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 .
1. Claims 44-52 are pending. Claims 43 and 53-60 are withdrawn. Claims 1-42 are canceled.
Response to Arguments
2. Applicant’s election of group II in the reply filed on 07/17/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
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.
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.
3. Claim(s) 44, 46-47, 49 and 51 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cao, et al., WO 2021/109356 hereafter Cao in view of hereafter Chen, US 2020/0092800 hereafter Chen.
As for claim 44, Cao discloses:
at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus as a network device associated with an integrated access and backhaul node in an integrated access and backhaul network to perform:
broadcasting, to at least one first terminal device associated with a cell of a distributed unit of the integrated access and backhaul node, a system information change indication on the cell (Fig. 7a, 730, Fig. 8A, Fig. 8B, page 14, lines 1-12, page 15, lines 6-13, the migrating IAB-node DU periodically broadcasts the SystemInformation (SI) message including the updated configuration information to the downstream device. The updated configuration information corresponds to the system information change indication)
Cao does not explicitly disclose broadcasting…before an expiry of a first period after which the at least one first terminal device autonomously acquires system information on the cell.
However, Chen discloses broadcasting…before an expiry of a first period . (Chen, Fig. 5, 502, Fig. 6, 602, [0035], a system information message 222 including system information may be periodically broadcast by the base station 120. [0087]-[0088], [0056]-[0057], before the 3 hour timer expires) after which the at least one first terminal device autonomously acquires system information on the cell. (Chen, Fig, 5, 510, Fig. 6, 612, [0092]-[0094], [0097] After the time expires (the system information are invalid) the UE autonomously acquires the system information by a system information request that is transmitted autonomously to the base station without a grant from the base station. Also see [0044])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Cao with before an expiry of a first period after which the at least one first terminal device autonomously acquires system information on the cell as taught by Chen to improve communication performance by tailoring the handling of invalid system information in user equipment including decrease power usage for the UE, conserve storage space on the UE, and conserve network resources. (Chen, [0022])
As for claim 46, Cao discloses receiving, from a donor in the integrated access and backhaul network, a configuration for broadcasting the system information change indication, wherein the system information change indication is broadcast according to the configuration. (Fig. 7a, 730, Fig. 8A, Fig. 8B, page 14, lines 1-12, page 15, lines 6-13, the migrating IAB-node DU periodically broadcasts the SystemInformation (SI) message including the updated configuration information to the downstream device)
As for claim 47, Cao discloses the configuration comprises a second period for broadcasting the system information change indication, and the second period is shorter than the first period. (page 14, lines 1-13, periodically broadcasting updated configuration information correspond to a second period. It is implicit that a first period and second period can be the same or different lengths)
As for claim 49, Cao discloses:
the system information change indication is broadcast (Fig. 7a, 730, Fig. 8A, Fig. 8B, page 14, lines 1-12, page 15, lines 6-13, the migrating IAB-node DU periodically broadcasts the updated configuration information) when initiating a mobile termination of the network device to hand over from the donor to another donor in the integrated access and backhaul network. (page 14, lines 12-28, page 10, last paragraph, page 11 lines 1-18, the handover process)
As for claim 51, Cao discloses:
wherein the system information change indication is broadcast (page 3, lines 1-8, broadcasting system information) when a migration from the distributed unit associated with the donor to a distributed unit associated with the another donor in the integrated access and backhaul network is ongoing. (Fig. 7a, 730, Fig. 8A, Fig. 8B, page 14, lines 1-12, page 15, lines 6-13, page 2 last paragraph, page 3 first paragraph, page 10, last paragraph, page 11 lines 1-18, the IAB-donor CU 802 may send the system information as a radio resource control (RRC) container to a migrating IAB-node distributed unit (DU) via F1-AP. The system information includes the updated configuration information.)
4. Claim(s) 48 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cao in view of Chen as applied to claims 44 above, and further in view of Tao et al, US 2021/0345367 hereafter Tao.
As for claim 48, Cao does not explicitly disclose the configuration is received via an information element, and the configuration comprises information indicative of starting or stopping the broadcasting of the system information change indication.
However, Tao discloses the configuration is received via an information element, and the configuration comprises information indicative of starting or stopping the broadcasting of the system information change indication. (Tao, [0156], Then, the UE(s) is(are) provided with information whether or not the base station is permitted to defer the starting point when broadcasting the at least one SI message.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the combination of the teachings of Cao and Chen with the configuration is received via an information element, and the configuration comprises information indicative of starting or stopping the broadcasting of the system information change indication as taught by Tao to improving the flexibility in acquiring SI messages. (Tao, [0039])
5. Claim(s) 52 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cao in view of Chen as applied to claims 44 above, and further in view of Ishii, US 2023/0139323 hereafter Ishii.
As for claim 52, Cao does not explicitly disclose the system information change indication is broadcast in a physical downlink control channel short message.
However, Ishii discloses the system information change indication is broadcast in a physical downlink control channel short message. (Ishii, [0150], The second short message system information change notification generated by second short message system information change notification generator 128 may be transmitted on one or more of the downlink physical channels, which may be in the same or in a different physical channel that the first notification message (generated by first short message system information change notification generator 126) may use.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the combination of the teachings of Cao and Chen with the system information change indication is broadcast in a physical downlink control channel short message as taught by Ishii to improve handing congestion via access restrictions, e.g., access barring or cell barring. (Ishii, [0009])
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 45 and 50 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
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Axmon et al, US 2018/0091173 [0062] The UE will read the system information again when paged on that the system information has been updated (changed SIBs to be read) or when a timer has expired (usually after 3 hours; complete set of SIBs).
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENEE HOLLAND whose telephone number is (571)270-7196. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
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JENEE HOLLAND
Examiner
Art Unit 2469
/JENEE HOLLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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