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 § 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 1 and 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Abeysekera et al (US 12,035,336).
Regarding independent claim 1, Abeysekera teaches a radio access network system, comprising: at least one first radio unit having a first frequency band; and at least one second radio unit having a second frequency band, wherein a frequency range of the first frequency band and a frequency range of the second frequency band do not overlap with each other, and a first coverage range of the first frequency band in an area and a second coverage range of the second frequency band in the area partially overlap with each other (figs. 5-7; col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.).
Regarding dependent claim 4, Abeysekera further teaches wherein the frequency range of the first frequency band is lower than the frequency range of the second frequency band. See col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.
Regarding dependent claim 5, Abeysekera further teaches a user equipment disposed within an overlapping portion between the first coverage range and the second coverage range, and configured to connect to the at least one first radio unit when the at least one first radio unit and the at least one second radio unit both operate normally. See col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.
Regarding dependent claim 6, Abeysekera further teaches a user equipment disposed within an overlapping portion between the first coverage range and the second coverage range, and configured to scan a frequency band from low frequency to high frequency, and connect to a radio unit that is first scanned among the at least one first radio unit and the at least one second radio unit. See col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abeysekera et al (US 12,035,336).
Regarding dependent claim 7, Abeysekera teaches all subject matter claimed except to further teach connecting to one second radio unit in the event one first radio unit fails to operate. However, connecting the UE to one of the functioning radio unit in the overlapping zone in the event one of the other radio unit failing to operate is notoriously well-known in the art of digital communications. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Abeysekera so as to keep the UE to be connected to the network. See col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.
Regarding dependent claim 8, the same rationale as applied to claim 7 for keeping the UE connected. See col. 4, lines 5-13; col. 6, line 42 to col. 7, line 3 and col. 7, lines 39-46.
Regarding dependent claim 9, Abeysekera further teaches wired LANs network with optical fiber connection (col. 1, lines 59-64). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have recognized to modify the system of Abeysekera to use optical fiber to connect the radio units to the hub. See also fig. 1.
Regarding dependent claim 10, Abeysekera further teaches a first baseband unit connected to the first hub and configured to connect to a core network; and a second baseband unit connected to the second hub and configured to connect to the core network. See fig. 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 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
Examiner's note: Examiner has cited particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant, in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. References Morris et al (US 10,447,385), Rao et al (US 2005/0052333), Lindoff et al (US 2011/0305220), Cheng et al (US 2013/0109385), Xu (US 2013/0115965), Lee et al (US 2013/0165169), Tong et al (US 2018/0069621) and Heiser et al (US 2021/0266897) are cited because they are pertinent to the method and apparatus for radio access network system. However, none of the cited references teaches or suggests the further arrangements as recited in the dependent claims 2-3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DON NGUYEN VO whose telephone number is (571) 272-3018. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 6:30PM.
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated-interview-request-air-form.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kenneth N Vanderpuye, can be reached on 571-272-3078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DON N VO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634
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