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 .
Response to Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election without traverse of claim(s) 1-15 in the reply filed 08/03/2026 is acknowledged. Claim(s) 16-20 are withdrawn from consideration. New claim(s) 21-25 have been added.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 6-8, 13-14, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 21, Pati discloses One or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media, comprising computer-readable instructions that, upon execution by processing circuitry of an electronic device, cause the processing circuitry to and An electronic device, comprising: a first transceiver configured to communicate with a network over a first frequency range; a second transceiver configured to communicate with the network over a second frequency range; processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver, the processing circuitry configured to and A method comprising (Fig. 7, [0090]: Using the network interface 703 and the communication network 709, the user equipment 700 may communicate with a network device 614. [0092] The processor 702 may be disposed in communication with a memory 705 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc.) via a storage interface 704. [0081] At step 501, the UE 101 is connected, by the connection establishing module 211 to the MCG 102 and the SCG 105. [0066]: in FR2 frequencies, the average power consumed by the UE 101 is high compared to the MCG 102 FR1 frequencies. Hence, removing the SCG 105 in such scenarios may help the UE 101 in reducing power consumption and overheating problems):
receive a first indication of whether signals are being sent or received over a first communication link provided by a first transceiver of the electronic device (Fig. 5, [0082]: At step 503, the UE initiates, by the data initiation module 213, a data session with the network device 103 using the SCG 103. [0046]: the UE 101 may initiate a data session (i.e., data transmission or reception) using either the MCG 102 or the SCG 105. When the UE 101 initiates the data session with the network device 103 using the SCG 105);
receive a second indication of whether an error rate of the signals sent or received over the first communication link exceeds a threshold ([0083]: At step 505, the UE determines, by the performance determination module 215, whether performance of the UE 101 when connected to the SCG 105 is below the predefined threshold for the first time period. [0046]: the UE 101 checks the performance and determines if the performance when connected to the SCG 105 is below a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold is determined by the UE 101 based on at least one of a threshold for … a BLER … a threshold for BLER can be >50%. [0076]: the UE determines whether the BLER for the NR cell is greater than a B2 threshold (e.g., 50%) for the first duration, and performs step 406 if the BLER for the NR cell is greater than the B2 threshold); and
end the first communication link and use a second communication link provided by a second transceiver of the electronic device based on the first indication and the second indication (Fig. 5, [0085] At step 509, the UE initiates the RLF by the RLF initiation module 217 to disconnect with the SCG. [0084] At step 507, the UE determines, by the performance determination module 215, whether performance of the UE 101 when connected to the MCG 102 is above the predefined threshold. [0075]: If the at least one parameter is less than the threshold for the first duration, at step 406, the UE sends the ‘SCGFailureInformation’ message to remove the NR leg. [0046]: When the UE 101 initiates the data session with the network device 103 using the SCG 105, the UE 101 checks the performance and determines if the performance when connected to the SCG 105 is below a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold is determined by the UE 101 based on at least one of a threshold for … a BLER … a threshold for BLER can be >50%. [0076]: the UE determines whether the BLER for the NR cell is greater than a B2 threshold (e.g., 50%) for the first duration, and performs step 406 if the BLER for the NR cell is greater than the B2 threshold).
Regarding claim(s) 6, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 1 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to receive a third indication of a reference signal received power of the signals ([0083]: At step 505, the UE determines, by the performance determination module 215, whether performance of the UE 101 when connected to the SCG 105 is below the predefined threshold for the first time period. [0046]: the UE 101 checks the performance and determines if the performance when connected to the SCG 105 is below a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold is determined by the UE 101 based on at least one of a threshold for … a current RSRP, a future RSRP (which may be estimated by monitoring signal strength and network parameters over a period of time) … The RSRP refers to a measurement of the received power level in a cell network... a threshold for the parameter RSRP may be −105 dBm. [0074]: When the RSRP for the NR cell goes beyond the B1 threshold, device performance (expected throughput, latency, back and forth exchanges, etc.) is very poor and high power consumption occurs. To overcome this, the B1 threshold is provided as a criterion for determining whether to remove the NR cell).
Regarding claim(s) 7, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 6 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the reference signal received power of the signals (Fig. 5, [0085] At step 509, the UE initiates the RLF by the RLF initiation module 217 to disconnect with the SCG. [0084] At step 507, the UE determines, by the performance determination module 215, whether performance of the UE 101 when connected to the MCG 102 is above the predefined threshold. [0075]: If the at least one parameter is less than the threshold for the first duration, at step 406, the UE sends the ‘SCGFailureInformation’ message to remove the NR leg. [0046]: the UE 101 checks the performance and determines if the performance when connected to the SCG 105 is below a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold is determined by the UE 101 based on at least one of a threshold for … a current RSRP, a future RSRP (which may be estimated by monitoring signal strength and network parameters over a period of time) … The RSRP refers to a measurement of the received power level in a cell network... a threshold for the parameter RSRP may be −105 dBm. [0074]: When the RSRP for the NR cell goes beyond the B1 threshold, device performance (expected throughput, latency, back and forth exchanges, etc.) is very poor and high power consumption occurs. To overcome this, the B1 threshold is provided as a criterion for determining whether to remove the NR cell).
Regarding claim(s) 13, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to receive a third indication of a reference signal received power of the signals, and end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the reference signal received power of the signals (Fig. 5, [0085] At step 509, the UE initiates the RLF by the RLF initiation module 217 to disconnect with the SCG. [0084] At step 507, the UE determines, by the performance determination module 215, whether performance of the UE 101 when connected to the MCG 102 is above the predefined threshold. [0075]: If the at least one parameter is less than the threshold for the first duration, at step 406, the UE sends the ‘SCGFailureInformation’ message to remove the NR leg. [0046]: the UE 101 checks the performance and determines if the performance when connected to the SCG 105 is below a predefined threshold. The predefined threshold is determined by the UE 101 based on at least one of a threshold for … a current RSRP, a future RSRP (which may be estimated by monitoring signal strength and network parameters over a period of time) … The RSRP refers to a measurement of the received power level in a cell network... a threshold for the parameter RSRP may be −105 dBm. [0074]: When the RSRP for the NR cell goes beyond the B1 threshold, device performance (expected throughput, latency, back and forth exchanges, etc.) is very poor and high power consumption occurs. To overcome this, the B1 threshold is provided as a criterion for determining whether to remove the NR cell).
Regarding claim(s) 14, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati discloses wherein the error rate comprises an uplink block error rate ([0086]: uplink BLER).
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 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.
Claim(s) 2-3, 11, and 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1) in view of Karimli et al. (US 2019/0053114 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 2 and 22, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 21 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to receive a third indication of whether the electronic device has moved from outdoors to indoors (Fig. 4, [0076]: Block 406 illustrates analyzing the contextual data utilizing a data model … Based at least in part on receiving an indication of an occurrence of an event, the network management module 230 can analyze the contextual data (received from the contextual data determination module 228) utilizing the data model 234. [0008]: analyze contextual data associated with event(s) to determine whether to route data communication transmitted from a device through a first network connection or a second network connection. As described herein, an event can correspond to a change in a location of a device (e.g., from outside of a coffee shop to inside of the coffee shop, from outside of a home to inside of the home, etc.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to analyze the received contextual data indicating a change in location of the device, i.e., from outside to inside of a coffee shop, as taught by Karimli.
Doing so provides techniques to route data communication through a different network connection (Karimli: [0007]-[0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 3 and 23, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 2 and 22 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the electronic device being moved from outdoors to indoors (Fig. 4, [0076]: Block 406 illustrates analyzing the contextual data utilizing a data model … Based at least in part on receiving an indication of an occurrence of an event, the network management module 230 can analyze the contextual data (received from the contextual data determination module 228) utilizing the data model 234. [0079]: Based at least in part on determining that a network change is permitted, the network management module 230 can effectuate a change from a first network to a second network, as illustrated in block 412. [0081]: Based at least in part on determining that a network change is encouraged, the network management module 230 can effectuate a change from the first network to the second network, as illustrated in block 412. [0008]: analyze contextual data associated with event(s) to determine whether to route data communication transmitted from a device through a first network connection or a second network connection. As described herein, an event can correspond to a change in a location of a device (e.g., from outside of a coffee shop to inside of the coffee shop, from outside of a home to inside of the home, etc.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to change from a first network to a second network based on analyzing the received contextual data indicating a change in location of the device, i.e., from outside to inside of a coffee shop, as taught by Karimli.
Doing so provides techniques to route data communication through a different network connection (Karimli: [0007]-[0008]).
Regarding claim(s) 11, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati discloses to receive a third indication of whether the electronic device has moved from outdoors to indoors, and end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the electronic device moving from outdoors to indoors (Fig. 4, [0076]: Block 406 illustrates analyzing the contextual data utilizing a data model … Based at least in part on receiving an indication of an occurrence of an event, the network management module 230 can analyze the contextual data (received from the contextual data determination module 228) utilizing the data model 234. [0079]: Based at least in part on determining that a network change is permitted, the network management module 230 can effectuate a change from a first network to a second network, as illustrated in block 412. [0081]: Based at least in part on determining that a network change is encouraged, the network management module 230 can effectuate a change from the first network to the second network, as illustrated in block 412. [0008]: analyze contextual data associated with event(s) to determine whether to route data communication transmitted from a device through a first network connection or a second network connection. As described herein, an event can correspond to a change in a location of a device (e.g., from outside of a coffee shop to inside of the coffee shop, from outside of a home to inside of the home, etc.)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to change from a first network to a second network based on analyzing the received contextual data indicating a change in location of the device, i.e., from outside to inside of a coffee shop, as taught by Karimli.
Doing so provides techniques to route data communication through a different network connection (Karimli: [0007]-[0008]).
Claim(s) 4 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1) in view of Pekonen et al. (US 2006/0205406 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 4 and 24, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 1 and 21 as outlined above.
Pati does not disclose, but Pekonen discloses to receive a third indication of a channel impulse response and determine a rate of speed that the electronic device is traveling based on the channel impulse response (claim 23: determining a speed of a mobile device moving through a current cell comprises: receiving a channel impulse response of a Doppler shifted signal; performing a Fast Fourier Transform on the channel impulse response to produce a Doppler power spectrum; estimating a Doppler spread frequency based on the Doppler power spectrum; and calculating the speed of the mobile device by dividing the Doppler spread frequency by a carrier frequency and multiplying the resulting ratio by the speed of light. Fig. 7, [0044]: In block 721, the channel impulse response H(f,t) of the signal from channel estimation block 705 runs through a FFT to produce Doppler power spectrum S(t,f.sub.d). At block 722, the Doppler power spectrum is used to estimate the Doppler spread F.sub.d. The Doppler spread frequency is then used to estimate mobile speed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to receive and use a channel impulse response to obtain a Doppler power spectrum, Doppler spread frequency, and finally the speed of the mobile device, as taught by Pekonen.
Doing so approximates the speed of the mobile terminal that can be used in calculating the dynamic handover measurement interval (Pekonen: [0045]).
Claim(s) 5, 12, and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1) in view of Pekonen et al. (US 2006/0205406 A1) and Han et al. (CN 112291861 A).
Regarding claim(s) 5 and 25, Pati in Pekonen discloses all features of claim(s) 4 and 24 as outlined above.
Pati does not disclose, but Han discloses to end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the rate of speed that the electronic device is traveling ([0078]: when the 5G link is enabled in the power-priority connection mode, the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the 4G link is monitored in real time. … if RSRP < -100 dBM and the terminal's moving speed is < 300 km/h, the 5G link is turned off and data transmission is carried out through the 4G link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to turn of the 5G link and use the 4G link based on the terminal’s moving speed, as taught by Han.
Doing so provides real-time monitoring of the RSRP of the 4G link by also taking into account the relationship between the terminal’s moving speed and a threshold (Han: [0078)].
Regarding claim(s) 12, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati does not disclose, but Pekonen discloses to receive a third indication of a channel impulse response, determine a rate of speed that the electronic device is traveling based on the channel impulse response (claim 23: determining a speed of a mobile device moving through a current cell comprises: receiving a channel impulse response of a Doppler shifted signal; performing a Fast Fourier Transform on the channel impulse response to produce a Doppler power spectrum; estimating a Doppler spread frequency based on the Doppler power spectrum; and calculating the speed of the mobile device by dividing the Doppler spread frequency by a carrier frequency and multiplying the resulting ratio by the speed of light. Fig. 7, [0044]: In block 721, the channel impulse response H(f,t) of the signal from channel estimation block 705 runs through a FFT to produce Doppler power spectrum S(t,f.sub.d). At block 722, the Doppler power spectrum is used to estimate the Doppler spread F.sub.d. The Doppler spread frequency is then used to estimate mobile speed),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to receive and use a channel impulse response to obtain a Doppler power spectrum, Doppler spread frequency, and finally the speed of the mobile device, as taught by Pekonen.
Doing so approximates the speed of the mobile terminal that can be used in calculating the dynamic handover measurement interval (Pekonen: [0045]).
Pati does not disclose, but Han discloses end the first communication link and use the second communication link based on the rate of speed that the electronic device is traveling ([0078]: when the 5G link is enabled in the power-priority connection mode, the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the 4G link is monitored in real time. … if RSRP < -100 dBM and the terminal's moving speed is < 300 km/h, the 5G link is turned off and data transmission is carried out through the 4G link).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to turn of the 5G link and use the 4G link based on the terminal’s moving speed, as taught by Han.
Doing so provides real-time monitoring of the RSRP of the 4G link by also taking into account the relationship between the terminal’s moving speed and a threshold (Han: [0078)].
Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1) in view of Takeda et al. (US 2023/0134316 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 9, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati discloses in [0066]: FR2 frequencies for SCG. Pati does not disclose, but Takeda discloses wherein the first communication link operates on a first frequency between 24.25 gigahertz (GHz) and 100 GHz (Fig. 4, [0082]: the serving cells of the second cell group (e.g., the serving cells 420, 422 of the SCG 406) may be within a second frequency range (FR2). [0083]: FR2 includes 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. Fig. 5, [0086]: the SCG serving cells include a first set of serving cells within the first frequency range (FR1) (e.g., the serving cells corresponding to band 7 and band 8) and a second set of serving cells within the second frequency range (FR2) (e.g., the serving cell corresponding to band 258)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to communicate with the SCG with FR2 frequencies between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz, as taught by Takeda.
Doing so facilitates power control sharing for uplink transmissions for a UE that is connected to two cell groups (e.g., an MCG and an SCG).
Regarding claim(s) 10, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati discloses in [0066]: FR1 frequencies for MCG. Pati does not disclose, but Takeda discloses wherein the second communication link operates on a second frequency between 600 megahertz (MHz) and 5000 MHz (Fig. 4, [0082]: serving cells of the first cell group (e.g., the serving cells 410, 412 of the MCG 402) may be within a first frequency range (FR1). [0083]: FR1 includes 410 MHz to 7126 MHz. Fig. 5, [0086]: the MCG serving cells include a first set of serving cells within a first frequency range (FR1) (e.g., the serving cells corresponding to band 1 and band 3) and a second set of serving cells within a second frequency range (FR2) (e.g., the serving cell corresponding to band 257)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to communicate with the MCG with FR1 frequencies between 410 MHz and 7126 MHz, as taught by Takeda.
Doing so facilitates power control sharing for uplink transmissions for a UE that is connected to two cell groups (e.g., an MCG and an SCG).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pati et al. (US 2020/0383155 A1) in view of Li et al. (US 2022/0201581 A1).
Regarding claim(s) 15, Pati discloses all features of claim(s) 8 as outlined above.
Pati does not disclose, but Li discloses wherein the error rate comprises a downlink block error rate ([0009]: the terminal device may determine, in one or a combination of the following manners, whether the link quality information of the serving cell in the SCG meets the first preset condition, in other words, whether the quality of service on the SCG side is poor: [0022]: determining that the block error rate BLER in sending the downlink data and/or receiving the uplink data in the cell in the SCG is less than a fourteenth threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to program the UE, as taught by Pati, to determine whether the link quality information of the SCG by determining that the BLER in sending the downlink data is less than a threshold, as taught by Li.
Doing so allows the terminal device to flexibly determine whether the quality of service on the SCG side meets the first preset condition (Li: [0023]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THE HY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3813. The examiner can normally be reached on Mo-Fr: 8am-4pm.
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/THE HY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
TheHy.Nguyen@USPTO.gov
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