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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5 and 7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites "Non-Access Stream (NAS) signaling." The recognized term in the art is Non-Access Stratum. Because the claim defines the acronym NAS by the erroneous expansion, the scope of the recited signaling cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
Claim 5 further recites that the terminal apparatus is configured to receive, from the AMF, NAS signaling including "information indicating whether the terminal apparatus receives a paging from the first network." Claim 1, from which claim 5 depends, recites that the terminal apparatus transmits to a base station apparatus "information indicating whether the terminal apparatus receives a paging from the first network." It is unclear whether the information received in claim 5 is the same information transmitted in claim 1, in which case the claim recites the same information being both transmitted by and received at the terminal apparatus, or whether claim 5 introduces additional information, in which case the identical recitation is without proper antecedent basis and the relationship between the two is unclear. One of ordinary skill in the art would not be apprised of the metes and bounds of the claim.
Claim 7 recites in the preamble "A base station apparatus in a communication system," and the body then recites "the communication system comprising:" followed by a plurality of networks, the first network including the base station apparatus, and a terminal apparatus having a plurality of subscriber identity modules and being configured to connect the plurality of networks using the plurality of subscriber identity modules. It is unclear whether the claim is directed to the base station apparatus alone, such that the plurality of networks and the terminal apparatus are recitations of the environment in which the base station apparatus operates, or whether the transitional phrase "comprising" positively recites the plurality of networks and the terminal apparatus as elements of the claimed invention, such that the claim is directed to the communication system as a whole.
The distinction affects the scope of the claim. Under the first interpretation, a base station apparatus configured as recited in the wherein clause would meet the claim. Under the second interpretation, the claim would not be met absent the plurality of networks and the terminal apparatus. One of ordinary skill in the art would not be apprised of the metes and bounds of the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2021/0105866 A1 herein Kavuri.
Claim 1, Kavuri discloses a terminal apparatus (Title, Multi-SIM Device) having [sic:]
a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs) (0075, the UE may include at least two SIMs, each SIM executing one or more SIM applications); and
being configured to connect a plurality of networks using the plurality of SIMs, the plurality of networks including a first network and a second network (0076, the inclusion of two or more SIMs may allow the UE to communicate on corresponding two or more respective networks; 0127, connections supported by SIMs in an idle mode with respective access and mobility management functions);
wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to transmit, to a base station apparatus in the first network, information indicating whether the terminal apparatus receives a paging from the first network (0114, the UE may indicate a tune-away to the network, the indication provided at an RRC level or a network access stratum level; 0135, the UE may transmit an RRC suspend request message with a timer; 0125, the AMF may block any page of lower priority than a priority indicated by the tune-away indication until receiving a tune-away indication indicating an end of the tune-away).
Claim 2, Kavuri discloses the terminal apparatus of claim 1.
Kavuri discloses wherein the information includes information on a paging for which the terminal apparatus does not perform receiving operation (0012, the first AMF may ignore paging instances in which an associated paging priority is lower than a paging priority associated with the cause of the tune-away; 0127, upon determining that the SMS is of lower priority than the cause of the tune-away, AMF informs SMSF that SMS is not available).
Claim 3, Kavuri discloses the terminal apparatus of claim 1.
Kavuri discloses wherein the terminal apparatus is configured to determine a type of paging to be prioritized (0119, services may be categorized as either long or short procedures and as either low or high priority, long high priority services may include voice calls);
and the information includes information on the type of paging to be prioritized (0127, SIM 1145b may determine that a tune-away indication is necessary based on a cause, voice call for SIM 1145a, and transmit a tune-away indication, with cause, to AMF).
Claim 4, Kavuri discloses the terminal apparatus of claim 3.
Kavuri discloses wherein the information on the type of paging indicates that the terminal apparatus receives a voice call paging with priority (0118, a Vol TE or VoNR call may have a higher priority than other paging causes except an emergency callback; 0128, transmit a tune-away indication, with cause, voice call, to AMF).
Claim 5, Kavuri discloses the terminal apparatus of claim 1.
Kavuri discloses wherein the first network includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) (0104, the AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management function associated with the UE);
and the terminal apparatus is configured to receive, from the AMF, Non-Access Stream (NAS) signaling including information indicating whether the terminal apparatus receives a paging from the first network (0134, AMF may accept the tune-away and transmit a confirmation of the POU session modification as well as a temporary identifier to the UE; 0132, the UE may send a single NAS message to the AMF).
Claim 6, Kavuri discloses the terminal apparatus of claim 5.
Kavuri discloses wherein the NAS signaling includes information on a paging to be prioritized (0118, as part of a request paging procedure from an AMF to a RAN, the AMF may include a paging cause or paging category field).
Claim 7, Kavuri discloses a base station apparatus in a communication system (Title, Multi-SIM Device), the communication system comprising:
a plurality of networks including a first network and a second network, the first network including the base station apparatus (0055, the base station may be a base transceiver station of cell site; 0127, connection supported by SIMs in an idle mode with respective access and mobility management functions); and
a terminal apparatus having a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs) and being configured to connect the plurality of networks using the plurality of SIMs (0075, the UE may include at least two SIMs; 0076, the inclusion of two or more SIMs may allow the UE to communicate on corresponding two or more respective networks);
wherein the base station apparatus is configured to receive, from the terminal apparatus, information indicating whether the terminal apparatus receives a paging from the first network (0114, the UE may indicate a tune-away to the network, the indication provided at an RRC level; 0117, as part of an RRC UE assistance message the UE may update its configuration to a network node, such as gNB, the network node may forward this information to an AMF via an N2 interface).
Claim 8, as analyzed with respect to the limitations as discussed in claim 7.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20220030549 A1 – There is provided reduced power consumption in devices that use at least two identities for communications. A method comprises aligning (1302) a plurality of paging occasions across at least two identities of a communication device. The aligning is performed via requesting and receiving (1306) from a communication network a paging occasion for the communication device with at least two identities using at least one of the identities..
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mehmood B. Khan whose telephone number is (571)272-9277. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am-6:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Asad Nawaz can be reached at (571) 272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Mehmood B. Khan/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2463
MEHMOOD B. KHAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2463
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