DETAILED ACTION
The instant application having Application No. 18/660982 filed on 05/10/2024 is presented for examination by the examiner.
Claims 1-23 are pending.
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 . 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 for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection.
Priority
As required by M.P.E.P. 201.14(c), acknowledgement is made of applicant's claim for priority based on application filed on CHINA CN202111448983.1 (11/30/2021). Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments (see the Applicant's Remarks) with respect to the rejection(s) of
claims 1-23 have been fully considered and not persuasive. Examiner provides a new ground of rejections to address Applicant’s amendment/argument (See the updated claim rejections below.).
Allowable Subject Matters
Claims 3-6, 8-9, 12-15, 17-18 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 of this title, 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 1, 7, 10, 16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) in view of BYUN et al. (US 2016/0174149 A1) in view of HEO et al. (US 2013/0272132 A1).
As per claim 1, Tamaki discloses “A method, wherein the method is applied to a first apparatus and the method comprises:” as [(fig. 6.), SOURCE eNB 504.] “sending a first message to a second apparatus,” [(fig. 6 and par. 0085), the source eNB may consolidate and send all of the required information, including, for example, the WTRU-specific information for each WTRU in the group, in a single group handover request message 608.] “wherein the first message is usable to request to hand over a group of terminal apparatuses under the first apparatus to the second apparatus, and the group of terminal apparatuses includes one or more terminal apparatuses;” [(fig. 6 and par. 0085), the source eNB may consolidate and send all of the required information, including, for example, the WTRU-specific information for each WTRU in the group, in a single group handover request message 608.] “receiving a first response message from the second apparatus for the first message,” [(par. 0086), In response to receiving the group handover request message 608, the target eNB 506 may send a handover request acknowledgement message 610 (e.g., an X2 message) to the source eNB 504. The handover request acknowledgement message 610 may include all required information for all WTRUs in the group that are part of the handover procedure in a single message.] “wherein the first response message is usable to indicate that the one or more terminal apparatuses are allowed to be handed over to the second apparatus;” [(par. 0086), In response to receiving the group handover request message 608, the target eNB 506 may send a handover request acknowledgement message 610 (e.g., an X2 message) to the source eNB 504. The handover request acknowledgement message 610 may include all required information for all WTRUs in the group that are part of the handover procedure in a single message.] “sending a second message to the one or more terminal apparatuses, wherein the second message is usable to indicate the one or more terminal apparatuses to be handed over to the second apparatus;” [(par. 0089), The source eNB 504 may receive the group handover request acknowledgement message 610 and send the received handover information to the group of WTRUs 602 (612). In an embodiment, the received handover information may be sent to the group of WTRUs 602 via a common information RRC message on the PDCCH.]
Tamaki does not explicitly disclose “wherein the sending the second message includes multicasting the second message to the one or more terminal apparatuses, wherein the second message carries common configuration information to configure the one or more terminal apparatuses handed over to one or more cells of the second apparatus” and “after the one or more terminal apparatuses are handed over to the second apparatus, switching off one or more cells of the first apparatus”.
However, HEO discloses “wherein the sending the second message includes multicasting the second message to the one or more terminal apparatuses, wherein the second message carries common configuration information to configure the one or more terminal apparatuses handed over to one or more cells of the second apparatus” and “after the one or more terminal apparatuses are handed over to the second apparatus, switching off one or more cells of the first apparatus” as [(Claim 24), the reconfiguration message comprises a common handover command message sent to the plurality of UEs via multicast signaling, the common handover command providing parameters that are used to perform a handover for the plurality of UEs to the reconfigured set of transmission cells with the new Cell-ID.]
Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) and HEO et al. (US 2013/0272132 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate HEO’s teaching into Tamaki’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to improve flexibility with which wireless networks can self-optimize. (HEO, par. 0002-0004)
Furthermore, BYUN discloses “after the one or more terminal apparatuses are handed over to the second apparatus, switching off one or more cells of the first apparatus” as [(par. 0067), In this case, if a user equipment (or user equipments) being provided with services exists (or exist), the base station performs handover of the user equipment(s) to a LTE base station providing basic coverage (e.g., Cell A or Cell B of FIG. 3), and, then, switches to the Idle state after transmitting a message (Deactivation Message or Deactivation Indication) notifying switching to the Idle state to a neighboring base station.]
Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) and BYUN et al. (US 2016/0174149 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate BYUN’s teaching into Tamaki’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to reduce energy consumption of the base station. (BYUN, par. 0067)
As per claim 7, Tamaki in view of BYUN in view of HEO discloses “The method according to claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.]
BYUN discloses “further comprising: receiving a twelfth message sent by the second apparatus, wherein the twelfth message is usable to indicate the first apparatus to switch off the one or more cells” as [(par. 0067), In this case, if a user equipment (or user equipments) being provided with services exists (or exist), the base station performs handover of the user equipment(s) to a LTE base station providing basic coverage (e.g., Cell A or Cell B of FIG. 3), and, then, switches to the Idle state after transmitting a message (Deactivation Message or Deactivation Indication) notifying switching to the Idle state to a neighboring base station.]
Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) and BYUN et al. (US 2016/0174149 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate BYUN’s teaching into Tamaki’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to reduce energy consumption of the base station. (BYUN, par. 0067)
As per claims 10 and 16, as [see rejections of claims 1 and 7.]
As per claims 19, as [see rejection of claim 1.]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 of this title, 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 2, 11, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) in view of BYUN et al. (US 2016/0174149 A1) in view of HEO et al. (US 2013/0272132 A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 2015/0201356 A1).
As per claim 2, Tamaki in view of BYUN in view of HEO discloses “The method according to claim 1,” as [see rejection of claim 1.]
Tamaki in view of BYUN in view of HEO does not explicitly disclose “wherein the second message includes dedicated configuration information, the dedicated configuration information further includes one or more of the following: random access channel (RACH) configuration information of the one or more terminal apparatuses, or channel state information (CSI) or measurement configuration information of the one or more terminal apparatuses, and wherein the common configuration information includes one or more of the following: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration information, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration information, or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information”.
However, Wang discloses “wherein the second message includes dedicated configuration information, the dedicated configuration information further includes one or more of the following: random access channel (RACH) configuration information of the one or more terminal apparatuses, or channel state information (CSI) or measurement configuration information of the one or more terminal apparatuses,” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.] “and wherein the common configuration information includes one or more of the following: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration information, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration information, or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.]
Tamaki et al. (US 2012/0302240 A1) and Wang et al. (US 2015/0201356 A1) are analogous art because they are the same field of endeavor of network communication. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Wang’s teaching into Tamaki’s teaching. The motivation for making the above modification would be to improve efficiency when handling SFN during and after handover. (Wang, par. 0001-0006)
As per claims 11, as [see rejection of claim 2.]
As per claims 20, as [see rejection of claim 2.]
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2015/0201356 A1).
As per claim 21, Wang discloses “A method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, a first message sent by a first apparatus,” as [(par. 0046), The source eNB sends a handover command to the WTRU (step 308).] “wherein the first message indicates the terminal to be handed over to a second apparatus;” as [(par. 0046), The source eNB sends a handover command to the WTRU (step 308).] “wherein the first message carries common configuration information to configure the terminal handed over to one or more cells of the second apparatus;” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.] “and sending, by the terminal, a second message to the second apparatus, wherein the second message is used to request to be handed over to the second apparatus.” [(par. 0047), Upon receipt of the handover command, the WTRU detaches from the source cell and synchronizes to the target cell and sends a RACH access preamble to the target eNB. The target eNB sends a random access response with uplink allocation and timing advance value for the WTRU (step 312). The WTRU then sends a handover complete message to the target eNB (step 314).]
As per claim 22, Wang discloses “The method according to claim 21,” as [see rejection of claim 21.] “wherein the first message further comprises dedicated configuration information, the dedicated configuration information comprises one or more of the following: random access channel (RACH) configuration information of one or more terminal devices, or channel state information (CSI) or measurement configuration information of the one or more terminals,” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.] “and wherein the common configuration information comprises one or more of the following: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration information, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration information, or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.]
As per claim 23, Wang discloses “The method according to claim 21,” as [see rejection of claim 21.] “wherein the common configuration information comprises one or more of the following: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration information, physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)configuration information, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration information, or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration information;” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.] “and the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, dedicated configuration information sent by the first apparatus, wherein the dedicated configuration information comprises one or more of the following: random access channel (RACH) configuration information corresponding to the terminal, or channel state information (CSI) or measurement configuration information of the terminal” [(par. 0017), The cell-specific system information included in the handover command may be at least one of the following: (par. 0022), (5) RACH configuration: Information of dedicated preamble reserved for the WTRU in the target cell (validity timer of the dedicated preamble is provided for both synchronous and asynchronous networks). (par. 0025), (8) Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) reference signal sequence hopping. (par. 0026), Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) hopping.]
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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mang Hang Yeung whose telephone number is (571)-270-7319 The examiner can normally be reached on Mon through Th (9:00 am to 4:00pm EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rebecca Song can be reached on (571) 270-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MANG HANG YEUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2417
Prosecution Insights