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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 12, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 5, line 10 of this claim contains the term “the multicast/broadcast session context”. There is no prior mention of any specific multicast/broadcast session context in the language of claim 5 or in the language of claims 1 and 2, on which claim 5 depends. Thus, there is a lack of proper antecedent basis for this term in the claim language. It is noted that dependent claim 4 does introduce “a multicast/broadcast session context”; however, claim 5 does not depend on claim 4. It is recommended that claim 5 be amended such that this term has proper antecedent basis.
Regarding claims 12 and 18, these claims contain similar language to the above mentioned language of claim 5 including the term “the multicast/broadcast session context”. These claims also lack appropriate antecedent basis for this claim term.
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 1-3, 6-10, 13-16, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (U.S. Publication US 2015/0119023 A1).
With respect to claims 1, 8, and 15, Wang et al. discloses a multicast/broadcast communication system performing a multicast/broadcast communications method, and comprising: a radio access network device, which is a communication apparatus comprising at least one processor, and a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions executed by the at least one processor; the radio access network device is shared by at least two networks comprising a first network and a second network; and comprising a first access an mobility management function network element of the first network (See the abstract, paragraphs 45-47, paragraphs 61-62, and Figures 5 and 13 of Wang et al. for reference to a system and method performing evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, eMBMS, communications, comprising a multi-cell/multicast coordination entity, MCE, which is a radio access network device, implemented via a device comprising a processor coupled to a memory storing software instructions executed by the processor, wherein the MCE is shared among different operator networks, i.e. a first network and second network, and comprising a first mobility management entity, MME, of a first operator network). Wang et al. also discloses receiving, by a radio access network device shared by at least two networks, a first message from a first access and mobility management function network element of a first network of the at least two networks, wherein the first message carries an identifier of a first multicast/broadcast service and is used for triggering resource allocation for the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 5, 9A, and 9B of Wang et al. for reference to the MCE receiving, via a first MME, a request to broadcast an MBMS service identified by a user service description, USD, which is an identifier of the MBMS service that is used to trigger sharing of radio network resources for the MBMS service). Wang et al. further discloses obtaining, by the radio access network device based on the identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service, information about a first resource corresponding to the first multicast/broadcast service, wherein the first resource has been allocated for sending data of the first multicast/broadcast service to a terminal device in a second network of the at least two networks (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 5, 9A, and 9B of Wang et al. for reference to determining whether the requested MBMS service is the same as an MBMS service already provided by the RAN for another operator network, i.e. a second operator network, and if the determination is YES, determining to use the same network resources as the network resources already used to broadcast the MBMS service in the other operator network, thereby conserving network resources). Wang et al. also discloses sending, by the radio access network device, the data of the first multicast/broadcast service to a terminal device in the first network by using the first resource (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 5, 9A, and 9B of Wang et al. for reference to broadcasting the MBMS service already provided by the second operator network via the first operator network using the same network resources already used to broadcast the MBMS service by the second operator network).
With respect to claims 2, 9, and 16, Wang et al. discloses wherein the identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service comprises a globally unique identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraph 38 and paragraphs 52-54 of Wang et al. for reference to the USD using a multicast IP address to identify the MBMS service, wherein an IP address is a globally unique identifier).
With respect to claims 3 and 10, Wang et al. discloses wherein the globally unique identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service comprises an internet protocol (IP) multicast address of the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraph 38 and paragraphs 52-54 of Wang et al. for reference to the USD using a multicast IP address to identify the MBMS service).
With respect to claims 6, 13, and 19, Wang et al. discloses wherein the first message is a multicast/broadcast session resource setup request (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 9A and 9B for reference to the message being a request to broadcast an MBMS service that initiates resource allocation for broadcasting the MBMB service).
With respect to claims 7, 14, and 20, Wang et al. discloses wherein the first resource is used for sending the data of the first multicast/broadcast service across multiple multicast/broadcast sessions of the at least two networks (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 9A and 9B for reference to the message the resources used to broadcast the MBMS sessions of multiple operator networks being shared between the operator networks).
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 4-5, 11-12, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. in view of Linden et al. (U.S. Publication US 2016/0057766 A1).
With respect to claims 4, 11, and 17, Wang et al. discloses wherein the obtaining, by the radio access network device based on the identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service, the information about the first resource corresponding to the first multicast/broadcast service comprises: searching, by the radio access network device based on the globally unique identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service, for a multicast/broadcast session context corresponding to the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraph 38, paragraph 54, paragraphs 57-59, and Figures 9B and 11 of Wang et al. for reference to searching based on the USD of the MBMS service identifying the multicast IP address of the MBMS service, a table as shown in Figure 11 mapping the IP address to a port number and a TMGI service ID, such that the entries of the table are MBMS session contexts corresponding to the identified MBMS services). Wang et al. also discloses obtaining, by the radio access network device, the information about the first resource based on the multicast/broadcast session context (See paragraph 38, paragraph 52-54, paragraphs 57-59, and Figures 9A and 9B and 11 of Wang et al. for reference to obtaining based on the multicast IP address corresponding to the USD the information of the shared network resources to be used to broadcast the corresponding MBMB service). Although Wang et al. does disclose a table storing MBMS session context information comprising the globally unique identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraphs 57-59 and Figure 11 of Wang et al. for reference to the table mapping the IP addresses to context information), Wang et al. does not explicitly illustrate the context information including the information about the first resource. However, Linden et al., in the field of communications, discloses a MBMS communication method that uses the same radio resources to schedule the same MBMS sessions via eNBs (See paragraphs 22-23 of Linden et al.), wherein MBMS session information, which is MBMS context information, determined by an MCE includes an indication of the resources to be used to broadcast each MBMS session (See paragraphs 61-74 and Figure 4 of Linden et al. for reference to storing mappings between session identifiers and corresponding resources to be used to broadcast MBMS sessions). Using MBMS session context information comprising information about resources has the advantage of providing a simple way to store mappings of specific MBMS session identifiers to the resources used to broadcast the identified MBMS sessions. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Linden et al., to combine using MBMS session context information comprising information about resources, as suggested by Linden et al., within the system and method of Wang et al., with the motivation being to provide a simple way to store mappings of specific MBMS session identifiers to the resources used to broadcast the identified MBMS sessions.
With respect to claims 5, 12, and 18, Wang et al. discloses receiving, by the radio access network device, a second message from a second access and mobility management function network element of the second network, wherein the second message carries a first identifier and is used for triggering resource allocation for the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 5, 9A, and 9B of Wang et al. for reference to the MCE receiving, via a second MME, a request to broadcast an MBMS service identified by a user service description, USD, which is an identifier of the MBMS service that is used to trigger sharing of radio network resources for the MBMS service). Wang et al. also discloses allocating, by the radio access network device, the first resource to the first multicast/broadcast service based on the second message, wherein the first resource is allocated to a multicast/broadcast session of the second network for sending the data of the first multicast/broadcast service to the terminal device in the second network (See paragraphs 52-54 and Figures 5, 9A, and 9B of Wang et al. for reference to the MCE determining that the requested MBMS service is not identical to an MBMS service provided by another operator network in step 904, and based on the determination, broadcasting the MBMS service via allocated resources in step 908). Wang et al. further discloses establishing, by the radio access network device, the multicast/broadcast session context corresponding to the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraph 54, paragraphs 57-59, and Figures 9B and 11 of Wang et al. for reference to establishing entries of a table, as illustrated by Figure 11, mapping the USD multicast IP address to a port number and TMGI Service ID for the requested MBMS service, such that the entries of the table are MBMS session contexts corresponding to the identified MBMS services). Although Wang et al. does disclose establishing a table storing MBMS session context information comprising the first identifier of the first multicast/broadcast service (See paragraphs 57-59 and Figure 11 of Wang et al. for reference to the table mapping the IP addresses to context information), Wang et al. does not explicitly illustrate the context information including the information about the first resource. However, Linden et al., in the field of communications, discloses a MBMS communication method that uses the same radio resources to schedule the same MBMS sessions via eNBs (See paragraphs 22-23 of Linden et al.), wherein MBMS session information, which is MBMS context information, determined by an MCE includes an indication of the resources to be used to broadcast each MBMS session (See paragraphs 61-74 and Figure 4 of Linden et al. for reference to storing mappings between session identifiers and corresponding resources to be used to broadcast MBMS sessions). Using MBMS session context information comprising information about resources has the advantage of providing a simple way to store mappings of specific MBMS session identifiers to the resources used to broadcast the identified MBMS sessions. Thus, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filing, when presented with the work of Linden et al., to combine using MBMS session context information comprising information about resources, as suggested by Linden et al., within the system and method of Wang et al., with the motivation being to provide a simple way to store mappings of specific MBMS session identifiers to the resources used to broadcast the identified MBMS sessions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhang et al. (U.S. Publication US 2024/0114592 A1) discloses another relevant system and method of resource allocation for multicast broadcast services.
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/JASON E MATTIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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