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, wherein placing the at least one radio base station in the low power operating mode is performed when a defined condition is satisfied, and wherein the defined condition is based on historical trend data of UE activity in the radio access network (see Wu, ¶ 0021: Based on current network implementations, the BS may be configured with an energy saving mechanism, which can trigger the BS to transit into a sleep mode/power saving mode (e.g., SM1-SM4 depending on traffic, cycles/periodicities, and default settings, etc.) when the BS has no or low transmission/activity with one or more UEs). Regarding claim 11 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein the connectivity criteria indicates that a particular UE is required to be connected to the radio access network if a particular device is connected to the radio access network, and that the particular UE can be disconnected from the radio access network if the particular device is disconnected from the radio access network. However, Graham discloses wherein the connectivity criteria indicates that a particular UE is required to be connected to the radio access network if a particular device is connected to the radio access network, and that the particular UE can be disconnected from the radio access network if the particular device is disconnected from the radio access network (see Graham, Col 3 lines 5-13; Col 7 lines 15-26). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Graham and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient managing of the power for network devices depending on the level of connectivity required by the network (see Graham, Col 1 lines 36-42). Regarding claim 12, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a system claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 13, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Although phrased as a system claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 2. Regarding claim 16, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 5. Although phrased as a system claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 17, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 6. Although phrased as a system claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 6. Regarding claim 18, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer readable storage media claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 18, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 1. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer readable storage media claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 1. Regarding claim 19, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth in claim 2. Although phrased as a non-transitory computer readable storage media claim, the claim is nevertheless simple repetitions of the subject matter of claim 2 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Graham and further in view of US 2021/0235310 to MONAJEMI et al. (hereafter Monajemi) . Regarding claim 9 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 8, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the defined condition is determined using a machine learning model to analyze the historical trend data. However, Monajemi discloses wherein the defined condition is determined using a machine learning model to analyze the historical trend data (see Monajemi, ¶ 0047: the memory 420 can includes one or more of a machine learning model 423 to identify, based on historical conditions, when to manage access to the sleep mode, and a neighbor list 424 indicating which APs to share observed networking conditions with). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Monajemi and incorporate it into the system of Wu to achieve efficient sleep mode management in the communication system (see Monajemi, ¶ 0002) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Graham and further in view of WO 2016/005795 A1 to FRATTI, Marco et al. (hereafter Fratti) . Regarding claim 10 , Wu in view of Graham discloses the method of claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the connectivity criteria for each UE is obtained when each UE registers with a mobile core network via the radio access network. However, Fratti discloses wherein the connectivity criteria for each UE is obtained when each UE registers with a mobile core network via the radio access network (see Fratti, ¶ 0017). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the above teaching as taught by Fratti and incorporate it into the system of system of Wu to achieve flexible implementation of access control clients (see Fratti, ¶ 0004) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 3, 4, 14, 15, and 20 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 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2011/0300887 to Osterling discloses controlling cell activation in a radio communication network. US 2024/0031933 to Ioffe et al. discloses systems and methods for broadcasting wake-up signal to user equipment. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /RASHEED GIDADO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 2 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 3 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 4 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 5 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 6 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 7 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 8 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 9 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 10 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 11 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 12 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 13 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 14 Art Unit: 2464 Application/Control Number: 18/657,271 Page 15 Art Unit: 2464
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