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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/775,548, filed on 11/20/2020.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) was/were submitted on 9/6/24, 4/10/25, 4/23/25, 8/22/25, and 9/4/25. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-8 is/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 1, it is unclear how claim 1 is directed to a terminal (which is a machine), but contains no parts. MPEP 2106.03 recites “A machine is a “concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices.” It is suggested to add a component of the terminal like circuitry. Claims 2-7 fails to resolve the deficiency of claim 1 and are thus rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim(s) 6, the boundaries of “reception of the information on the MCG failure” is/are unclear because the claim(s) does not provide a discernable boundary on what performs the function(s). The recited function(s) does not follow from any structure recited in the claim (there is no structure in claims 1 and 6), so it is unclear whether the function(s) requires some other structure or is simply a result of operating the terminal apparatus in a certain manner. Thus one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to draw a clear boundary between what is and is not covered by the claim(s). See MPEP 2173.05(g) for more information.
Regarding claim 8, it is unclear how claim 8 is directed to a secondary base station (which is a machine), but contains no parts. MPEP 2106.03 recites “A machine is a “concrete thing, consisting of parts, or of certain devices and combination of devices.” It is suggested to add a component of the secondary base station like circuitry.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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)(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) 1-3, 5-6, and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20220007214 by Zhang et al. (hereinafter Zhang).
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a terminal apparatus in a communication system, (fig. 2, UE 104; ¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104)
the communication system comprising (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104):
the terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104);
and a plurality of base station apparatuses configured to perform wireless communication with the terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104…the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2; ¶ 1, This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications; fig. 1a, shows UE 104 performing bi-directional communication with each of 102-1 and 102-2),
the plurality of base station apparatuses comprising a master base station configuring a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary base station configuring a secondary cell group (SCG) (¶ 28, UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2…the first BS 102-1 is a primary wireless communication node (i.e., MN) and the second BS 102-2 is a secondary wireless communication node (i.e., SN)…The at least one serving cell within a MN are grouped together to form a Master Cell Group (MCG), and the at least one serving cell within a SN are grouped together to form a Secondary Cell Group (SCG)),
wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to perform dual connectivity connecting to the master base station and the secondary base station (¶ 2, Dual Connectivity (DC) are proposed to allow a wireless communication device with multiple transceivers to simultaneously receive data packet from at least two wireless communication nodes, for example a Master gNodeB (MgNB or MN) and a secondary gNodeB (SgNB or SN); ¶ 16, UE 104 comprises a plurality of transceivers which enables the UE 104 to support dual connectivity so as to receive data simultaneously from the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2; ¶ 28, the UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2),
and the terminal apparatus is configured to perform communication with the secondary base station via the SCG in a case in which an MCG failure occurs (¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit, to the secondary base station, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling including information on the MCG failure in the case in which the MCG failure occurs (Zhang ¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station by using signal radio bearer (SRB) (Zhang ¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information on the MCG failure is transmitted from the secondary base station to the master base station (Zhang ¶ 44, The method 200 continues with operation 206 in which a second message is transmitted from the second BS 102-2 to the first BS 102-1…the second message comprises the MCG failure report in the first message received by the second BS 102-2 from the UE 104).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to receive signaling for recovering from the MCG failure, the signaling being transmitted from the master base station in response to reception of the information on the MCG failure (Zhang ¶ 48, a fourth message is transmitted from the second BS 102-2 to the UE 104 according to some embodiments…the fourth message comprises the MCG reconfiguration information received in the third message from the first BS 102-1; ¶ 47, a third message is received by the second BS 102-2 from the first BS 102-1; ¶ 46, the MCG reconfiguration comprises one of the following: maintaining the first BS 102-1, change configurations of the MCG and/or PCell, change the first BS 102-1 (i.e., change from a source MN to a target MN), and release the first BS 102-1… the MCG reconfiguration is determined by the first BS 102-1 according to the MCG failure report; ¶ 44, a second message is transmitted from the second BS 102-2 to the first BS 102-1…the second message comprises the MCG failure report in the first message received by the second BS 102-2 from the UE 104; ¶ 1, a method and apparatus for reporting a master cell group (MCG) failure…when the MCG failure…is detected by a wireless communication device so as to improve reliability and reduce service interruption in Multi-Radio Access technology Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)).
Regarding claim 8, Zhang teaches a secondary base station in a communication system (fig. 2, BS 102-2; ¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104),
the communication system comprising (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104):
a terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104);
and a plurality of base station apparatuses configured to perform wireless communication with the terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104…the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2; ¶ 1, This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications; fig. 1a, shows UE 104 performing bi-directional communication with each of 102-1 and 102-2),
the plurality of base station apparatuses comprising a master base station configuring a master cell group (MCG) and the secondary base station configuring a secondary cell group (SCG) (¶ 28, UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2…the first BS 102-1 is a primary wireless communication node (i.e., MN) and the second BS 102-2 is a secondary wireless communication node (i.e., SN)…The at least one serving cell within a MN are grouped together to form a Master Cell Group (MCG), and the at least one serving cell within a SN are grouped together to form a Secondary Cell Group (SCG)),
wherein the master base station and the secondary base station are configured to support dual connectivity for the terminal apparatus (¶ 2, Dual Connectivity (DC) are proposed to allow a wireless communication device with multiple transceivers to simultaneously receive data packet from at least two wireless communication nodes, for example a Master gNodeB (MgNB or MN) and a secondary gNodeB (SgNB or SN); ¶ 16, UE 104 comprises a plurality of transceivers which enables the UE 104 to support dual connectivity so as to receive data simultaneously from the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2; ¶ 28, the UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2),
and the secondary base station is configured to perform communication with the terminal apparatus via the SCG in a case in which an MCG failure occurs in the terminal apparatus (¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Regarding claim 9, Zhang teaches a communication system comprising (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104):
a terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104);
and a plurality of base station apparatuses configured to perform wireless communication with the terminal apparatus (¶ 28, The communication system in the illustrated embodiment comprises a first BS 102-1, a second BS 102-2, and a UE 104),
the plurality of base station apparatuses comprising a master base station configuring a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary base station configuring a secondary cell group (SCG) (¶ 28, UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2…the first BS 102-1 is a primary wireless communication node (i.e., MN) and the second BS 102-2 is a secondary wireless communication node (i.e., SN)…The at least one serving cell within a MN are grouped together to form a Master Cell Group (MCG), and the at least one serving cell within a SN are grouped together to form a Secondary Cell Group (SCG)),
wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to perform dual connectivity connecting to the master base station and the secondary base station (¶ 2, Dual Connectivity (DC) are proposed to allow a wireless communication device with multiple transceivers to simultaneously receive data packet from at least two wireless communication nodes, for example a Master gNodeB (MgNB or MN) and a secondary gNodeB (SgNB or SN); ¶ 16, UE 104 comprises a plurality of transceivers which enables the UE 104 to support dual connectivity so as to receive data simultaneously from the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2; ¶ 28, the UE 104 is in one of at least one serving cell covered by the first BS 102-1 and the UE 104 is also in one of at least one serving cell covered by the second BS 102-2, i.e., the UE 104 is in connection with the first BS 102-1 and the second BS 102-2),
and the terminal apparatus is configured to perform communication with the secondary base station via the SCG in a case in which an MCG failure occurs (¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of US 20220007259 by Fujishiro et al. (hereinafter Fujishiro).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station while maintaining a RRC connected state, in the case in which the MCG failure occurs (Zhang ¶ 39, The method 200 continues with operation 204 in which a first message is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2…the first message is transmitted by the UE 104 to the second BS 102-1 after a failure report procedure is determined by the UE 104… the first message comprises a MCG failure report. In some embodiments, the UE 104 prepares the MCG failure report after the operation 202 in which the MCG failure is detected by the UE 104; ¶ 40, when the first message comprising the MCG failure report is transmitted from the UE 104 to the second BS 102-2 through one of the following: the SCG leg of the split SRB (e.g., split SRB1 and/or split SRB2)…the MCG failure report is encapsulated in at least one of the following: at least one RRC container…the MCG failure report in the at least one RRC container each is one of the following: a RRC Protocol Data Unit (PDU)).
Although Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station, in the case in which the MCG failure occurs, Zhang does not explicitly disclose the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station while maintaining a RRC connected state, in the case in which the MCG failure occurs.
Fujishiro in the same or similar field of endeavor teaches a terminal apparatus is configured to transmit a RRC signaling to a secondary base station while maintaining a RRC connected state, in the case in which a MCG failure occurs (fig. 7, shows UE 100 transmitting a RRC message to base station 200B (SN, SCG) while still in RRC CONNECTED state with base station 200A (MN, MCG), in the case in which a MCG link failed/deteriorated at s102; ¶ 62, occurrence of RLF associated with the MCG). By modifying Zhang’s teachings of the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station, in the case in which the MCG failure occurs with Fujishiro’s teachings of a terminal apparatus is configured to transmit a RRC signaling to a secondary base station while maintaining a RRC connected state, in the case in which a MCG failure occurs, the modification results in the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit the RRC signaling to the secondary base station while maintaining a RRC connected state, in the case in which the MCG failure occurs.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang’s teachings with Fujishiro’s above teachings. The motivation is enabling dual connectivity communication to be quickly restored (Fujishiro ¶ 4). Known work in one field of endeavor (Fujishiro prior art) may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one (Zhang prior art) based on design incentives (enabling dual connectivity communication to be quickly restored) or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one or ordinary skill in the art.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of US 20190289510 by Rugeland et al. (hereinafter Rugeland).
Regarding claim 7, Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station after the MCG failure occurs (Zhang fig. 2, after detecting a MCG failure at 202, transmitting a fourth message; ¶ 48, a fourth message is transmitted from the second BS 102-2 to the UE 104 according to some embodiments…the fourth message comprises the MCG reconfiguration information received in the third message from the first BS 102-1; ¶ 46, the MCG reconfiguration comprises one of the following:…change the first BS 102-1 (i.e., change from a source MN to a target MN)).
Although Zhang teaches the terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station after the MCG failure occurs, Zhang does not explicitly disclose the terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station that is different from the master base station after the MCG failure occurs.
Rugeland in the same or similar field of endeavor teaches a terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station that is different from a master base station after a MCG failure occurs (¶ 21, Embodiments herein enable a quick response to RLF at the first radio network node…allowing a handover of the wireless device within the first radio network node, to…a third radio network node; ¶ 45, the first radio network node 12 may evaluate whether to declare RLF for the wireless device…to trigger a handover the wireless device to…another radio network node such as a third radio network node 14 for being e.g. the master node in the dual connectivity setup; ¶ 8, dual connectivity (DC) was introduced, where a wireless device could connect to two different radio network nodes, such as eNBs, simultaneously. One of the radio network nodes would be the master eNB (MeNB); ¶ 45, if the connection to the first radio network node 12, being a connection of the MCG, fails due to e.g. RLF). By modifying Zhang’s teachings of the terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station after the MCG failure occurs with Rugeland’s teachings of a terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station that is different from a master base station after a MCG failure occurs, the modification results in the terminal apparatus is configured to connect to another master base station that is different from the master base station after the MCG failure occurs.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang’s teachings with Rugeland’s above teachings. The motivation is improving the performance of the wireless communication network when using dual connectivity in the wireless communication network (Rugeland ¶ 12). Known work in one field of endeavor (Rugeland prior art) may prompt variations of it for use in either the same field or a different one (Zhang prior art) based on design incentives (improves the performance of the wireless communication network when using dual connectivity in the wireless communication network) or other market forces if the variations are predictable to one or ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER P CHAU whose telephone number is (571)270-7152. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30 A.M - 6 P.M. ET M-F.
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/PETER P CHAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476