CTNF 18/720,655 CTNF 97760 DETAILED ACTION 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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, would be the same under either status. 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210014753 A1 (MA) in view of Samsung, Summary of AI 8.3.3: UE notification on network switching for multi-SIM, 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 #113bis-e R2-2104319, April 23, 2021, Pages 1-15 (hereinafter Samsung) in further view of vivo, Discussion on MUSIM Gap Configuration and switching message, 3GPP TSG, RAN WG2 #116-e R2-2110393, Oct 22, 2021, Pages 1-15 (hereinafter vivo) . In re claim 1, MA discloses a user equipment (UE) (Fig. 5:500, [0029], “ The user equipment may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (also referred to as a “cellular” phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal ”) , comprising: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer executable instructions embodied thereon ([0150], “ The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as a ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disc) and includes several instructions for instructing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to perform the methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure ”) ; and at least one processor (Fig. 5:510) coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions ([0141], “ Specifically, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor 510 , the steps in the method embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 1 are implemented ”) to: while maintaining a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first base station (BS) of a first network ([0004], “ In a new radio (NR) system, as cells are deployed more densely, and a coverage area of a cell is relatively small, a terminal device performs handover more frequently. If the terminal device has not received a handover command issued by a source base station after moving into a coverage area of another base station, the handover fails ” (performing a handover while maintaining connection with the first base station)) , receive transmissions from a second BS of a second network during at least one time period specified in a switch gap configuration ; receive a first RRC reconfiguration message from the first BS ([0041], “ In an example, there is one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container. Alternatively, there are a plurality of cell change commands, where the plurality of cell change commands are kept in one container. In other words, each cell change command may exist in the form of an RRC message, or it may exist in the form of a container ”) , the first RRC reconfiguration message comprising a first command (Fig. 1: S110, [0058], “ the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ” (first command for cell change) and a second command ([0078], “ Optionally, in an embodiment, there are one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control RRC message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container ”) , the first command instructing the UE to begin a handover procedure from the first BS to a third BS ([0007], “ receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node, where the cell change configuration information includes at least one of: information for a terminal device to determine a target cell, cell change trigger condition information, a cell change command, and association relationship information related to the cell change ”) , and the second command controlling usage of the switch gap configuration by the UE following a failure of the handover procedure ; initiate execution of the handover procedure from the first BS to the third BS according to the first command ([0008], “ performing an operation related to the cell change based on the cell change configuration information ”) ; determine, after initiating the execution of the handover procedure, that the handover procedure has failed; reestablish, after determining that the handover procedure has failed, the RRC connection with the first BS; and when the second command suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration following the failure of the handover procedure, suspend reception of transmissions from the second BS following reestablishing of the RRC connection with the first BS . MA does not explicitly disclose while maintaining a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first base station (BS) of a first network and receive transmissions from a second BS of a second network during at least one time period specified in a switch gap configuration; determine, after initiating the execution of the handover procedure, that the handover procedure has failed; reestablish, after determining that the handover procedure has failed, the RRC connection with the first BS. Samsung discloses while maintaining a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a first base station (BS) of a first network (Page 1, section 2, lines 3-4, “ The switching procedure can be used to notify network A that the UE has a preference to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state in network A while temporarily switching to network B ”. Page 2, lines 3-5, “ Proposal 2: RAN2 to discuss whether the decision between switching procedures for leaving and without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state is up to UE implementation or based on network configuration (e.g. a max gap duration) ”) and receive transmissions from a second BS of a second network during at least one time period specified in a switch gap configuration (Page 3, section 3.3: switching gap configuration, “ New switching gap configuration is introduced to support the switching procedure to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state in network A while temporarily switching to network ”. Page 3, section 3.3, lines 14-15, “ Multiple periodic leave configurations to accommodate these idle/inactive procedures can optimize network performance ” (switching gap configuration is interpreted as time specified in the configuration where the UE does short term activities with second base station while still maintaining connection with the first). Page 1, section 2, lines 19-21, “ Network can configure a gap duration threshold (e.g. a max gap duration for short time switching gap configuration) as a reference for the UE to determine activities as short-time switching or long-time switching ”. Page 3, lines 1-2, “ Proposal 3: RRC signaling is used for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A for UE temporarily switching to network B as a baseline ”. Page 3, section 3.2, lines 17-18, “ Based on the contributions, it seems proper that RAN2 discusses a unified switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A to handle different kind of activities on network B ” (maintain RRC connection with base station A and receiving transmission from base station B for different short-term activities). Page 1, section 2, lines 8-9, “ e.g. a max gap duration configured for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED ” (continue to receive transmission from second base station for the time period per the switching gap configuration before switching to the third base station while maintaining connection with first) and the second command controlling usage of the switch gap configuration by the UE following a failure of the handover procedure (Page 3, section 3.3, lines 14-15, “ Multiple periodic leave configurations to accommodate these idle/inactive procedures can optimize network performance ” (controlling multiple periodic leave configurations, inactive procedure may include handover failures). Page 4, lines 10-12, “ Network configures the gaps for temporary switching based on reception of Gap-Assistance-Information from UE ”) ; determine, after initiating the execution of the handover procedure, that the handover procedure has failed; reestablish, after determining that the handover procedure has failed, the RRC connection with the first BS (Page 5, section 3.4, lines 10-11, “ If the communication with the network B can’t be finished before the gap (radio link failure), the UE shall abort the on-going procedure of the network B and back to the network A ” (connecting with network B for a short activity for a time duration specified by the network A in the gap configuration is interpreted broadly as UE returning back to network A following a suspension of configuration gap usage or expiry of the or handover failure with network B)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA with Samsung to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. MA and Samsung do not explicitly disclose when the second command suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration following the failure of the handover procedure, suspend reception of transmissions from the second BS following reestablishing of the RRC connection with the first BS. vivo discloses when the second command suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration following the failure of the handover procedure ( Page 10, lines 26-27, “ Observation 4: UE’s ongoing procedures may be impacted by switching to network B without leaving connected state in network A, such as RLM, handover, etc. ”. Page 9, section 2.3, observation 4, lines 1-6, “ To avoid the impact to the connection on network A caused by switching, mitigation should be investigated. E.g. even has been configured with multi-SIM gaps for switching without leaving connected state, UE is allowed to ignore the multi-SIM gaps in case of critical scenarios, e.g. T310 or T312 is running, to continue monitoring radio link on network A to avoid RLF ” (discusses a scenario where gap configurations usage is ignored or suspended in case of critical scenarios like radio link failure), suspend reception of transmissions from the second BS following reestablishing of the RRC connection with the first BS ( Page 8, lines 38-40, “ In our understanding, this early return may be useful, depending on the max gap to be considered. It is difficult for UE to decide the exact length for aperiodic switching. the UE will likely have to request the gap duration for the worst case. The assigned gap is usually longer than required, UE can early return to network A before the gap expires ” (suspending gap configuration usage and reestablishing connection with network A comprises suspension of activities with the second network and returning to network A before time in gap expires or suspension of gap configuration usage command)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA and Samsung with vivo to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. In re claim 2 , the combination discloses the UE of claim 1 , wherein Samsung discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: while suspending the reception of transmissions from the second BS, receive a second RRC reconfiguration message from the first BS, the second RRC reconfiguration message comprising a third command to resume the reception of transmissions from the second BS; and in response to receiving the second RRC reconfiguration message, resume the reception of transmissions from the second BS (See “ In re claim 1 ”. All features are covered. It’s a design variation and can be repeated for resume/suspend operations by controlling usage of the switch gaps). In re claim 3, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 1 , wherein vivo discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: when the second command suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration following the failure of the handover procedure, initiate a timer; and if, before receiving the second RRC reconfiguration message, the timer expires, cause the first BS to remove the switch gap configuration (Page 9, section 2.3, lines 5-6, “ some companies mentioned the issue concerning the potential impact of switching to network B on ongoing UE procedures in network A, such as RLM/BFD/BFR, mobility scenarios, etc. ” (handover scenario). Page 9, section 2.3, lines 13-16, “ To avoid the impact to the connection on network A caused by switching, mitigation should be investigated. E.g. even has been configured with multi-SIM gaps for switching without leaving connected state, UE is allowed to ignore the multi-SIM gaps in case of critical scenarios, e.g. T310 or T312 is running, to continue monitoring radio link on network A to avoid RLF ” (discloses in critical conditions such as following a handover failure, can ignore multi-SIM gaps). Page 6, lines 6-7, “ Regarding the network switching procedures for leaving RRC_CONNECTED state, a new RRC timer for the “configured time” can be configured, used for UE to leave RRC_CONNECTED without a response ” (Interpretation is that when the second command suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration, means UE leaving RRC connected state with network A and utilizing a timer). Page 9, section 2.3, lines 13-17, “ There is an open issue that whether it's possible to configure UE to always wait for the network response (e.g. "infinite" waiting time)”as we know, the “configured time” is introduced for the UE to leave RRC_CONNECTED without a response from Network, for example, UE has an incoming voice call on network B while a data service on network A is ongoing, UE shall switch to network B for the high priority service (i.e. voice call) as soon as possible. Therefore, a long latency of switching notification procedure is not acceptable from UE perspective” (discloses long waiting times based on configured times are not acceptable and so the switch gap configuration may be suspended on expiration of timer for example, UE has to take the high priority voice call in network B” (Interpretation is that when the second command suspends continued usage, means UE leaving RRC connected state with network A and utilizing a timer)). In re claim 4, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 1 , wherein Samsung discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: where the second command disables suspension of the continued usage of the switch gap configuration, continue to receive transmissions from the second BS following reestablishing the RRC connection with the first BS (See “ In re claim 3 ”. All features are covered in claim 3. It’s a design variation and can be repeated for resume/suspend operations by controlling usage of the switch gaps. Just like suspension operation would remove the switch gap usage, disabling the suspension option would continue usage of switch gap configuration to receive transmissions from the second base station for the time specified in the switch gap). In re claim 5, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 1 , wherein MA discloses wherein the first RRC reconfiguration message comprises an RRCReconfiguration message ([0058], “ In this embodiment of this disclosure, optionally, the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ”). In re claim 6, the combination discloses the UE of claim 5 , wherein Samsung discloses wherein the second command comprises a switchSuspendCommand contained in the RRCReconfiguration message, the switchSuspendCommand comprising an enumerated value indicating whether to suspend or resume receiving transmissions from the second BS (Page 12, lines 2-3, “ Networks can configure a higher value for T380 as part of the suspend configuration, while configuring the MUSIM UE SIM instance to RRC INACTIVE state ” (discloses a time configuration value for suspend command by the network)). In re claim 7, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 6 , wherein vivo discloses wherein the RRCReconfiguration message comprises an OtherConfig information element (IE) that includes the switchSuspendCommand (Page 8, line 5, “ Define exclusive IE for MUSM gap preference in the gap assistance information ”. Page 4, lines 6-8, “ Proposal 5: Periodic gap with 6ms MGL is configured for receiving SIB1 at network B. The scheduling information of other SIBs, e.g. SIB2/3/4/5, is configured in si-SchedulingInfo IE in SIB1 ” (discloses a dedicated information element for measurement gap configuration usage commands as also included in the UE assistance information)). In re claim 8, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 6 , wherein MA discloses wherein: the RRCReconfiguration message is generated by the third BS (See “ In re claim 5 ”. Design variation, first and third are just numbers and a similar operation can be performed by a third base station after handover to the third as a source base station) ; and wherein Samsung discloses the switchSuspendCommand is generated by the first BS (discloses in claim 1. See “ In re claim 1 ”. Second command by the first base station suspends continued usage of the switch gap configuration following the failure of the handover procedure. Also see “ In re claim 6 ” for the IE element for the command)). In re claim 9, the combination discloses t he UE of claim 1 , wherein vivo discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: receive an RRCReconfiguration message comprising a switchGapConfig IE that includes the switch gap configuration (See also “ In re claim 7 ”. Similar to switchSuspend command IE. Page 8, line 5, “ Define exclusive IE for MUSM gap preference in the gap assistance information ”. Page 4, lines 6-8, “ Proposal 5: Periodic gap with 6ms MGL is configured for receiving SIB1 at network B. The scheduling information of other SIBs, e.g. SIB2/3/4/5, is configured in si-SchedulingInfo IE in SIB1 ” (discloses a dedicated information element for measurement gap configuration usage commands as also included in the UE assistance information)). In re claim 10, MA discloses a first base station (BS) of a first network (Fig. 6:600, “ source node ”) , the first BS comprising: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon ([0150], “ The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as a ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disc) and includes several instructions for instructing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to perform the methods described in the embodiments ”) ; and at least one processor (Fig. 6:610) coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (Fig. 6:630, [0145], “ the source node 600 further includes: a computer program that is stored in the memory 630 and capable of running on the processor 610 ”) and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: maintain a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) while facilitating gaps in communication with the UE according to a switch gap configuration to facilitate reception of transmissions by the UE from a second BS of a second network ; and transmit, to the UE, an RRC reconfiguration message ([0041], “ In an example, there is one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container. Alternatively, there are a plurality of cell change commands, where the plurality of cell change commands are kept in one container. In other words, each cell change command may exist in the form of an RRC message, or it may exist in the form of a container ”) comprising a first command (Fig. 1: S110, [0058], “ the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ” (first command for cell change) and a second command ([0078], “ Optionally, in an embodiment, there are one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control RRC message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container ”) , the first command instructing the UE to begin a handover procedure from the first BS to a third BS ([0007], “ receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node, where the cell change configuration information includes at least one of: information for a terminal device to determine a target cell, cell change trigger condition information, a cell change command, and association relationship information related to the cell change ”) , and the second command comprising a value indicating whether usage of the switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure. MA does not explicitly disclose maintain a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) while facilitating gaps in communication with the UE according to a switch gap configuration to facilitate reception of transmissions by the UE from a second BS of a second network . Samsung discloses maintain a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with a user equipment (UE) (Page 1, section 2, lines 3-4, “ The switching procedure can be used to notify network A that the UE has a preference to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state in network A while temporarily switching to network B ”. Page 2, lines 3-5, “ Proposal 2: RAN2 to discuss whether the decision between switching procedures for leaving and without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state is up to UE implementation or based on network configuration (e.g. a max gap duration) ”) while facilitating gaps in communication with the UE according to a switch gap configuration (Page 3, section 3.3, lines 14-15, “ Multiple periodic leave configurations to accommodate these idle/inactive procedures can optimize network performance ” (controlling multiple periodic leave configurations, inactive procedure may include handover failures). Page 4, lines 10-12, “ Network configures the gaps for temporary switching based on reception of Gap-Assistance-Information from UE ”) to facilitate reception of transmissions by the UE from a second BS of a second network (Page 3, section 3.3: switching gap configuration, “ New switching gap configuration is introduced to support the switching procedure to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state in network A while temporarily switching to network ”. Page 3, section 3.3, lines 14-15, “ Multiple periodic leave configurations to accommodate these idle/inactive procedures can optimize network performance ” (switching gap configuration is interpreted as time specified in the configuration where the UE does short term activities with second base station while still maintaining connection with the first). Page 1, section 2, lines 19-21, “ Network can configure a gap duration threshold (e.g. a max gap duration for short time switching gap configuration) as a reference for the UE to determine activities as short-time switching or long-time switching ”. Page 3, lines 1-2, “ Proposal 3: RRC signaling is used for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A for UE temporarily switching to network B as a baseline ”. Page 3, section 3.2, lines 17-18, “ Based on the contributions, it seems proper that RAN2 discusses a unified switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A to handle different kind of activities on network B ” (maintain RRC connection with base station A and receiving transmission from base station B for different short-term activities). Page 1, section 2, lines 8-9, “ e.g. a max gap duration configured for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED ” (continue to receive transmission from second base station for the time period per the switching gap configuration before switching to the third base station while maintaining connection with first) , and the second command comprising a value indicating whether usage of the switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure (Page 12, lines 2-3, “ Networks can configure a higher value for T380 as part of the suspend configuration, while configuring the MUSIM UE SIM instance to RRC INACTIVE state ” (discloses a time configuration value for suspend command by the network). Page 5, section 3.4, lines 10-13, “ If the communication with the network B can’t be finished before the gap, the UE shall abort the on-going procedure of the network B and back to the network A. The UE shall inform the network B that it was at short-time switching procedure on the other network, then the network B can avoid to trigger the mobility (e.g. handover, redirection), measurement and DC related procedures ” (staying with network B only for the time specified in the gap and suspend switch gap configuration after that time)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA with Samsung to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. MA and Samsung do not explicitly disclose switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure. vivo discloses switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure ( Page 10, lines 26-27, “ Observation 4: UE’s ongoing procedures may be impacted by switching to network B without leaving connected state in network A, such as RLM, handover, etc. ”. Page 9, section 2.3, lines 13-16, “ To avoid the impact to the connection on network A caused by switching, mitigation should be investigated. E.g. even has been configured with multi-SIM gaps for switching without leaving connected state, UE is allowed to ignore the multi-SIM gaps in case of critical scenarios, e.g. T310 or T312 is running, to continue monitoring radio link on network A to avoid RLF ” (discloses in critical conditions such as following a handover failure, can ignore or suspend gap configuration usage)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA and Samsung with vivo to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. In re claim 11, the combination discloses t he first BS of claim 10, wherein Samsung discloses the at least one processor further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to: transmit, to the third BS, a handover request message comprising the second command; and receive, from the third BS in response to the handover request message, a handover request acknowledgment message (Page 8, lines 5-7, “ If UE is to release RRC connection in scenario 3 (leaving for short time aperiodic activities in USIM B), RRC-based solution without acknowledgement is used for leaving RRC_CONNECTED state to inactive state ” (discloses that if UE is to do a handover to the third base station, then acknowledgment is received by the third base station and if the UE is only connecting to a second network for a short time based on gap configuration then no acknowledgment is necessary) comprising the first command and the second command (See “ In re claim 10 ”. Claim 10, discusses first base station to send to the UE a first command and a second command post handover. Here, handover happened from first BS to a third BS, so third base station here is similar to the first base station of claim 10. All features are included in claim 10)). In re claim 12 , the combination discloses the first BS of claim 11 , wherein MA discloses wherein the handover request acknowledgment message comprises an RRCReconfiguration message that includes the first command ([0058], “ In this embodiment of this disclosure, optionally, the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ” (first command for handover) and wherein Samsung discloses RRCReconfiguration message includes the second command (Page 4, lines 38-39, “ Proposal 5: Introduce dedicated scheduling gap configuration to support switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED in network A for UE temporarily switching to network B ”). vivo also discloses ( Page 6, lines 3-5, “ UE is configured to provide assistance info for switching notification via otherConfig of RRCReconfiguration message. Assistance info for switching notification covers both network switching procedures for leaving RRC_CONNECTED state and without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state ”). In re claim 13, the combination discloses the first BS of claim 12 , wherein Samsung discloses wherein: the second command comprises a switchSuspendCommand (Page 12, lines 2-3, “ Networks can configure a higher value for T380 as part of the suspend configuration, while configuring the MUSIM UE SIM instance to RRC INACTIVE state ” (discloses a time configuration value for suspend command by the network)) ; and wherein vivo discloses the RRCReconfiguration message comprises an OtherConfig in- formation element (IE) that includes the switchSuspendCommand (Page 8, line 5, “ Define exclusive IE for MUSM gap preference in the gap assistance information ”. Page 4, lines 6-8, “ Proposal 5: Periodic gap with 6ms MGL is configured for receiving SIB1 at network B. The scheduling information of other SIBs, e.g. SIB2/3/4/5, is configured in si-SchedulingInfo IE in SIB1 ” (discloses a dedicated information element for measurement gap configuration usage commands as also included in the UE assistance information)). In re claim 14, MA discloses a first base station (BS) (Fig. 6:600, “ source node ”) , the first BS comprising: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer- executable instructions embodied thereon ([0150], “ The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as a ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, or optical disc) and includes several instructions for instructing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to perform the methods described in the embodiments ”) ; and at least one processor (Fig. 6:610) coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions (Fig. 6:630, [0145], “ the source node 600 further includes: a computer program that is stored in the memory 630 and capable of running on the processor 610 ”) to: receive, from a second BS of a first network, a handover request message for a user equipment (UE) ([0007], “ receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node, where the cell change configuration information includes at least one of: information for a terminal device to determine a target cell, cell change trigger condition information, a cell change command, and association relationship information related to the cell change ” (here second base station is the source node)) , the handover request message comprising a first command (Fig. 1: S110, [0058], “ the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ” (first command for cell change) indicating whether usage of a switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of a handover procedure, the switch gap configuration specifying at least one time period during which the UE receives transmissions from a third BS of a second network; generate an RRC reconfiguration message comprising the first command (Fig. 1: S110, [0058], “ the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ” (first command for cell change) and a second command ([0078], “ Optionally, in an embodiment, there are one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control RRC message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container ”) , the second command instructing the UE to begin a handover procedure from the second BS to the first BS ([0007], “ receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node, where the cell change configuration information includes at least one of: information for a terminal device to determine a target cell, cell change trigger condition information, a cell change command, and association relationship information related to the cell change ”) ; and transmit, to the second BS, a handover request acknowledgment message comprising the RRC reconfiguration message. MA does not explicitly disclose indicating whether usage of a switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of a handover procedure, the switch gap configuration specifying at least one time period during which the UE receives transmissions from a third BS of a second network; and transmit, to the second BS, a handover request acknowledgment message comprising the RRC reconfiguration message. Samsung discloses disclose indicating whether usage of a switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of a handover procedure (Page 12, lines 2-3, “ Networks can configure a higher value for T380 as part of the suspend configuration, while configuring the MUSIM UE SIM instance to RRC INACTIVE state ” (discloses a time configuration value for suspend command by the network). Page 5, section 3.4, lines 10-13, “ If the communication with the network B can’t be finished before the gap, the UE shall abort the on-going procedure of the network B and back to the network A. The UE shall inform the network B that it was at short-time switching procedure on the other network, then the network B can avoid to trigger the mobility (e.g. handover, redirection), measurement and DC related procedures ” (staying with network B only for the time specified in the gap and suspend switch gap configuration after that time)) , the switch gap configuration specifying at least one time period during which the UE receives transmissions from a third BS of a second network (Page 3, section 3.3: switching gap configuration, “ New switching gap configuration is introduced to support the switching procedure to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state in network A while temporarily switching to network ”. Page 3, section 3.3, lines 14-15, “ Multiple periodic leave configurations to accommodate these idle/inactive procedures can optimize network performance ” (switching gap configuration is interpreted as time specified in the configuration where the UE does short term activities with second base station while still maintaining connection with the first). Page 1, section 2, lines 19-21, “ Network can configure a gap duration threshold (e.g. a max gap duration for short time switching gap configuration) as a reference for the UE to determine activities as short-time switching or long-time switching ”. Page 3, lines 1-2, “ Proposal 3: RRC signaling is used for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A for UE temporarily switching to network B as a baseline ”. Page 3, section 3.2, lines 17-18, “ Based on the contributions, it seems proper that RAN2 discusses a unified switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED state in network A to handle different kind of activities on network B ” (maintain RRC connection with base station A and receiving transmission from base station B for different short-term activities). Page 1, section 2, lines 8-9, “ e.g. a max gap duration configured for switching procedure without leaving RRC_CONNECTED ” (continue to receive transmission from second base station for the time period per the switching gap configuration before switching to the third base station while maintaining connection with first) ; and transmit, to the second BS, a handover request acknowledgment message comprising the RRC reconfiguration message (Page 8, lines 5-7, “ If UE is to release RRC connection in scenario 3 (leaving for short time aperiodic activities in USIM B), RRC-based solution without acknowledgement is used for leaving RRC_CONNECTED state to inactive state ” (discloses that if UE is to do a handover to the third base station, then acknowledgment is received by the third base station and if the UE is only connecting to a second network for a short time based on gap configuration then no acknowledgment is necessary)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA with Samsung to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. MA and Samsung do not explicitly disclose switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure. vivo discloses switch gap configuration by the UE is to be suspended following a failure of the handover procedure ( Page 10, lines 26-27, “ Observation 4: UE’s ongoing procedures may be impacted by switching to network B without leaving connected state in network A, such as RLM, handover, etc. ”. Page 9, section 2.3, lines 13-16, “ To avoid the impact to the connection on network A caused by switching, mitigation should be investigated. E.g. even has been configured with multi-SIM gaps for switching without leaving connected state, UE is allowed to ignore the multi-SIM gaps in case of critical scenarios, e.g. T310 or T312 is running, to continue monitoring radio link on network A to avoid RLF ” (discloses in critical conditions such as following a handover failure, can ignore or suspend gap configuration usage)). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of MA with Samsung with vivo to provide a technique for periodic switching to a second network for a gap duration configured by the network without leaving connected state with the network. The advantage of not releasing from the first network in some scenarios is less false errors and distortion of connection statistics and avoiding unnecessary paging resources. In re claim 15, the combination discloses the first BS of claim 14 , wherein Samsung discloses wherein: the first command comprises a switchSuspendCommand (design variation. Post handover failure, first base station may send a first command to suspend switch gap usage. Page 12, lines 2-3, “ Networks can configure a higher value for T380 as part of the suspend configuration, while configuring the MUSIM UE SIM instance to RRC INACTIVE state ” (discloses a time configuration value for switch suspend command by the network)) ; and wherein MA discloses the handover request acknowledgment message comprises an RRCReconfiguration message ([0058], “ In this embodiment of this disclosure, optionally, the receiving cell change configuration information sent by a source node in S110 includes: receiving an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source node, where the RRC reconfiguration message includes the cell change configuration information ”. [0078], “ Optionally, in an embodiment, there are one or more cell change commands, where each cell change command is a radio resource control RRC message or is embedded in an RRC message as a container ” (discloses requests and acknowledgments for handover are contained in RRC reconfiguration messages)) and wherein vivo discloses wherein the RRCReconfiguration message comprises an OtherConfig information element (IE) that includes the switchSuspendCommand (Page 8, line 5, “ Define exclusive IE for MUSM gap preference in the gap assistance information ”. Page 4, lines 6-8, “ Proposal 5: Periodic gap with 6ms MGL is configured for receiving SIB1 at network B. The scheduling information of other SIBs, e.g. SIB2/3/4/5, is configured in si-SchedulingInfo IE in SIB1 ” (discloses a dedicated information element for measurement gap configuration usage commands as also included in the UE assistance information. Design variation, 3 or more base stations are at play, wherein handover is taking place and following a handover failure various commands are sent by the source base station to the UE for switching gap operation for connecting to a second network while staying connected to the source network. Messages are sent/received in RRC containers as disclosed in MA and as discloses in Samsung and vivo, the gap configurations just like UE assistance information for gap configuration usage has a dedicated information element IE for resume/suspend commands)). Contact Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SWATI JAIN whose telephone number is (571)270-0699. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri (830 am - 530 pm). 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, Pan Yuwen can be reached on 571-272-7855. 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. /SWATI JAIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 2 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 3 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 4 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 5 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 6 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 7 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 8 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 9 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 10 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 11 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 12 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 13 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 14 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 15 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 16 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 17 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 18 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 19 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 20 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 21 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 22 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 23 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 24 Art Unit: 2649 Application/Control Number: 18/720,655 Page 25 Art Unit: 2649
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