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 10/01/2024 and 06/09/2025; the submission 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 9, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 1 discloses “and a control process that includes taking control to determine, based on whether or not the communication device is of a particular type”, and Claim 13 discloses “wherein the control process includes taking control not to configure at least one of a signaling radio bearer (SRB) 2 or a data radio bearer (DRB) when configuring the RRC connection”.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 11 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 11 discloses “SCell” and was interpreted as “Secondary Cell”. Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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) 1, 12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and or (a)(2) as being anticipated by US-20170142653-A1 QI et al., from hereon QI.
Regarding claim 1 QI teaches a base station comprising: radio frequency circuitry (Fig. 2, discloses radio frequency circuitry); and processor circuitry coupled to the radio frequency circuitry, the processor circuitry being configured to perform processing including (P.32 discloses the circuitry that can implement the features of radio communication…he communications device 104 may also be realized as a terminal (that is also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal) that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Furthermore, the terminal apparatus 300 may be a radio communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single die) mounted on each of the terminals ): a transmission process that includes transmitting a first signal in a radio resource control (RRC) layer to a communication device via the radio frequency circuitry (P. ); and a control process that includes taking control to determine, based on whether or not the communication device is of a particular type (P. 122 discloses…S204. The eNodeB then waits for a predetermined time T to receive a response message from the relay node to the paging message transmitted by the eNodeB on the downlink of the LTE radio access interface; at S206 the eNodeB determines whether it has received a paging response message from one of the relay nodes 204 in which case processing proceeds to step S208 or the eNodeB reverts back to step S202 and attempts to page a next one of the relay nodes in the list of available relay nodes), whether or not to transmit a second signal in the RRC layer to the communication device after the first signal (P.123-124 further discloses the transmission based on the condition…S208. The eNodeB then selects one or more of the available relay nodes, which provided feedback to the eNodeB that these relay nodes from the list are available to act as a relay node for the UE on the downlink….[0124] S210. Those relay nodes which did not respond to the paging request then have their RRC connection released and these relay nodes are not selected. ).
Regarding claim 12 QI teaches…a repeater in a communication device that relays communication between a base station and a terminal (P. 7 discloses… The communications device comprises a transmitter configured to transmit signals representing data to an infrastructure equipment of the mobile communications network via a first wireless access interface and to transmit signals via a second wireless access interface to one or more communications apparatus which can act as relay nodes, a receiver configured to receive signals from the infrastructure equipment of the mobile communications network via the first wireless access interface and to receive signals via the second wireless access interface from the one or more communications apparatus which can act as relay nodes, and a controller), the repeater comprising: radio frequency circuitry; and processor circuitry coupled to the radio frequency circuitry, the processor circuitry being configured to perform processing including: a control process including controlling a configuration of a radio resource control (RRC) connection configured with the base station (Fig. 2, P.39 discloses… a communications device forms an ad-hoc relay node to facilitate communication of radio signals to communications devices (UEs). In some examples the UEs may be MTC-UEs. As shown in FIG. 2 a base station or eNodeB 101 transmits downlink transmissions via an LTE-type wireless access interface to UEs 104 which as already mentioned may be MTC type UEs. The base station or eNodeB 101 includes a transmitter 101.tx, a receiver 101.tx and a controller or scheduler 101.ct. Correspondingly the UEs 104 includes a transmitter 104.tx, a receiver 104.rx and a controller 104.ct ); and a reception process including: receiving, using the radio frequency circuitry, a first signal in an RRC layer and a second signal in the RRC layer transmitted from the base station in a case where the base station determines that the communication device is of a first type, and receiving, using the radio frequency circuitry, the first signal transmitted from the base station in a case where the base station determines that the communication device is of a second type (P. 122 discloses…S204. The eNodeB then waits for a predetermined time T to receive a response message from the relay node to the paging message transmitted by the eNodeB on the downlink of the LTE radio access interface; at S206 the eNodeB determines whether it has received a paging response message from one of the relay nodes 204 in which case processing proceeds to step S208 or the eNodeB reverts back to step S202 and attempts to page a next one of the relay nodes in the list of available relay nodes).
Regarding claim 14 QI teaches…a terminal configured to receive a signal transmitted from a base station via a repeater, the terminal comprising (P.32 discloses… the terminal apparatus 300 may be a radio communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single die) mounted on each of the terminals): radio frequency circuitry; and processor circuitry coupled to the radio frequency circuitry, the processor circuitry being configured to perform processing including(P.32 discloses the circuitry that can implement the features of radio communication…he communications device 104 may also be realized as a terminal (that is also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal) that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Furthermore, the terminal apparatus 300 may be a radio communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single die) mounted on each of the terminals ): a reception process that includes receiving, from the repeater via the radio frequency circuitry, the signal transmitted by the base station, the repeater being configured to take control to receive a first signal in a radio resource control (RRC) layer and a second signal in the RRC layer transmitted from the base station in a case where the base station determines that the repeater is of a first type(P. 122 discloses…S204. The eNodeB then waits for a predetermined time T to receive a response message from the relay node to the paging message transmitted by the eNodeB on the downlink of the LTE radio access interface; at S206 the eNodeB determines whether it has received a paging response message from one of the relay nodes 204 in which case processing proceeds to step S208 or the eNodeB reverts back to step S202 and attempts to page a next one of the relay nodes in the list of available relay nodes),, and to receive the first signal transmitted from the base station in a case where the base station determines that the repeater is of a second type; and a control process that includes performing signal processing on the received signal(P.123-124 further discloses the transmission based on the condition…S208. The eNodeB then selects one or more of the available relay nodes, which provided feedback to the eNodeB that these relay nodes from the list are available to act as a relay node for the UE on the downlink….[0124] S210. Those relay nodes which did not respond to the paging request then have their RRC connection released and these relay nodes are not selected).
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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) 2, 3, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20170142653-A1 QI et al., from hereon QI in view of US-20220132603-A1 to Adjakple et al., from hereon Adjakple.
Regarding claim 2 QI teaches...the base station according to claim 1, but does not teach…wherein the control process includes taking control to transmit the second signal when determining that the communication device is of a first type.
Adjakple teaches… wherein the control process includes taking control to transmit the second signal when determining that the communication device is of a first type (P. 571 Fig. 21, discloses the usage of direct security mode complete message from the initiating device to the target device).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of QI by incorporating the teachings of Adjakple because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration so that the devices can communicate by obtaining device information related to the 2nd device and configure the radio protocol of the 1st device via sidelink (Adjakple, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 3 QI teaches…the base station according to claim 1, but does not teach…wherein the control process includes taking control not to transmit the second signal when determining that the communication device is of a second type.
Adjakple teaches… wherein the control process includes taking control not to transmit the second signal when determining that the communication device is of a second type (P.575…. step S2118, a RRC signaling—direct security mode command is sent from the Target UE/RSU RRC 1908 to the initiating UE/RSU UP Stack 2002. In step S2118a, a security procedure is performed. In step S2120, a RRC signaling—direct security mode complete message is sent from the Initiating UE/RSU RRC 1904 to the Target UE/RSU RRC 1908. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of QI by incorporating the teachings of Adjakple because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration so that the devices can communicate by obtaining device information related to the 2nd device and configure the radio protocol of the 1st device via sidelink (Adjakple, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 9 Qi teaches the base station according to claim 1, but does not teach…wherein the first signal is an RRC setup message, and the second signal is a security command message.
Adjakple teaches… wherein the first signal is an RRC setup message, and the second signal is a security command message (P.596 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of QI by incorporating the teachings of Adjakple because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration so that the devices can communicate by obtaining device information related to the 2nd device and configure the radio protocol of the 1st device via sidelink (Adjakple, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability.
Regarding claim 11 QI and Adjakple teach the base station according to claim 3, Adjakple teaches…wherein the control process includes taking control to transmit a fourth signal in the RRC layer to the communication device when determining that the communication device is of the second type (P.575 discloses… step S2118, a RRC signaling—direct security mode command is sent from the Target UE/RSU RRC 1908 to the initiating UE/RSU UP Stack 2002. In step S2118a, a security procedure is performed. In step S2120, a RRC signaling—direct security mode complete message is sent from the Initiating UE/RSU RRC 1904 to the Target UE/RSU RRC 1908. ), and the fourth signal is an RRC reconfiguration message that does not include an SCell addition setting.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20170142653-A1 QI et al., from hereon QI in view of WO-2022004903-A1 to Shin
Regarding claim 10 Qi teaches…the base station according to claim 1, but does not teach…wherein the control process includes determining that the communication device is of a second type in a case where a response signal to the first signal is not received from the communication device.
Shin teaches… wherein the control process includes determining that the communication device is of a second type in a case where a response signal to the first signal is not received from the communication device (page 3, Lns. 37-43).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of QI by incorporating the teachings of Shin because the method and device allow for various modes of configuration so that the devices can communicate by obtaining device information related to the 2nd device and transmit the information (Shin, Abs). The motivation is that by applying a well-known standard or protocol or machine to a system provides the system with significantly improved industrial applicability
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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the main reason for objection of the claims under discussion is the inclusion of “reception process that includes receiving, from the communication device via the radio frequency circuitry, a third signal that includes class information that indicates whether or not the communication device is of the second type, wherein the control process includes controlling whether or not to transmit the second signal, according to the class information” as the prior art of record in stand-alone form nor in combination read into the discloses claims as supported by the specification. Furthermore, the nearest prior art such as US-20180288748-A1 to Horn, US-10521487-B2 to Zhou, CN-110301143-A to Zhou as they are silent on reception process that includes receiving, from the communication device via the radio frequency circuitry, a third signal that includes class information that indicates whether or not the communication device is of the second type, wherein the control process includes controlling whether or not to transmit the second signal, according to the class information.
Claims 5-8 are allowed as they depend from an objected/allowed claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO form PTO-892: US-20180288748-A1 to Horn, US-10521487-B2 to Zhou, CN-110301143-A to Zhou.
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/L.S./Examiner, Art Unit 2476
/AYAZ R SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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