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 § 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 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hong (US 2025/0220483).
Regarding Claim 19, Hong teaches transmitting, by a processing system of an endpoint device (Par.109 and Fig.4:402, UE) a minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request (Fig.4, Abstract and Par.109, configuration is a request), wherein the minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request includes a plurality of fields, wherein the plurality of fields includes: at least one instruction to collect at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.109, configuration indicates performing measurement); an instruction to include a location information associated with a collection of the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.109, measure and store measurement only when location information available); and an instruction to skip a transmission of a minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report (Par.109, indicate report only location information tagged MDT measurements, this is an instruction to skip without location) in accordance with the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request when the endpoint device is not to include the location information (Par.5, Par.11, and Par.109, does not send report when there is no location information available at the UE, reads on “when a recipient endpoint is not to include the location information”); determining, by the processing system, that the endpoint is not to include the location information (Fig.4:408, only send location tagged, without location, the UE determines no location available), and suppressing, by the processing system, a collection or a transmission of the minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report in accordance with the instruction to skip the transmission and in response to determining that the endpoint device is to not include the location information (Fig.4:408, no location, no report hence suppressed).
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, 5, and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 2025/0220483) in view of Cai (US 2014/0187235).
Regarding Claim 1, Hong teaches transmitting, by a processing system (Par.109 and Fig.4:402, network node) including at least one processor, at least a first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request to a first Fig.4, Abstract and Par.109, configuration is a request), wherein the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request includes a plurality of fields, wherein the plurality of fields includes: at least one instruction to collect at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.109, configuration indicates performing measurement); an instruction to include a location information associated with a collection of the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.109, measure and store measurement only when location information available); and an instruction to skip a transmission of a minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report (Par.109, indicate report only location information tagged MDT measurements, this is an instruction to skip without location) in accordance with the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request when a recipient endpoint device is not to include the location information (Par.5, Par.11, and Par.109, does not send report when there is no location information available at the UE, reads on “when a recipient endpoint is not to include the location information”); obtaining, by the processing system via the cellular network, at least a first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report from at least a first endpoint device (Fig.4:408 and Par.111) Fig.4, Par.11, Par.111); and storing, by the processing system, the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report that is obtained (Par.107). While Hong teaches that it is well known for a MDT measurement request to be sent to an endpoint (Fig.4 and Par.109, configuration is a request), Hong does not explicitly teach the request sent to a first plurality of endpoint devices.
Cai teaches that it is well known to configure a plurality of mobile terminals to make measurements of the radio environment, construct a minimization of drive test report from the measurements; obtaining information related to the mobile terminals; and directing the mobile terminals to transmit the report (Par.5).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Hongs MDT system such that the configuration/request message is sent to plural devices as taught by Cai to provide an enhanced system where the reports from the plural devices are utilized to more quickly and accurately analyze network coverage in a service area to determine adjustments that can be made to improve the coverage.
Regarding Claim 5, Hong teaches determining that the location information is desired for the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.58-61, reduce resource usage and Par.104, location info option is optional and TRUE indicate determination), wherein the instruction to skip the transmission of the minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report is included in the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request when it is determined that the location information is desired (Par.104 and Par.109).
Regarding Claim 7, Hong teaches the processing system comprises: a radio access network node (Par.104, 109, Fig.1).
Regarding Claim 8, Hong teaches the at least one radio access network performance measurement comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power; a reference signal received quality; an intra-cell interference measurement; or an inter-cell interference measurement (Par.10).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 2025/0220483) and Cai (US 2014/0187235) in further view of Yi (US 2011/0269402).
Regarding Claim 2, Hong and Cai do not expressly teach determining that an expected minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report is not received from at least a second endpoint device of the first plurality of endpoint devices.
Yi teaches that it is well known in the art a UE can reject an MDT measurement command of a network and the network knows that the device did not send a report but a rejection (Par.52, Par.56-57). Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Hong and Cai with Yi such that an enhanced system recognizes when a report is not received via a rejection and can remove the endpoint from a list for the next measurement, thereby making the system more efficient and user friendly.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 2025/0220483), Cai (US 2014/0187235), and Yi (US 2011/0269402) in further view of OFFICIAL NOTICE.
Regarding Claim 3, Yi does teach that a device is excluded from a candidate list (Par.57, removing the UE from a candidate list) , however Yi does not teach adding the at least the second endpoint device to a set of non-participating endpoint devices that do not participate in minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement reporting.
The examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that it is well known for excluded devices to be put into another list, e.g. blacklist, blocklist, exemption list. Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify the combination of Hong, Cai, and Yi with the subject matter of the OFFICIAL NOTICE such that an enhanced system is provided where data can be clearly tracked and delineated by keeping both lists.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 2025/0220483), Cai (US 2014/0187235) in further view of OFFICIAL NOTICE.
Regarding Claim 6, While Hong does teach that MDT measurements are collected and stored in an eNodeB, Hong and Cai do not expressly teach a trace collection entity deployed in the cellular network.
The examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that it is well known for a trace collection entity deployed in the cellular network to collect data from many eNodeBs. Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify the combination of Hong and Cai with the subject matter of the OFFICIAL NOTICE such that an enhanced system that can collect and manage a huge amount of data from a large number of eNodeBs in seamless and continuous fashion.
Claim 9-15, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi (US 2011/0269402) in view of Cai (US 2014/0187235), Hong (US 2025/0220483), and Dowlatkhah (US 2018/0035291).
Regarding Claim 9, Yi teaches a method comprising: identifying, by a processing system including at least one processor, at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement to be collected in an area (Par.42-43, Par.47, Fig.7, BS); identifying, by the processing system, a first plurality of endpoint devices available in the area to collect the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement and non-participating devices (Par.57, 62-63, candidate list and excludes devices);
transmitting, by the processing system, at least a first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request to a first endpoint device wherein the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request includes a plurality of fields (Par.13, BS transmits configuration message (i.e. request) including at least stop condition, battery level are fields, Par.48, area configuration, reference time), wherein the plurality of fields includes: at least one instruction to collect the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement (Par.64); obtaining, by the processing system via the cellular network, at least a first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report from at least a first endpoint device (Par.7 and Par.43) of the first plurality of endpoint devices (Par.64, candidate); and storing, by the processing system, the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report that is obtained (Par.8, MDT measurements are stored). However Yi does not expressly teach but Cai teaches that it is well known to configure a plurality of mobile terminals to make measurements of the radio environment to construct and report a MDT report from the measurements (Par.5, hence transmits to a plurality of devices).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Yi’s MDT system such that the configuration/request message is sent to plural devices as taught by Cai to provide an enhanced system where the reports from the plural devices are utilized to more quickly and accurately analyze network coverage in a service area to determine adjustments that can be made to improve the coverage. However Yi and Cai do not expressly teach but Hong teaches an instruction to include a location information associated with a collection of the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement; (Par.61: MDT measurements from UEs and Par.109, indicate report only location information tagged MDT measurements).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Yi and Cais MDT system with the teachings of Hong such than an enhanced system is provided which can minimize unnecessary network resource usage by collecting only the more “valuable” information from the UEs so that network resources are not overloaded. However Yi, Cai, and Hong does not expressly teach identifying of the first plurality of endpoint devices includes a reference to a set of non-participating endpoint devices that do not participate in minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement reporting.
Yi, from above, already taught that an endpoint device was selected from a candidate list (i.e. white list) and excludes non-participating devices. Dowlatkhah further teaches a well-known concept in the art of using a white and blacklist (Par.32, Par.41, Par.47, well known for white and black list to be evaluated, hence whitelist and blacklist reference).
Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Yi, Cai, and Hongs MDT system with the teachings of Dowlatkhah such that an enhanced system is provided where the system can keep separate lists tracking participating and non-participating devices so that this multilayered approach is used to ensure user consent and privacy is not violated and without degrading the subscriber experience.
Regarding Claim 10, Hong further teaches the plurality of fields further includes: an instruction to skip a transmission of a minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report in accordance with the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement request when a recipient endpoint device is not to include the location information (Par.109, indicate report only location information tagged MDT measurements, this is an instruction to skip without location).
Regarding Claim 11, Hong further teaches the at least the first endpoint device is capable of including the location information associated with the collection of the at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement and is configured to allow an inclusion of the location information in minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement reports (Fig.4, Par.5, Par.109, device with GNSS capable of providing location configured to send report with location information, only when location information available).
Regarding Claim 12, Yi teaches that it is well known in the art a UE can reject an MDT measurement command of a network and the network knows that the device did not send a report but a rejection (Par.52, Par.56-57) and since Cai already taught that it is well known to configure a plurality of mobile terminals (Par.5, transmits configuration to a plurality of devices). One of ordinary skill in the art immediately recognizes that it could be determined that an expected minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report is not received from at least a second endpoint device of the first plurality of endpoint devices. Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to remove a particular endpoint who cannot or does not wish to participate, thereby making the system more efficient and user friendly.
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of reference above obviously teaches adding the at least the second endpoint device to the set of non-participating endpoint devices Yi, from above, already taught that an endpoint device was selected from a candidate list (i.e. white list) and excludes non-participating devices (Par.57, 62-63, candidate list and excludes devices). Dowlatkhah further teaches a well-known concept in the art of using a white and blacklist (Par.32, Par.41, Par.47, well known for device to be added to black list).
Regarding Claim 14, Yi teaches wherein the at least the first minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report comprises, for at least one endpoint device, at least one minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement report that omits a location information of the at least one endpoint device (Par.22, can send all measurement result regardless of location information, this would include ones that omit).
Regarding Claim 15, Dowlatkhah teaches adding the at least one endpoint device to the set of non-participating endpoint devices (Par.32, Par.41, Par.47, well known for device to be added to black list).
Regarding Claim 17, Yi teaches the processing system comprises: a radio access network node (Fig.7: BS).
Regarding Claim 18, Hong teaches the at least one radio access network performance measurement comprises at least one of: a reference signal received power; a reference signal received quality; an intra-cell interference measurement; or an inter-cell interference measurement (Par.10).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi (US 2011/0269402) in view of Cai (US 2014/0187235), Hong (US 2025/0220483), Dowlatkhah (US 2018/0035291) in further view of OFFICIAL NOTICE.
Regarding Claim 16, While Yi and Hong teach MDT measurements are collected and stored in an eNodeB, Yi, Cai, Hong, and Dowlatkhah do not expressly teach a trace collection entity deployed in the cellular network.
The examiner takes OFFICIAL NOTICE that it is well known for a trace collection entity deployed in the cellular network to collect data from many eNodeBs. Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify the combination of Yi, Cai, Hong, and Dowlatkhah with the subject matter of the OFFICIAL NOTICE such that an enhanced system that can collect and manage a huge amount of data from a large number of eNodeBs in seamless and continuous fashion.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hong (US 2025/0220483) in view of Yi (US 2011/0269402).
Regarding Claim 20, Hong does expressly teach the endpoint device is configured to block an inclusion of the location information in minimization of drive tests radio access network performance measurement reports.
Yi teaches that it is well known in the art a UE can reject an MDT measurement command of a network (Par.51-52, Par.70). Therefore, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to modify Hong with Yi such that an enhanced system is provided where a user can reject the request/command for privacy and resource saving purposes.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, 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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/WESLEY L KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2648
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