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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s Amendments and Arguments filed 10/20/2025 have been considered for examination. Claims 1-6, 8-19 are pending in the instant application.
With regard to the 102/103 rejections, Applicant’s arguments filed 10/20/2025 (see pages 6-11 of Remarks) in view of the amendments have been fully considered but are not persuasive. However, since Applicant’s amendments has changed the scope, the new ground(s) of rejection is presented in the instant Office Action.
Regarding claims 1, 2, 6, and 10, Applicant argued:
Applicant amends independent claim 1 to recite that: receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises first indication information and second indication information, the first indication information indicates the first measurement object, and the second indication information indicates the second measurement object, and wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration includes one servingCellMO field and the first indication information is comprised in the one servingCellMO field, by combining the part of the previous claim 2.
As shown in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 15.2.1 Release 15 for 5G and NR, in the ServingCellConfig IE, there is one servingCellMO field that is defined to contain or indicate one measurement object ID. The methods and apparatus in the present application are designed to address this limitation so that the dedicated serving cell configuration can be utilized to indicate more than one measurement object.
However, the primary reference Candy (Yiu) does not disclose a dedicated serving cell configuration configured to indicate more than one measurement object. In Paragraph [0125] of Candy (Yiu), “In some demonstrative embodiments, a serving cell MO, e.g., only one serving cell MO, may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO Identity (Id) in the serving cell configuration,” (Emphasis added), Candy (Yiu) discloses that a serving cell measurement object (MO), e.g., only one serving cell MO, may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO ID in the service cell configuration. This is consistent with the existing 3GPP protocol quoted above. Further, Candy (Yiu) teaches using the ServingCellConfigCommon information element, not the recited dedicated serving cell configuration. See Candy (Yiu), Paragraph [0110]. As shown in 3GPP TS 38.331 version 15.2.1 Release 15 (See Page 203), ServingCellConfig IE and the ServingCellConfigCommon IE are different information elements. Moreover, the amended claim 1 requires that the dedicated serving cell configuration includes on servingCellMO field, as shown in the 3GPP TS 38.331, and the servingCellMO field is not included in the ServingCellConfigCommon IE.
Indeed, to avoid mutual interference, the method in the present applications allows a network side to configure a plurality of measurement objects for one serving cell at the same time. The terminal needs to be informed of the configurations of the measurement objects, as well as which measurement objects among the plurality of measurement objects to use for the current serving cell. See paragraph [0088], Specification. The measurement object indication method in the present application is more flexible and advantageous than conventional technology. See Specification, Paragraph [0089]. Candy (Yiu) does not disclose or teach anything that is different than the prior art protocol. Candy (Yiu) does not disclose the method recited in claim 1.
In the advisory action, the part recited “However, the dedicated cell configuration is explained …per measurement object,” Candy (Yiu) is related to “measurement configuration information” recited in the first step of claim 1, not the dedicated serving cell configuration recited in the second step of claim 1. Although in Paragraph [0094] and [0101]-[0102], Candy (Yiu) discloses that “measurement configuration” may be provided via dedicated signaling and that “measurement configuration” may include more than one measurement object.
In comparison, claim 1 recites that a terminal receives measurement configuration information that comprises a first and second measurement object. Claim 1 further recites that a terminal receives a dedicated serving cell configuration from the network side because the terminal needs to learn which measurement objects (in the measurement configuration information) are the measurement objects corresponding to the frequency on which the serving cell is located. The cited portions of Candy (Yiu) relied by the office in the Advisory Action are related to "measurement configuration", not the recited dedicated serving cell configuration.
In response to Applicant’s argument, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
In the argument, Applicant argued, regarding the part of the amended claim 1, “receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, …, is comprised in the one servingCellMO field,” that the primary reference Candy (Yiu) in the previous office action does not disclose that a dedicated serving cell configuration is configured to indicate more than one measurement object and further, in the previous Advisory action, Candy (Yiu) does not disclose the contents explained in the argument, “claim 1 recites … on which the serving cell is located.” However, Examiner respectfully disagrees.
As indicated in the argument, Candy (Yiu), in Paragraph [0125], disclose about the serving cell MO (ServingCellMO indicated by the dedicated serving cell configuration (sevingCellConf) that is explained in the argument by Applicant with 3GPP TS 38.331 version 15.2.1). The serving cell MO is one field of ServingCellConf to indicate a Measurement object NR (MeasObjetNR) in MeasConf associated to the serving cell and in servingCellConf and there is only one servingCellMo, not multiple. As shown in Paragraphs [0126]-[0129] and [0133]-[0134], the serving cell MO is the indication for the measurement object MeasObjectNR and MeasObjectNR can be comprised by SSB frequency or SCS or CSI-RS resources of the serving cell within a carrier bandwidth (as shown in 3GPP TS 38.331). Further, as explained in 3GPP TS 38.331, MeasObjectNR indicated by SevingCellMO is defined based on its relationship with frequencyInfoDL in servingCellConfigCommon of the serving cell. It is taught by Candy (Yiu) in Paragraph [0110] in the previous office action. Although Applicant argue that Candy (Yiu) does not disclose multiple measurement objects with dedicated serving cell configuration, Candy (Yiu) discloses that another measurement object related to CSI-RS described in Paragraphs [0146]-[0149] and [0153]-[0155] is defined based on the operating Bandwidth (BW) of UE that is indicated by the ServingCellConfig. It can be the second measurement object.
Regarding the previous Advisory Action, the recited part based on [0094] and [0101]-[0102], “However, the dedicated cell configuration is explained ….reporting configuration per measurement objet,” Candy (Yiu) does not disclose regarding the dedicated serving cell configuration. However, Examiner respectfully disagrees. As explained in the Advisory Action, since the dedicate serving cell configuration can be received by UE through RRC signaling such as RRC reconfiguration message, that can be related multiple measurement objects and indication as explained in Paragraphs [0102]-[0103]. Further, as explained in Paragraph [0096], other measurement objects beside servingCellMO can be defined for such inter-frequency, intra-frequency and/or inter-RAT measurements that are included in the dedicated serving cell configuration.
Therefore, clearly Candy (Yiu) discloses the recited part of the amended claim 1 and further by similar reasoning, the amended claims 6 and 10 is also disclosed by Candy (Yiu). However, since the scopes or limitations of the claim 1, 6, and 10 have been changed by Applicant’s amendments, the new ground(s) of rejection is presented in the instant Office Action.
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 10/20/2025 has been entered.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 19 recites “the computer is enabled to perform the method according to claim 1”, which should be “the computer is enabled to perform the measurement object indication method according to claim 1.”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 10, 16, and 18-19 are rejected under U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Candy Yiu and et. al. (USPub No.: US 20190313271 A1, hereinafter “Yiu”).
Regarding claims 1, 16 and 19, Yiu teaches that a measurement object indication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal, measurement configuration information, wherein the measurement configuration information comprises a first measurement object and a second measurement object; (Yiu, in Paragraph [0094] and [0101]-[0102], teaches that the measurement configuration may be provided to the UE 102, via dedicated signaling such as a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message. The measurement configuration may include one or more elements or parameters, for example, measurement objects, reporting configurations, measurement identities, quantity configurations, measurement gaps, and/or any other additional or alternative parameters and/or elements. The reporting configurations may include lists of reporting configurations, e.g., where there can be one or multiple reporting configurations per measurement object. For example, each reporting configuration may include a reporting criterion, a Reference Signal (RS) type, and/or a reporting format. The measurement identities may include list of measurement identities, e.g., where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration. For example, by configuring multiple measurement identities, it may be possible to link more than one measurement object to a same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to a same measurement object. The measurement identity may be included in a measurement report, e.g., that triggered the reporting, for example, to serve as a reference to the network. Therefore, it is clear that the measurement configuration information received by a terminal may comprises multiple measurement objects (the first measurement object and the second measurement objects) with other elements.) wherein the first measurement object includes a first time-frequency location and a first cell list, and the second measurement object includes a second time-frequency location and a second cell list; (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0106] –[0110], teaches that a Measurement Object (MO) may include a list of objects on which a UE is to perform one or more measurements. For intra-frequency and inter-frequency measurements, a measurement object may indicate a frequency location, a time location, and/or subcarrier spacing of reference signals to be measured, where the subcarrier spacing of reference signals may define the time-frequency location such as the resource blocks or elements that is represented by a time-frequency grid (explained in Paragraph [0231]). Associated with MO, the network may configure a list of cell specific offsets, for example, a list of 'blacklisted' cells, and/or a list of 'whitelisted' cells. The Blacklisted cells may not be applicable in an event evaluation or a measurement reporting, and/or the Whitelisted cells may be applicable, e.g., may be the only ones applicable, in the event evaluation or the measurement reporting. UE may determine which MO corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (frequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. Further, in Paragraphs [0159]-[0162], gNB 140 may configure only one MO per serving cell to the UE. Application of blackCellsList, whiteCellsList and cellList in the NR
measurement object may be defined. These three lists may be in the same level as SSB and CSI-RS. gNB 140 may be configured to determine whether these three lists may be applied to both SSB and CSI-RS, or if these three lists may be applied to SSB only or CSI-RS only. Therefore, it is clear that the first measurement object may include a first time-frequency location and a first cell list, and the second measurement object may include a second time-frequency location and a second cell list.) receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises first indication information and second indication information, the first indication information indicates the first measurement object, and the second indication information indicates the second measurement object (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0110], [0125]-[0129], and [0133]-[0134], teaches that as described in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.2.1, UE may determine which MO (such as MeasObjetNR) corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (frequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. A serving cell MO, e.g., only one serving cell MO, may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO Identity (Id) in the serving cell configuration. For Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) cases (the first MO), an SSB of the indicated MO must be the SSB in a serving cell configuration of a serving cell, where an SSB frequency indicated in the MO is used for measurements may be defined, and/or whether there should be a restriction that there can be only one MO per SSB frequency or SCS may be defined. gNB 140 may be configured to generate a Measurement Object (MO) for an NR measurement for UE 102, and/or to apply one or more restrictions or conditions on the configuration of the MO. The MO may include a measurement object NR (MeasObjectNR) Information Element (IE) including the SSB information that configures only SSB measurements having a same SSB center frequency with a same Subcarrier Spacing (SCS). Based on this observation and a table “servingCellConfig field description” in Page 201 in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.2.1, the first indication, servingCellMO, is for MeasObjectNR (the first measurement object) that is configured based on SSB of the serving cell. Further, the MeasObjetNR can be configured based on CSI-RS of the serving cell as described in [0127] and in the table in 3GPP. Further, the servingCellMO is only one MeasObjetId defined in the dedicated serving cell configuration. For the second measurement object, it is described in [0146]-[0149] and [0153]-[0155]. CSI-RS resources in a single MO may allow the UE 102 to measure, e.g., in a single measurement. Therefore, gNB 140 may configure the CSI-RS resources in a single MO, for example, when the UE can perform measurement of all CSI-RS resources in a single measurement. Additionally, the CSI-RS resources may be configured in a single MO within the same UE operating BW. Its indication can be located in the dedicated serving cell configuration related to downlinBWP. In addition, as described in Paragraphs [0096]-[0104], the second measurement objects for the dedicate serving cell configuration can be the NR intra-frequency MO (measurement object), NR inter-frequency MO and/or inter-RAT MO. The measurement identities may include list of measurement identities, e.g., where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration. For example, by configuring multiple measurement identities, it may be possible to link more than one measurement object to a same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to a same measurement object. The measurement identity may be included in a measurement report, e.g., that triggered the reporting, for example, to serve as a reference to the network. For NR measurements, the network may configure up to two quantity configurations with a reference in an NR measurement object to the configuration that is to be used. In each configuration, different filter coefficients may be configured for different measurement quantities, for different RS types, and/or for measurements per cell and per beam. Based on the above description, it is clear that a dedicated serving cell configuration received by UE comprises first indication information and second indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first measurement object, and the second indication information indicates the second measurement object, and the first indication information is comprised in the one servingCellMO field located in the dedicated serving cell configuration.).
Regarding claims 10 and 18, Yiu teaches that a measurement object indication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal, measurement configuration information, wherein the measurement configuration information comprises a first measurement object and a second measurement object; (Yiu, in Paragraph [0094] and [0101]-[0102], teaches that the measurement configuration may be provided to the UE 102, via dedicated signaling such as a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message. The measurement configuration may include one or more elements or parameters, for example, measurement objects, reporting configurations, measurement identities, quantity configurations, measurement gaps, and/or any other additional or alternative parameters and/or elements. The reporting configurations may include lists of reporting configurations, e.g., where there can be one or multiple reporting configurations per measurement object. For example, each reporting configuration may include a reporting criterion, a Reference Signal (RS) type, and/or a reporting format. The measurement identities may include list of measurement identities, e.g., where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration. For example, by configuring multiple measurement identities, it may be possible to link more than one measurement object to a same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to a same measurement object. The measurement identity may be included in a measurement report, e.g., that triggered the reporting, for example, to serve as a reference to the network. Therefore, it is clear that the measurement configuration information received by a terminal may comprises multiple measurement objects (the first measurement object and the second measurement objects) with other elements.) wherein the first measurement object includes a first time-frequency location and a first cell list, and the second measurement object includes a second time-frequency location and a second cell list; (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0106] –[0110], teaches that a Measurement Object (MO) may include a list of objects on which a UE is to perform one or more measurements. For intra-frequency and inter-frequency measurements, a measurement object may indicate a frequency location, a time location, and/or subcarrier spacing of reference signals to be measured, where the subcarrier spacing of reference signals may define the time-frequency location such as the resource blocks or elements that is represented by a time-frequency grid (explained in Paragraph [0231]). Associated with MO, the network may configure a list of cell specific offsets, for example, a list of 'blacklisted' cells, and/or a list of 'whitelisted' cells. The Blacklisted cells may not be applicable in an event evaluation or a measurement reporting, and/or the Whitelisted cells may be applicable, e.g., may be the only ones applicable, in the event evaluation or the measurement reporting. UE may determine which MO corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (frequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. Therefore, it is clear that the first measurement object may include a first time-frequency location and a first cell list, and the second measurement object may include a second time-frequency location and a second cell list.) receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates the first measurement object, and wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration includes one servingCellMO field and the first indication information is comprised in the one servingCellMO field; and determining, by the terminal, a second measurement frequency of a serving cell, and determining the second measurement object in the measurement configuration information based on the second measurement frequency (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0110], [0125]-[0129], and [0133]-[0134], teaches that as described in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.2.1, UE may determine which MO (such as MeasObjetNR) corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (frequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. A serving cell MO, e.g., only one serving cell MO, may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO Identity (Id) in the serving cell configuration. For Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) cases (the first MO), an SSB of the indicated MO must be the SSB in a serving cell configuration of a serving cell, where an SSB frequency indicated in the MO is used for measurements may be defined, and/or whether there should be a restriction that there can be only one MO per SSB frequency or SCS may be defined. gNB 140 may be configured to generate a Measurement Object (MO) for an NR measurement for UE 102, and/or to apply one or more restrictions or conditions on the configuration of the MO. The MO may include a measurement object NR (MeasObjectNR) Information Element (IE) including the SSB information that configures only SSB measurements having a same SSB center frequency with a same Subcarrier Spacing (SCS). Based on this observation and a table “servingCellConfig field description” in Page 201 in 3GPP TS 38.331 v15.2.1, the first indication, servingCellMO, is for MeasObjectNR (the first measurement object) that is configured based on SSB of the serving cell. Further, the MeasObjetNR can be configured based on CSI-RS of the serving cell as described in [0127] and in the table in 3GPP. Further, the servingCellMO is only one MeasObjetId defined in the dedicated serving cell configuration. For the second measurement object, it is described in [0146]-[0149] and [0153]-[0155]. CSI-RS resources in a single MO may allow the UE 102 to measure, e.g., in a single measurement. Therefore, gNB 140 may configure the CSI-RS resources in a single MO, for example, when the UE can perform measurement of all CSI-RS resources in a single measurement. Additionally, the CSI-RS resources may be configured in a single MO within the same UE operating BW. Its indication can be located in the dedicated serving cell configuration related to downlinBWP. In addition, as described in Paragraphs [0096]-[0104], the second measurement objects for the dedicate serving cell configuration can be the NR intra-frequency MO (measurement object), NR inter-frequency MO and/or inter-RAT MO. The measurement identities may include list of measurement identities, e.g., where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration. For example, by configuring multiple measurement identities, it may be possible to link more than one measurement object to a same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to a same measurement object. The measurement identity may be included in a measurement report, e.g., that triggered the reporting, for example, to serve as a reference to the network. For NR measurements, the network may configure up to two quantity configurations with a reference in an NR measurement object to the configuration that is to be used. In each configuration, different filter coefficients may be configured for different measurement quantities, for different RS types, and/or for measurements per cell and per beam. Based on the above description, it is clear that a dedicated serving cell configuration received by UE comprises first indication information and second indication information, where the first indication information indicates the first measurement object, and the second indication information indicates the second measurement object, and the first indication information is comprised in the one servingCellMO field located in the dedicated serving cell configuration.).
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.
Claims 2-5, and 11-15 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Candy Yiu and et. al. (USPub No.: US 20190313271 A1, hereinafter “Yiu”) in a view of Le Jin and et. al. (USPub No.: US 20220394533 A1, hereinafter “Jin”).
Regarding claim 2, Yiu teaches the features defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu does not explicitly teach that wherein the second indication information is comprised in another field other than the servingCellMO field in the dedicated serving cell configuration.
Jin further teaches that wherein the second indication information is comprised in another field other than the servingCellMO field in the dedicated serving cell configuration (Jin, in Paragraph [0097], teaches that if the second information is received through the serving cell configuration information, the serving cell configuration information further includes third information, and the third information is used for indicating identities of the plurality of MOs of the first serving cell. Therefore, it is clear that the MO of the (dedicated) serving cell can be indicated by the third information in the (dedicated) serving cell configuration.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Yiu and Jin to include the technique of wherein the second indication information is comprised in another field other than the servingCellMO field in the dedicated serving cell configuration of Jin in the system of Yiu to provide the efficient measurement configuration and reporting method to resolve a problem of measurement configuration mismatch in a dynamic BWP switching process (Jin, see Paragraph [0006]).).
Regarding claim 3, Yiu teaches the features defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first measurement object comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first-type measurement, (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency.) and the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second- type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE. In this observation, it is clear that each MO can be configured for each type of measurements, respectively.).
Regarding claim 4, combination of Yiu and Jin teaches the features defined in the claim 3, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that the first-type measurement is a synchronization signal block (SSB)-based measurement, (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency.) and the second-type measurement is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)-based measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE. In this observation, it is clear that the SSB-based measurement and the CSI-RS based measurement can be configured, separately.).
Regarding claim 5, combination of Yiu and Jin teaches the features defined in the claim 3, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first measurement object comprises the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency.) and the second measurement object comprises the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE.) and does not comprise the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement, and does not comprise the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0338], teaches that the UE may maintain a first separated cell list for the SSB resources and a second separate cell list for CSI-RS resources, respectively. In this observation, it is clear that, for the different types of measurements, each measurement object or the resources of each type can be configured, separately.).
Regarding claim 11, Yiu teaches the features defined in the claim 10, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches wherein the second measurement frequency of the serving cell comprises a second measurement absolute frequency comprised in a common serving cell configuration (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0110], [0213], and [0214], teaches that UE may determine which MO corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (FrequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon, can be considered as a common serving cell configuration.) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. The FrequencyinfoDL IE may provide basic parameters of a downlink carrier and transmission thereon. The FrequencyinfoDL IE may indicate an SSB frequency and a CSI-RS reference pointA frequency. The SSB frequency (indicated by FrequencyinfoDL IE) may be indicated by the absoluteFrequencySSB (can be considered as measurement absolute frequency) parameter and/or field. The absoluteFrequencySSB may indicate the frequency domain offset between SSB and the overall resource block grid in number of subcarriers. In this observation, it is clear that the second measurement frequency of the serving cell comprises a second measurement absolute frequency comprised in a common serving cell configuration.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Jin and Yiu to include the technique of wherein the second measurement frequency of the serving cell comprises a second measurement absolute frequency comprised in a common serving cell configuration of Yiu in the system of Jin to provide the efficient measurement configuration and reporting method to support the intra-frequency, the inter-frequency and/or the inter-RAT measurements for RRC connection control function such as intra-frequency and/or inter-frequency handover, an associated security handling, key and/or algorithm change, and/or a specification of RRC context information transferred between network nodes (Yiu, see Paragraphs [0096]).).
Regarding claim 12, Jin teaches the features defined in the claim 10, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu does not explicitly teach that wherein the determining of the second measurement object based on the measurement frequency comprises: selecting, by the terminal, the second measurement object from all measurement objects comprised in the measurement configuration information, wherein the second measurement object comprises a measurement resource frequency, and the measurement resource frequency is the same as the measurement frequency of the serving cell.
Jin teaches that wherein the determining of the second measurement object based on the second measurement frequency comprises: selecting, by the terminal, the second measurement object from all measurement objects comprised in the measurement configuration information, wherein the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource frequency, and the second measurement resource frequency is the same as the second measurement frequency of the serving cell (Jin, in Paragraph [0012], teaches that in addition to the measurement configuration, the terminal device may further receive second information from the network device through either the measurement configuration or the serving cell configuration, where the second information is used for indicating a correspondence between BWPs and MOs of the first serving cell of the terminal device, the first serving cell is configured with a plurality of MOs, and any one of the MOs is configured with a frequency of one SSB; the terminal device determines, based on the correspondence between BWPs and MOs, a first MO corresponding to a fourth BWP, where the fourth BWP is the currently active BWP of the first serving cell of the terminal device, and the fourth BWP is different from the second BWP; and the terminal device performs measurement on the SSB based on a frequency of an SSB that is indicated by the first MO. Therefore, it is clear that the terminal may determine the measurement frequency (can be considered as a frequency of a SSB) and the second measurement object based on this frequency. Further, the measurement resource frequency can be selected in the measurement object that is configured based on the selected serving cell frequency.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Yiu and Jin to include the technique of wherein the determining of the second measurement object based on the measurement frequency comprises: selecting, by the terminal, the second measurement object from all measurement objects comprised in the measurement configuration information, wherein the second measurement object comprises a measurement resource frequency, and the measurement resource frequency is the same as the measurement frequency of the serving cell of Jin in the system of Yiu to provide the efficient measurement configuration and reporting method to resolve a problem of measurement configuration mismatch in a dynamic BWP switching process (Jin, see Paragraph [0006]).).
Regarding claim 13, Yiu teaches the features defined in the claim 10, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first measurement object comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first-type measurement, (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency.) and the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second- type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE. In this observation, it is clear that each MO can be configured for each type of measurements, respectively.).
Regarding claim 14, combination of Yiu and Jin teaches the features defined in the claim 13, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first-type measurement is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)-based measurement, (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE.) and the second-type measurement is a synchronization signal block (SSB)-based measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency. In this observation, it is clear that the CSI-RS-based measurement and the SSB-based measurement can be configured, separately.).
Regarding claim 15, combination of Yiu and Jin teaches the features defined in the claim 13, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first measurement object comprises the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the first-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency.) and the second measurement object comprises the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE.) and does not comprise the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement, and does not comprise the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0338], teaches that the UE may maintain a first separated cell list for the SSB resources and a second separate cell list for CSI-RS resources, respectively. In this observation, it is clear that, for the different types of measurements, each measurement object or the resources of each type can be configured, separately.).
Claims 6-9 and 17 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Candy Yiu and et. al. (USPub No.: US 20190313271 A1, hereinafter “Yiu”) in a view of Shujuan Zhang and et. al. (USPub No.: US 20230078059 A1, hereinafter “Zhang”).
Regarding claims 6 and 17, Yiu teaches that a measurement object indication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal, measurement configuration information, wherein the measurement configuration information comprises a first measurement object and a second measurement object; (Yiu, in Paragraph [0094] and [0101]-[0102], teaches that the measurement configuration may be provided to the UE 102, via dedicated signaling such as a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message. The measurement configuration may include one or more elements or parameters, for example, measurement objects, reporting configurations, measurement identities, quantity configurations, measurement gaps, and/or any other additional or alternative parameters and/or elements. The reporting configurations may include lists of reporting configurations, e.g., where there can be one or multiple reporting configurations per measurement object. For example, each reporting configuration may include a reporting criterion, a Reference Signal (RS) type, and/or a reporting format. The measurement identities may include list of measurement identities, e.g., where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration. For example, by configuring multiple measurement identities, it may be possible to link more than one measurement object to a same reporting configuration, as well as to link more than one reporting configuration to a same measurement object. The measurement identity may be included in a measurement report, e.g., that triggered the reporting, for example, to serve as a reference to the network. Therefore, it is clear that the measurement configuration information received by a terminal may comprises multiple measurement objects (the first measurement object and the second measurement objects) with other elements.)
Yiu does not teach that the first measurement object comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first type measurement and a serving cell indication; the first measurement resource configuration is used for the first-type measurement on a frequency on which a serving cell indicated by the serving cell indication is located; and the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second-type measurement.
Zhang teaches that the first measurement object comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first- type measurement and a serving cell indication; the first measurement resource configuration is used for the first-type measurement on a frequency on which a serving cell indicated by the serving cell indication is located (Zhang, in Paragraph [0057] and in Table 1 and Table 3, teaches that if the measurement reference signal resource is a CSI-RS, the PointA (Zhang, Paragraph [0047], a parameter of a frequency domain reference point for determining a frequency domain location occupied by the measurement reference signal) corresponding to the CSI-RS resource may be acquired according to a CSI-RS reference frequency (refFreqCSI-RS in Table 1) configured in the MeasureobjectNR (Measurement Object NR (New Radio)) corresponding to the MeasureobjectID (ID for Measurement object NR), and a subcarrier spacing and the band information corresponding to the CSI-RS resource may also be acquired through a subcarrier spacing configured in the CSI-RS mobility resource configuration (CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility in Table 3) in the MeasureobjectNR corresponding to the MeasureobjectID. In CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility in Table 3, the serving cell ID (ServCellIndex) can be included and the resource of CSI-RS can be configured based on this parameter. It is clear that the first measurement object (can be considered as MeasureobjectNR) comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first- type measurement (can be considered as CSI-RS based measurement) and a serving cell indication (ServCellIndex). Therefore, it is clear that the first measurement resource configuration is used for the first-type measurement on a frequency (can be considered as PointA) on which a serving cell indicated by the first serving cell indication is located.) and the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second-type measurement; and receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises indication information, and the indication information indicates the second measurement object (Zhang, in Paragraph [0056]-[0057] and in Table 1 and 2, teaches that When the mobility measurement reference signal includes an SSB (the second-type measurement), the PCI corresponding to the SSB is included in a white cell list configured in a MeasObject. The MeasObject to which the mobility measurement reference signal belongs includes one of the following: a MeasObject corresponding to a serving cell measurement (servingCellMO) configured in a serving cell, where the serving cell index is included in the second-type parameter; a MeasObject corresponding to a measurement object index (MeasureObjectID) in the second-type parameter; a MeasObject included in a MeasID in the second-type parameter; or, a MeasObject where the synchronization signal frequency domain information (ssbFrequency) is equal to the ARFCN/PointA/frequency domain information in the second-type parameter. When the second-type parameter is the MeasureobjectID, if the measurement reference signal resource is an SSB (the second-type measurement), the SSB frequency domain information is determined according to a ssbFrequency configured in an NR measurement object index (MeasrueobjectNR) correspoinding to the MeasureobjetID. The time domain resource index corresponding to the SSB belongs to an SSB index selected by an SSB measurement configuration (ssb-ToMeasure) condigured in the MesurementobjectNR. The configuration for SSB can be found in Table 1 and 2. Therefore, it is clear that the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second-type measurement.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Yiu and Zhang to include the technique of the first measurement object comprises a first measurement resource configuration for a first type measurement and a serving cell indication; the first measurement resource configuration is used for the first-type measurement on a frequency on which a serving cell indicated by the serving cell indication is located; and the second measurement object comprises a second measurement resource configuration for a second-type measurement; and receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises indication information, and the indication information indicates the second measurement object of Zhang in the system of Yiu to provides methods for receiving and sending a control signaling, and a communication node, to reduce the report delay of inter-cell measurement results and improve the handover speed of cells. (Zhang, see Paragraphs [0004]).).
Regarding claim 7, combination of Yiu and Zhang teaches the features defined in the claim 6, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, a dedicated serving cell configuration, wherein the dedicated serving cell configuration comprises second indication information, and the second indication information indicates the second measurement object (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0125]-[0126] and [0128], teaches that a serving cell MO may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO Identity (Id) in the serving cell configuration. For Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) cases, for example, an SSB of the indicated MO (indicated by MO identity) must be the SSB in a serving cell configuration of a serving cell, where an SSB frequency indicated in the MO (second MO) is used for measurements may be defined, and/or whether there should be a restriction that there can be only one MO per SSB frequency or SCS may be defined. Therefore, it is clear that the dedicated serving cell configuration received by the terminal may include a second indication information (MO id) that indicates the second MO.).
Regarding claim 8, combination of Yiu, and Zhang teaches the features defined in the claim 6, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first-type measurement is a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)-based measurement, (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0326] and [0327], teaches that the MO comprises Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) information for a Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) by the UE and the CSI-RS information is to configure a plurality of CSI-RS resource for a single RRM measurement by the UE.) and the second-type measurement is a synchronization signal block (SSB)-based measurement (Yiu, in Paragraph [0324], teaches that gNB can configure for all SSB-based measurement (can be considered as the second-type measurement) for the UE at most one MO (Measurement Object) having the same SSB center frequency. In this observation, it is clear that the CSI-RS-based measurement and the SSB-based measurement can be configured, separately.).
Regarding claim 9, combination of Yiu and Zhang teaches the features defined in the claim 6, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yiu further teaches that wherein the first measurement object comprises the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement and does not comprise the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement, and the second measurement object comprises the second measurement resource configuration for the second-type measurement and does not comprise the first measurement resource configuration for the first-type measurement (Yiu, in Paragraphs [0110], [0125]-[0126], and [0128], teaches that UE may determine which MO corresponds to each serving cell frequency from a frequency information (Info) (frequencyinfoDL) field in a serving cell configuration (ServingCellConfigCommon) Information Element (IE), e.g., within serving cell configuration. A serving cell MO may be identified by an explicit indication of the MO Identity (Id) in the serving cell configuration. For Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) cases (the first MO), an SSB of the indicated MO must be the SSB in a serving cell configuration of a serving cell, where an SSB frequency indicated in the MO is used for measurements may be defined, and/or whether there should be a restriction that there can be only one MO per SSB frequency or SCS may be defined. Further, in Paragraph [0150], Yiu teaches that controller 154 may be configured to control, cause and/or trigger gNB 140 to configure the MO for the CSI-RS (the second MO) when the CSI-RS and the SSB are configured for a same serving cell. CSI-RS without SSB can be configured for RRM in a single MO. A plurality of CSI-RS resources may be configured in a single MO and may share a same reference point A and/or SCS (Sub-Carrier spacing). As explained by Yiu in Paragraph [0103], since the measurement identities may include list of measurement identities where each measurement identity may link one measurement object with one reporting configuration, each MO can have different identity. Therefore, it is clear that UE receives the dedication serving cell configuration such as SevingCellConfigCommon IE and it can have two different measurement objects: one is for the first MO (for CSI-RS, the first-type measurement) and the other is for the second MO (for SSB, the second-type measurement), where each measurement object can have its own identity to represent its MO and each configuration for each MO is separately configured.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAEYOUNG KWAK whose telephone number is (703)756-1768. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9 AM -5 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Bates can be reached at 571-272-3980. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JAEYOUNG KWAK/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KEVIN T BATES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
Prosecution Insights