DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 on 12/12/2025 has been entered.
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to claims filed on 11/12/2025.
Claims 1-6 have been cancelled.
Claims 7-12 remain pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 9; claim 9 recites the condition is that the measurement result of
Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) is greater than threshold values. This renders the claim indefiniteness because it is unclear whether there are two distinct measurement results or one measurement result. It is also unclear what threshold values correspond to.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claims 7-8 and 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen et al. (US 2021/0392525 A1); in view of Li et al. (US 11838883 B2).
Regarding claims 7 and 12; Kaikkonen discloses performing the RRM measurement relaxing based on the information indicating a type of the measurement result and the information related to the threshold value (when specific conditions apply, the UE measures RRM with relaxed periodicity; the conditions include the signal level/quality of SSB is above absolute threshold; see paragraphs [0049], [0066], [0101] and [0107]-[0108]), wherein the RRM measurement relaxing, which is related to a measurement period, is reducing a frequency at which the processor performs measurement (a relaxed measurement period allows UE to perform less frequently measurement; see paragraph [0151]).
Kaikkonen discloses a UE performs the RRM measurement relaxing when a signal level/quality (RSRP/RSRQ) is above a threshold. The RSRP/RSRQ are related to RRM measurement relaxing.
Kaikkonen does not explicitly disclose the signal level/quality and its threshold value are transmitted via a SIB.
Li discloses receiving, from a base station, first information indicating a type of a measurement result related to radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxing; and second information, which is different from the first information, related to a threshold value corresponding to the type (a set measurement rule may be notified by the base station through a system information block; the measurement rule includes a measurement triggering condition; the measurement triggering condition may include a triggering threshold value for RSRQ or a triggering threshold value for RSRP; therefore, the first information in the SIB is for a type of measurement result (RSRP or RSRQ); and the second information in the SIB is a threshold value corresponding to the type of measurement result; see lines 55-62 of col. 22, lines 1-3 of col. 23 and lines 36-47 of col. 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kaikkonen and Li to receive information indicating a type of a measurement result and its corresponding threshold via a SIB to improve transmission configuration efficiency (see ABSTRACT of Li).
Regarding claim 8; Kaikkonen discloses wherein the processor performs the RRM measurement relaxing in a case where the measurement result satisfies a condition including the threshold value corresponding to the type of the measurement result (when specific conditions apply, the UE measures RRM with relaxed periodicity; the conditions include the signal level (RSRP)/quality (RSRQ) of SSB is above absolute threshold; see paragraphs [0049], [0066], [0101] and [0107] - [0108]).
Regarding claim 10; Kaikkonen discloses a base station (gNB, see Fig. 2), comprising: a transmitter (Tx; see Fig. 2), coupled to a processor (processors; see Fig. 2); wherein the RRM measurement relaxing, which is related to a measurement period, is reducing a frequency at which the processor performs measurement (when specific conditions apply, the UE measures RRM with relaxed periodicity; the conditions include the signal level (RSRP)/quality (RSRQ) of SSB is above absolute threshold; a relaxed measurement period allows UE to perform less frequently measurement; paragraphs [0049], [0066], [0101], [0107]-[0108] and [0151]).
Kaikkonen discloses a UE performs the RRM measurement relaxing when a signal level/quality (RSRP/RSRQ) is above a threshold. The RSRP/RSRQ are related to RRM measurement relaxing.
Kaikkonen does not explicitly disclose the signal level/quality and its threshold value are transmitted via a SIB.
Li discloses transmits to a terminal a system information block (SIB) including: first information indicating a type of a measurement result related to radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxing; and second information, which is different from the first information, related to a threshold value corresponding to the type (a set measurement rule may be notified by the base station through a system information block; the measurement rule includes a measurement triggering condition; the measurement triggering condition may include a triggering threshold value for RSRQ or a triggering threshold value for RSRP; the first information in the SIB is for a type of measurement result (RSRP or RSRQ); and the second information in the SIB is a threshold value corresponding to the type of measurement result; see lines 55-62 of col. 22, lines 1-3 of col. 23 and lines 36-47 of col. 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kaikkonen and Li to receive information indicating a type of a measurement result and its corresponding threshold via a SIB to improve transmission configuration efficiency (see ABSTRACT of Li).
Regarding claim 11; Kaikkonen discloses a system (a wireless communication system; see Fig. 2) comprising: a base station and a terminal (gNB and UE; see Fig. 2), and the terminal includes: a receiver (Rx; see Fig. 2) that receives the information from the base station (the UE receives a measurement configuration from a base station; see paragraph [0026] and Fig. 2); a processor (processors; see Fig. 2) that performs the RRM measurement relaxing based on the first information indicating a type of the measurement result and the second information related to the threshold value (when specific conditions apply, the UE measures RRM with relaxed periodicity; the conditions include the signal level/quality of SSB is above absolute threshold; see paragraphs [0049], [0066], [0101] and [0107]-[0108]), wherein the RRM measurement relaxing, which is related to a measurement period, is reducing a frequency at which the processor performs measurement (a relaxed measurement period allows UE to perform less frequently measurement; see paragraph [0151]).
Kaikkonen discloses a UE performs the RRM measurement relaxing when a signal level/quality (RSRP/RSRQ) is above a threshold. The RSRP/RSRQ are related to RRM measurement relaxing.
Kaikkonen does not explicitly disclose the signal level/quality and its threshold value are transmitted via a SIB.
Li discloses receiving, from a base station, first information indicating a type of a measurement result related to radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxing; and second information, which is different from the first information, related to a threshold value corresponding to the type (a set measurement rule may be notified by the base station through a system information block; the measurement rule includes a measurement triggering condition; the measurement triggering condition may include a triggering threshold value for RSRQ or a triggering threshold value for RSRP; the first information in the SIB is for a type of measurement result (RSRP or RSRQ); and the second information in the SIB is a threshold value corresponding to the type of measurement result; see lines 55-62 of col. 22, lines 1-3 of col. 23 and lines 36-47 of col. 23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kaikkonen and Li to receive information indicating a type of a measurement result and its corresponding threshold via a SIB to improve transmission configuration efficiency (see ABSTRACT of Li).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kaikkonen; in view of Li; and in further view of Xu (WO/2020/132871).
Regarding claim 9; the combination of Kaikkonen and Li discloses a UE receives a type of measurement result and its corresponding threshold value.
The combination of Kaikkonen and Li does not explicitly disclose there are two types of measurements results and corresponding threshold values.
Xu discloses wherein the condition is that the measurement result of Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) is greater than the threshold value (when the RSRP of the serving cell of the terminal device is greater than the first RSRP threshold and/or the RSRQ of the serving cell is greater than the first RSRQ threshold, the terminal device performs RRM measurement relaxing; see paragraphs [0075], [0087] and [0103]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Kaikkonen, Li and Xu to compare both RSRP and RSRQ to corresponding threshold values to reduce power consumption of a terminal (see paragraph [0004] of Xu).
Response to Arguments
In response to the applicant’s arguments that Kaikkonen and Li does not teach “receiving a system information block (SIB) including first information indicating a type of a measurement result related to radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxing; and second information, which is different from the first information, related to a threshold value corresponding to the type”; the examiner respectfully disagrees.
Kaikkonen discloses when signal level/quality of SSB is above a threshold, a UE measures RRM with relaxed period (see paragraphs [0049], [0066], [0101] and [0107] - [0108]). Therefore, signal level RSRP and signal quality RSRQ are considered as types of a measurement results related to RRM measurement relaxing.
Li discloses a set of measurement rule may be notified by a base station through a system information block. The measurement rule includes a triggering threshold value for RSRP or a triggering threshold value for RSRQ. Therefore, the first information is a type of measurement result (RSRP or RSRQ) and the second information is a threshold value corresponding to the type of measurement result (see lines 55-62 of col. 22, lines 1-3 of col. 23 and lines 36-47 of col. 23). The first information is different from the second information.
The claim does not require the first information and the second information are received via different SIBs.
Therefore, the combination of Kaikkonen and Li discloses the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NING LI whose telephone number is (571)270-0624. The examiner can normally be reached Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:30am - 5:00pm.
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/N.L/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
/MANSOUR OVEISSI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415