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 .
Preliminary amendment
preliminary amendment filed 8/27/2024 has been acknowledged. Claims 1-34 have been canceled and claims 35-59 added. As a result, claims 35-59 are pending for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/27/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(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) 35-59 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Freda et al. (US 20240259906, hereinafter Freda).
Claims 35, 50, 54. Freda discloses a method, a remote communication device and non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by processing circuitry of operating a remote communication device, the method comprising:
determining an establishment cause for connecting to a network node of a communications network, wherein the establishment cause is associated with an emergency service ([0211][0214]);
transmitting a message including the establishment cause to a relay communication device ([0214][0223]); and
responsive to transmitting the message, establishing a connection to the network node via the relay communication device ([0093] and fig. 5, connection to network node 504 via relay 502).
Claims 43 and 55 and 59. Freda discloses a method and non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein that are executable by processing circuitry of operating a relay communication device, the method comprising:
determining an establishment cause for a remote communication device connecting to a network node of a communications network via the relay communication device, wherein the establishment cause is associated with an emergency service ([0211][0214][0223]); and
responsive to determining the establishment cause, establishing a connection between the relay communication device and the network node using the establishment cause ([0093] and fig. 5, connection to network node 504 via relay 502).
Claims 36, 44. Freda discloses the method of The method of wherein determining the establishment cause for connecting to the network node comprises determining the establishment cause for reconnecting to the network node while the remote communication device is in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, and wherein establishing the connection to the network node via the relay communication device comprises performing a RRC resume procedure ([0212][0214]).
Claims 37, 45. Freda discloses the method of The method of wherein determining the establishment cause for connecting to the network node comprises determining the establishment cause for establishing a new connection to the network node while the remote communication device is in an RRC idle state, and wherein establishing the connection to the network node via the relay communication device comprises performing a RRC setup procedure ([0071][0072]).
Claims 38. Freda discloses the method of claim 35, further comprising determining to transmit the message based on at least one of: the establishment cause; the connection being associated with a new service; the connection being associated with a new traffic; the connection being associated with a new application; a difference between the establishment cause and a previous establishment cause used by the remote communication device; and the establishment cause being associated with a special handling by the communications network ([0142]).
Claim 39. Freda discloses the method of claim 38, wherein determining to transmit the message further comprises determining a type of the message based on at least one of: the establishment cause; the connection being associated with the new service; the connection being associated with the new traffic; the connection being associated with the new application; the difference between the establishment cause and the previous establishment cause used by the remote communication device; and the establishment cause being associated with the special handling by the communications network ([0142]).
Claims 40, 47, 51, 56. Freda discloses the method of claim 35, wherein transmitting the message including the establishment cause comprises transmitting at least one of: Radio resource control signaling; PC5-S signaling; Discovery signaling; a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element; Layer 1 signaling; and a control protocol data unit ([0071]).
Claims 41, 48, 52, 57. Freda discloses the method of claim 35, wherein transmitting the message including the establishment cause comprises broadcasting the message to a plurality of communication devices including the relay communication device ([0071]).
Claims 42, 49. Freda discloses the method of claim 35, wherein establishing the connection to the network node via the relay communication device comprises establishing a sidelink connection ([0084]).
Claim 46. Freda discloses the method of claim 43, wherein determining the establishment cause for the remote communication device comprises receiving a message including the establishment cause from the remote communication device ([0208][0209]).
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.
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.
Claim(s) 53 and 58 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Freda in view of Zhao (US 20220400482).
Claims 53, 58. Freda discloses the remote communication device of claim 50, but does not specifically disclose wherein the remote communication device is a vehicle-mounted wireless device or a vehicle integrated wireless device.
In a similar endeavor, Zhao discloses the remote communication device is a vehicle-mounted wireless device or a vehicle integrated wireless device ([0039]).
Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to modify the teachings of the cited reference, to have the remote device to be mounted on a vehicle as taught by Zhao.
The motivation/suggestion for doing so would have been to provide an enhanced mobility and range of the remote device as the remote device may be moved around by the vehicle.
Conclusion
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/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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