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 .
Application submitted on 11/07/2024 has been received, entered and made of record. Currently, claims 1-17 and 31-33 are pending in the application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/07/2024 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner as indicated. However, Applicant has not provided an explanation of relevance of cited document(s) discussed.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5-7, 13, 15, 31 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wigard et al. US 2024/0306115 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Wigard).
Referring to claim 1, Wigard discloses a user equipment (UE) (fig.2, apparatus 200), comprising:
at least one memory (fig.2, memory 204) comprising instructions (fig.2, program code 206);
at least one transceiver (fig.2, communication interface 208); and
at least one processor (fig.2, processor 202) configured to execute the instructions ([0096]) to cause the UE to:
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a UE capability indication to a network, wherein the UE capability indication indicates a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location availability of the UE ([0099]) (Note: the network obtains UE capability information related to global navigation satellite system (GNSS); wherein the UE capability indicates positioning capability information of the UE);
receive, via the at least one transceiver, a paging request from the network ([0120] and [0123]) (Note: the UE receives a paging message from the network);
obtain a location of the UE based on the GNSS location availability ([0129] and [0131]) (Note: the UE 110 reads GNSS and determine position of the UE 110); and
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a paging response to the network, wherein transmission of the paging response is based on the location of the UE ([0126] and [0134]) (Note: the UE transmits a paging response to the network based on the location of the UE).
Referring to claim 2, Wigard discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the paging response is transmitted after an extended period following receipt of the paging request, wherein the extended period is based on the UE capability indication, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the UE to obtain the location of the UE using the extended period ([0104] and [0132]) (Note: the paging response is transmitted after a GNSS-gap (extended period) following receipt of the paging message, wherein the GNSS-gap is based on the UE capability indication and the UE obtains the location of the UE using the GNSS-gap).
Referring to claim 5, Wigard discloses a base station (fig.2, apparatus 200 and [0097]-[0098]), comprising:
at least one memory (fig.2, memory 204) comprising instructions (fig.2, program code 206);
at least one transceiver (fig.2, communication interface 208); and
at least one processor (fig.2, processor 202) configured to execute the instructions ([0096]) to cause the base station to:
receive, via the at least one transceiver, a user equipment (UE) capability indication that indicates a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location availability of a UE ([0099]) (Note: the network obtains UE capability information related to global navigation satellite system (GNSS); wherein the UE capability indicates positioning capability information of the UE);
transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a paging request to the UE ([0120] and [0123]) (Note: the UE receives a paging message from the network); and
manage a paging response timer based on the GNSS location availability of the UE, wherein the paging response timer controls a retransmission of the paging request based on whether a paging response is received from the UE ([0104]-[0105], [0120]-[0125], figs.5-7 and [0135]-[0152]) (Note: the network (base station) monitors paging response based on a positioning time gap (GNSS-gap) determined based on the positioning capability information of the UE, wherein the positioning time gap (GNSS-gap) controls a retransmission of the paging request based on whether a paging response is received from the UE).
Referring to claim 6, Wigard discloses the base station of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to: retransmit the paging request based on an expiration of the paging response timer ([00120]-[0121] and [0144]) (Note: The network node resends the paging message after expiry of the GNSS-gap or the second paging message may be scheduled for transmission at a paging occasion occurring after expiry of the GNSS-gap) .
Referring to claim 7, Wigard discloses the base station of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to: receive the paging response from the UE prior to an expiration of the paging response timer ([0143]-[0144]) (Note: The second paging message 602 is only transmitted if the network node does not receive a RA preamble (in paging response) from the UE 110 after expiry of the GNSS-gap. Thus, the network (base station) is instructed to receive the paging response from the UE prior to an expiration of the GNSS-gap timer).
Referring to claim 13, Wigard discloses the base station of claim 5, wherein, to manage the paging response timer, the at least one processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to: calculate a duration of the paging response timer based on the GNSS location availability of the UE ([0104] and [0110]-[0111]) (Note: the network node determine the GNSS-gap parameter, which represents an example of a positioning time gap based on the positioning capability information of the UE 110).
Referring to claim 15, Wigard discloses the base station of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to cause the base station to: start the paging response timer based on a coverage gap in time during which the UE is not covered by a cell of a network, wherein the cell comprises a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell or a terrestrial network (TN) cell ([0114]) (Note: The network node may determine that the hot and/or warm start capability times, which may be signaled by the UE 110, and the next possible WUS transmission occasion leads to the next possible paging occasion occurring when the current cell (or satellite) no longer provides coverage to the UE 110. Therefore, the UE 110 may also need time to perform cell (or satellite) reselection and potentially also cell search. In this case the network may provide a paging period that takes into account the additional time needed for cell reselection and/or cell search. This additional time may enable the UE 110 to reselect a new cell. In case of NTN a single paging area may cover a fixed area on the earth).
Regarding Claim 31, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 1 is applicable herein.
Referring to claim 32, Wigard discloses the method of claim 31, wherein the paging response is transmitted after an extended period following receipt of the paging request, wherein the extended period is based on the UE capability indication that the UE transmitted to the network and the location of the UE is obtained using the extended period ([0104] and [0132]) (Note: the paging response is transmitted after a GNSS-gap (extended period) following receipt of the paging message, wherein the GNSS-gap is based on the UE capability indication and the UE obtains the location of the UE using the GNSS-gap).
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.
Claims 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wigard in view of Kim et al. US 2013/0329593 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Kim).
Referring to claim 4, Wigard discloses the UE of claim 1, except wherein the GNSS location availability of the UE indicates whether a time delay for obtaining the location of the UE using a GNSS is greater than or equal to a threshold value.
However, in the same field of endeavor of UE, Kim discloses wherein the GNSS location availability of the UE indicates whether a time delay for obtaining the location of the UE using a GNSS is greater than or equal to a threshold value ([0046]) (Note: the UE acquires the GNSS location information and the time information , and determines whether the difference between the location information acquisition time and the report time is greater than the offset value. If the difference between the location information acquisition time and the report time is equal to or greater than the offset value).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the UE of Wigard with the teaching of Kim to obtain the claimed invention. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been to enable the base station to properly handle the paging request.
Regarding Claim 10, the same ground of rejection provided for claim 4 is applicable herein.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wigard in view of Aminaka US 2017/0280493 A1.
Referring to claim 8, Wigard discloses the base station of claim 5, except wherein the GNSS location availability of the UE is received as a UE communication parameter from a home subscriber server (HSS) of a network.
However, in the same field of endeavor of the base station, Aminaka discloses wherein the GNSS location availability of the UE is received as a UE communication parameter from a home subscriber server (HSS) of a network ([0054]) (Note: the control apparatus may receive the position information of the UE from a node located in the PLMN (e.g., eNodeB, MME, or HSS), wherein the position information is obtained by global positioning system (GPS)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention by the applicant to modify the base station of Wigard with the teaching of Aminaka to obtain the claimed invention. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have been for transferring the GNSS location availability of a UE to a base station.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 9, 11-12, 14, 16-17 and 33 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.
Conclusion
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/MOUSTAPHA DIABY/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2683
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