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 .
Making the record clear - Claim Interpretation under MPEP 2181
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Claims 27-30 are an “apparatus” claim reciting limitations that uses the word “means for” coupled with the functional language “determining…..”, “receiving….” and “transmitting…….” are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses non-structural modifier that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
Applicant’s own Spec. at Fig. 9, Fig.10, and [0096]-[0121] in the pre-grant publication discloses the structure that performs the function of determining, receiving and transmitting. Examiner submits that the claim limitation appears to recite sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function to effectively rebut any presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre -AlA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Based on such MPEP 2181 investigation it is believed that the limitations corresponding to “means for” do not invoke 112(f).
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-18 and 20-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No US 2025/0062972 to He et al. (hereinafter He) in view of U.S. Publication No US 2023/0388830 to Eklof et al. (hereinafter Eklof)
As to claims 1, 12, 23 and 27, He discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured to:
determine, by a UE radio resource control (RRC) layer of the UE, that a quality of experience (QoE) reporting is paused based at least in part on a network overload, wherein buffered QoE data for a QoE configuration is stored at the UE when the QoE reporting is paused (He; [0048]-[0050] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report);
transmit, based at least in part on the attention command, the buffered QoE data without discarding the buffered QoE data stored at the UE (He; Fig.2:218; [0049]-[0050]; [0052] discloses When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE 110 would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. The UE 110 may transmit a QoE buffer status report relating to the buffer for storing the QoE measurement reports to the target base station 124 during or after the mobility procedure at an operation 218. In other words, the QoE buffer status report is triggered by the indication of the mobility procedure. In some example embodiments, the QoE buffer status report may include at least one of size of buffered QoE data (i.e., one or more QoE measurement reports) in the buffer, left space in the buffer, left time before overflow of the buffer, and initial time for the buffer to store the QoE measurement reports).
He discloses the UE sends buffer status report to the network device when receives QoE reporting Resume command. He also discloses application layer. He fails to disclose receiving command at the RRC layer from application layer. However, Eklof discloses
receive, at the UE RRC layer from a UE application layer of the UE, an attention command that indicates a QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration (Eklof; Fig.9A: 922; [0063]; [0124]-[0125] discloses receiving, at the RRC layer of the UE from the application layer of the UE, a stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration and sending, from the RRC layer of the UE to the application layer of the UE, a release request for the QoE measurement configuration responsive to receiving the stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration at the RRC layer of the UE. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the application layer of the UE, receiving the release request for the QoE measurement configuration from the RRC layer of the UE and releasing the QoE measurement configuration upon receiving the release request from the RRC layer of the UE. Once the QoE configuration is released, the application layer may send a confirmation of release to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer may send a configuration of release to the network node)
It is obvious for a person of ordinary skilled in the art to combine the teachings before the effective filing date of the invention. One would be motivated to combine the teachings and make a decision at the RRC layer based on the stop indication received from application layer and thus use the limited resources in an effective way.
As to claims 2, 13, 24 and 28, the rejection of claim 1 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
determine, by the UE RRC layer, to resume transmitting the buffered QoE data based at least in part on the attention command that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration (Eklof; Fig.9A: 922; [0063]; [0124]-[0125] discloses receiving, at the RRC layer of the UE from the application layer of the UE, a stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration and sending, from the RRC layer of the UE to the application layer of the UE, a release request for the QoE measurement configuration responsive to receiving the stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration at the RRC layer of the UE. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the application layer of the UE, receiving the release request for the QoE measurement configuration from the RRC layer of the UE and releasing the QoE measurement configuration upon receiving the release request from the RRC layer of the UE. Once the QoE configuration is released, the application layer may send a confirmation of release to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer may send a configuration of release to the network node); and
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to a network entity, a first RRC message that includes a QoE report with the buffered QoE data (He; Fig.2:218; [0049]-[0050]; [0052] discloses When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE 110 would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. The UE 110 may transmit a QoE buffer status report relating to the buffer for storing the QoE measurement reports to the target base station 124 during or after the mobility procedure at an operation 218. In other words, the QoE buffer status report is triggered by the indication of the mobility procedure. In some example embodiments, the QoE buffer status report may include at least one of size of buffered QoE data (i.e., one or more QoE measurement reports) in the buffer, left space in the buffer, left time before overflow of the buffer, and initial time for the buffer to store the QoE measurement reports).
As to claims 3, 14, 25 and 29, the rejection of claim 1 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to a network entity and based at least in part on the attention command that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration, a first RRC message that indicates one or more of: the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration, or a buffered QoE data indication that indicates whether the buffered QoE data is available for the QoE configuration (He; Fig.2:218; [0049]-[0050]; [0052] discloses When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE 110 would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. The UE 110 may transmit a QoE buffer status report relating to the buffer for storing the QoE measurement reports to the target base station 124 during or after the mobility procedure at an operation 218. In other words, the QoE buffer status report is triggered by the indication of the mobility procedure. In some example embodiments, the QoE buffer status report may include at least one of size of buffered QoE data (i.e., one or more QoE measurement reports) in the buffer, left space in the buffer, left time before overflow of the buffer, and initial time for the buffer to store the QoE measurement reports. Here He is applied for the 2nd alternative).
As to claims 4 and 15, the rejection of claim 3 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive, at the UE RRC layer from the network entity and based at least in part on the first RRC message that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration and no buffered QoE data indication, a second RRC message that includes a release command to release the QoE configuration (Eklof; Fig.9A: 922; [0063]; [0124]-[0125] discloses receiving, at the RRC layer of the UE from the application layer of the UE, a stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration and sending, from the RRC layer of the UE to the application layer of the UE, a release request for the QoE measurement configuration responsive to receiving the stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration at the RRC layer of the UE. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the application layer of the UE, receiving the release request for the QoE measurement configuration from the RRC layer of the UE and releasing the QoE measurement configuration upon receiving the release request from the RRC layer of the UE. Once the QoE configuration is released, the application layer may send a confirmation of release to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer may send a configuration of release to the network node).
As to claims 5 and 16, the rejection of claim 3 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive, at the UE RRC layer from the network entity and based at least in part on the first RRC message that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration and the buffered QoE data indication, a second RRC message that indicates a resume command, wherein transmitting the buffered QoE data from the UE RRC layer to the network entity is resumed based at least in part on the resume command (Eklof; Fig.9A: 922; [0063]; [0124]-[0125] discloses receiving, at the RRC layer of the UE from the application layer of the UE, a stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration and sending, from the RRC layer of the UE to the application layer of the UE, a release request for the QoE measurement configuration responsive to receiving the stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration at the RRC layer of the UE. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the application layer of the UE, receiving the release request for the QoE measurement configuration from the RRC layer of the UE and releasing the QoE measurement configuration upon receiving the release request from the RRC layer of the UE. Once the QoE configuration is released, the application layer may send a confirmation of release to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer may send a configuration of release to the network node).
As to claims 6, 17, 26 and 30, the rejection of claim 1 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
determine, by the UE RRC layer, to pause transmitting an RRC message that includes the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration based at least in part on the QoE reporting being paused (He; [0048]-[0050] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report); and
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to a network entity, the RRC message that includes the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration based at least in part on the QoE reporting being resumed (He; [0048]-[0050] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report).
As to claims 7 and 18, the rejection of claim 6 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive, at the UE RRC layer from the network entity, a configuration that configures the UE RRC layer to pause transmitting the RRC message that includes the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration based at least in part on the QoE reporting being paused (He; [0048]-[0050] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report).
As to claims 9 and 20, the rejection of claim 1 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to a network entity and based at least in part on the attention command that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration, a first RRC message that indicates the QoE measurement session stop indication for the QoE configuration (Eklof; Fig.9A: 922; [0063]; [0124]-[0125] discloses receiving, at the RRC layer of the UE from the application layer of the UE, a stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration and sending, from the RRC layer of the UE to the application layer of the UE, a release request for the QoE measurement configuration responsive to receiving the stop indication for the session associated to the QoE measurement configuration at the RRC layer of the UE. In one embodiment, the method further comprises, at the application layer of the UE, receiving the release request for the QoE measurement configuration from the RRC layer of the UE and releasing the QoE measurement configuration upon receiving the release request from the RRC layer of the UE. Once the QoE configuration is released, the application layer may send a confirmation of release to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer may send a configuration of release to the network node).
As to claims 10 and 21, the rejection of claim 9 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
receive, at the UE RRC layer from the network entity, a first RRC message that includes a release command to release the QoE configuration based at least in part on the UE moving outside of a certain area, wherein the first RRC message includes an indication to transmit the buffered QoE data for the QoE configuration (He; [0048]-[0050] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report; and
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to the network entity and based at least in part on the first RRC message, a second RRC message that includes a QoE report with the buffered QoE data for the QoE configuration (He; [0048]-[0052] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report).
As to claims 11 and 22, the rejection of claim 9 as listed above is incorporated herein. In addition, He-Eklof discloses wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
transmit, from the UE RRC layer to the network entity, an indication that all buffered QoE data for the QoE configuration for has been transmitted to the network entity, wherein the UE and the network entity release the QoE configuration based at least in part on the indication (He; [0048]-[0052] discloses the UE may receive a QoE reporting Pause command from the source base station. The QoE reporting Pause command indicates the UE to pause transmission of the QoE measurement report to the base station. For example, when the serving cell for the UE is in an overload status, the base station may pause the QoE reporting from the UE to reduce consumption of radio resources. When the QoE reporting is paused by the network, the UE would not send the QoE measurement report to the network unless a QoE reporting Resume command is received. However, the UE may continue to receive the service and perform QoE measurements on the received service. Then the UE may store one or more QoE measurement reports in a buffer. The buffer may be predefined in the UE application layer or in the UE Access Stratum (AS) layer for storing the QoE measurement report).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 19 are objected, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims
Conclusion
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/FAISAL CHOUDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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