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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 17/266,613, filed 2021-02-08.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2024-10-03 and 2026-04-08 have been considered by the examiner and made of record in the application file. Examiner notes that several of the non-patent literature documents noted on the 2024-10-03 IDS were lined out and not considered because they are not present in the application file (i.e., they have not been received).
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 7, 14, and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 11,683,699 to Wei et al. (“Wei ‘699”). Additionally, claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3 and 13-15 of U.S. Patent No. 12,149,957 to Wei et al. (“Wei ‘957”). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because Applicant’s claims 1-20 are variously anticipated by claims 1-3, 7, 14, and 15 of Wei ‘699 and claims 1-3 and 13-15 of Wei ‘957, as demonstrated below:
Instant Application
Ref. Patent, Wei ‘699
Ref. Patent, Wei ‘957
Claim 1 (and similarly claims 5, 9, and 13): A base station comprising: a radio transceiver; and circuitry configured to control the radio transceiver to broadcast system information that contains a reference time and ephemeris information, the ephemeris information relating to a position of a satellite, wherein a valid timer is broadcasted with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid.
Claim 2 (and similarly claims 6, 10, and 14): The base station according to claim 1, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell.
Claim 3 (and similarly claims 7, 11, and 15): The base station according to claim 1, wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of the system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes.
Claim 4 (and similarly claims 8, 12, and 16): The base station according to claim 1, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell, and wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes.
Claim 17 (and similarly claims 18-20): The base station according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of portions of the system information has its own validity timer.
Claim 1 (and similarly claims 14 and 15): A method for operating an infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment being a non-terrestrial network part of the wireless communications network configured to transmit one or more spot beams to provide a wireless access interface for transmitting signals to and receiving signals representing data from a communications device within a coverage region of a cell or one of the spot beams, the spot beam forming a cell, the method comprising broadcasting system information for receipt by the communications device, the system information including information relating to at least one of a cell or a spot beam of a neighbouring infrastructure equipment and a second spot beam of the infrastructure equipment, wherein the system information is broadcast in accordance with at least one predetermined condition, wherein the at least one predetermined condition comprises the broadcasted system information being transmitted in combination with one or more validity timers, each of the one or more validity timers being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid, wherein when the validity timer indicates that a portion of system information is valid, it indicates that the communications device should not attempt to re-acquire that portion of system information, wherein the at least one predetermined condition comprises the broadcasted system information being periodically broadcast and being system information relating to at least one of accessing of the cell or the spot beam of the neighboring infrastructure equipment by the communications device and acquiring other system information, wherein the other system information is either broadcast or transmitted to the communications device on-demand, wherein the communications device is acting as a relay node for one or more user equipment, each of the one or more user equipment being in one of an RRC connected mode, an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.
Claim 2: The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined condition comprises the broadcasted system information including system information which relates to at least one of accessing of the cell or the spot beam of the neighbouring infrastructure equipment by the communications device and non-terrestrial network aspects of the neighbouring infrastructure equipment.
Claim 3: The method according to claim 2, wherein the non-terrestrial network aspects of the neighbouring infrastructure equipment comprises ephemeris information of the neighbouring infrastructure equipment.
Claim 7: The method according to claim 1, wherein in response to one of the portions of system information changing, the method comprises resetting the validity timer associated with that portion of system information.
Claim 1 (and similarly claim 13): A method for operating a communications device in a wireless communications network, the wireless communications network comprising an infrastructure equipment, the infrastructure equipment being a non-terrestrial network part of the wireless communications network configured to transmit one or more spot beams to provide a wireless access interface for transmitting signals to and receiving signals representing data from a communications device within a coverage region of a cell or one of the spot beams, the spot beam forming a cell, the method comprising: receiving system information broadcasted by the infrastructure equipment, the system information including information relating to at least one of a cell or a spot beam of a neighboring infrastructure equipment and a second spot beam of the infrastructure equipment, wherein the system information is broadcast in accordance with at least one predetermined condition, wherein the at least one predetermined condition comprises the broadcasted system information being transmitted in combination with one or more validity timers, each of the one or more validity timers being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid, wherein each portion of the system information has its own validity timer, in response to one of the portions of system information changing, resetting the validity timer associated with that portion of system information, and wherein the communications device is acting as a relay node for one or more user equipment, each of the one or more user equipment being in one of an RRC connected mode, an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state.
Claim 2 (and similarly claim 14): The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined condition comprises the broadcasted system information including system information which relates to at least one of accessing of the cell or the spot beam of the neighboring infrastructure equipment by the communications device and non-terrestrial network aspects of the neighboring infrastructure equipment.
Claim 3 (and similarly claim 15): The method according to claim 2, wherein the non-terrestrial network aspects of the neighboring infrastructure equipment include ephemeris information of the neighboring infrastructure equipment.
As can be seen above, the claims of the instant application are broader in scope than the claims of the reference patents Wei ‘699 and Wei ‘957. Therefore, the claims of the instant application are anticipated by each of Wei ‘699 and Wei ‘957 as outlined below:
Instant Application
Ref. Patent, Wei ‘699
Ref. Patent, Wei ‘957
Claims 1-3, 5-7, 9-10, 13-15, and 18-20
Claims 1-3
Claims 1-3 and 13-15
Claims 4, 8, 12, and 16-17
Claims 1-3 and 7
Claims 1-3 and 13-15
Any patent granted on the claims of the instant application would result in the unjustifiable timewise extension of Wei ‘699 and Wei ‘957. Thus, claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3 and 7 of Wei ‘699 and claims 1-3 and 13-15 Wei ‘957, as outlined above.
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2019/0245614 to Lucky et al. (“Lucky”) in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0136661 to Frenger et al. (“Frenger”).
As to claim 1 (and similarly applied to claim 9), Lucky discloses a base station (Lucky, "Ground Network (GN) 704" of Fig. 7 which corresponds to: "GN 200" and "GN 201" of Figs. 1 and 2; and "first apparatus 602" of Fig. 6. Please see ¶¶0102-0107, as well as ¶¶0053-0056) comprising: a radio transceiver (Lucky, Fig. 2 and ¶¶0056-0060); and circuitry configured to control the radio transceiver (Lucky, Fig. 2 and ¶¶0056-0060 and ¶¶0062-0071) to broadcast system information (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107) that contains a reference time (Lucky, Fig. 8; ¶¶0119-0122 and ¶¶0129-0130 and Table 1) and ephemeris information, the ephemeris information relating to a position of a satellite (Lucky, ¶¶0108-0111).
Lucky does not disclose: wherein a valid timer is broadcasted with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid.
However, Frenger discloses: wherein a valid timer is broadcasted with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
Lucky and Frenger are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: transmitting signaling information from infrastructure equipment to communications devices; neighbor cell lists (NCL) that include (system) information about nearby cells in a wireless communication system; and/or managing system information in a communication network. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lucky to incorporate the teachings of Frenger to include: wherein a valid timer is broadcasted with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid. Doing so would "advantageously … provide the ability to modify all, some, or none of the parameters of system information … [which] may, in turn, allow for differentiation or separation of UEs" (Frenger, ¶0016) and would allow, in turn, allow for better power management and less signaling overhead. Additionally, it would be obvious to combine the teachings of Frenger and Lucky because doing so merely combines prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results with a reasonable expectation of success.
As to claim 2 (and similarly applied to claim 10), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the base station according to claim 1, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107).
As to claim 3 (and similarly applied to claim 11), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the base station according to claim 1, wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of the system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes (Frenger, ¶0071 and ¶0079).
As to claim 4 (and similarly applied to claim 12), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the base station according to claim 1, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107), and wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes (Frenger, ¶0071 and ¶0079).
As to claim 5 (and similarly applied to claim 13), Lucky discloses a user equipment (Lucky, "UT (UE) 702" of Fig. 7 which corresponds to: "UT 400" and "UE 500" of Figs. 1, 4, and 5; and "second apparatus 604" of Fig. 6. Please see ¶¶0102-0107, as well as ¶0052 and ¶0094) comprising: a radio transceiver (Lucky, Fig. 4 and ¶¶0080-0081; and Fig. 5 and ¶¶0091-0094); and circuitry configured to control the radio transceiver (Lucky, Fig. 4 and ¶¶0085-0090; and Fig. 5 and ¶¶0091-0095) to receive system information (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107) that contains a reference time (Lucky, Fig. 8; ¶¶0119-0122 and ¶¶0129-0130 and Table 1) and ephemeris information, the ephemeris information relating to a position of a satellite (Lucky, ¶¶0108-0111).
Lucky does not disclose: wherein a valid timer is received with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid.
However, Frenger discloses: wherein a valid timer is received with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
Lucky and Frenger are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: transmitting signaling information from infrastructure equipment to communications devices; neighbor cell lists (NCL) that include (system) information about nearby cells in a wireless communication system; and/or managing system information in a communication network. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lucky to incorporate the teachings of Frenger to include: wherein a valid timer is received with the system information, the valid timer being associated with a portion of the system information and indicating a time duration for which the associated portion of the system information is valid. Doing so would "advantageously … provide the ability to modify all, some, or none of the parameters of system information … [which] may, in turn, allow for differentiation or separation of UEs" (Frenger, ¶0016) and would allow, in turn, allow for better power management and less signaling overhead. Additionally, it would be obvious to combine the teachings of Frenger and Lucky because doing so merely combines prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results with a reasonable expectation of success.
As to claim 6 (and similarly applied to claim 14), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the user equipment according to claim 5, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107).
As to claim 7 (and similarly applied to claim 15), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the user equipment according to claim 5, wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes (Frenger, ¶0071 and ¶0079).
As to claim 8 (and similarly applied to claim 16), Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the user equipment according to claim 5, wherein the system information is system information for a neighboring cell (Lucky, Figs. 6 and 7; ¶¶0102-0107), and wherein the valid timer associated with the portion of system information is reset when one of a plurality of portions of the system information changes (Frenger, ¶0071 and ¶0079).
As to claim 17, Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the base station according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of portions of the system information has its own validity timer (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
As to claim 18, Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the user equipment according to claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of portions of the system information has its own validity timer (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
As to claim 19, Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the method according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of portions of the system information has its own validity timer (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
As to claim 20, Lucky in view of Frenger discloses the method according to claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of portions of the system information has its own validity timer (Frenger, Fig. 6; ¶¶0078-0079. Please also see ¶¶0010-0011, ¶¶0073-0074, and ¶0088).
References Cited
Frenger, Pål et al. (2021). Managing dedicated and common system information (US 2021/0136661 A1). Filed 2018-01-05.
Lucky, Kundan Kumar et al. (2019). Neighbor cell list (US 2019/0245614 A1). Filed 2017-09-01.
Wei, Yuxin et al. (2023). Infrastructure equipment, communications devices and methods (US 11,683,699 B2). Filed 2019-08-07.
Wei, Yuxin et al. (2024). Infrastructure equipment, communications devices and methods (US 12,149,957 B2). Filed 2023-05-09.
Other Pertinent References
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Baer, Anders et al. (2016). Handling of timers (US 2016/0057257 A1). Filed 2013-04-05.
Edge, Stephen William et al. (2018). Methods and systems for positioning of a mobile device using broadcast of assistance data (US 2018/0324740 A1). Filed 2018-02-14.
Fischer, Sven et al. (2020). Systems and methods for validity time and change notification of broadcast location assistance data (US 2020/0053690 A1). Filed 2019-08-07.
Gaal, P. (2002). Method and apparatus for broadcasting position location data in a wireless communication system (US 2002/0072378 A1). Filed 2001-07-10.
Kim, Soenghun et al. (2017). Method and apparatus of managing stored system information using validly timer when applying discontinuous reception mode in mobile communication system (US 2017/0048920 A1). Filed 2016-08-12.
Kubota, Keiichi et al. (2016). On-demand system information (US 2016/0234736 A1). Filed 2015-07-20.
Li, Chenwan et al. (2020). System information change indication method and apparatus (US 2020/0229072 A1). Filed 2020-03-27.
Lucky, Kundan Kumar et al. (2019). Dynamically segmenting information according to at least one criterion (US 2019/0222303 A1). Filed 2017-09-01.
Lindheimer, Christofer et al. (2019). Validity time of system information in a wireless communication system (US 2019/0261251 A1). Filed 2018-03-23.
Mahalingam, Nagi et al. (2021). Timing advance for non-terrestrial network communication (US 2021/0029658 A1). Filed 2019-04-03.
Ramasamy, Bala et al. (2018). Wireless network positioning (US 2018/0310133 A1). Filed 2017-09-22.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL H LEONARD whose telephone number is (571)272-5720. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7am-4pm (PT).
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/SAMUEL H. LEONARD/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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