CTNF 19/031,229 CTNF 85251 DETAILED ACTION This action is in response to communication filed on 1/17/2025 Claims 1-20 are pending. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 10/23/2025 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 § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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 of this title, 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. 07-23-aia AIA The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co. , 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-4, 8-9, 11-14, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujishiro (US 2021/0168188) in view of Anghel et al. (US 2015/018820) . Regarding claim 1 , Fujishiro discloses a method, comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication endpoint from a base station, one or more first internet protocol packets, including one or more bits configured by the base station based according to a network congestion level (Fujishiro discloses that the eNB configures and sets congestion related bits directly in the IP header of packets it forwards or transmits to the UE based on whether the eNB detects congestion; [0109] “ the UE 100 receives an IP packet from the eNB 200. The eNB 200 includes, into the IP packet (the IP header), non-congestion information indicating that the eNB 200 is not congested…he existing LTE specifications has an ECN (Explicit Congestion Notification) that is a technique by which the eNB 200 includes, into the IP packet (the IP header), congestion information indicating that the eNB 200 is congested ”, [0117] “ the eNB 200, if the IP packet received from the communication partner 500 is an ECN-enabled packet (including the extended ECN), sets “no congestion” to ECN bits in the header of the IP packet to transmit the IP packet to the UE 10 ”) ; determining, by the wireless communication endpoint, the network congestion level from “ a plurality of network congestion levels ”, based on the one or more bits configured by the base station in the one or more first packets (Fujishiro discloses that the UE receives the marked IP packet and determines the congestion status (congestion or no congestion) from the ECN bits to decide on adaptation; [0109] “ The UE 100 performs the codec adaptation based on the non-congestion information. Specifically, in response to the reception of the non-congestion information, the UE 100 performs the codec adaptation to increase the codec rate ”) ; and selectively updating, by the wireless communication endpoint, one or more configurations for generating one or more second packets for transmission to the base station, according to the network congestion level (Fujishiro discloses that the UE selectively updates its code rate (a configuration directly controlling how uplink/media packets are generated and transmitted toward the network/BS) based on the received congestion indication; [0109] “ by including the non-congestion information into an IP packet, it becomes possible to increase the codec rate ”, [0117] “ In response to reception of the IP packet in which the “no congestion” is set to the header, the UE 100 performs a codec adaptation to increase the codec rate (step S211 )”) . However, the prior art does not explicitly disclose a plurality of network congestion levels. Anghel in the field of the same endeavor discloses techniques for quantized congestion notification (QCN) extension to Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) for transport-based end-to-end congestion notification. In particular, Anghel discloses the following: a plurality of network congestion levels (Anghel discloses a multi-bit congestion indicator in the packet header that explicitly encodes a plurality (multiple severity) of congestion levels, allowing the receiving device to determine the precise level; [0077] “ the congestion indicator may be a multi-bit indicator that indicates a severity of the congestion, such as a 2-bit, 4-bit, 6-bit, 8-bit, etc., indicator. Each state of the multi-bit indicator indicates an increasing level of congestion and/or alarm or alert conditions that should be given higher priority when received by the sending device ”) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine the prior art with the teaching of Anghel. One would have been motivated because Anghel’s teaches provide a finer granularity of congestion severity beyond binary ECN, thereby allowing more selective and appropriate codec rate updates that better match actual network conditions that would yield predictable results. Regarding claim 2 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations comprise a bitrate, the method further comprising: determining, by the wireless communication endpoint, to update the bitrate for generating the one or more second packets, based on the network congestion level (see Fujishiro [0109] “ The UE 100 performs the codec adaptation based on the non-congestion information. Specifically, in response to the reception of the non-congestion information, the UE 100 performs the codec adaptation to increase the codec rate. The existing LTE specifications has an ECN (Explicit Congestion Notification) that is a technique by which the eNB 200 includes, into the IP packet (the IP header), congestion information indicating that the eNB 200 is congested. However, according to the existing ECN, only the codec rate can be reduced. In contrast, by including the non-congestion information into an IP packet, it becomes possible to increase the codec rate ”) ; and generating, via a codec of the wireless communication endpoint, the one or more second packets using the updated bitrate (Fujishiro [0109] “ the UE 100 performs the codec adaptation to increase the codec rate ”, [0110] “ The upper layer entity 100b of the UE 100 performs a codec adaptation according to the information transferred from the AS layer entity 100a ”) . Regarding claim 3 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising: transmitting, by the wireless communication endpoint to the base station, the one or more second packets generated using the updated bitrate (Fujishiro [0092] “ the UE 100 performs a codec adaptation by using the information included in the RRC Connection Reconfiguration message. For example, an upper layer entity 100b of the UE 100 performs a negotiation with the communication partner 500 by using a SIP, and decides the codec mode and/or the codec rate. Thereafter, the UE 100 performs IP packet communication with the communication partner 500 by using the decided codec mode and/or codec rate ”) . Regarding claim 4 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations comprise at least one of a bitrate, a resolution, or a frame rate (Fujishiro [0109] “ in response to the reception of the non-congestion information, the UE 100 performs the codec adaptation to increase the codec rate ”) . Regarding claim 8 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first packets include a header having two or more bits, wherein a value of the two or more bits corresponds to a respective network congestion level (Anghel [0077] “ the congestion indicator may be a multi-bit indicator that indicates a severity of the congestion, such as a 2-bit, 4-bit, 6-bit, 8-bit, etc., indicator. Each state of the multi-bit indicator indicates an increasing level of congestion and/or alarm or alert conditions that should be given higher priority when received by the sending device ”) . Regarding claim 9 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the header has at least three bits corresponding to the respective network level, wherein a respective value of the at least three bit is configurable by the base station to indicate a corresponding network congestion level from eight different network congestion levels (Anghel [0080] “ receiving the packet having the multi-bit congestion indicator in a header thereof at a device that sends traffic to the first device and reducing a congestion window, such as by a factor of between about 5% and about 50%, or more or less, based on a severity of the congestion indicated by the multi-bit indictor. In this way, the congestion window is reduced by a greater factor when the congestion is indicated as being more severe ”, [0081] “ the multi-bit indicator may be set according to feedback (FB) that is based on an equilibrium length for the queue (Q.sub.eq), a change in occupancy of the queue (Q.sub.delta) an offset of the queue (Q.sub.offset) and a predetermined constant (w)”) . Regarding claim 11 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication endpoint comprises at least one of an application server or user equipment (Fujishiro [0055] “ A UE 100 according to the first embodiment is configured to perform a codec adaptation based on assistance or control by an eNB 200 ”) . Regarding claim(s) 12-14, 17-19, and 20 do(es) not teach or further define over the limitation in claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 11, and 1 respectively. Therefore claim(s) 12-14, 17-19, and 20 is/are rejected for the same rationale of rejection as set forth in claim(s) 1-4, 8-9, 11, and 1 respectively . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 5-7 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujishiro (US 2021/0168188) in view of Anghel et al. (US 2015/018820) in view of Furbeck et al. (US 2011/0170408) . Regarding claim 5 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first packets comprise a plurality of first packets, each packet of the plurality of first packets having a field corresponding to an explicit congestion notification signal from the base station Furbeck in the field of the same endeavor discloses techniques for indicating and responding to congestion in a communication system. In particular, Furbeck teaches the following: wherein the one or more first packets comprise a plurality of first packets, each packet of the plurality of first packets having a field corresponding to an explicit congestion notification signal from the base station (Furbeck [0084] “ network node 608 includes a module for performing a function for marking a percentage of data packets 612 to be transmitted to user equipment 604. Marked packets may be marked with a marker indicating "Congestion Experienced "”, [0085] “ packet marking indicating "Congestion Experienced" may include marking currently used or proposed for Explicit Congestion Notification, such as marking two bits in the Internet Protocol (IP) header of a packet as `11 `”) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine the prior art with the teaching of Furbeck. One would have been motivated to enable the wireless communication endpoint to accurately determine network congestion level using relative counts and patterns of ECN marked packets, thereby improving the precision and effectiveness of end-to-end congestion control in wireless networks. Regarding claim 6 , Fujishiro-Anghel-Furbeck discloses the method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communication endpoint determines the network congestion level based on a first count of first values of the field, for a portion of the plurality of first packets, relative to a second count of second values of the field, for another portion of the plurality of first packets (Furbeck discloses the wireless communication endpoint determines the network congestion level by computing the percentage of marked packets. This percentage is a first count of first value of the field (“Congestion Experienced”) in one portion/window of the plurality of packets relative to a second count of second value (e.g., unmarked) in another portion of the packets. The window/timer and exponential smoothing equeation implement relative counting across packet portion; [0092-0093] “ Timer 630 may be used to establish the length of a window of time over which the percentage of data packets marked "Congestion Experienced" is determined. A default window length may be specified ”, [0094] “ Instead of using timer 630 and a time window, an equation that takes into account the latest packet marking and a previous estimate of marked packet percentage may be used to determine the percentage of data packets marked "Congestion Experienced"”) . Regarding claim 7 , Fujishiro-Anghel-Furbeck discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication endpoint determines the network congestion level based on a pattern of values indicated in the field corresponding to the explicit congestion notification signal (Furbeck [0089] “ A repeating pattern of non-marked packets alternating with marked packets may be used. Such a pattern is the most efficient approach in terms of compression. The receiving user equipment 604 that will measure the percentage of marked packets may be informed of the period of this repeating pattern, such as communicated via a Session Description Protocol parameter at call setup or as a parameter of an Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) object ”) . Regarding claim(s) 15-16 , do(es) not teach or further define over the limitation in claim(s) 5 and 7 respectively. Therefore claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected for the same rationale of rejection as set forth in claim(s) 5 and 7 respectively . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujishiro (US 2021/0168188) in view of Anghel et al. (US 2015/018820) in view of Taneja (US 2024/0334244) . Regarding claim 10 , Fujishiro-Anghel discloses the invention substantially, however the prior art does not explicitly disclose the method of claim 8, wherein the two or more bits are included in a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer header. Taneja in the fields of the same endeavor discloses techniques for reducing bottleneck queues in the O-RAN architecture through classification of a PDCP queue at a CU-UP server with a CU Congestion Indicator, and classification of a RLC queue at a DU server with a DU Congestion Indicator. In particular, Taneja teaches the following: wherein the two or more bits are included in a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer header (Taneja [0091] “ two reserved bits from the PDCP header can be used for this purpose as illustrated in FIG. 3. First bit, x1, is used to indicate whether this DRB is carrying L4S traffic. Second bit, x2, is used to indicate occurrence (or absence) of congestion ”) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine the prior art with the teaching of Taneja. One would have been motivated to enable more granular, configurable multi-level congestion signaling directly within the PDCP layer of wireless RAN systems. Conclusion For the reason above, claims 1-20 have been rejected and remain pending. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY H TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5638. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm PST. 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. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Chris Parry can be reached at 571-272-8328. 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. JIMMY H TRAN Primary Examiner Art Unit 2451 /JIMMY H TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2451 Application/Control Number: 19/031,229 Page 2 Art Unit: 2451
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