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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/30/24 & 02/26/26 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-11, 13-14 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perras et al. (US Patent Publication 2025/0071637 herein after referenced as Perras).
Regarding claim 1 and claim 8 and claim 17, Perras discloses:
A method for performing communication, performed by a first UE (User Equipment), comprising: and A first UE (User Equipment) to perform communication, comprising: a transceiver; and a processor, wherein the processor performs operation comprising: and A first apparatus in mobile communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions and operably electrically connectable with the at least one processor to perform operation comprising: performing communication with a second UE via a PC5 path; performing switching from the PC5 path to an Uu path; (Perras, [0009] discloses A first WTRU (i.e. reads on second UE and reads on second apparatus) may be configured to receive a message (i.e. reads on performing communication with) from a second WTRU (i.e. reads on a first UE and reads on first apparatus) via a PC5 communication link (i.e. reads on via a PC5 path). For example, the message may indicate that the second WTRU is able to perform a path switch (i.e. reads on performing switching) from the PC5 communication link (i.e. reads on from the PC5 path) to the Uu-based network communication link (i.e. reads on to an Uu path); Perras, [0041] discloses the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and/or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment UE; Perras, [0054] discloses the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132; Perras, [0059] discloses the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it is inherent for a complex device such as the WTRU to include a processor, transceiver and memory storing instructions in order to be able to perform the disclosed functionalities).
Perras discloses in one embodiment that a first WTRU communicates with a second WTRU via a PC5 path and performing switching from a PC5 path to a UU path but fails to explicitly recite in the same embodiment the limitations of “determining to maintain a unicast link for the PC5 path after the switching from the PC5 path to the Uu path; and determining to switch back to the PC5 path after the switching from the PC5 path to the Uu path, based on a PC5 signal level of the unicast link, wherein the PC5 path is a path for 5G ProSe (Proximity-services) direct communication between the first UE and the second UE, wherein the Uu path is a path for communication between the first UE and the second UE via a network.”
In a different embodiment, Perras discloses:
determining to maintain a unicast link for the PC5 path after the switching from the PC5 path to the Uu path; (Perras, [0136] discloses A PC5 unicast link may be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch (i.e. reads on after the switching from the PC5 path) to the Uu interface 224a, 224b (i.e. reads on to the Uu path). If the PC5 unicast link (i.e. reads on a unicast link for the PC5 path) is intended (i.e. reads on determining) to be preserved (i.e. reads on to maintain), an indication as to such e.g., a “preserve link” indication may be included in the PC5 path switch request/response messages 220, 222 e.g., so that both WTRUs agree to keep the PC5 link. For example, keeping the PC5 unicast link alive may allow the WTRU to skip the PC5 discovery and/or PC5 link establishment procedures in the event that a path switch from the Uu interface to the PC5 interface is needed; Perras, [0133] discloses The PC5 path switching request message 220 e.g., WTRU1 IP address over PDU session, PC5-to-Uu transmitted by the WTRU1 202 may also specify if the PC5 link should be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch e.g., as a backup link; Perras, [0214] discloses Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements).
and determining to switch back to the PC5 path after the switching (Perras, [0162] discloses if the path switch is intended to be a temporary path switch or a permanent path switch. If, for example, the path switch (i.e. reads on after the switching) is intended to be a temporary path switch, the path switch trigger message may include the possible validity time period/window. The WTRUs may start a received timer and, upon expiration of the received timer, the WTRU may be configured to implicitly switch the path back to PC5 communication (i.e. reads on determining to switch back to the PC5 path)).
from the PC5 path to the Uu path, based on a PC5 signal level of the unicast link, (Perras, [0132] discloses The WTRU1 202 may detect and/or receive a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface. For example, a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface (i.e. reads on from the PC5 path to the Uu path) may include one or more of the following (i.e. reads on based on): PDU session establishment at WTRU1 202 and/or WTRU2 204 e.g., if the preferred path policy indicates Uu interface; lower link quality measurements over the PC5 link e.g., the PC5 link quality (i.e. reads on a PC5 signal level of the unicast link) is below a configured threshold; a network trigger; and/or an application layer trigger; Perras, [0144] discloses The WTRU1 302 may determine whether a condition to trigger path switching is met e.g., a low link quality is measured on the PC5 link, WTRU1's path switching policies indicate that the Uu interface is preferred, a trigger from the application layer has been received, etc.; Perras, [0136] discloses A PC5 unicast link may be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch to the Uu interface 224a, 224b; Perras, [0053] discloses the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links).
wherein the PC5 path is a path for 5G ProSe (Proximity-services) direct communication between the first UE and the second UE, (Perras, [0156] discloses the WTRU1 402 and/or the WTRU2 404 (i.e. reads on between the first UE and the second UE) may have ongoing PC5 unicast link (i.e. reads on direct communication) e.g., at 408. The PC5 unicast link may be based on the policy and/or parameter provisioning procedure. The PC5 unicast connection may include a set of one or more PC5 Quality of Service QOS flows that may be associated with a list of allowed QoSs for PC5 QoS flows (i.e. reads on wherein the PC5 path is a path) for the ProSe service (i.e. reads on for 5G ProSe); Perras, [0016] discloses Receiving a message from a second WTRU via a PC5 direct communication link, the message indicating that the second WTRU is able to perform a path switch from the PC5 direct communication link to the Uu-based network communication link; Perras, [0002] discloses The 5G System has been enhanced to support a number of features, including, for example, proximity services, and direct communication path switching between a Uu interface e.g., a communication interface between a WTRU and a gNB and a PC5 interface e.g., a communication interface between a first WTRU and a second WTRU).
wherein the Uu path is a path for communication between the first UE and the second UE via a network (Perras, [0168] discloses A WTRU (i.e. reads on between the first UE) may be configured e.g., provisioned to communicate (i.e. reads on for communication) with peer WTRUs (i.e. read on and the second UE) via the Uu interface (i.e. reads on wherein the Uu path is a path via a network); Perras, [0141] discloses perform a path switch from the PC5 communication link to the Uu-based network communication link; Perras, [0002] discloses The 5G System has been enhanced to support a number of features, including, for example, proximity services, and direct communication path switching between a Uu interface e.g., a communication interface between a WTRU and a gNB and a PC5 interface e.g., a communication interface between a first WTRU and a second WTRU).
Therefore, at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Perras to incorporate the teachings of the different embodiments for the purpose of conforming to the intent of the invention to modify and combine the various different embodiment (Perras, [0214]) to make the system more dynamic and adaptable by providing the system with various different alternatives in design and functionality, thereby allowing the system to handle a number of various different combination of specific design structure and scenarios and preventing the system from being limited to a single specific design structure and scenario and furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize based on the guidelines to rationales supporting a conclusion of obviousness seen on MPEP 2143, that the modification would involve use of a simple substitution of one known element and base device (i.e. performing a process of an embodiment of a mobile device switching from a PC5 interface to a UU interface as taught by Perras) with another known element and comparable device utilizing a known technique (i.e. performing a process of a similar embodiment of a mobile device switching from a PC5 interface to a UU interface with additional and/or alternative features and functionalities of the other embodiments as taught by Perras) to improve the similar devices in the same way and to obtain the predictable result of the system performing a process of an embodiment of a mobile device switching from a PC5 interface to a UU interface (i.e. as taught by Perras) and is dependent upon the specific intended use, design incentives, needs and requirements (i.e. such as due to teachings of a known standard, current technology, conservation of resources, personal preferences, economic considerations, etc.) of the user and the system as has been established in MPEP 2144.04.
Regarding claim 2 and claim 9, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprising: (see claim 8).
performing switching back to the PC5 path by using the unicast link, based on the determining to switch back (Perras, [0162] discloses if the path switch is intended to be a temporary path switch or a permanent path switch. If, for example, the path switch is intended to be a temporary path switch, the path switch trigger message may include the possible validity time period/window. The WTRUs may start a received timer and, upon expiration of the received timer, the WTRU may be configured to implicitly switch the path back to PC5 communication; Perras, [0136] discloses A PC5 unicast link may be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch to the Uu interface 224a, 224b. If the PC5 unicast link is intended to be preserved, an indication as to such e.g., a “preserve link” indication may be included in the PC5 path switch request/response messages 220, 222 e.g., so that both WTRUs agree to keep the PC5 link. For example, keeping the PC5 unicast link alive may allow the WTRU to skip the PC5 discovery and/or PC5 link establishment procedures in the event that a path switch from the Uu interface to the PC5 interface is needed).
Regarding claim 3 and claim 10, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8 (see claim 8).
wherein the step of determining to switch back is performed, based on a switching back timer (Perras, [0162] discloses if the path switch is intended to be a temporary path switch or a permanent path switch. If, for example, the path switch is intended to be a temporary path switch, the path switch trigger message may include the possible validity time period/window. The WTRUs may start a received timer and, upon expiration of the received timer, the WTRU may be configured to implicitly switch the path back to PC5 communication).
Regarding claim 4 and claim 11, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprising: (see claim 8).
measuring a PC5 signal level of the unicast link (Perras, [0132] discloses The WTRU1 202 may detect and/or receive a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface. For example, a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface may include one or more of the following: PDU session establishment at WTRU1 202 and/or WTRU2 204 e.g., if the preferred path policy indicates Uu interface; lower link quality measurements over the PC5 link e.g., the PC5 link quality is below a configured threshold; a network trigger; and/or an application layer trigger; Perras, [0144] discloses The WTRU1 302 may determine whether a condition to trigger path switching is met e.g., a low link quality is measured on the PC5 link, WTRU1's path switching policies indicate that the Uu interface is preferred, a trigger from the application layer has been received, etc.; Perras, [0136] discloses A PC5 unicast link may be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch to the Uu interface 224a, 224b. If the PC5 unicast link is intended to be preserved, an indication as to such e.g., a “preserve link” indication may be included in the PC5 path switch request/response messages 220, 222 e.g., so that both WTRUs agree to keep the PC5 link. For example, keeping the PC5 unicast link alive may allow the WTRU to skip the PC5 discovery and/or PC5 link establishment procedures in the event that a path switch from the Uu interface to the PC5 interface is needed).
Regarding claim 6 and claim 13, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprising: (see claim 8).
releasing a PDU session related to the Uu path (Perras, [0110] discloses Peer WTRUs exchange information related to Uu path e.g., PDU session established, PDU session released, a PDU session can be established, a PDU session cannot be established, etc. with each other; Perras, [0203] discloses the WTRU1 802 may not establish a PDU session and/or may release and/or deactivate a PDU session which is established before for the application to path switch).
Regarding claim 7 and claim 14, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8 (see claim 8).
wherein the step of performing switching from the PC5 path to the Uu path is performed, based on the PC5 signal level of the unicast link (Perras, [0132] discloses The WTRU1 202 may detect and/or receive a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface. For example, a trigger that is configured to cause the WTRU1 202 to initiate path switching from a PC5 interface to a Uu interface may include one or more of the following: PDU session establishment at WTRU1 202 and/or WTRU2 204 e.g., if the preferred path policy indicates Uu interface; lower link quality measurements over the PC5 link e.g., the PC5 link quality is below a configured threshold; a network trigger; and/or an application layer trigger; Perras, [0144] discloses The WTRU1 302 may determine whether a condition to trigger path switching is met e.g., a low link quality is measured on the PC5 link, WTRU1's path switching policies indicate that the Uu interface is preferred, a trigger from the application layer has been received, etc.; Perras, [0136] discloses A PC5 unicast link may be preserved, for example, after a successful path switch to the Uu interface 224a, 224b. If the PC5 unicast link is intended to be preserved, an indication as to such e.g., a “preserve link” indication may be included in the PC5 path switch request/response messages 220, 222 e.g., so that both WTRUs agree to keep the PC5 link. For example, keeping the PC5 unicast link alive may allow the WTRU to skip the PC5 discovery and/or PC5 link establishment procedures in the event that a path switch from the Uu interface to the PC5 interface is needed).
Claim(s) 5 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Perras et al. (US Patent Publication 2025/0071637 herein after referenced as Perras) in view of WANG et al. (US Patent Publication 2021/0329487 herein after referenced as Wang).
Regarding claim 5, and claim 12, Perras discloses:
The method of claim 1, (see claim 1) and The method of claim 8 (see claim 8).
wherein the step of determining to switch back is performed, based on the PC5 signal level of the unicast link (Perras, [0168] discloses A WTRU may be configured to determine whether/when to perform a path switch to the PC5 interface based on a preferred interface. However, in certain scenarios, the preferred interface associated with the application currently running on the WTRU may specify that the PC5 interface is the preferred interface. The WTRU may be configured to trigger a path switch, for example, during PC5 link establishment with the peer WTRU or upon/after PC5 link establishment e.g., if the link quality of the PC5 interface meets the link quality threshold; Perras, [0185] discloses the path switching request transmitted by the WTRU1 602 may be triggered after e.g., transmitted in response to PC5 link establishment and/or path switching negotiation e.g. some time after. The WTRU1 602 may be configured to wait for certain thresholds to be met, e.g., acceptable QoS over PC5 link and/or low network coverage).
Perras discloses switching from a UU link to a PC5 link when a link quality of a PC5 meets the link quality threshold but fails to explicitly recite that meeting the link quality threshold indicates the link quality being above the threshold and therefore fails to disclose “determining to switch back is performed, based on the PC5 signal level of the unicast link being higher than a threshold”.
In a related field of endeavor, Wang discloses:
determining to switch back is performed, based on the PC5 signal level of the unicast link being higher than a threshold (Wang, [0155] discloses UE1 independently decides to switch some particular V2V traffic at the Uu interface to the PC5 interface for transmission to relieve Uu load. In some embodiments, UE1 acquires traffic switch-related information from the base station. The traffic switch-related information includes at least one of: a Uu link quality threshold, a PC5 link quality threshold, a delay threshold, a reliability threshold, or a data rate threshold. For example, when the Uu link quality is lower than the threshold or the PC5 link quality is higher than the threshold, traffic switch may be considered).
Therefore, at the time before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the invention of Perras to incorporate the teachings of Wang for the purpose of providing the system with a means to utilize various other alternative conditions when triggering a switch from a UU connection to a PC5 connection (Wang, [0155]) and for the purpose of making the system more dynamic and adaptable by providing the system with added functionalities and various different alternatives in design, thereby allowing the system to handle a number of various different combination of specific design structure and scenarios and (Perras, [0214]) and thereby, preventing the system from being limited to a single specific design structure and scenario and furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize based on the guidelines to rationales supporting a conclusion of obviousness seen on MPEP 2143, that the modification would involve use of a simple substitution of one known element and base device (i.e. performing a process of switching from a UU link to a PC5 link using various criteria as taught by Perras) with another known element and comparable device utilizing a known technique (i.e. performing a process of switching from a UU link to a PC5 link using various criteria, wherein the criteria includes the PC5 link being above a threshold value as taught by Wang) to improve the similar devices in the same way and to obtain the predictable result of the system performing a process of switching from a UU link to a PC5 link using various criteria (i.e. as taught by both Perras & Wang) and is dependent upon the specific intended use, design incentives, needs and requirements (i.e. such as due to teachings of a known standard, current technology, conservation of resources, personal preferences, economic considerations, etc.) of the user and the system as has been established in MPEP 2144.04.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL Y MAPA whose telephone number is (571)270-5540. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Thursday: 10 AM - 8 PM EST.
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/MICHAEL Y MAPA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
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