Detailed Action
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed 09/11/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 5-6,9, 14, 18 and 20-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Independent claims 1, 14 and 21 have been amended to contain new matter. The phrase “determining, based on only the reference signal of the Pcell, reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object”, added to independent claims 1, 14, and 21 has not been described in the specification.
Applicant’s specification describes “an indication indicates that a measurement result of one cell/carrier can represent a measurement result of a Pcell/Scell/Pscell/Spcell, or only one cell/carrier is measured for one Pcell/Scell/Pscell/Spcell” in paragraphs 150, 151 and 157. Further it describes “a third cell or a third target carrier for a first object, where the first object is a primary cell Pcell, a secondary cell Scell, a primary secondary cell Pscell, or a secondary primary cell Spcell” in paragraphs 200a and 218, but never describes how the determining is based on only the reference signal of the Pcell, reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object. The cited and suggested the portions of the specification were reviewed carefully. But a reasonable support was not found to enable one skilled in the art to recognize and conclude that the applicant has possession of the above limitation. Therefore, examiner has determined that the phrase “determining, based on only the reference signal of the Pcell, reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object”, added to independent claims 1, 14, and 21 has not been described in the specification.
Independent claims 5-6,9, 18, 20, 22-24 are rejected for being dependent upon their rejected independent claims 1, 14 and 21.
Applicant is invited to contact examiner to discuss the rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 6, 9, 14, 18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uchino (US 20170294977) in view of ZHOU (US 2019/0238287) and further in view of Jung (US 20130148534) and further in view of Tooher (US 2019/0141555).
Referring to claim 1, Uchino discloses a measurement method, applied to a terminal (see “User apparatus”, “UE" in figure 13) and comprising:
receiving one second indication information (FIG. 13, step S302, “Measurement Configuration instruction”. Also see paragraphs [0065] and [0079]) transmitted by a network-side device (FIG. 13, and Par. 65, “Base station eNB transmits a measurement stop instruction”); and
determining a to-be-measured target object from configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information (See steps S303 and S305 of figure 13 and paragraphs [0080], [0082], “the user apparatus UE decides that the specific condition is satisfied (Yes in step 303), the user apparatus determines to start SCell measurement (step 305), and performs SCell measurement (step 306) to transmit a measurement report to the base station eNB (step 307)”), wherein
the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Uchino, FIG. 8 and 13, Par. 85 and, 87, “The “specific cell” may be a PCell, may be a cell designated from the base station eNB by an RRC signal and the like, may be one whose cell identifier (CellIndex/SCellIndex and the like) is the largest or the smallest, or may be an SCell to which a PUCCH is set”).
Uchino does not explicitly disclose wherein the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell); wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises: determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object.
In an analogous art, Zhou discloses wherein the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of
wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises: determining reference signals on the Pcell (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell (PCell RS) and measures the PCell based on the PCell RS) and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object (FIG. 11, steps 1106, 1107 and 1108 and Par. 99 and 102, “the PCell may transmit an SCell measurement configuration message 1106 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the SCell. Based on the SCell measurement configuration message 1106, at block 1107, the UE may detect and measure, for example, the SCell's reference signal 1105 (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB). Then, the UE transmits an SCell measurement report 1108 back to the PCell such that the PCell can determine whether the SCell can be used for CA by the UE”).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Uchino by incorporating the teachings of ZHOU so that a selection of the Pcell or Scell is performed based on the measurements, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Zhou further discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell based on the one second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1102) and determining reference signals on a secondary cell (Scell) based on another second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1106).
However, Zhou does not explicitly disclose: determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information.
in an analogous art, Jung discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information (Par. 139, “The UE receives a multi-cell configuration from the base station (S1510). The multi-cell configuration is used to set a plurality of serving cells, and at least one primary cell and at least one secondary cell are configured”. Par. 140, “the UE receives the measurement configuration from the base station (S1520). The measurement configuration includes a measurement target and a report configuration”. Par. 143, “The UE performs measurement (S1530). The UE measures the quality of the primary cell and the secondary cell”, note that the UE receives only one multi-cell configuration from the base station, the multi-cell configuration is equivalent to the claimed “second indication information”. And the UE performs measurements on both PCell and Scell based on the multi-cell information and since the UE measures both PCell and SCell, it determines their reference signals).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Zhou by incorporating the teachings of Jung so that a selection of the Pcell and/or Scell is performed based on a one single indication, so that only one indication would indicate both the PCell and the SCell for measurements, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
The above combinations is not relied on for the specific limitation, “indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell)”. And determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell.
In an analogous art, Tooher discloses indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) and determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of Tooher so that the indication would indicate only a selection of the Pcell, for the purpose avoiding overwhelming the terminal of receiving multiple indications where one indication of the Pcell is sufficient for the terminal to determine what measurement to make, thus, using terminal resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Referring to claim 5, the combination of Uchino/ZHOU/Jung/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a first indication information from the network -side device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate a measurement determining threshold;
determining that measured performance of a current serving second object is lower than the measurement determining threshold, performing or skipping performing a measurement on a third object prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device, wherein the second object comprises a current serving cell, Pcell, SPcell, master cell group (MCG), secondary cell group (SCG), band, carrier, or BWP; and the third object comprises a cell, a band, a carrier, or a BWP; determining that test performance of a configured second target cell is lower than the measurement determining threshold, performing or skipping performing a measurement on a cell prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell; or determining that measured performance of cells in a configured second target cell group is lower than the measurement determining threshold, performing or skipping performing measurements on cells in a cell group prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell group (Uchino, Par. 69, 84, “when the user apparatus UE detects that a quality of a specific cell for which quality measurement is performed becomes lower than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE starts measurement of an SCell, and when the quality of the specific cell becomes higher than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE stops measurement of the SCell", note that the predetermined value is equivalent to measurement determining threshold. Additionally, see paragraph 87, line 1, which defines the predetermined value as the threshold, “threshold (predetermined value)”. Also Par. 80-82 and 84, “In the condition example 1, when the user apparatus UE detects that a quality of a specific cell for which quality measurement is performed becomes lower than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE starts measurement of an SCell, and when the quality of the specific cell becomes higher than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE stops measurement of the SCell”. Note that the claim language includes alternative language “any one of the following”, thus, based on a broad interpretation, it is sufficient for prior art to disclose only one of them, in this case, “receiving a first indication information from the network -side device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate a measurement determining threshold” and “performance of a configured second target cell is lower than the measurement determining threshold, performing or skipping performing a measurement on a cell prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell”).
Referring to claim 6, the combination of Uchino/ZHOU/Jung/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the measured performance comprises at least one of the following: a reference signal received power RSRP, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINK), channel state information (CSI), a channel quality indication (CQI), an L1measurement result, or an L3 measurement result, wherein L1 and L3 represent transport layer 1 and transport layer 3 respectively (Uchino, Par. 64, “RSRP/RSRQ”, Par. 97, “CSI”, CQI”, note that because of the optional (alternative) claim language (and/or), based on a broad interpretation, it is sufficient for the prior art to address only one of the alternatives).
Referring to claim 9, the combination of Uchino/ZHOU/Jung/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein after the determining a to-be-measured target object based on the indication information, the method further comprises at least one of the following: performing at least one of L1, L2, and L3 measurements on the target object wherein L1, L2 and L3 represent transport layer 1, transport layer 2 and transport layer 3 respectively; performing L3 filtering for a measurement result of the target object; or performing cell- and/or beam-level reporting of a measurement result of the target object (Uchino, Par. 11, “The base station eNB needs to receive a report of SCell quality information from the user apparatus UE in order to determine whether the SCell is usable or not. As to the report of SCell quality information, although there are mechanisms of RRM measurement reporting and CQI(CSI) reporting”, paragraph 12, “UE always performs reporting by performing measurement periodically during the SCell is being configured (step 2)”. Par. 24, “a step of not performing measurement of the cell or the cell group based on the measurement configuration information until a predetermined condition is satisfied, and performing measurement of the cell or the cell group based on the measurement configuration information when the predetermined condition is satisfied to transmit a measurement report to the base station”, note that because of alternative claim language only one of the alternatives is addressed).
Claims 14 and 18 recite features analogous to the features of claims 1 and 5 respectively, with exception that claims 14 and 18 are directed to a terminal while claims 1 and 5 are directed to a method performed by a terminal. The cited prior art also discloses such terminal that also includes process and memory (see e.g., figure 8 that depicts UE or terminal communicating with the base station or eNB and figure 19 that depicts processor and memory). Thus, they are rejected for the same reasons as set forth above.
Claim 20 recites features analogous to the features of claim 1, with exception that claims 20 is directed to computer-readable storage medium while claim 1 is directed to a method performed by computer-readable storage medium. The cited prior art also discloses such computer-readable storage medium that also includes process and memory (see e.g., figure 8 that depicts a terminal with including computer-readable storage medium communicating with the user terminal and figure 19 that depicts processor and memory). Thus, it is rejected for the same reasons as set forth above.
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou (2019/0238287) in view of Jung (US 20130148534), and further in view of Dalsgaard (US 2021/0250851) and further in view of Tooher (2019/0141555).
Referring to claim 21, Zhou discloses a measurement method, applied to a terminal (FIG. 10 and 11 and Par. 36, 99, “UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11, for example, a PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”) and comprising:
receiving one second indication information transmitted by a network-side device (FIG. 11, step 1102 and step 1106, “PCell measurement configuration”, “SCell measurement configuration”, “PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”, note that “PCell measurement configuration message 1102” is equivalent to the indication information); and
determining a to-be-measured target object from configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information (FIG. 11, Par. 99, “to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell.”, “Based on the PCell measurement configuration message 1102, the UE may measure, for example at 1103, PCell's reference signal”, note that the UE determines to measure PCell based on PCell measurement configuration. The PCell is equivalent to to-be-measure object),
wherein the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell) (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell and measures the PCell based on the RS of PCell);
wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises:
determining reference signals on the Pcell (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell (PCell RS) and measures the PCell based on the PCell RS.) and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object (FIG. 11, steps 1106, 1107 and 1108 and Par. 99 and 102, “the PCell may transmit an SCell measurement configuration message 1106 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the SCell. Based on the SCell measurement configuration message 1106, at block 1107, the UE may detect and measure, for example, the SCell's reference signal 1105 (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB). Then, the UE transmits an SCell measurement report 1108 back to the PCell such that the PCell can determine whether the SCell can be used for CA by the UE”).
Zhou further discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell based on the one second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1102) and determining reference signals on a secondary cell (Scell) based on another second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1106).
However, Zhou does not explicitly disclose: determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information.
In an analogous art, Jung discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information (Par. 139, “The UE receives a multi-cell configuration from the base station (S1510). The multi-cell configuration is used to set a plurality of serving cells, and at least one primary cell and at least one secondary cell are configured”. Par. 140, “t he UE receives the measurement configuration from the base station (S1520). The measurement configuration includes a measurement target and a report configuration”. Par. 143, “The UE performs measurement (S1530). The UE measures the quality of the primary cell and the secondary cell”, note that the UE receives only one multi-cell configuration from the base station, the multi-cell configuration is equivalent to the claimed “second indication information”. And the UE performs measurements on both PCell and Scell based on the multi-cell information and since the UE measures both PCell and SCell, it determines their reference signals).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Zhou by incorporating the teachings of Jung so that a selection of the Pcell and/or Scell is performed based on a one single indication, so that only one indication would indicate both the PCell and the SCell for measurements, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Zhou does not explicitly disclose the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell); and determining reference signals on the Pscell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object based on the one second indication information.
However, Zhou’s teachings of indication to indicate a reference signal of a primary cell (PCell) can also be applied to Primary Secondary cell (PSCell) and the same principles of communicating an indication for PCell can also apply to PSCell, as described by Dalsgaard below.
In an analogous art, Dalsgaard discloses the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell) and determining reference signals on the PScell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object based on the one second indication information (Par. 56, 57 and 64, “The cell configurations may include configurations for PCell, configurations for SCell, or configurations for PSCell”, “The network device 120 in the first cell 130 transmits 2010 information to the terminal device … The PSCell configurations may be transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) signaling”. Par. 59-63, 76, 77, “the terminal device 110-2 determines 2030 the type of the second cell 150”, “At block 340, the terminal device 110-1 connects to the second cell 150”).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Zhou and Jung by incorporating the teachings of Dalsgaard, such that indication of reference signal of PSCell of Dalsgaard is applied to the combination of Zhou and Jung so that all transmission, reception and consideration applied to the PCell of combination of Zhou and Jung would be applied to the PSCell of Dalsgaard, for the purpose of providing the User Terminal additional options of selecting a PSCell for handover. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
The above combinations is not relied on for the specific limitation, “indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell)”. And determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell.
In an analogous art, Tooher discloses indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) and determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of Tooher so that the indication would indicate only a selection of the Pcell, for the purpose avoiding overwhelming the terminal of receiving multiple indications where one indication of the Pcell is sufficient for the terminal to determine what measurement to make, thus, using terminal resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Claim(s) 22-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over of Zhou (2019/0238287) in view of Jung (US 20130148534), and further in view of Dalsgaard (US 2021/0250851), and further in view of Uchino (US 20170294977) and further in view of Tooher (2019/0141555).
Referring to claim 22, the combination of Zhou/Jung/Dalsgaard/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 21.
The above combination is not relied on the claim language: “receiving a first indication information from the network-side device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate a measurement determining threshold; determining that measured performance of a current serving second object is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing a measurement on a third object prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device, wherein the second object comprises a current serving cell, Pcell, SPcell, master cell group (MCG), secondary cell group (SCG), band, carrier, or BWP; and the third object comprises a cell, a band, a carrier, or a BWP; determining that measured performance of a configured second target cell is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing a measurement on a cell prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell; or determining that measured performance of cells in a configured second target cell group is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing measurements on cells in a cell group prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell group”.
In an analogous Uchino discloses receiving a first indication information from the network-side device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate a measurement determining threshold; determining that measured performance of a current serving second object is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing a measurement on a third object prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device, wherein the second object comprises a current serving cell, Pcell, SPcell, master cell group (MCG), secondary cell group (SCG), band, carrier, or BWP; and the third object comprises a cell, a band, a carrier, or a BWP; determining that measured performance of a configured second target cell is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing a measurement on a cell prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell; or determining that measured performance of cells in a configured second target cell group is lower than the measurement determining threshold, and performing or skipping performing measurements on cells in a cell group prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell group (Uchino, Par. 69, 84, “when the user apparatus UE detects that a quality of a specific cell for which quality measurement is performed becomes lower than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE starts measurement of an SCell, and when the quality of the specific cell becomes higher than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE stops measurement of the SCell", note that the predetermined value is equivalent to measurement determining threshold. Additionally, see paragraph 87, line 1, which defines the predetermined value as the threshold, “threshold (predetermined value)”. Also Par. 80-82 and 84, “In the condition example 1, when the user apparatus UE detects that a quality of a specific cell for which quality measurement is performed becomes lower than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE starts measurement of an SCell, and when the quality of the specific cell becomes higher than a predetermined value, the user apparatus UE stops measurement of the SCell”. Note that the claim language includes alternative language “any one of the following”, thus, based on a broad interpretation, the it is sufficient for prior art to disclose only one of them, in this case, “receiving a first indication information from the network -side device; wherein the first indication is used to indicate a measurement determining threshold” and “performance of a configured second target cell is lower than the measurement determining threshold, performing or skipping performing a measurement on a cell prescribed by a protocol or configured by a network-side device other than the second target cell”).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the above combination by incorporating the teachings of Uchino so that a threshold for signal quality would determine the cell handover and thereby only performing the handover when the signal quality of the target cell is better than the threshold, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Referring to claim 23, the combination of Zhou/Jung/Dalsgaard/Uchino/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 22, and further discloses the measured performance comprises at least one of the following: a reference signal received power RSRP, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), channel state information (CSI), a channel quality indication (CQI), an L1 measurement result, or an L3 measurement result, wherein L1 and L3 represent transport layer 1 and transport layer 3 respectively (Uchino, Par. 64, “RSRP/RSRQ”, Par. 97, “CSI”, CQI”, note that because of the optional (alternative) claim language (and/or), based on a broad interpretation, it is sufficient for the prior art to address only one of the alternatives).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the above combination by incorporating the teachings of Uchino so that a threshold for signal quality would determine the cell handover and thereby only performing the handover when the signal quality of the target cell is better than the threshold, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Referring to claim 24, the combination of Zhou/Jung/Dalsgaard/Tooher discloses the method according to claim 21.
The combination is not relied on for wherein after the determining a to-be- measured target object based on the one second indication information, the method further comprises at least one of the following: performing at least one of L1, L2, and L3 measurements on the target object, wherein L1, and L3 represent transport layer 1, transport layer 2 and transport layer 3 respectively; performing L3 filtering for a measurement result of the target object; or cell- and/or beam-level reporting of a measurement result of the target object.
In an analogous art, Uchino discloses wherein after the determining a to-be- measured target object based on the one second indication information, the method further comprises at least one of the following: performing at least one of L1, L2, and L3 measurements on the target object, wherein L1, and L3 represent transport layer 1, transport layer 2 and transport layer 3 respectively; performing L3 filtering for a measurement result of the target object; or cell- and/or beam-level reporting of a measurement result of the target object (Uchino, Par. 11, “The base station eNB needs to receive a report of SCell quality information from the user apparatus UE in order to determine whether the SCell is usable or not. As to the report of SCell quality information, although there are mechanisms of RRM measurement reporting and CQI(CSI) reporting”, paragraph 12, “UE always performs reporting by performing measurement periodically during the SCell is being configured (step 2)”. Par. 24, “a step of not performing measurement of the cell or the cell group based on the measurement configuration information until a predetermined condition is satisfied, and performing measurement of the cell or the cell group based on the measurement configuration information when the predetermined condition is satisfied to transmit a measurement report to the base station”, note that because of alternative claim language only one of the alternatives is addressed).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the above combination by incorporating the teachings of Uchino so that a threshold for signal quality would determine the cell handover and thereby only performing the handover when the signal quality of the target cell is better than the threshold, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Claim(s) 1 is/are Alternatively rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHOU (US 2019/0238287) and further in view of Jung (US 20130148534) and further in view of Tooher (2019/0141555).
Referring to claim 1, Zhou discloses a measurement method, applied to a terminal (FIG. 10 and 11 and Par. 36, 99, “UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11, for example, a PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”) and comprising:
receiving one second indication information transmitted by a network-side device (FIG. 11, step 1102 and step 1106, “PCell measurement configuration”, “SCell measurement configuration”, “PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”, note that “PCell measurement configuration message 1102” is equivalent to the indication information); and
determining a to-be-measured target object from configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information (FIG. 11, Par. 99, “to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell.”, “Based on the PCell measurement configuration message 1102, the UE may measure, for example at 1103, PCell's reference signal”, note that the UE determines to measure PCell based on PCell measurement configuration. The PCell is equivalent to to-be-measure object), wherein the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of
wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises:
determining reference signals on the Pcell (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell (PCell RS) and measures the PCell based on the PCell RS.) and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object
(FIG. 11, steps 1106, 1107 and 1108 and Par. 99 and 102, “the PCell may transmit an SCell measurement configuration message 1106 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the SCell. Based on the SCell measurement configuration message 1106, at block 1107, the UE may detect and measure, for example, the SCell's reference signal 1105 (e.g., CSI-RS or SSB). Then, the UE transmits an SCell measurement report 1108 back to the PCell such that the PCell can determine whether the SCell can be used for CA by the UE”).
Zhou further discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell based on the one second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1102) and determining reference signals on a secondary cell (Scell) based on another second indication information (FIG. 11, step 1106).
However, Zhou does not explicitly disclose: determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information.
in an analogous art, Jung discloses determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) based on the one second indication information (Par. 139, “The UE receives a multi-cell configuration from the base station (S1510). The multi-cell configuration is used to set a plurality of serving cells, and at least one primary cell and at least one secondary cell are configured”. Par. 140, “t he UE receives the measurement configuration from the base station (S1520). The measurement configuration includes a measurement target and a report configuration”. Par. 143, “The UE performs measurement (S1530). The UE measures the quality of the primary cell and the secondary cell”, note that the UE receives only one multi-cell configuration from the base station, the multi-cell configuration is equivalent to the claimed “second indication information”. And the UE performs measurements on both PCell and Scell based on the multi-cell information and since the UE measures both PCell and SCell, it determines their reference signals).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Zhou by incorporating the teachings of Jung so that a selection of the Pcell and/or Scell is performed based on a one single indication, so that only one indication would indicate both the PCell and the SCell for measurements, for the purpose of using communication resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
The above combinations is not relied on for the specific limitation, “indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell)”. And determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell.
In an analogous art, Tooher discloses indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) and determining based on only the reference signal of the Pcell (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of Tooher so that the indication would indicate only a selection of the Pcell, for the purpose avoiding overwhelming the terminal of receiving multiple indications where one indication of the Pcell is sufficient for the terminal to determine what measurement to make, thus, using terminal resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments submitted 09/11/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection. Further applicant’s arguments submitted are not persuasive.
Applicant Argues the Following:
According to the Office Action, the combination of Uchino, Zhou and Jung cannot disclose the feature "the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell)". Tooher records: [0061]In LTE examples, multiple downlink reference signals (RSs) may be transmitted for one or more purposes. A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell. Such CRSs may be transmitted in downlink subframes in frequency division duplexing (FDD) examples. Alternatively, or in addition, such CRSs may be transmitted in downlink subframes and/or downlink pilot timeslots (DwPTSs) in time-division duplexing (TDD) examples. One or more CRSs may also, or instead, be transmitted in one or more resource blocks in the frequency domain. In Tooher, the specific reference signal or CRS cannot be equated with indication information. The specific reference signal or CRS is the signal per se, whereas the indication information is used to indicate which reference signals the UE is to measure. That is to say, the specific reference signal or CRS is the content itself, while the indication information serves as the carrier for such content, and the two constitute different objects. Furthermore, the recitation "from a PCell and/or an SCell" in Tooher cannot be equated with "only a reference signal of PCell" in claim 1. The term "and/or" in Tooher means that both the PCell and the SCell are permissible options, rather than only the PCell, which conveys a different meaning. Tooher fails to disclose performing the indication using only the reference signal of the PCell. Tooher does not disclose that only a reference signal of a Pcell can achieve simultaneous indication of the PCell and the SCell. On the contrary, it can be known from the disclosure of Tooher that the reference signal indication of "PCell and/or an SCell" in Tooher corresponds to only a single cell, rather than corresponding to the PCell and the SCell simultaneously. That is, the specific reference signal in Tooher adopts a one - to -one correspondence between the specific reference signal and the cell, where one specific reference signal corresponds to only one single cell. By contrast, claim 1 defines a one-to-many relationship, in which a reference signal of Pcell is capable of indicating multiple cells (i.e. Pcell and Scell). This difference is not disclosed or suggested in Tooher.
Examiner Response:
Applicant’s arguments, above, have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Firstly, the Office Action has stated: “The above combinations is not relied on for the specific limitation, “indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell)”. The Office Action never stated: “the combination of Uchino, Zhou and Jung cannot disclose the feature "the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell)".
However, in response to applicant’s arguments that the cited references including Tooher does not disclose the limitation, "the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell)", it is noted that the features upon which the applicant relies are not cited in the rejected claims. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See in re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Claim 1 recites: “wherein the ond second indication used to indicte oly a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (NOT Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) as applicant as argued.
However, examiner respectfully disagrees with the above arguments and asserts that applicant is attacking reference Tooher individually. MPEP section 2145 section IV under “ARGUING AGAINST REFERENCES INDIVIDUALLY” states that “one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references.” In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., Inc., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant’s arguments do not take into account what the collective teachings of the prior art would have suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art. As the Court stated in re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981):
The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary references; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Applicant is required to consider all the teachings of all cited references in conjunction with the teachings of Tooher. Here, Zhou discloses an “indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell)” (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell and measures the PCell based on the RS of PCell)”.
Further, it is important to consider the teachings of Uchino where Uchino teaches the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Uchino, FIG. 8 and 13, Par. 85 and, 87, “The “specific cell” may be a PCell, may be a cell designated from the base station eNB by an RRC signal and the like, may be one whose cell identifier (CellIndex/SCellIndex and the like) is the largest or the smallest, or may be an SCell to which a PUCCH is set”). Thus, based on this teaching of Uchino, one skilled in the art would be able to conclude that the one second indication can be used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (PScell).
Thus, the teachings of the cited references in combination with Tooher’s disclosure of an indication used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell), one skilled in the art would be able combine the applied references to obtain the claimed invention.
Further, developments in the law of obviousness are to be expected in view of KSR. Court further stated that: When a work is available in one field of endeavor, design incentives and other market forces can prompt variations of it, either in the same field or a differrent one. If a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, § 103 likely bars its patentability. For the same reason, if a technique has been used to improve one device, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar devices in the same way, using the technique is obvious unless its actual application is beyond his or her skill. Id. at ___, 82 USPQ2d at 1396. See MPEP 2141.
Thus, examiner concludes that based on the facts evidenced in the applied references and knowledge of the one the ordinary skill in the art, one skilled in the art would have recognized (1) all the claims elements were found in the prior art, although not necessarily in the same reference, (2) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have combined the findings in the format claimed, and in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately and (3) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Applicant further argues the following:
Accordingly, in Tooher, due to the one-to-one mapping between specific reference signal and cell, upon receiving specific reference signal for a certain cell, the UE is only configured to measure the reference signal corresponding to that particular cell. Under the teaching of Tooher, a person skilled in the art would have no motivation to configure the UE to take multiple cells as measurement targets merely based on the reference signal indication from the PCell. Tooher neither discloses that a single reference signal indication from the PCell triggers measurements for both the PCell and SCells, nor provides any technical suggestion for such one - to - many configuration. Therefore, Tooher fails to disclose the features "wherein the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell); wherein determining the to-be- measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises: determining reference signals on the Pcell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object based on the one second indication information".
Therefore, none of Uchino, Zhou, Jung or Tooher teaches or suggests the above distinguishing technical feature recited in claim 1 of the present application.
Examiner Response:
Applicant’s arguments, above, have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
Firstly, examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant’s characterization of Tooher and other cited references.
Applicant’s above conclusory opinion is based on mischaracterization of the applied references. Contrary to applicant’s opinion, based on the facts evidenced in the applied references and knowledge of the one the ordinary skill in the art, one skilled in the art would have recognized (1) all the claims elements were found in the prior art, although not necessarily in the same reference, (2) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have combined the findings in the format claimed, and in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately and (3) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Further, applicant’s arguments that a person skilled in the art would have no motivation to configure the UE to take multiple cells as measurement targets merely based on the reference signal indication from the PCell, examiner respectfully disagrees and assert it has been held that a prior art reference must either be in the field of applicant’s endeavor or, if not, then be reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned, in order to be relied upon as a basis for rejection of the claimed invention. See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 24 USPQ2d 1443 (Fed. Cir. 1992). In this case, Tooher clearly teaches an indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell). A person of skilled in the art would be able to recognize that Tooher’s teachings would teach an indication can be used to only indicate a PSCell.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the combination by incorporating the teachings of Tooher so that the indication would indicate only a selection of the Pcell, for the purpose avoiding overwhelming the terminal of receiving multiple indications where one indication of the Pcell is sufficient for the terminal to determine what measurement to make, thus, using terminal resources efficiently. Further, this an example of use of known technique to improve similar devices, methods or products in the same way. MPEP 2143.
Applicant’s arguments that Tooher is not relevant with respect to the claimed invention, the examiner asserts that it has been held that a prior art reference must either be in the field of applicant’s endeavor or, if not, then be reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the applicant was concerned, in order to be relied upon as a basis for rejection of the claimed invention. See In re Oetiker, 977 F.2d 1443, 24 USPQ2d 1443 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
Applicant’s arguments that “due to the one-to-one mapping between specific reference signal and cell, upon receiving specific reference signal for a certain cell, the UE is only configured to measure the reference signal corresponding to that particular cell” are irrelevant. Applicant’s is mischaracterizing Tooher’s additional teachings. Further, additional teachings by a references does not constitute that the reference does not teach the claimed limitations.
Applicant Further Argues the following:
This difference gives rise to the technical effect that indication information transmitted by a network-side device is received, and a to-be-measured target object is determined based on the indication information, so that a measurement can be performed on the specified target object. In a case that a movement state or a service state of a terminal does not change or does not change much, measurements can be performed on the target object. Therefore, electrical energy consumption of the terminal is reduced.The objective technical problem to be solved may therefore be regarded as how to reduce electrical energy consumption of the terminal.For at least the above reasons, Applicant respectfully submits that claim 1 is patentable over the cited references. Independent claims 14 and 21 include similar features, and are therefore patentable for at least similar reasons as claim 1.Dependent claims all depend either directly or indirectly from one of claims 1, 14 or 21, and are therefore allowable for at least the same reasons as claims 1, 14 and 21.
Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejections of these claims.
Examiner Response:
Examiner respectively disagrees with the above arguments and asserts that during patent examination, the claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation. See MPEP § 2111 - § 2116.01 for case law pertinent to claim analysis. A prima facie case of unpatentability is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Applicant’s arguments discuss claim interpretation and intended use of the claimed invention and what conclusions can be derived. The above arguments are irrelevant. Applicant is invited to contact examiner and propose claim amendments to convey such interpretation in the claim language. Thus, based on the facts evidenced in the applied references and knowledge of the one the ordinary skill in the art, one skilled in the art would have recognized (1) all the claims elements were found in the prior art, although not necessarily in the same reference, (2) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have combined the findings in the format claimed, and in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately and (3) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Thus, the rejection independent claims 1, 14 and 21 is maintained.
Applicant argues the following regarding claim 21:
According to the office action, the combination of Zhou, Jung, and Dalsgaard cannot disclose the feature "the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell); wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises:
determining reference signals on the Pscell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object based on the one second indication information". In addition, as discussed above, Tooher fails to disclose the features "wherein the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell); wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises: determining reference signals on the Pscell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object based on the one second indication information". Therefore, none of Zhou, Jung, Dalsgaard or Tooher teaches or suggests the above distinguishing technical feature recited in claim 21 of the present application. Therefore, Applicant respectfully submits that claim 21 is patentable over the cited references. Accordingly, Applicant respectfully requests withdrawal of the rejection of these claims.
Examiner Response:
Examiner respectively disagrees with the above arguments and asserts that during patent examination, the claims are given the broadest reasonable interpretation. See MPEP § 2111 - § 2116.01 for case law pertinent to claim analysis. A prima facie case of unpatentability is established when the information compels a conclusion that a claim is unpatentable under the preponderance of evidence, burden-of-proof standard, giving each term in the claim its broadest reasonable construction, and before any consideration is given to evidence which may be submitted in an attempt to establish a contrary conclusion of patentability. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Firstly, the office action states that “The above combinations is not relied on for the specific limitation, “indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell)”.
The office action never stated the “combination of Zhou, Jung, and Dalsgaard cannot disclose the feature the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell); wherein determining the to-be-measured target object from the configured measurement objects based on the one second indication information comprises: determining reference signals on the Pscell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be-measured target object based on the one second indication information".
Second, Applicant’s arguments do not take into account what the collective teachings of the prior art would have suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art. As the Court stated in re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981):
The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary references; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Applicant is required to consider all the teachings of all cited references in conjunction with the teachings of Tooher. Here, Zhou discloses an “indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell)” (FIG. 11, step 1103, step 1102, 1104 and Par. 99, “At block 1002, a primary cell (PCell) may configure a UE to measure a reference signal of the PCell. Referring to FIG. 11 … PCell transmits a PCell measurement configuration message 1102 to configure the UE to measure the channel quality of the PCell”. Note that at step 1103 UE explicitly receives a reference signal (RS) of the Pcell and measures the PCell based on the RS of PCell)”.
Further, it is important to consider the teachings of Uchino where Uchino teaches the one second indication is used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Uchino, FIG. 8 and 13, Par. 85 and, 87, “The “specific cell” may be a PCell, may be a cell designated from the base station eNB by an RRC signal and the like, may be one whose cell identifier (CellIndex/SCellIndex and the like) is the largest or the smallest, or may be an SCell to which a PUCCH is set”). Thus, based on this teaching of Uchino, one skilled in the art would be able to conclude that the one second indication can be used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (PScell).
Further, Zhou’s teachings of indication to indicate a reference signal of a primary cell (PCell) can also be applied to Primary Secondary cell (PSCell) and the same principles of communicating an indication for PCell can also apply to PSCell, as described by Dalsgaard below.
Further, Dalsgaard’s discloses the one second indication is used to indicate a reference signal of a primary secondary cell (Pscell) and determining reference signals on the PScell and a secondary cell (Scell) as the to-be- measured target object based on the one second indication information (Par. 56, 57 and 64, “The cell configurations may include configurations for PCell, configurations for SCell, or configurations for PSCell”, “The network device 120 in the first cell 130 transmits 2010 information to the terminal device … The PSCell configurations may be transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) signaling”. Par. 59-63, 76, 77, “the terminal device 110-2 determines 2030 the type of the second cell 150”, “At block 340, the terminal device 110-1 connects to the second cell 150”).
Thus, the teachings of the cited references in combination with Tooher’s disclosure of an indication used to indicate only a reference signal of a primary cell (Pcell) (Par. 61, “A WTRU may receive cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) from a PCell and/or an SCell”, note that a WTRU (equivalent to a terminal) receives a cell-specific reference signal or CRS from a PCell or SCell, thus, the cell specific reference signal could indicate a reference signal of only a Pcell or a only reference signal of Scell), one skilled in the art would be able combine the applied references to obtain the claimed invention.
Further, developments in the law of obviousness are to be expected in view of KSR. Court further stated that: When a work is available in one field of endeavor, design incentives and other market forces can prompt variations of it, either in the same field or a different one. If a person of ordinary skill can implement a predictable variation, § 103 likely bars its patentability. For the same reason, if a technique has been used to improve one device, and a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it would improve similar devices in the same way, using the technique is obvious unless its actual application is beyond his or her skill. Id. at ___, 82 USPQ2d at 1396. See MPEP 2141.
Thus, examiner concludes that based on the facts evidenced in the applied references and knowledge of the one the ordinary skill in the art, one skilled in the art would have recognized (1) all the claims elements were found in the prior art, although not necessarily in the same reference, (2) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have combined the findings in the format claimed, and in combination, each element merely performs the same function as it does separately and (3) one of the ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Applicant is invited to contact examiner to discuss claim amendments in order to place claims in condition for allowance and thus expedite prosecution.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FRED A CASCA whose telephone number is (571)272-7918. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. 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, Kathy Wang-Hurst, can be reached at (571) 270-5371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/FRED A CASCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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