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 .
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.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-10 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 5, 7, 10-12, 16 and 17 of copending Application No. 18/648,016 (note that the Notice of Allowability has been issued on 6/27/2026 for this copending application). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because:
Claim
Instant Application
Claim
US Application No. 18/648,016
1
A method of operating a network, comprising: obtaining, from a first cell among a plurality of cells, information about reception strengths of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) from at least two of the plurality of cells, measured by a first user equipment (UE) connected to the first cell; obtaining first information on overlap between a first beamforming direction of a first transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a second UE connected to a second cell among the plurality of cells and a first group of beamforming directions of a first plurality of SSBs from the second cell; obtaining second information on overlap between a second beamforming direction of a second transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a third UE connected to a third cell among the plurality of cells and a second group of beamforming directions of a second plurality of SSBs from the third cell; and determining at least one cell to perform a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) function for the first UE from among the plurality of cells, based on the information about the reception strengths and the degrees of overlap, the first information and the second information.
1
1. A method of operating a network, the method comprising: obtaining, from a first cell from among a plurality of cells, information related to a reception strength of a plurality of synchronized signal blocks (SSBs) from at least one cell from among the plurality of cells, measured by a first user equipment connected to the first cell; obtaining, from the plurality of cells, overlapping degrees between a first beamforming direction of a transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a respective user equipment connected to the plurality of cells, and a plurality of second beamforming directions of a plurality of SSBs of the respective cell among the plurality of cells; determining, from among the plurality of cells, a plurality of candidate cells for performing a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) function with respect to the first user equipment, based on the information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees; and determining at least one cell for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment from among the plurality of candidate cells based on a comparison result of priorities configured for the plurality of candidate cells, respectively.
2
The method of claim 1, wherein the first information includes a degree of overlap between a bore-sight angle of a beam corresponding to the first transmission signal for the downlink traffic corresponding to the second UE connected to and an angle range of a horizontal beam corresponding to the first plurality of SSBs.
2
The method of claim 1, wherein the overlapping degrees correspond respectively to overlapping degrees between a bore-sight angle of a beam corresponding to the transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a user equipment connected to a respective cell among the plurality of cells, and angular ranges of horizontal beams corresponding to the SSBs.
3
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one cell to perform the CoMP function for the first UE from among the plurality of cells comprises: identifying at least one first SSB corresponding to a reception strength equal to or greater than a reception strength threshold, based on the information about the reception strengths; identifying at least one second SSB with a degree of overlap equal to or greater than an overlap degree threshold among the at least one first SSB, based on the first information and the second information; and identifying the at least one cell corresponding to the at least one second SSB.
3
The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of, from among the plurality of cells, the plurality of candidate cells for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment, based on the information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees, comprises: identifying at least one first SSB corresponding to a reception degree greater than or equal to a threshold reception strength, based on the information related to the reception strength; identifying at least one second SSB having an overlapping degree greater than or equal to a threshold overlapping degree from among the at least one first SSB, based on the overlapping degrees; and identifying the plurality of candidate cells corresponding to the at least one second SSB.
4
The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one cell to perform the CoMP function for the first UE from among the plurality of cells includes: identifying at least one third SSB corresponding to an average reception strength equal to or greater than a reception strength threshold, based on the information about the reception strengths, wherein the average reception strength comprises an average of a reception strength corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a reception strength of an SSB around the at least one third SSB; identifying at least one fourth SSB having a sum of degrees of overlap equal to or greater than an overlap degree threshold among the at least one third SSB, based on the first information and the second information, wherein the sum of degrees of overlap is a sum of a degree of overlap corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a degree of overlap corresponding to an SSB around the at least one third SSB; and identifying the at least one cell corresponding to the at least one fourth SSB.
5
The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of, from among the plurality of cells, the plurality of candidate cells for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment, based on information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees, comprises: identifying at least one third SSB corresponding to an average reception degree greater than or equal to a threshold reception strength, based on the information related to the reception strength, the average reception strength corresponding to an average of a reception strength corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a reception strength of a neighboring SSB of each of the at least one first SSB; identifying at least one fourth SSB having an overlapping degree sum greater than or equal to a threshold overlapping degree from among the at least one third SSB, based on the overlapping degrees, the overlapping degree sum corresponding to a sum of an overlapping degree corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and an overlapping degree of a neighboring SSB of each of the at least one third SSB; and identifying the plurality of candidate cells corresponding to the at least one fourth SSB.
5
The method of claim 1, further comprising providing information about the at least one cell to perform the CoMP function to the first cell via an E2 interface.
7
The method of claim 1, further comprising providing information associated with the at least one cell for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment to the first cell through an E2 interface.
6
An electronic device, comprising: at least one processor including processing circuitry, and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: obtain, from a first cell among a plurality of cells, information about reception strengths of a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) from at least two of the plurality of cells, measured by a first user equipment (UE) connected to the first cell; obtain first information on overlap between a first beamforming direction of a first transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a second UE connected to a second cell among the plurality of cells and a first group of beamforming directions of a first plurality of SSBs from the second cell; obtain second information on overlap between a second beamforming direction of a second transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a third UE connected to a third cell among the plurality of cells and a second group of beamforming directions of a second plurality of SSBs from the third cell; and determine at least one cell to perform a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) function for the first UE from among the plurality of cells, based on the information about the reception strengths, the first information and the second information.
10
A radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (RIC) comprising: a storage device comprising a memory; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry; wherein the storage device is configured to store instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the RIC to: obtain, from a first cell from among a plurality of cells connected to the RIC, information related to a reception strength of a plurality of synchronized signal blocks (SSBs) from at least one cell from among the plurality of cells, measured by a first user equipment connected to the first cell; obtain, from the plurality of cells, overlapping degrees between a first beamforming direction of a transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a respective user equipment connected to a respective cell among the plurality of cells, and a plurality of second beamforming directions of a plurality of SSBs of the respective cell among the plurality of cells; determine, from among the plurality of cells, plurality of candidate cells for performing a coordinated multi-point (CoMP) function with respect to the first user equipment, based on the information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees; and determine at least one cell for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment from among the plurality of candidate cells based on a comparison result of priorities configured for the plurality of candidate cells, respectively.
7
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the first information includes a degree of overlap between a bore-sight angle of a beam corresponding to the first transmission signal for the downlink traffic corresponding to the second UE connected to the second cell and an angle range of a horizontal beam corresponding to the first plurality of SSBs.
11
The RIC of claim 10, wherein the overlapping degrees correspond respectively to overlapping degrees between a bore-sight angle of a beam corresponding to the transmission signal for downlink traffic corresponding to a user equipment connected to a respective cell among the plurality of cells, and angular ranges of horizontal beams corresponding to the SSBs.
8
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: identify at least one first SSB corresponding to a reception strength equal to or greater than a reception strength threshold, based on the information about the reception strengths; identify at least one second SSB with a degree of overlap equal to or greater than an overlap degree threshold among the at least one first SSB, based on the first information and the second information; and identify the at least one cell corresponding to the at least one second SSB.
12
The RIC of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the RIC to, as at least a portion of the determining of, from the plurality of cells, the plurality of candidate cells for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment, based on the information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees: identify at least one first SSB corresponding to a reception degree greater than or equal to a threshold reception strength, based on information related to the reception strength; identify at least one second SSB having an overlapping degree greater than or equal to a threshold overlapping degree from among the at least one first SSB, based on the overlapping degrees; and identify the plurality of candidate cells corresponding to the at least one second SSB.
9
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: identify at least one third SSB corresponding to an average reception strength equal to or greater than a reception strength threshold, based on the information about the reception strengths, wherein the average reception strength comprises an average of a reception strength corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a reception strength of an SSB around the at least one third SSB; identify at least one fourth SSB having a sum of degrees of overlap equal to or greater than an overlap degree threshold among the at least one third SSB, based on the first information and the second information, wherein the sum of degrees of overlap is a sum of a degree of overlap corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a degree of overlap corresponding to an SSB around the at least one third SSB; and identify the at least one cell corresponding to the at least one fourth SSB.
16
The RIC of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the RIC to, as the at least a portion of the determining of, from among the plurality of cells, the plurality of candidate cells for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment, based on information related to the reception strength and the overlapping degrees: identify at least one third SSB corresponding to an average reception degree greater than or equal to a threshold reception strength, based on the information related to the reception strength, identify at least one fourth SSB having an overlapping degree sum greater than or equal to a threshold overlapping degree from among the at least one third SSB, based on the overlapping degrees, and identify the plurality of candidate cells corresponding to the at least one fourth SSB, wherein the average reception strength corresponding to an average of a reception strength corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and a reception strength of a neighboring SSB of each of the at least one first SSB, and wherein the overlapping degree sum corresponding to a sum of an overlapping degree corresponding to each of the at least one third SSB and an overlapping degree of a neighboring SSB of each of the at least one third SSB.
10
The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: provide information about the at least one cell to perform the CoMP function to the first cell via an E2 interface.
17
The RIC of claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, individually and/or collectively, cause the RIC to, provide information associated with the at least one cell for performing the CoMP function with respect to the first user equipment to the first cell through an E2 interface.
Regarding claim 1, as shown above, claim 1 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 1. In particular, claim 1 of application ‘016 recites “… from at least one cell” that will cover the claimed “… from at least two” in claim 1 of the instant application as broader range will cover narrower range. Further, claim 1 of application ‘016 recites “… a respective user equipment connected to …” will cover “… a second UE connected to …” and “… a third UE connected to …” of claim 1 of the instant application.
Regarding claim 2, as shown above, claim 2 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, as shown above, claim 3 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 3.
Regarding claim 4, as shown above, claim 5 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 4.
Regarding claim 5, as shown above, claim 7 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, as shown above, claim 10 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 6. In particular, claim 10 of application ‘016 recites “… from at least one cell” that will cover the claimed “… from at least two” in claim 1 of the instant application as broader range will cover narrower range. Further, claim 10 of application ‘016 recites “… a respective user equipment connected to …” will cover “… a second UE connected to …” and “… a third UE connected to …” of claim 6 of the instant application.
Regarding claim 7, as shown above, claim 11 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 7.
Regarding claim 8, as shown above, claim 12 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 8.
Regarding claim 9, as shown above, claim 16 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 9.
Regarding claim 10, as shown above, claim 17 of application Number 18/648,016 covers all limitations of claim 10.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Chieh M Fan whose telephone number is (571)272-3042. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-3:00 M-F.
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.
The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHIEH M FAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2632
Prosecution Insights