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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tan et al. (hereinafter Tan)(US 2023/0038753) in view of Pan et al. (hereinafter Pan)(US 2023/0413039).
claim 24, Tan teaches a method performed by a target network node, handover of a Wireless Communication Device, WCD, from a source network node to the target network node, the method (Fig. 14, source gNB and target gNB) comprising: receiving, at the target network node, a message in association with preparation or execution of a handover of a WCD from the source network node to the target network node of, the message comprising information about one or more capabilities of the WCD(Fig. 14; handover request containing reduced capability UE); determining that the WCD is a Reduced Capability, RedCap, WCD based on the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD(P[0072], reduced capability; limited capabilities; P[0123], capabilities supported by the UE); and sending an indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD to a core network node(Fig. 14; handover request to AMF).
Tan did not teach specifically inter-radio access technology handover from a source node of a first RAT to the target node of a second RAT; sending a RedCap indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD from the target network node to a core network node. However, Pan teaches in an analogous art inter-radio access technology handover from a source node of a first RAT to the target node of a second RAT; sending a RedCap indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD from the target network node to a core network node (P[0257], handed over from a first network to a second network; first network may be a 4G or an LTE network and the second network may be a 5G network or an NR network; also figs. 7 or 8; item S704 or S804, redcap information from the target network to a core network node). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use inter-radio access technology handover from a source node of a first RAT to the target node of a second RAT; sending a RedCap indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD from the target network node to a core network node in order to have wider applicability.
Regarding claim 25, Tan teaches the method of claim 24, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving the message from another network node during preparation for the handover of the WCD from the source network node to the target network node(Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 26, Tan teaches the method of claim 25, wherein the message comprises a transparent container information element that comprises the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD(P[0088], transparent container; reduced capability UE information).
Regarding claim 27, Tan teaches the method the method of claim 26, wherein the information comprised in the transparent container information element is transparent to one or more network nodes through which the transparent container propagated from the source network node to the target network node(P[0088], handover request message to the target gNB, where the source to target transparent container cell contains the reduced capability NR UE information).
Regarding claim 28, Tan teaches the method of claim 25, wherein the other network node is the core network node(Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 29, Tan teaches the method method of claim 24, wherein: the message comprising the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD is a Handover Request message; and sending the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD to the core network node comprises sending a Handover Request Acknowledge message to the core network node, the Handover Request Acknowledge message comprising the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD(Fig. 14; P[0088]).
Regarding claim 30, Tan teaches the method of claim 24, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving the message during execution of the handover of the WCD from the source network node to the target network node(Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 31, Tan teaches the method of claim 30, wherein receiving the message during execution of the handover of the WCD from the source network node to the target network node comprises receiving a message from the WCD comprising the information about one or more capabilities of the WCD(P[0123], reduced capability; capabilities supported by the UE; also Fig. 4 and Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 32, Tan teaches the method of claim 30, wherein receiving the message during execution of the handover of the WCD from the source network node to the target network node comprises receiving a Handover Confirm message from the WCD during execution of the handover of the WCD from the source network node to the target network node, the Handover Confirm message comprising the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD(Fig. 12, handover acknowledgement containing resources based on reduced capability of UE) .
Regarding claim 33, Tan teaches the method of claim 32, wherein sending the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD to the core network node comprises sending a Handover Notify message to the core network node, the Handover Notify message comprising the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD(Fig. 14).
Regarding claim 34, Tan in view of Pan teaches the method of claim 24, wherein sending the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD to the core network node comprises sending a N2 Path Switch Request message to the core network node, the N2 Path Switch Request message comprising the indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD(Tan: Fig. 14; Handover request between source AMF and target AMF).
Regarding claim 35, Tan teaches the method of claim 34, wherein receiving the message that comprises the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD comprises receiving a Handover Request message comprising handover preparation information, the handover preparation information comprising the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD(Fig. 14; handover request containing reduced capability of NE).
Regarding claim 36, Tan teaches the method of claim 34, wherein receiving the message that comprises the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD comprises receiving a Radio Resource Control, RRC, Re-configuration Complete message from the WCD during execution of the handover, the RRC Re-configuration Complete message comprising the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD(P[0082], Handover request acknowledgement; reduced capability UE information; Fig. 12; reconfiguration message Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 37, Tan teaches the method of claim 34, wherein receiving the message that comprises the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD comprises receiving a dedicated random access preamble that indicates that the WCD is a RedCap WCD(P[0109], random access preamble with radio capability information; reduced capability).
Regarding claim 38, Tan teaches the method of claim 24, wherein:(a) the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD comprises an explicit indication that the WCD is a RedCap WCD; or (b) the information about the one or more capabilities of the WCD comprises information that implicitly indicates that the WCD is a RedCap WCD(P[0178], reduced capability information is explicitly indicated; reduced capability of UE).
Claims 39-40 are rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1.
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.
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/MUTHUSWAMY G MANOHARAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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