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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on March 31, 2025. Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jia et al “Jia”, US-PGPub. No. 20260012839.
As per claims 1, 8 and 15, Jia teaches a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication network with multiple access networks (Fig. 2A, Paragraph(s) [0034]; as shown on Fig. 2A, end user device 205 “user equipment” is in communication with at least two communication networks (e.g. cellular network 240 and WiFi network 250)) and an apparatus comprising:
a transceiver (Fig. 6 – transceiver 602, Paragraph(s) [0103]); and
a processor (Fig. 6 – controller 606, Paragraph(s) [0103], [0122]) operably coupled with the transceiver, the processor configured to:
receive, from a network entity in a communication network with multiple access networks, an indication of quality of service (QOS) parameters for each path combination available via the multiple access networks (Paragraph(s) [0036], [0041-0042]; the parameters can include one or more of a latency comparison, a throughput comparison, a security comparison, a reliability comparison, movement information, or environment information, where the comparison includes comparing the particular parameters for each available path (e.g., cellular vs WiFi) over the end-to-end path or over a portion of the path. Other criterion (which may or may not consider the type of communication service), can also be selected for evaluation between paths such as one or more of RF conditions, predicted future RF conditions, other network conditions, predicted future other network conditions, available resources, predicted future available resources, subscriber agreement, QoS agreement or guarantee, service agreements with other network providers, and so forth. Jia further teaches latency (e.g., end-to-end or over a portion of the communication path) can be analyzed for the different available networks (e.g., cellular and WiFi). In another embodiment, enabling probing for communication parameters such as throughput over the two (or more) available paths (Paragraph [0049]));
determine, based on the QoS parameters, a path combination for data transmission (Fig. 2B, Paragraph(s) [0012], [0036], [0045]; at 2808, a preference parameter can be introduced or otherwise utilized where one connection/network can be preferred over another connection/network, such as preferring WiFi over a cellular connection/network, provided that one or more thresholds for the selected parameter(s) are satisfied. In other embodiments, a network preference may not be utilized such that the decision to switch to a particular network and connection is based on the path/connection/network having the better parameters which can be calculated in a number of different ways. For instance, if a single selection criterion is utilized then the path with the better performance for that parameter can be selected. If on the other hand, multiple selection criteria are utilized then in one embodiment the path with better performance for more of the parameters can be selected);
perform scheduling decisions for transmitting data based on the path combination (Paragraph(s) [0040], [0056-0057]; future network parameters, future location for a particular end user device, and a predicted length of time that the end user device will be executing the particular communication service can be utilized as part of making a switching decision and managing the switching between connections, including scheduling subsequent performance evaluations and switching decisions for the same communication session, setting a time period for utilizing a particular network so that the communication service can revert back to the previous network/connection when the time period expires, searching for other available networks, and so forth); and
transmit the data over the path combination (Paragraph(s) [0014], [0115]; an intelligent WiFi-cellular network switch(es) is provided (at the user device and/or at network element(s)) to optimize or improve a user experience using a communication service (e.g., voice, video, data, messaging, and so forth) where the criterion (or combination of criteria) to trigger or hold the switch can vary. In one or more embodiments, the switching criteria can include measurement or prediction of RF conditions for the different available networks and/or the different available paths (which may include end-to-end performance parameters over the path)).
As per claims 2, 9 and 16, Jia further teaches:
receiving, from the network entity, assistance information (Paragraph(s) [0036], [0066]);
generating, based on the assistance information, a request for QoS treatment (Paragraph(s) [0020], [0050], [0067]), wherein the request for QoS treatment includes:
an access network from the multiple access networks, a path, a connection, or a sub-flow over which the QoS treatment is to be applied (Paragraph(s) [0036], [0045]); and
transmitting, to the network entity, the request for QoS treatment (Paragraph(s) [0050], [0054]).
As per claims 3, 10 and 17, Jia teaches further teaches:
receiving, via a media presentation description (MPD), an indication of different access networks available during different time periods (Paragraph(s) [0040], [0042]);
selecting an access network from the different access networks based on the indicated access network availability and QoS parameters during the different time periods (Paragraph(s) [0040], [0056-0057]); and
transmitting at least a portion of the data over the selected access network (Paragraph(s) [0042]).
As per claims 4, 11 and 18, Jia teaches wherein the indication of the different access networks includes, for the different access networks, minimum, maximum, and average: (i) bit rates, (ii) bandwidth, (iii) latency, and (iv) throughput available during the different time periods (Paragraph(s) [0017-0018], [0042], [0044]).
As per claims 5, 12 and 19, Jia further teaches:
receiving, via a media presentation description (MPD), an indication of different access networks available (Paragraph(s) [0014]);
receiving, from the network entity, information regarding an addition or a removal of paths over the different access networks (Paragraph(s) [0032], [0043]); and
updating a path selection for data transmission based on the received information (Paragraph(s) [0012], [0043]).
As per claims 6, 13 and 20, Jia further teaches:
receiving, from the network entity, information regarding streaming adaptations or representations available via the multiple access networks (Paragraph(s) [0014], [0040]); and
receiving data related to the streaming adaptations or representations from at least one of the multiple access networks (Paragraph(s) [0115]).
As per claims 7 and 14, Jia further teaches:
receiving an availability indication about a plurality of content distribution networks (CDNs) available during different time periods (Paragraph(s) [0025], [0031], [0071]);
connecting to a CDN from the plurality of CDNs based on the availability indication (Paragraph(s) [0040-0041], [0057]); and
receiving media segments or partial media segments from the CDN (Paragraph(s) [0098]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please refer to form PTO-892 (Notice of Reference Cited) for a list of relevant prior art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMED A WASEL whose telephone number is (571) 272-2669. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri (8:00 am – 4:30 pm).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Glenton Burgess can be reached on (571)272-3949. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMED A. WASEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2454
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