DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The amendment submitted on 09/05/2025 has been received and considered by the examiner. Claims 1, 16, and 20 were amended, and all uncancelled claims remain pending.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Response to Arguments
The applicant begins their remarks by asserting that “the combination of Vivo and Luo fails to teach at least ‘determining that a transition of the wireless device from a first operational scenario to a second operational scenario has occurred’ ‘wherein: the first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario ... and the second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario [emphasis in original]” (Remarks, p. 10). However, this analysis disregards the explanation offered in the office action dated 06/06/2025 of how Vivo and Luo disclose these claimed features.
For example, on page 11 of their remarks, the applicant asserts that “[t]he Patent Office admits that Vivo fails to teach these features” (Remarks, p. 11) mentioned above, but this is false. The record shows that the previous office action never acknowledged, asserted, or otherwise suggested that Vivo lacks any of the claim limitations mentioned in the excerpt of the applicant’s remarks reproduced above. This is because Vivo does not lack them. On the contrary, a review of both the facts and the legal record reveals that the only feature of the independent claims that Vivo lacks is, as explained in the action dated 06/05/2025, the limitation requiring “[d]etermining one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition” (see p. 7 of the non-final rejection dated 06/05/2025).
This apparent misunderstanding perhaps explains the applicant’s choice on pages 11-12 of their remarks to disregard Vivo and instead offer a lengthy discourse explaining the differences between the claimed invention and the operational scenarios described in Luo (Remarks, p. 11-12). This analysis fails to overcome the pending rejection because it does not address the disclosure from Vivo, cited in the previous three office actions, of the features the applicant alleges Vivo and Luo to lack. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
The applicant is correct to point out that Luo does not describe a non-cell edge transition to a low-mobility scenario, but this observation is irrelevant because Vivo, not Luo, was the prior art cited to disclose this. Luo was only relied upon to teach a single feature lacking in Vivo – namely, a distinct set of measurement requirements that apply during a transition between two distinct operational scenarios (see p. 7-8 of the office action dated 06/05/2025, cf. Luo 0114, 0145) – and it would have been obvious to combine this feature with Vivo’s disclosure because both references similarly describe altered evaluation of serving cell measurements in response to a UE’s changing state. To reiterate, as has been established in the previous three office actions, Vivo, not Luo, describes the transition from a non-cell edge scenario to a non-cell edge scenario with low mobility. The applicant’s arguments therefore fail to properly acknowledge, much less persuasively argue against, the basis of rejection set forth in the office action dated 06/05/2025, meaning the rejection is properly maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8, 16, 20-28, 35, and 39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vivo et al. (“3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #107bis” and “R2-1912335”, hereinafter “Vivo”) in view of Luo et al. (US 2021/0045170 A1, hereinafter “Luo”).
As to Claim 1:
Vivo describes a method for saving power during RRM measurement using a “time-to-trigger” transition window.
Specifically, Vivo teaches:
A method performed by a wireless device
(“UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria” (Vivo, p.1).
Here, “activate relaxed measurement criteria” maps to “a method performed”, and
“the UE” maps to “a wireless device”).
Determining that a transition of the wireless device from a first operational scenario to a second operational scenario has occurred
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2). Fig. 2 shows a graph of this relaxation happening with respect to time.
Here, “choose” maps to “determining”,
“serving cell measurement” changing “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a transition ... has occurred”,
“the UE” maps to “the wireless device”,
the scenario where “serving cell measurement” has not changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a first operational scenario”, and
the scenario where “serving cell measurement has changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a second operational scenario”).
The first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario
(“2. UE may activate relaxed measurements if at least any of the following conditions are met: ... b) UE is not a cell edge” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario”).
The non-cell edge scenario based on one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold
(“b) UE is not a cell edge [sic], meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the non-cell edge scenario”,
“meaning” maps to “based on”, and
“RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold”).
The second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
The low mobility and non-cell edge scenario based on the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold, and the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the low-mobility and non-cell edge scenario”,
“serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold”, and
“a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria”).
The transition period starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred and ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario
(Fig. 2 of Vivo shows a graph of the time to trigger mechanism.
Here, the section of the graph labeled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”,
the point where “serving cell measurement” decreases below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the transition”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is above the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the first operational scenario”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the second operational scenario”,
the beginning of the “Time-to-Trigger” period with an illegible label maps to “starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred”, and
the end of the “Time-To-Trigger” period labeled “Transition” maps to “ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario”).
Adapting one or more measurement procedures to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements during the transition period
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2).
Here, “relax” maps to “adapting”,
“intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement” maps to “one or more measurement procedures”,
“measurement period” maps to “one or more measurement requirements”,
“a longer measurement period” maps to “to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements” because it is clear the measurement period was elongated to meet the new requirements, and
the relaxation in measurement frequency that occurs during the TTT maps to “during the transition period”).
Vivo does not explicitly disclose:
Determining one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
However, Luo does disclose a method for changing cells using soft physical cell identifiers.
Specifically, Luo teaches:
Determining one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
(“[T]he IAB-CU 902 [in Fig. 9] may configure a CSI-RS measurement object instead of an SSB measurement object for the scheduled entity 904 ... The communication and processing circuitry 1342 [in Fig. 13] may further be configured to transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., SSBs and/or CSI-RS) in the second cell corresponding to configured measurement objects during the transition period to facilitate handover measurements” (Luo, 0114, 0145).
Here, “corresponding to” maps to “determining”,
“configured measurement objects” map to “one or more measurement requirements”,
the fact that element 910 in Fig. 9, “Measurement Trigger and Configuration”, occurs before the transition period, maps to “associated with the first operational scenario”,
“during the transition period” maps to “during a transition period”, and
“to facilitate handover” maps to “based on the determined transition”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 2:
Vivo teaches:
The one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario are more stringent than the set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario
(Fig. 2 in Vivo shows the process of relaxing and unrelaxing measurements.
Here, the measurements that occur before “Relax measurements” occurs maps to “the one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario”,
the measurements that occur after “Relax measurements” occurs maps to “the set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario”,
the unrelaxed measurements before “Relax measurements” occur map to “more stringent”).
The first operational scenario is associated with one or more first requirements, the second operational scenario is associated with one or more second requirements
(Fig. 2 from Vivo shows a graph of the disclosed time-to-trigger procedure.
Here, the period where the device is operating with “legacy measurements” maps to “the first operational scenario”,
the “legacy measurements” map to “one or more first requirements”,
the fact that the “legacy measurements” are inseparable from the legacy measurement operational scenario maps to “the first scenario is associated with one or more first requirements”,
the period where the device is operating with “relaxed measurements” map to “the second operational scenario”,
the “relaxed measurements” map to “the second operational scenario is associated with one or more second requirements”, and
the fact that the “relaxed measurements” are inseparable from the relaxed measurement operational scenario maps to “the second scenario is associated with one or more second requirements”).
Determining the one or more requirements that are applicable during the transition period comprises selecting either the one or more first requirements or the one or more second requirements based on whether the one or more first requirements are more or less stringent than the one or more second requirements
(“Proposal 3: A TTT mechanism can be considered ... to delay the transition from an intensive measurement state to a sparse measurement state by a period of time” (Vivo, 3). Also, Fig. 2 from Vivo shows a graph of the disclosed time-to-trigger procedure.
Here, the evaluation of the threshold depicted in Fig. 2 at the beginning of the Time-To-Trigger window maps to “determining”,
“measurement state” maps to “the one or more requirements that are applicable”,
the time on the graph labeled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “during the transition period”,
“transition” maps to “selecting”,
“intensive measurement” associated with “legacy measurements” maps to “the one or more first requirements”,
“sparse measurement” associated with “relaxed measurement” maps to “the one or more second requirements”, and
“from an intensive measurement state to a sparse measurement state” maps to “based on whether the one or more first requirements are more or less stringent than the second requirements” because this clearly shows the transition occurs to decrease the intensity of measurement which is analogous to decreasing the stringency of the measurement requirements).
As to Claim 3:
Vivo teaches:
The first operational scenario and the second operational scenario are comprised in a set of two or more operational scenarios;
(“Proposal 3: A TTT mechanism can be considered ... to delay the transition from an intensive measurement state to a sparse measurement state by a period of time” (Vivo, 3). Also, Fig. 2 from Vivo shows a graph of the disclosed time-to-trigger procedure.
Here, “intensive measurement state” maps to “the first operational scenario”,
“a sparse measurement state” maps to “the second operational scenario”, and
the pair of “an intensive measurement state” and “a sparse measurement state” maps to “a set of two or more operational scenarios”).
Determining the one or more requirements that are applicable during the transition period comprises selecting the one or more predefined or preconfigured requirements for the determined transition, the determined transition being one of the possible transitions between operational scenarios in the set of two or more operational scenarios
(“Proposal 3: A TTT mechanism can be considered ... to delay the transition from an intensive measurement state to a sparse measurement state by a period of time” (Vivo, 3). Also, Fig. 2 from Vivo shows a graph of the disclosed time-to-trigger procedure.
Here, “considered” maps to “determining”,
the section of the graph labelled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”,
“legacy measurements” maps to “the one or more requirements that are applicable during the transition period”,
“transition” maps to “selecting”,
the section of the graph labelled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “the determined transition”,
“legacy measurements” maps to “the one or more predefined or preconfigured requirements for the determined transition”,
the transition in the graph at the end of the “Time-to-Trigger” period maps to “one of the possible transitions between operational scenarios”, and
the “intensive measurement state” and the “relaxed measurement state” taken together map to “the set of two or more operational scenarios”).
Vivo does not explicitly teach:
One or more requirements are predefined or preconfigured for each possible transition between operational scenarios in the set of two or more operational scenarios; and
However, Luo does teach:
One or more requirements are predefined or preconfigured for each possible transition between operational scenarios
(“[T]he scheduling entity may handover at least one RRC-connected scheduled entity from the first cell to the second cell during the transition period.... In some examples, the transition period has a fixed duration predetermined by ... the IAB network” (Luo, 0168, 0170).
Here, “duration” maps to “one or more requirements”,
“predetermined by” maps to “predefined or preconfigured”, and
“the transition” maps to “each possible transition between operational scenarios”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 4:
Vivo teaches:
Adapting the one or more measurement procedures to fulfill measurement requirements associated with a low mobility scenario immediately upon a transition from the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario to the low mobility scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge)” (Vivo, p. 1). Fig. 2 in Vivo shows transitions to and from a relaxed measurement state.
Here, “Relax measurements” in Fig. 2 maps to “adapting the one or more measurement procedures to fulfill measurement requirements ... immediately upon a transition”,
the scenario following unrelaxing of measurements with “low mobility” and “UE is in cell-edge” maps to “a low mobility scenario”, and
the scenario before unrelaxing of measurements with “low mobility” and without “UE is in cell-edge” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
Adapting the one or more measurement procedures to fulfill measurement requirements associated with the non-cell edge scenario immediately upon a transition from the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario to the non-cell edge scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge)” (Vivo, p. 1). Fig. 2 in Vivo shows transitions to and from a relaxed measurement state.
Here, “Relax measurements” in Fig. 2 maps to “adapting the one or more measurement procedures to fulfill measurement requirements ... immediately upon a transition”,
the scenario before relaxing of measurements without “low mobility” and without “UE is in cell-edge” maps to “the non-cell edge scenario”, and
the scenario after relaxing of measurements with “low mobility” and without “UE is in cell-edge” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
As to Claim 5:
From the list of:
The one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements; one or more Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) measurements; and/or one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements
Vivo at least teaches:
The one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements ... and/or one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements
(Fig. 2 in Vivo shows transitions to and from a relaxed measurement state.
Here, “RSRP” in the y-axis of the graph in Fig. 2 maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements”, and
“RSRQ” in the y-axis of the graph in Fig. 2 maps to “The one or more serving cell measurements comprise ... one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements”).
As to Claim 6:
Vivo teaches:
Satisfying the low mobility criteria comprises determining that serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria are within a certain threshold of each other
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “Measurement relaxation criteria can consider” maps to “satisfying the low mobility criteria”,
“Serving Cell measurement” maps to “serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria”, and
“does not change more than a relative threshold” maps to “within a certain threshold of each other”).
As to Claim 7:
Vivo teaches:
The serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria are measured over a certain time
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “Serving cell measurement” maps to “the serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria”, and
“does not change ... during a time period” maps to “measured over a certain time”).
As to Claim 8:
Vivo teaches:
The transition period is an amount of time that is greater than zero
(Fig. 2 in Vivo shows transitions to and from a relaxed measurement state.
Here, “Time-To-Trigger” maps to “the transition period is an amount of time”, and
the non-zero duration of the “Time-To-Trigger” window maps to “an amount of time that is greater than zero”).
As to Claim 16:
Vivo teaches:
Determine that a transition of the wireless device from a first operational scenario to a second operational scenario has occurred
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2). Fig. 2 shows a graph of this relaxation happening with respect to time.
Here, “choose” maps to “determine”,
“serving cell measurement” changing “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a transition ... has occurred”,
“the UE” maps to “the wireless device”,
the scenario where “serving cell measurement” has not changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a first operational scenario”, and
the scenario where “serving cell measurement has changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a second operational scenario”).
The first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario
(“2. UE may activate relaxed measurements if at least any of the following conditions are met: ... b) UE is not a cell edge” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario”).
The non-cell edge scenario based on one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold
(“b) UE is not a cell edge [sic], meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the non-cell edge scenario”,
“meaning” maps to “based on”, and
“RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold”).
The second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
The low mobility and non-cell edge scenario based on the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold, and the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the low-mobility and non-cell edge scenario”,
“serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold”, and
“a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria”).
The transition period starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred and ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario
(Fig. 2 of Vivo shows a graph of the time to trigger mechanism.
Here, the section of the graph labeled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”,
the point where “serving cell measurement” decreases below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the transition”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is above the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the first operational scenario”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the second operational scenario”,
the beginning of the “Time-to-Trigger” period with an illegible label maps to “starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred”, and
the end of the “Time-To-Trigger” period labeled “Transition” maps to “ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario”).
Adapt one or more measurement procedures to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements during the transition period
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2).
Here, “relax” maps to “adapt”,
“intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement” maps to “one or more measurement procedures”,
“measurement period” maps to “one or more measurement requirements”,
“a longer measurement period” maps to “to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements” because it is clear the measurement period was elongated to meet the new requirements, and
the relaxation in measurement frequency that occurs during the TTT maps to “during the transition period”).
Vivo does not explicitly teach:
A wireless device comprising: one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless device
Determine one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
However, Luo does teach:
A wireless device comprising: one or more transmitters; one or more receivers; and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers, the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless device
(“Another example provides a scheduling entity within a wireless communication network including a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory ... One or more processors 1304 in the processing system may execute software” (Luo, 0007, 0135).
Here, “a scheduling entity” maps to “a wireless device”,
“a transceiver” maps to “one or more transmitters”,
“a transceiver” maps to “one or more receivers”,
“a processor” maps to “processing circuitry”,
“communicatively coupled to the transceiver” maps to “associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers”, and
“processors ... may execute software” maps to “the processing circuitry configured to cause the wireless device”).
Determine one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
(“[T]he IAB-CU 902 [in Fig. 9] may configure a CSI-RS measurement object instead of an SSB measurement object for the scheduled entity 904 ... The communication and processing circuitry 1342 [in Fig. 13] may further be configured to transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., SSBs and/or CSI-RS) in the second cell corresponding to configured measurement objects during the transition period to facilitate handover measurements” (Luo, 0114, 0145).
Here, “corresponding to” maps to “determine”,
“configured measurement objects” map to “one or more measurement requirements”,
the fact that element 910 in Fig. 9, “Measurement Trigger and Configuration”, occurs before the transition period, maps to “associated with the first operational scenario”,
“during the transition period” maps to “during a transition period”, and
“to facilitate handover” maps to “based on the determined transition”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 20:
Vivo teaches:
Determine that a transition of the wireless device from a first operational scenario to a second operational scenario has occurred
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2). Fig. 2 shows a graph of this relaxation happening with respect to time.
Here, “choose” maps to “determine”,
“serving cell measurement” changing “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a transition ... has occurred”,
“the UE” maps to “the wireless device”,
the scenario where “serving cell measurement” has not changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a first operational scenario”, and
the scenario where “serving cell measurement has changed “more than a relative threshold” maps to “a second operational scenario”).
The first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario
(“2. UE may activate relaxed measurements if at least any of the following conditions are met: ... b) UE is not a cell edge” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the first operational scenario corresponds to a non-cell edge scenario”).
The non-cell edge scenario based on one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold
(“b) UE is not a cell edge [sic], meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the non-cell edge scenario”,
“meaning” maps to “based on”, and
“RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold”).
The second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the second operational scenario corresponds to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
The low mobility and non-cell edge scenario based on the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold, and the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the low-mobility and non-cell edge scenario”,
“serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold”, and
“a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria”).
The transition period starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred and ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario
(Fig. 2 of Vivo shows a graph of the time to trigger mechanism.
Here, the section of the graph labeled “Time-to-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”,
the point where “serving cell measurement” decreases below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the transition”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is above the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the first operational scenario”,
the segments of the graph where RSRP/RSRQ is below the “relaxation threshold” maps to “the second operational scenario”,
the beginning of the “Time-to-Trigger” period with an illegible label maps to “starts at a moment the wireless device determines that the transition from the first operational scenario to the second operational scenario has occurred”, and
the end of the “Time-To-Trigger” period labeled “Transition” maps to “ends at a time at which the wireless device is to apply a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario”).
Adapt one or more measurement procedures to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements during the transition period
(“When serving cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period, the UE will choose to relax intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement with a longer measurement period” (Vivo, p. 2).
Here, “relax” maps to “adapt”,
“intra/inter-frequency RRM measurement” maps to “one or more measurement procedures”,
“measurement period” maps to “one or more measurement requirements”,
“a longer measurement period” maps to “to fulfill the one or more measurement requirements” because it is clear the measurement period was elongated to meet the new requirements, and
the relaxation in measurement frequency that occurs during the TTT maps to “during the transition period”).
Vivo does not explicitly teach:
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions executable by processing circuitry of a wireless device
Determine one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
However, Luo does teach:
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions executable by processing circuitry of a wireless device
(“Another example provides a scheduling entity within a wireless communication network including a transceiver, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and memory ... One or more processors 1304 in the processing system may execute software” (Luo, 0007, 0135).
Here, “a memory” maps to “a non-transitory computer readable medium”,
“software” maps to “instructions executable”, and
“a processor” maps to “processing circuitry of a wireless device”).
Determine one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario that are applicable during a transition period based on the determined transition
(“[T]he IAB-CU 902 [in Fig. 9] may configure a CSI-RS measurement object instead of an SSB measurement object for the scheduled entity 904 ... The communication and processing circuitry 1342 [in Fig. 13] may further be configured to transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., SSBs and/or CSI-RS) in the second cell corresponding to configured measurement objects during the transition period to facilitate handover measurements” (Luo, 0114, 0145).
Here, “corresponding to” maps to “determine”,
“configured measurement objects” map to “one or more measurement requirements”,
the fact that element 910 in Fig. 9, “Measurement Trigger and Configuration”, occurs before the transition period, maps to “associated with the first operational scenario”,
“during the transition period” maps to “during a transition period”, and
“to facilitate handover” maps to “based on the determined transition”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 21:
Vivo teaches:
One or more measurement requirements that are applicable during a transition period
(Fig. 2 of Vivo shows a graph of the time to trigger mechanism.
Here, the section of the graph labeled “Time-To-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”, and
the relaxed measurements map to “one or more measurement requirements during the transition period”).
The transition period
(Fig. 2 of Vivo shows a graph of the time to trigger mechanism.
Here, the period labeled “Time-To-Trigger” maps to “the transition period”).
A transition from a first operational scenario corresponding to a non-cell edge scenario to a second operational scenario corresponding to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “activate relaxed measurement criteria” maps to “a transition from a first operational scenario”,
a situation where “the UE” is not “in cell-edge” maps to “a non-cell edge scenario”, and
a situation where “the UE” is not “in cell-edge” and has “low mobility” maps to “a second operational scenario corresponding to a low mobility and non-cell edge scenario”).
Vivo does not explicitly disclose:
A method performed by a network node
Providing, to one or more wireless devices, information that defines ... a transition period
However, Luo does teach:
A method performed by a network node
(“[T]he scheduling entity 1300 may include an IAB donor node that may initiate the soft PCI change to a child L2 relay IAB node within an IAB network” (Luo, 0139).
Here, “the soft PCI change” maps to “a method performed”, and
“an IAB donor node” maps to “a network node”).
Providing, to one or more wireless devices, information that defines ... a transition period
(“[T]he scheduling entity may handover at least one RRC-connected scheduled entity from the first cell to the second cell during the transition period.... In some examples, the transition period has a fixed duration predetermined by ... the IAB network” (Luo, 0168, 0170).
Here, “predetermined by” maps to “providing”,
“scheduled entity” maps to “one or more wireless devices”, and
“fixed duration” maps to “information that defines ... a transition period”).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 22:
Vivo teaches:
The non-cell edge scenario based on one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold
(“b) UE is not a cell edge [sic], meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the non-cell edge scenario”,
“meaning” maps to “based on”, and
“RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “one or more serving cell measurements exceeding a signal level threshold and/or a signal quality threshold”).
The low mobility and non-cell edge scenario based on the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold, and the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period ... b) UE is not a cell edge, meaning that serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “low mobility” and “UE is not a cell edge” maps to “the low-mobility and non-cell edge scenario”,
“serving cell/beam RSRP/RSRQ/SINR is above a threshold” maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements exceeding the signal level threshold and/or the signal quality threshold”, and
“a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” maps to “the low mobility and non-cell edge scenario further based on satisfying low mobility criteria”).
As to Claim 23:
From the list of:
The one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements; one or more Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) measurements; and/or one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements
Vivo at least teaches:
The one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements ... and/or one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements
(Fig. 2 in Vivo shows transitions to and from a relaxed measurement state.
Here, “RSRP” in the y-axis of the graph in Fig. 2 maps to “the one or more serving cell measurements comprise one or more of: one or more Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurements”, and
“RSRQ” in the y-axis of the graph in Fig. 2 maps to “The one or more serving cell measurements comprise ... one or more Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurements”).
As to Claim 24:
Vivo teaches:
Satisfying the low mobility criteria comprises determining that serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria are within a certain threshold of each other
(“1. Measurement relaxation criteria can consider both low mobility and UE location in the cell (e.g. whether the UE is in cell-edge).... 2. UE may activate relaxed measurement criteria if at least any of the following conditions are met: a) Serving Cell measurement does not change more than a relative threshold during a time period” (Vivo, p. 1).
Here, “Measurement relaxation criteria can consider” maps to “satisfying the low mobility criteria”,
“Serving Cell measurement” maps to “serving cell measurements used for evaluating the low mobility criteria”, and
“does not change more than a relative threshold” maps to “within a certain threshold of each other”).
As to Claim 25:
Vivo does not explicitly disclose:
The one or more measurement requirements that are applicable during the transition period are based on one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario
However, Luo does teach:
The one or more measurement requirements that are applicable during the transition period are based on one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario
(“The communication and processing circuitry 1342 may further be configured to transmit one or more reference signals (e.g., SSBs and/or CSI-RS) in the second cell corresponding to configured measurement objects during the transition period to facilitate handover measurements performed by RRC-connected scheduled entities” (Luo, 0145).
Here, “measurement objects during the transition period” map to “one or more measurement requirements that are applicable during the transition period”,
“to facilitate handover measurements” maps to “are based on one or more measurement requirements associated with the first operational scenario” because handover measurements will necessarily occur before the transition).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply Luo’s practice of deploying special measurement configurations for a transition period to the transitions between low mobility and non-cell edge scenarios disclosed in Vivo. The UE can save power by employing a measurement configuration unique to the transition.
As to Claim 26:
Vivo teaches:
The one or more measurement requirements that are applicable during the transition period are more stringent than a set of measurement requirements associated to the second operational scenario
(Fig. 2 in Vivo shows the process of relaxing and unrelaxing measurements.
Here, the measurements that occur during the “Time-to-Trigger” prior to a “Relax measurements” transition map to “the one or more measurement requirements that are applicable during the transition period”,
the measurements that occur a