DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to applicant's communication filed on 09/16/2024, wherein:
Claim 1-20 are pending.
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 1, 5-9, 11-14, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen (US 20240179676 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chen discloses a user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication with a base station; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to (Fig. 1, Fig. 7, and ¶0077 disclose UE 130a which is a communication device comprising processor and transceiver for wireless communication with RAN including base station):
receive, using the transceiver, a paging alert (PA) from the base station (Fig. 1 step 192-194, ¶0114 – “The UE 130a receives the paging alert message 192 (illustrated in block 194), and determines that the paging alert message 192 is intended for the UE 130a”),
generate a notification for a user of the UE to physically move the UE based on the PA (Fig 1 step 196 and ¶0114 – “In response, the UE 130a notifies the user, such as with an audible alert and/or message 196, to inform the user that there is a pending call or message and to request that the user move to a location with better signal strength”); and
receive, using the transceiver, a paging message from the base station based on the PA (¶0114 – “Once the signal characteristics for the UE 130a improve to the point that the UE 130a can receive the synchronization signals, the UE 130a connects to the RAN and the core network can cause the paging message 190 to be resent at time when the UE 130a has the ability to receive it”, and ¶0169).
Regarding claim 5, Chen discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein to generate the notification, the processor is further configured to: determine that a reference signal received power (RSRP) from the base station is lower than a threshold value (¶0147 – “Because listening on the PDACH consumes power and uses radio resources, the UEs can each be configured to listens on the PDACH only when the signal on the main paging channel is too low to be effective, such as when the signal level is below a minimum threshold needed for proper reception”); or determine that an elevation angle to the base station is smaller than a threshold angle.
Regarding claim 6, Chen discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein to generate the notification, the processor is further configured to: determine that the paging alert includes at least a part of an identification (ID) of the UE (¶0016 – “In some implementations, the paging alert signals indicate an identifier for the user equipment”); determine that the paging alert includes a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) sequence, wherein the CRC sequence is scrambled based on at least a part of the ID of the UE; or determine that the page alert is generated based on the ID of the UE.
Regarding claim 7, Chen discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein to receive the paging message, the processor is further configured to: receive a signal in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the PA, wherein the signal indicates information of the paging message (Fig. 8 step 815 and ¶0175 – “The user moves the UE 130a to a location with better reception (814), where the UE 130a has sufficient SNR to successfully receive a paging message in a subsequent paging occasion (815)” wherein ¶0170 discloses “The RAN 701 can be configured to provide concurrently perform paging for a short message using standard paging on the PDCCH”); and receive the paging message in a physical data shared channel (PDSCH) based on the information (¶0167 – “The RAN 701 sends the paging message (712a), for example using PCCH/PDCCH with P-RNTI and/or RRC Paging using the PDSCH”) .
Regarding claim 8, Chen discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises: a sound notification to the user of the UE, a vibration notification to the user of the UE, or a text notification to the user of the UE (¶0074-0075 – “in response to determining that signals received during the alert frame include an identifier for the communication device, outputting a notification at the communication device… In some implementations, the notification instructs moving the communication device to a location with increased signal quality”).
Regarding claim 9, the scope and content of the claim recites a method of operating a user equipment (UE) of claim 1, therefore, being addressed as claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, the scope and content of the claim recites a method of operating a user equipment (UE) of claim 5, therefore, being addressed as claim 5.
Regarding claim 12, the scope and content of the claim recites a method of operating a user equipment (UE) of claim 6, therefore, being addressed as claim 6.
Regarding claim 13, the scope and content of the claim recites a method of operating a user equipment (UE) of claim 8, therefore, being addressed as claim 8.
Regarding claim 14, Chen discloses a base station comprising: a transceiver configured to enable wireless communication with a user equipment (UE); and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to (Fig. 1, Fig. 7, and ¶0077 disclose RAN including a base station which is known to comprise processor and transceiver for performing its communication function):
generate a paging alert (PA) that triggers the UE to generate a notification to physically move the UE; transmit, using the transceiver, the PA to the UE (Fig. 1 step 192-194, and ¶0114 – “The UE 130a receives the paging alert message 192 (illustrated in block 194), and determines that the paging alert message 192 is intended for the UE 130a”); and
transmit, using the transceiver, a paging message based on the PA (¶0114 – “Once the signal characteristics for the UE 130a improve to the point that the UE 130a can receive the synchronization signals, the UE 130a connects to the RAN and the core network can cause the paging message 190 to be resent at time when the UE 130a has the ability to receive it”, and ¶0169).
Regarding claim 18, Chen discloses the base station of claim 14, wherein the PA is generated based on an ID of the UE, and includes: at least a part of an identification (ID) of the UE (¶0016 – “In some implementations, the paging alert signals indicate an identifier for the user equipment”); or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) sequence, wherein the CRC sequence is scrambled based on at least a part of the ID of the UE.
Regarding claim 19, Chen discloses the base station of claim 14, wherein to transmit the paging message, the processor is further configured to: transmit a signal in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the PA, wherein the signal indicates information of the paging message (Fig. 8 step 815 and ¶0175 – “The user moves the UE 130a to a location with better reception (814), where the UE 130a has sufficient SNR to successfully receive a paging message in a subsequent paging occasion (815)” wherein ¶0170 discloses “The RAN 701 can be configured to provide concurrently perform paging for a short message using standard paging on the PDCCH”); and transmit the paging message in a physical data shared channel (PDSCH) based on the information (¶0167 – “The RAN 701 sends the paging message (712a), for example using PCCH/PDCCH with P-RNTI and/or RRC Paging using the PDSCH”).
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 2 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 20240179676 A1) in view of Hu et al. (US 20260304267 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Chen discloses the UE of claim 1, however, silent on further details of claim 2.
Hu discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a configuration message from the base station, wherein the configuration message configures the UE to receive the PA and to generate the notification (¶0131-0135; Fig. 4 step 410 and ¶0138 – “Referring to FIG. 4, in step S410, alert-related configuration information (corresponding to the first configuration information above) broadcast by a network device is received”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Chen to incorporate ability to provide configuration information for paging alert from Hu because doing so would apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (MPEP §2141 -III) to provide necessary configuration for UE.
Regarding claim 15, Chen discloses the base station of claim 14, however, silent on further details of claim 15.
Hu discloses wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit a configuration message to the UE, wherein the configuration message configures the UE to receive the PA and to generate the notification (¶0131-0135; Fig. 4 step 410 and ¶0138 – “Referring to FIG. 4, in step S410, alert-related configuration information (corresponding to the first configuration information above) broadcast by a network device is received”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before effective filing date of the claimed the invention, to modify the invention of Chen to incorporate ability to provide configuration information for paging alert from Hu because doing so would apply a known technique to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement to yield predictable results (MPEP §2141 -III) to provide necessary configuration for UE.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3-4, 10, 16-17, and 20 are 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.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUNG HONG whose telephone number is (571)270-7928. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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, JINSONG HU, can be reached on (571) 272-3965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DUNG HONG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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