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 .
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 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.
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, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 21-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen et al. (Pub No.: 2020/0105151) in view of Sun et al. (Pub No.: 2015/0172903).
Regarding claim 21, Mahkonen et al. discloses a communication apparatus (see UAV 150 in fig. 1), comprising:
a processor (see processor 602 in fig. 13); and
a memory (see memory 603 in fig. 13) for storing a computer program;
wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, causes the communication apparatus to:
send capability information (see fig. 6, Capabilities, para. 0024) to a network device (see network node 141a in fig. 1), wherein the capability information is to indicate whether a terminal is capable of broadcasting geolocation and other information of the terminal (Mahkonen et al. see abstract; fig. 6, capabilities field in format 330; para. 0009, 0083, 0106, 0112, 0115; In para. 0083, Capabilities 16 bit field to indicate the capabilities of the UAV. In para. 0115, UAV 150, not only has the capability to broadcast geolocation and other information, but it also has the ability to receive broadcasts of other UAVs, directly via peer-to-peer communication and/or via a radio network access device). The UAV transmits the radio frame that includes capability information to the network node (e.g., radio network access device). The capability information includes broadcasting geolocation and other information of the UAV.
However, Mahkonen et al. does not explicitly disclose the feature for broadcasting identity information of the terminal.
Sun et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the feature for broadcasting identity information of the terminal (Sun et al. see abstract; para. 0007; a user terminal device broadcasts its own device information and service capability information…). The UE broadcasts its own device information.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Sun et al. for the UE to broadcast its own device information.
The motivation would be to improve nearby UE and service discoveries.
Claims 1 and 23 are rejected similarly to claim 21.
Regarding claim 10, Mahkonen et al. discloses a method for capability determination performed by a network device (see network node 141a in fig. 1), the method comprising:
receiving capability information (see fig. 6, Capabilities, para. 0024) sent by a terminal (see UAV 150 in fig. 1); and determining, according to the capability information, whether the terminal is capable of broadcasting geolocation and other information of the terminal (Mahkonen et al. see abstract; fig. 6, capabilities field in format 330; para. 0009, 0083, 0106, 0112, 0115; In para. 0083, Capabilities 16 bit field to indicate the capabilities of the UAV. In para. 0115, UAV 150, not only has the capability to broadcast geolocation and other information, but it also has the ability to receive broadcasts of other UAVs, directly via peer-to-peer communication and/or via a radio network access device). The network node (e.g., radio network access device) receives the radio frame that includes capability information from the UAV. The network node determines that the capability information includes broadcasting geolocation and other information of the UAV.
However, Mahkonen et al. does not explicitly disclose the feature wherein the broadcasting information includes identity information of the terminal.
Sun et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the feature wherein the broadcasting information includes identity information of the terminal (Sun et al. see abstract; para. 0007; a user terminal device broadcasts its own device information and service capability information…). The broadcasting information includes its own device information.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Sun et al. wherein the broadcasting information includes identity information of the terminal.
The motivation would be to improve nearby UE and service discoveries.
Regarding claim 22, Mahkonen et al. discloses a communication apparatus (see network node 141a in fig. 1), comprising: a processor (see processor 802 in fig. 15); and a memory (see memory 803 in fig. 15) for storing a computer program; wherein the computer program, when executed by the processor, causes the communication apparatus to act as the network device and perform the method of claim 10 (see rejection for claim 10 above).
Claim 24 is rejected similarly to claim 10.
Regarding claims 3, 12, Mahkonen et al. discloses the feature wherein the capability information is further to indicate a manner of the terminal broadcasting identity information (Mahkonen et al. see para. 0056 ,0115; in para. 0115, …UAV 150 may have the capability to operate using multiple protocols. In para. 0056, The broadcast of the radio frame from UAV 150 will depend on the communication protocol being utilized. In an embodiment, the radio communication protocol m1ay be one of a 3GPP radio (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT)), WiFi, wireless personal area network (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 Xbee/Zigbee, LoRa, Sigfox, Bluetooth) and low-power wide-area network (LPWAN).). The capability information indicates different communication protocols (e.g., manner) for broadcasting.
Regarding claims 4, 13, Mahkonen et al. discloses the feature wherein the manner comprises at least one of: broadcasting through a long term evolution (LTE) air interface; broadcasting through a new radio (NR); broadcasting through a direct communication packet control interface 5 (PC5 interface); broadcasting through a wireless local area network; or broadcasting through Bluetooth (Mahkonen et al. see para. 0056 ,0115; in para. 0115, …UAV 150 may have the capability to operate using multiple protocols. In para. 0056, The broadcast of the radio frame from UAV 150 will depend on the communication protocol being utilized. In an embodiment, the radio communication protocol may be one of a 3GPP radio (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT)), WiFi, wireless personal area network (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 Xbee/Zigbee, LoRa, Sigfox, Bluetooth) and low-power wide-area network (LPWAN).). The the capability information indicates different communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) for broadcasting.
Claim(s) 2, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen et al. (Pub No.: 2020/0105151) in view of Sun et al. (Pub No.: 2015/0172903) as applied to claim 1 or 10 above, and further in view of Uchino et al. (Pub No.: 2015/0023268).
Regarding claims 2, 11, Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. does not explicitly disclose the feature
wherein the capability information is carried in at least one of: user equipment evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network capability (UE-EUTRA-capability) information; user equipment multi-radio technology dual-connectivity capability (UE-MRDC-capability) information; or user equipment new radio capability (UE-NR-capability) information.
Uchino et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the feature wherein the capability information is carried in at least one of: user equipment evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network capability (UE-EUTRA-capability) information; user equipment multi-radio technology dual-connectivity capability (UE-MRDC-capability) information; or user equipment new radio capability (UE-NR-capability) information (Uchino et al. see para. 0056; the transmitter unit 13 may be configured to transmit the simultaneous transmission capability information through "CA-BandwidthClass-r10" in "UE-EUTRA-Capability".).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Uchino et al. to carry capability information in UE-EUTRA-capability.
The motivation would be to improve transmission compatibility.
Claim(s) 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen et al. (Pub No.: 2020/0105151) in view of Sun et al. (Pub No.: 2015/0172903) as applied to claim 1 or 10 above, and further in view of Lindheimer et al. (Pub No.: 2022/0109746).
Regarding claims 5, 14, Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. does not explicitly disclose the feature for receiving query information sent by the network device, wherein the query information is to query whether the terminal is capable of broadcasting identity information of the terminal; wherein the query information is to query whether the terminal is capable of broadcasting identity information of the terminal in a specific manner.
Lindheimer et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the feature for receiving query information sent by the network device, wherein the query information is to query whether the terminal is capable of broadcasting identity information of the terminal; wherein the query information is to query whether the terminal is capable of broadcasting identity information of the terminal in a specific manner (Lindheimer et al. see fig. 6, steps in gNB (e.g., Nw sends prioritized capability transmission method list (UECapabilityEnquiry)) para. 0150, 0198-0202; to determine what, of several possible available formats to transfer UE capability information, there is thus no need to broadcast any information, as the indication of which protocol(s) the UE may select may be included in the enquiry message.). The enquiry/configuration message sent from gNB, indicates a requested/query manner (e.g., protocol) of transmission the capability information.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Lindheimer et al. to receive enquiry message from gNB, indicating a requested transmission protocols to be used for transmission of capability information.
The motivation would be to improve transmission reliability.
Regarding claims 7, 16, Lindheimer et al. discloses the feature receiving configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the configuration information is to configure the terminal to broadcast the identity information of the terminal (Lindheimer et al. see fig. 6, steps in gNB (e.g., Nw sends prioritized capability transmission method list (UECapabilityEnquiry); and Nw receives capability information (UECapabilityInformation) with indication of selected method) para. 0150, 0198-0202; to determine what, of several possible available formats to transfer UE capability information, there is thus no need to broadcast any information, as the indication of which protocol(s) the UE may select may be included in the enquiry message.). The UE receives the UECapabilityEnquiry or the configuration information from the gNB, to configure the UE to transmit the capability information of the UE.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Lindheimer et al. to receive UECapabilityEnquiry from the gNB and to configure the UE to transmit the capability information of the UE.
The motivation would be to improve transmission reliability.
Regarding claims 8, 17, Lindheimer et al. discloses the feature wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of: a manner of broadcasting the identity information; a time condition for broadcasting the identity information; a height condition for broadcasting the identity information; or an association relationship between the capability of broadcasting the identity information of the terminal and whether allowing a specific action to be performed (Lindheimer et al. see fig. 6, steps in gNB (e.g., Nw sends prioritized capability transmission method list (UECapabilityEnquiry)) para. 0150, 0198-0202; to determine what, of several possible available formats to transfer UE capability information, there is thus no need to broadcast any information, as the indication of which protocol(s) the UE may select may be included in the enquiry message.). The enquiry/configuration message indicates a manner (e.g., protocol) of transmission for the capability information.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Lindheimer et al. wherein the configuration information indicates a manner (e.g., transmission protocol) of transmission for the capability information.
The motivation would be to improve transmission reliability.
Claim(s) 9, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen et al. (Pub No.: 2020/0105151) in view of Sun et al. (Pub No.: 2015/0172903) and Lindheimer et al. (Pub No.: 2022/0109746) as applied to claim 7 or 16 above, and further in view of Dimou et al. (Pub No.: 2014/0094127).
Regarding claims 9, 18, Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and Lindheimer et al. discloses wherein the configuration information is carried in at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration signaling; or RRC connection reconfiguration signaling.
Dimou et al. from the same or similar fields of endeavor discloses the feature wherein the configuration information is carried in at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration signaling; or RRC connection reconfiguration signaling (Dimou et al. see para. 0055; …a node in a communication network using radio resource control (RRC) message in the form of UECapabilityEnquiry and UECapabilityInformation messages and a RRC connection reconfiguration message, in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the disclosure of Mahkonen et al. in view of Sun et al. and Lindheimer et al. and to implement with the feature as taught by Dimou et al. wherein the configuration information is carried via RRC signaling.
The motivation would be to improve transmission efficiency.
Examiner's Note
The Applicant is welcome to request a telephonic interview if the Applicant has any questions or requires any additional information that would further or expedite the prosecution of the application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Rico Alvarino et al. (Pub No.: 2021/0029671) discloses disclosure relates to methods, devices, and systems for wireless communications. A wireless communications system may support unicast and broadcast communications for different radio access technologies (RATs). To support the coexistence of different RATs, a user equipment (UE) may report, to a base station, a UE capability message containing a band combination including one or more bands for a first RAT (for example, New Radio (NR)) and one or more bands for a second RAT (for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and an indication of a baseband budget for the second RAT for the band combination. In some implementations, the UE may transmit a broadcast interest indicator to the base station requesting a broadcast service. The base station may configure the UE with a carrier aggregation (CA) configuration based on the UE capabilities, such as the band combination and corresponding baseband budget for the second RAT, and the interest indicator.
Quan et al. (Pub No.: 2019/0200212) discloses a method for reporting UE capability information includes: obtaining, by user equipment (UE), UE capability information of the UE; when the size of the UE capability information exceeds the maximum tolerance that can be processed by the PDCP layer of the UE, splitting the UE capability information into at least two pieces of UE capability information, where each piece does not exceed the maximum tolerance that can be processed by the PDCP layer; and reporting at least one piece of the at least two pieces of UE capability information to a network side device. According to this method, the UE capability information is split on a UE side, and reported to the network side device for a plurality of times, so as to avoid an error caused when the UE capability information exceeds the maximum tolerance that can be processed by the PDCP layer, and ensure normal operating of a UE capability information reporting process.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAN YUEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1413. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:30am-7pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ricky Ngo can be reached at 571-272-3139. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KAN YUEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
Prosecution Insights