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 .
Applicant’s RCE filed 12/30/25 is acknowledged.
Claim 21, 34, and 39 are amended.
Claims 21, 23-37, 39, and 41-43 are pending.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/30/25 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to independent claims 21, 34, and 39 (pages 10-12) in a reply filed 12/15/2025 have been considered but are moot because the arguments are based on newly changed limitations in the amendment and new ground of rejections using newly introduced references or a newly introduced portion of an existing reference are applied in the current rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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) 21, 23, 27-32, 34, 37, 39, and 41 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh et al. US 20210307078 (hereinafter “Singh”) in view of Sahlin et al. US 20200288503 (hereinafter “Sahlin”) and in further view of Woo et al. US 20220070800 (hereinafter “Woo”)
As to claim 21 and 39 (claim 21 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 39):
Singh discloses:
A method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: receiving first information from a first network device, wherein the first information indicates that a first cell is associated with a first synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and a second SSB, (“In an embodiment the UE 300 receives a plurality of beams from the gNB. The plurality of beams includes a plurality of Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) and/or a plurality of the Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS).”, Singh [0073]) and frequency information of the first SSB is different from frequency information of the second SSB; (“Each such resource configuration includes time domain (e.g. time offset and or periodicity and or time interval) and or frequency domain (e.g. frequency range or RB or RBG or ARFCN or cell identifier) occasions associated one or more beams and or SSB indices and or CSI-RS resources. For e.g. resource configuration can be associated with a set of TCI states, which is further associated to one or more SSB indices or CSI-RS resources. If no association is provided between resource configuration and a beam or SSB index or CSI-RS resource, then UE assumes that the given resource configuration is applicable for all the beams or SSB indices or CSI-RS resources. For determining channel occupancy corresponding to a beam or SSB index or CSI-RS resource, the UE 300 perform channel occupancy measurements on the time or frequency occasions provided in the resource configuration associated with the given beam or SSB index or CSI-RS resource. If the UE 300 is not configured with any resource configuration then the UE 300 selects random time occasions on the frequency of the PRACH resource for channel occupancy measurements.”, Singh [0088]) and determining quality information of the first cell based on a measurement value of the first SSB and a measurement value of the second SSB, wherein determining the quality information of the first cell based on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB comprises: (“The beam selector is further configured to compare the determined first metric value for the plurality of SSBs and/or the plurality of CSI-RSs with a first measurement metric threshold. The UE 300 then selects a first set of SSBs/CSI-RS from the plurality of SSBs/CSI-RS, wherein the first set of SSBs/CSI-RS have greater first measurement metric value than the first measurement metric threshold. The Beam selector 340 is further configured to select a second set of the SSBs/CSI-RS from the first set of SSBs/CSI-RS based on the second measurement metric value. The UE 300 compares the determined second measurement metric with a second measurement metric m threshold. The UE 300 receives the second measurement metric threshold from the gNB 302. After determining the first set of SSBs/CSI-RSs and the second set of SSBs/CSI-RSs, the UE 300 is configured to determine selection criteria. The selection criteria comprise a plurality of parameters. The plurality of parameters a RACH occasion, a RACH channel availability, a best value of the first measurement metric, and the best value of the second measurement metric.”, Singh [0073])
Singh as described above does not explicitly teach:
determining the quality information of the first cell based on the measurement value of the first SSB, the measurement value of the second SSB, and an auxiliary parameter, wherein the auxiliary parameter is obtained from the first network device, and the auxiliary parameter comprises a preset threshold, a coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB, and a coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB, the threshold is used to determine whether combination calculation is able to be performed on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, the coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the first SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, and the coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the second SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB.
However, Sahlin further teaches network device sending auxiliary parameter which includes:
wherein the auxiliary parameter is obtained from the first network device (“According to certain embodiments, a method for RAR reception at a wireless device comprises receiving SSB-RAR mapping configuration information, receiving one or more SSBs from a network, determining a preferred SSB based on SSB reception, determining a PRACH resource based on the configuration information, transmitting a PRACH preamble using the PRACH resource, applying a RAR receiver configuration based on the configuration information, and receiving RAR using the RAR receiver configuration. In certain embodiments, applying the RAR receiver configuration comprises configuring the receiver to use receiver/reception (RX) weights that are optimal for the preferred SSB reception if the SSB-RAR mapping configuration information indicates one-to-one mapping, or configuring the receiver to use RX weights that differ from the optimal weights for the preferred SSB reception if the SSB-RAR mapping configuration information indicates many-to-one mapping.”, Sahlin [0045]) (“It has been agreed that the threshold for SSB link quality acceptance for PRACH transmission should be configurable by the network.”, Sahlin [0520])
Sahlin and Singh are analogous because they pertain to SSB measurement method.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include network device sending auxiliary parameter as described in Sahlin into Singh. By modifying the method to include network device sending auxiliary parameter as taught by Sahlin, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Shalin [0520] and Singh [0073]) are achieved.
The combination of Sahlin and Singh as described above does not explicitly teach:
determining the quality information of the first cell based on the measurement value of the first SSB, the measurement value of the second SSB, and an auxiliary parameter, and the auxiliary parameter comprises a preset threshold, a coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB, and a coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB, the threshold is used to determine whether combination calculation is able to be performed on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, the coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the first SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, and the coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the second SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB.
However, Woo further teaches determining quality information based on measurement value of SSBs and auxiliary configuration which includes:
determining the quality information of the first cell based on the measurement value of the first SSB, the measurement value of the second SSB, and an auxiliary parameter, and the auxiliary parameter comprises a preset threshold, (“In this case, according to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may receive and/or measure only at least some of synchronization signal blocks (e.g., the second synchronization signal block SSB2, the fourth synchronization signal block SSB4, and/or the fifth synchronization signal block SSB5) having the reception strength equal to or greater than the threshold value by using each of the plurality of second receive beams of the second beam book.”, Woo [0120]) a coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB, and a coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB, (“In Equation 1 above, SSBin may represent the reception strength (e.g., reception power (e.g., reference signal reception power)) of the i-th synchronization signal block in the synchronization signal block set measured using the n-th first receive beam (e.g., 1-n-th receive beam). a and b are specified weights, and each of a and b may be any integer of 0 or more and 1 or less. For example, a may mean a weight for the first-first receive beam 1091, b may mean a weight for the first-second receive beam 1092, and (1-a-b) may mean a weight for the first-third receive beam 1093. According to an embodiment, each of a and b may be a specified value.”, Woo [0132]) the threshold is used to determine whether combination calculation is able to be performed on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, (“According to various embodiments, the electronic device 101 may determine at least one synchronization signal block (or transmit beam) to be measured using the second receive beams among a plurality of synchronization signal blocks, based on a threshold value and the reception strength of each of the synchronization signal blocks received using the first receive beam (e.g., the first receive beam 899 of FIG. 8). For example, the electronic device 101 may select a synchronization signal block having a reception strength equal to or greater than a specified threshold value as at least one synchronization signal block to be measured using the second receive beams. For example, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the reception strength 901 of the first synchronization signal block SSB1 and the reception strength 903 of the third synchronization signal block SSB3 are less than a threshold value, and the reception strength 902 of the second synchronization signal block SSB2, the reception strength 904 of the fourth synchronization signal block SSB4, and the reception strength 905 of the fifth synchronization signal block SSB5 may be equal to or greater than the threshold value. In this case, according to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may receive and/or measure only at least some of synchronization signal blocks (e.g., the second synchronization signal block SSB2, the fourth synchronization signal block SSB4, and/or the fifth synchronization signal block SSB5) having the reception strength equal to or greater than the threshold value by using each of the plurality of second receive beams of the second beam book.”, Woo [0119-0120]) the coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the first SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB, and the coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB is a weight when the measurement value of the second SSB participates in combination calculation on the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB. (“In Equation 1 above, SSBin may represent the reception strength (e.g., reception power (e.g., reference signal reception power)) of the i-th synchronization signal block in the synchronization signal block set measured using the n-th first receive beam (e.g., 1-n-th receive beam). a and b are specified weights, and each of a and b may be any integer of 0 or more and 1 or less. For example, a may mean a weight for the first-first receive beam 1091, b may mean a weight for the first-second receive beam 1092, and (1-a-b) may mean a weight for the first-third receive beam 1093. According to an embodiment, each of a and b may be a specified value.”, Woo [0132])
Woo, Sahlin, and Singh are analogous because they pertain to SSB measurement method.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include determining quality information based on measurement value of SSBs and auxiliary configuration as described in Woo into Singh as modified by Sahlin. By modifying the method to include determining quality information based on measurement value of SSBs and auxiliary configuration as taught by Woo, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Sahlin [0520], Woo [0132], and Singh [0073]) are achieved.
As to claim 23 and 41 (claim 23 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 41):
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 21,wherein determining the quality information of the first cell based on the measurement value of the first SSB, the measurement value of the second SSB, and the auxiliary parameter comprises: when both the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB are greater than or equal to the preset threshold, determining the quality information of the first cell based on the coefficient of the measurement value of the first SSB, the coefficient of the measurement value of the second SSB, the measurement value of the first SSB, and the measurement value of the second SSB; or when the measurement value of the first SSB or the measurement value of the second SSB is less than the preset threshold, determining the quality information of the first cell based on a largest measurement value in the measurement value of the first SSB and the measurement value of the second SSB. (“In an embodiment if, no such first set of beams (SSBs/CSI-RSs), with beam congestion value lesser than the beam congestion threshold value is available, then the UE 300 selects a beam from the plurality of beams, such that the selected beam (SSB/CSI-RS) have higher RSRP value than the RSRP threshold value.”, Singh [0106]) (“the gNB 302 configures the UE 300 with one or more reference signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement configurations and provide a parameter DL Beam RSSI Threshold associated with a PRACH resource configuration. The gNB 302 can configure one or more resource configurations within a RSSI measurement configuration. Each such resource configuration includes time domain (e.g. time offset and or periodicity and or time interval) and or frequency domain (e.g. frequency range or RB or RBG or ARFCN or cell identifier) occasions, and is associated with one or more beams and or SSB indices and or CSI-RS resources.”, Singh [0082])
As to claim 27:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 21, wherein: the first cell is a cell on which the terminal device camps; or the first cell is a neighboring cell of a cell on which the terminal device camps. (FIG. 1 shows UE and the associated cell, Singh)
As to claim 28:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 27, wherein the first information comprises one or more association relationship identifiers and frequency information of an SSB corresponding to each association relationship identifier of the one or more association relationship identifiers, and wherein frequency information of the first SSB and frequency information of the second SSB correspond to a same association relationship identifier. (“In one embodiment, for each PRACH resource, gNB will indicate the frequency identifier (e.g. ARFCN or RB index or bandwidth part information) where PRACH can be transmitted. In another embodiment, gNB will provide number of PRACH resources in the frequency domain, lowest frequency where the PRACH resource is present and an additional parameter indicating frequency separation/gap/offset between successive PRACH resources in frequency domain. The gNB 302 may provide this configuration for each PRACH Frequency Bundle if such configuration exists or can provide this configuration for each cell. In another embodiment, for each PRACH resource, the gNB 302 will indicate the offset from previous PRACH resource in terms of frequency value (e.g. ARFCN or RB or RBG) where PRACH can be transmitted.”, Singh [0122])
As to claim 29:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 27, wherein the first information is carried in a system message from the first network device. (“In an embodiment the gNB 302 configures the plurality of PRACH resources in frequency domain spread across the whole spectrum (or BWP) in the same time domain PRACH occasion. The configuration for multiple PRACH resources in frequency domain is provided in system information RRC message (for the case of initial access) or is provided dedicatedly to the UE 300 using RRC reconfiguration message. The gNB may provide this configuration in form of one or more PRACH Frequency Bundle. The gNB may configure one or more PRACH Frequency Bundle, where each PRACH Frequency Bundle may contain an associated configuration identity value and set of PRACH resources which is used for PRACH transmission.”, Singh [0121]) As to claim 30:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 27, wherein the first information comprises frequency information of the first SSB associated with the first cell and frequency information of the second SSB associated with the first cell. (“In one embodiment, for each PRACH resource, gNB will indicate the frequency identifier (e.g. ARFCN or RB index or bandwidth part information) where PRACH can be transmitted. In another embodiment, gNB will provide number of PRACH resources in the frequency domain, lowest frequency where the PRACH resource is present and an additional parameter indicating frequency separation/gap/offset between successive PRACH resources in frequency domain. The gNB 302 may provide this configuration for each PRACH Frequency Bundle if such configuration exists or can provide this configuration for each cell. In another embodiment, for each PRACH resource, the gNB 302 will indicate the offset from previous PRACH resource in terms of frequency value (e.g. ARFCN or RB or RBG) where PRACH can be transmitted.”, Singh [0122])
As to claim 31:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 21, wherein: the first cell is a cell accessed by the terminal device; or the first cell is a neighboring cell of a cell accessed by the terminal device. (FIG. 1 shows UE and the associated cell, Singh)
As to claim 32:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 31, wherein the first information is carried in a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message or an RRC resume message from the first network device. (“In an embodiment the gNB 302 configures the plurality of PRACH resources in frequency domain spread across the whole spectrum (or BWP) in the same time domain PRACH occasion. The configuration for multiple PRACH resources in frequency domain is provided in system information RRC message (for the case of initial access) or is provided dedicatedly to the UE 300 using RRC reconfiguration message. The gNB may provide this configuration in form of one or more PRACH Frequency Bundle. The gNB may configure one or more PRACH Frequency Bundle, where each PRACH Frequency Bundle may contain an associated configuration identity value and set of PRACH resources which is used for PRACH transmission.”, Singh [0121])
As to claim 34:
Claim 34 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 21 from the perspective of the network node.
As to claim 37:
Claim 37 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 28 from the perspective of the network node.
Claim(s) 24, 35, and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh in view of Sahlin and Woo, as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Maattanen et al. US 20220015020 (hereinafter “Maattanen”)
As to claim 24 and 42 (claim 24 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 42):
The combination of Sahlin, Woo, and Singh as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 21, further comprising: receiving second information from a second network device, wherein the second information comprises a first offset and a second offset, and wherein the first offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain reference point and a first common resource block (CRB) on which a subcarrier with a smallest subcarrier number to which the first SSB is mapped is located, and the second offset is a frequency domain offset between the frequency domain reference point and a second CRB on which a subcarrier with a smallest subcarrier number to which the second SSB is mapped is located.
However, Maattanen further teaches receiving subcarrier offset information which includes:
The method according to claim 21, further comprising: receiving second information from a second network device, wherein the second information comprises a first offset and a second offset, and wherein the first offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain reference point and a first common resource block (CRB) on which a subcarrier with a smallest subcarrier number to which the first SSB is mapped is located, and the second offset is a frequency domain offset between the frequency domain reference point and a second CRB on which a subcarrier with a smallest subcarrier number to which the second SSB is mapped is located. (“Two parameters in the MIB (see above) provide information that assists UEs to find the PDCCH associated with SIB1 transmissions. In particular, the parameter ssb-SubCarrierOffset provides information about the frequency offset between the detected SSB (the SSB within which the MIB is transmitted) and the so-called Common Resource Block (CRB) grid. The parameter pdcch-ConfigSIB1 provides further details of the PDCCH transmission. It can be seen that: [0016] ssb-SubCarrierOffset can take 16 different values (0-15); [0017] values of ssb-SubCarrierOffset from the set {0, 1, 2, . . . , 11} indicate the frequency offset between the detected SSB and CRB grid (as a resource block consists of 12 subcarriers, the frequency offset of up to 11 subcarriers); and [0018] values of ssb-SubCarrierOffset from the set {12, 13, 14, 15} indicate to a UE that there is no SIB1 associated with the SSB.”, Maattanen [0015])
Singh, Woo, Sahlin, and Maattanen are analogous because they both pertain to SSB configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving subcarrier offset information as described in Maattanen into Singh as modified by Sahlin and Woo. By modifying the method to include receiving subcarrier offset information as taught by Maattanen, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Shalin [0520], Woo [0132], and Singh [0073]) and improved SSB reference point designation (Maattanen [0015]) are achieved.
As to claim 35:
Claim 35 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 24 from the perspective of the network node.
Claim(s) 33 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh in view of Sahlin and Woo, as applied to claim 32 above, and further in view of Maattanen et al. US 20200053583 (hereinafter “Maaettanen2”)
As to claim 33:
Singh discloses:
The method according to claim 32, wherein the RRC reconfiguration message or the RRC resume message further comprises a measurement event identifier; (“the gNB 302 transmits a RRC message or MAC CE or Layer-1 activation message which includes a channel occupancy measurement configuration identity, triggering the UE to perform channel occupancy measurements according to the provided configuration for the given channel occupancy measurement configuration identity.”, Singh [0091])
The combination of Sahlin, Woo, and Singh as described above does not explicitly teach:
and wherein the method further comprises: when determining that the quality information of the first cell meets a reporting condition corresponding to the measurement event identifier, reporting the quality information of the first cell to the first network device.
However, Maattanen2 further teaches reporting quality information based on SSBs which includes:
and wherein the method further comprises: when determining that the quality information of the first cell meets a reporting condition corresponding to the measurement event identifier, reporting the quality information of the first cell to the first network device. (“The UE 200 may further transmit, to the network node 160, a measurement report for the measurements performed on the SSB based on the MO indicated by the received indication. The measurement report may comprise the measurements performed on the primary SSB, the secondary SSB and/or on the combination thereof.”, Maattanen2 [0079]) (“Combining the measurements may include an average over the measurement quantity, such as e.g. Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), selection of the measurement quantity, and/or reporting measurement quantity on both SSBs where a second report may be relative to a first report.”, Maattanen2 [0052])
Singh, Sahlin, Woo, and Maattanen are analogous because they both pertain to measuring SSBs.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include reporting quality information based on SSBs as described in Maattanen2 into Singh as modified by Sahlin and Woo. By modifying the method to include reporting quality information based on SSBs as taught by Maattanen2, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Shalin [0520], Woo [0132], and Singh [0073]) and Maattanen2 [0079]) are achieved.
Claim(s) 25, 26, 36, and 43 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh in view of Sahlin, Woo, and Maattanen, as applied to claim 24 above, and further in view of Kim et al. US 20220232496 (hereinafter “Kim”)
As to claim 25 and 43 (claim 25 is the method claim for the apparatus in claim 43):
The combination of Singh, Sahlin, Woo, and Maattanen as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 24, further comprising: receiving third information from the second network device, wherein the third information comprises a third offset and a fourth offset, and wherein the third offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain lower boundary position of the first SSB and a frequency domain lower boundary position of the first CRB, and the fourth offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain lower boundary position of the second SSB and a frequency domain lower boundary position of the second CRB.
However, Kim further teaches receiving information on the offset between the lower boundary of SSB and CRB which includes:
The method according to claim 24, further comprising: receiving third information from the second network device, wherein the third information comprises a third offset and a fourth offset, and wherein the third offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain lower boundary position of the first SSB and a frequency domain lower boundary position of the first CRB, and the fourth offset is a frequency domain offset between a frequency domain lower boundary position of the second SSB and a frequency domain lower boundary position of the second CRB. (“The position of CORESET #0 in the frequency domain is determined by a subcarrier offset and an RB offset with respect to the SSB. Referring to FIG. 11, k.sub.SSB denotes a subcarrier offset from subcarrier #0 of a common resource block (CRB), N.sup.SSB.sub.CRB to subcarrier #0 of the SSB. Here, N.sup.SSB.sub.CRB is identified by a higher layer (e.g., RRC) parameter, offsetToPointA, and k.sub.SSB is a 5-bit value and consists of: MSB 1 bit of 3 bits of MIB used for candidate SSB indices (=MSB 1 bit of k.sub.SSB)+4 bits of ssb-SubcarrierOffset (=LSB 4 bits of k.sub.SSB). The RB offset denotes an offset from the smallest RB index of CORESET #0 to the smallest RB index of the CRB overlapping with the first RB of the corresponding SSB, which may be determined based on the offset (RB) of Table 9.”, Kim [0089])
Singh, Sahlin, Woo, Kim, and Maattanen are analogous because they pertain to SSB configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include receiving information on the offset between the lower boundary of SSB and CRB as described in Kim into Singh as modified by Maattanen, Woo, and Sahlin. By modifying the method to include receiving information on the offset between the lower boundary of SSB and CRB as taught by Kim, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Shalin [0520], Woo [0132], and Singh [0073]) and improved SSB reference point designation (Maattanen [0015] and Kim [0089])
As to claim 26:
The combination of Singh, Woo, Sahlin, and Maattanen as described above does not explicitly teach:
The method according to claim 25, further comprising: after determining the first SSB to be a serving SSB, determining the frequency domain reference point based on the first offset and the third offset; or after determining the second SSB to be the serving SSB, determining the frequency domain reference point based on the second offset and the fourth offset.
However, Kim further teaches determining the reference point based on provided offsets which includes:
The method according to claim 25, further comprising: after determining the first SSB to be a serving SSB, determining the frequency domain reference point based on the first offset and the third offset; or after determining the second SSB to be the serving SSB, determining the frequency domain reference point based on the second offset and the fourth offset. (“Specifically, a CRB grid may be created by considering as the reference point a point that is separated by the RE level interval corresponding to k.sub.SSB from the minimum RE of the SS/PBCH block, and the location of the minimum RE of CORESET #0 may be determined by applying the RB level offset in the CORESET #0 configuration to the reference point (see FIG. 11). In this case, considering that k.sub.SSB corresponds to signaling at an interval of 15 kHz (that is, the number of subcarriers based on SCS=15 kHz) and in the NR-U system, the interval between the minimum RE of CORESET #0 and the minimum RE of the SS/PBCH block (centered on the synchronization raster) satisfies an integer multiple of 30 kHz, the LSB 1 bit of ssb-SubcarrierOffset may always be ‘0’. Accordingly, the corresponding value may be used for other purposes, for example, to signal the value of N.sup.QCL.sub.SSB.”, Kim [0168])
Singh, Woo, Sahlin, Kim, and Maattanen are analogous because they pertain to SSB configuration.
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include determining the reference point based on provided offsets as described in Kim into Singh as modified by Maattanen, Woo, and Sahlin. By modifying the method to include determining the reference point based on provided offsets as taught by Kim, the benefits of improved SSB measurements (Shalin [0520], Woo [0132], and Singh [0073]) and improved SSB reference point designation (Maattanen [0015] and Kim [0089])
As to claim 36:
Claim 36 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 25 from the perspective of the network node.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/MOHAMMAD S ADHAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471