DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on July 6, 2024. Claims 5-10 and 12-20 have been canceled. New claims 22-35 have been added. Claims 1-4, 11, and 21-35 are pending in the application.
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 .
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, 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 1-4, 11, and 21-29, and 31-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong et al. (US 2024/0196248) in view of Liu et al. (US 2024/0188175).
Regarding Claim 1, Jeong teaches a wireless communication method, comprising:
receiving, by a wireless communication node from a network, a first message including a configuration for a Quality of Experience (QoE) (“a base station (or next-generation random access network (NG-RAN)) 1F) 1f-15” – See [0099]; “In operation 1f-35, the CN 1f-25 that has received the configuration information may activate QoE measurement by transmitting the configuration information to the base station 1f-15” – See [0102]; See also Fig. 1F; The base station (wireless communication node) receives, from the CN (network), a first message including a QoE configuration); and
in response to receiving the configuration, sending, by the wireless communication node to a wireless communication device, a second message (“In operation 1f-40, the base station 1f-15 that has received the configuration information may deliver the configuration information to the UE AS 1f-05 via an RRC message (e.g., an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message)” – See [0103]; In response to receiving the QoE configuration, the base station forwards the QoE configuration to the UE (wireless communication device) in a second message);
wherein the configuration is configured to cause the wireless communication device to trigger a measurement of the QoE in one or more of following states: an RRC_CONNECTED state; an RRC_INACTIVE state; or an RRC_IDLE state (“An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed. Alternatively, without the indicator, it may be defined that the UE always perform the Logged QoE measurement operation in the RRC_IDLE mode and RRC_INACTIVE mode. The UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation only in the RRC state indicated by the indicator. If the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, the indicator may indicate/be extended to include the RRC_CONNECTED mode as well” – See [0147]; The configuration causes the UE to measure QoE in one or more of RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, or RRC_CONNECTED).
Jeong does not explicitly teach that switching of the wireless communication device to the RRC_CONNECTED state is configured to cause a measurement of a QoE to be stopped.
However, Liu teaches that switching of the wireless communication device to the RRC_CONNECTED state is configured to cause a measurement of a QoE to be stopped (“the UE 120 may transition from RRC inactive mode 306 to RRC connected mode 302 based at least in part on receiving an RRC resume communication (e.g., an RRCResume message)” – See [0063]; “As shown by reference number 535, based at least in part on receiving the UE context of the UE, and as part of the procedure for resuming the connection of the UE 120, the second base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a message to resume the connection of the UE 120 with the second base station 110 (e.g., an RRCResume message). The UE 120 may transition to the connected state based at least in part on receiving the message to resume the connection” – See [0090]; “As shown by reference number 540, the UE 120 may perform (e.g., in connection with transitioning from the inactive state to the connected state) at least one operation for the one or more QoE configurations of the UE 120” – See [0097]; “Here, the UE 120, to perform the operation(s), may release (e.g., delete) and/or suspend (e.g., deactivate) all QoE configurations of the UE 120 based at least in part on the system information indicating that the second base station 110 does not support QoE operations” – See [0098]; “one or more QoE configurations (e.g., one or more QoE measurement configurations, one or more QoE reporting configurations, or the like)” – See [0080]; When the UE switches from RRC inactive to RRC connected, it realeses/deletes/suspends/deactivates (i.e., stops) all QoE measurement configurations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jeong such that switching of the wireless communication device to the RRC_CONNECTED state is configured to cause a measurement of a QoE to be stopped. Motivation for doing so would be to stop performing QoE operations when a base station to which the UE resumes an RRC connection does not support the QoE operations. Accordingly, resource waste can be avoided (See Liu, [0072]).
Regarding Claim 2, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 1. Jeong further teaches that the configuration includes at least one of: a QoE reference; one of a service type or a sub-service type; a state indicator; a Measurement Collector Entity (MCE) IP address; or a QoE configuration container (“A container for containing application layer QoE measurement configuration information” – See [0134]; “Service type This may specify which service type the logged QoE measurement configuration is for” – See [0135]; “RRC level ID may be mapped to a QoE reference (a value that identifies a QoE measurement configuration at OAM, CN, or TCE/MCE level) in the base station” – See [0136]; “An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed” – See [0147]; The configuration includes a QoE reference, a service type, a state indicator, and a QoE configuration container).
Regarding Claim 3, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 2. Jeong further teaches that the state indicator is present as a non-CONNECTED indicator in the configuration, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_INACTIVE state and the RRC_IDLE state (“An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed” – See [0147]; The indicator triggers QoE measurement in the RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE states).
Regarding Claim 4, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 2. Jeong further teaches that the state indicator is present as a CONNECTED indicator in the configuration, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state (“If the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, the indicator may indicate/be extended to include the RRC_CONNECTED mode as well” – See [0147]; The state indicator is configured to indicates that the device can measure QoE in RRC_CONNECTED).
Regarding Claim 11, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 1. Jeong further teaches a wireless communications apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read code from the memory and cause the wireless communication apparatus to implement the method of claim 1 (“A UE 200 may include a processor 210, a transceiver 220, and a memory 230.” – See [0269]; “The memory 230 may be coupled to the processor 210 and store at least one instruction or protocol or parameter for the disclosed functions, processes and/or methods” – See [0273]; “When the methods are implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium having at least one program (software module) stored therein may be provided. The at least one program stored in the computer-readable storage medium is configured for execution by at least one processor within an electronic device” – See [0281]).
Claims 21 and 31 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claims 22 and 33 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claim 23 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 3.
Claim 24 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 4.
Regarding Claim 25, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 22. Jeong further teaches the state indicator is absent in the configuration, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can only trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state (“there is no need to separately transmit a configuration message (e.g., measConfigAppLayer) for the RRC_CONNECTED mode only to the UE” – See [0252]; The UE measures QoE in RRC_CONNECTED mode only without transmission of a configuration message. Thus, the UE can trigger, in the absence of a state indicator, measurement of QoE in RRC_CONNECTED only).
Regarding Claim 26, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 22. Jeong further teaches that the state indicator is present as any indicator in the configuration, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can trigger the measurement of the QoE in any of the RRC_CONNECTED state, the RRC_INACTIVE state, or the RRC_IDLE state (“An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed. Alternatively, without the indicator, it may be defined that the UE always perform the Logged QoE measurement operation in the RRC_IDLE mode and RRC_INACTIVE mode. The UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation only in the RRC state indicated by the indicator. If the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, the indicator may indicate/be extended to include the RRC_CONNECTED mode as well” – See [0147]; The indicator can trigger the UE to measure QoE in any of RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, or RRC_CONNECTED).
Regarding Claim 27, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 22. Jeong further teaches that the sub-service type is configured as Broadcast, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state, RRC_INACTIVE state or the RRC_IDLE state (“service types such as a streaming service and a multimedia telephony service for Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) (MTSI), and in NR, the QoE measurement can be additionally supported for service types such as virtual reality (VR), multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS)” – See [0100]; “QoE measurements are supported in RRC_INACTIVE mode or RRC_IDLE mode for MBMS or MBS” – See [0122]; Broadcast is a sub-service type included within the MBS/MBMS service, where the UE can trigger QoE measurement in RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE).
Regarding Claim 28, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 22. Jeong further teaches that the sub-service type is configured as Multicast, which is configured to indicate that the wireless communication device can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state (“service types such as a streaming service and a multimedia telephony service for Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) (MTSI), and in NR, the QoE measurement can be additionally supported for service types such as virtual reality (VR), multimedia broadcast multicast services (MBMS)” – See [0100]; “QoE measurements are supported in RRC_INACTIVE mode or RRC_IDLE mode for MBMS or MBS” – See [0122]; “a procedure for logging MBMS Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) measurement results regardless of RRC_IDLE mode/RRC_CONNECTED mode is defined as follows” – See [0252]; Multicast is a sub-service type included within the MBS/MBMS service, where the UE can trigger QoE measurement in RRC_CONNECTED).
Regarding Claim 29, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 21. Jeong further teaches that the second message includes at least one of: an Application (APP) layer identifier (ID); one of a service type or a sub-service type; a QoE configuration container; or ShortIP information (“A container for containing application layer QoE measurement configuration information” – See [0134]; “Service type This may specify which service type the logged QoE measurement configuration is for” – See [0135]; The configuration includes a QoE configuration container or service type).
Regarding Claim 32, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the wireless communications apparatus of Claim 31. Jeong further teaches that the state indicator is present as a non-CONNECTED indicator in the configuration, present as a CONNECTED indicator in the configuration, absent in the configuration, or present as any indicator in the configuration,
wherein the state indicator present as the non-CONNECTED indicator in the configuration indicates that the wireless communications apparatus can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_INACTIVE state and the RRC_IDLE state (“An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed” – See [0147]; The indicator triggers QoE measurement in the RRC_INACTIVE and RRC_IDLE states),
wherein the state indicator present as the CONNECTED indicator in the configuration indicates that the wireless communications apparatus can trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state (“If the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, the indicator may indicate/be extended to include the RRC_CONNECTED mode as well” – See [0147]; The state indicator is configured to indicates that the device can measure QoE in RRC_CONNECTED),
wherein the state indicator absent in the configuration indicates that the wireless communications apparatus can only trigger the measurement of the QoE in the RRC_CONNECTED state (“there is no need to separately transmit a configuration message (e.g., measConfigAppLayer) for the RRC_CONNECTED mode only to the UE” – See [0252]; The UE measures QoE in RRC_CONNECTED mode only without transmission of a configuration message. Thus, the UE can trigger, in the absence of a state indicator, measurement of QoE in RRC_CONNECTED only),
wherein the state indicator present as any indicator in the configuration indicates that the wireless communications apparatus can trigger the measurement of the QoE in any of the RRC_CONNECTED state, the RRC_INACTIVE state, or the RRC_IDLE state (“An indicator indicating whether the UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation in at least one of RRC_IDLE mode or RRC_INACTIVE mode. The indicator may also be used to indicate an RRC state in which the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed. Alternatively, without the indicator, it may be defined that the UE always perform the Logged QoE measurement operation in the RRC_IDLE mode and RRC_INACTIVE mode. The UE performs the Logged QoE measurement operation only in the RRC state indicated by the indicator. If the Logged QoE measurement operation is performed in the RRC_CONNECTED mode, the indicator may indicate/be extended to include the RRC_CONNECTED mode as well” – See [0147]; The indicator can trigger the UE to measure QoE in any of RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, or RRC_CONNECTED).
Claim 34 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 29.
Claims 30 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong et al. (US 2024/0196248) in view of Liu et al. (US 2024/0188175) and further in view of Rune et al. (US 2025/0071652).
Regarding Claim 30, Jeong in view of Liu teaches the method of Claim 29. Jeong and Liu do not explicitly teach that the ShortIP information is configured to indicate one or more IP addresses to which the QoE is reported.
However, Rune teaches a second message which is transmitted from a wireless communication node to a wireless communication device that includes ShortIP information that is configured to indicate one or more IP addresses to which the QoE is reported (“An application layer measurement configuration (also called QoE measurement configuration or QoE configuration) that the radio access network (RAN) receives from the operation and maintenance (OAM) system or the core network (CN) is encapsulated in a transparent container, which is forwarded to a user equipment (UE) in a downlink RRC message” – See [0003]; “The configuration data related to QoE measurements (in standard specifications typically referred to as application layer measurements) consists of a service type indication, an indication of an area in which the measurements are to be performed (denoted area scope), an IP address of the entity the collected measurement results (i.e. the QoE reports) should be sent to” – See [0005]; The ShortIP information in a second message transmitted from the RAN (wireless communication node) to the UE (wireless communication device) indicates an IP address to which QoE reports are sent).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Jeong such that the ShortIP information is configured to indicate one or more IP addresses to which the QoE is reported. Motivation for doing so would be to provide the wireless communication device with identifying information of a collecting entity so that the wireless communication device can send QoE measurement results via the UTRAN to the collecting entity (See Rune, [0018]).
Claim 35 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 30.
Response to Arguments
On page 7 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Jeong does not teach “wherein switching of the wireless communication device to the RRC_CONNECTED state is configured to cause a measurement of a QoE to be stopped,” as recited in independent claims 1, 21, and 31. Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot based on the new grounds of rejection. In response to the amended limitations, the Examiner relies upon the newly-cited Liu reference.
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 Scott M Sciacca whose telephone number is (571)270-1919. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 7:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST.
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.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino can be reached at (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
Prosecution Insights