Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/017,943

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROCESSING EARLY MEASUREMENT RESULT DURING PLMN RESELECTION IN NEXT GENERATION MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Jan 25, 2023
Examiner
FENNER, RAENITA ANN
Art Unit
2468
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
83%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
2y 10m
To Grant
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 83% — above average
83%
Career Allow Rate
20 granted / 24 resolved
+25.3% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 10m
Avg Prosecution
41 currently pending
Career history
65
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
62.8%
+22.8% vs TC avg
§102
26.8%
-13.2% vs TC avg
§112
9.5%
-30.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 24 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION The action is responsive to claims filed on 11/28/2025. Claims 1-15 are pending for evaluation. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 11/28/2025 has been entered. Response to Amendment The Amendment filed on 11/28/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-3, 5-10, and 12-14 have been amended; Claims 1-15 remain pending for evaluation. Response to Arguments Applicant's arguments filed 11/28/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In response to Applicant’s argument on pg. 8 of Applicant Remarks that, in substance, Teyeb fails to teach or suggest at least “setting of cell-level and beam-level measurement information,” Examiner respectfully disagrees. During patent examination, the pending claims must be "given their broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification." The Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1316, 75 USPQ2d 1321, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2005) expressly recognized that the USPTO employs the "broadest reasonable interpretation" standard: The Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") determines the scope of claims in patent applications not solely on the basis of the claim language, but upon giving claims their broadest reasonable construction "in light of the specification as it would be interpreted by one of ordinary skill in the art." In re Am. Acad. of Sci. Tech. Ctr., 367 F.3d 1359, 1364[, 70 USPQ2d 1827, 1830] (Fed. Cir. 2004). Indeed, the rules of the PTO require that application claims must "conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable by reference to the description." 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1). See MPEP §2111. See also In re Suitco Surface, Inc., 603 F.3d 1255, 1259, 94 USPQ2d 1640, 1643 (Fed. Cir. 2010); In re Hyatt, 211 F.3d 1367, 1372, 54 USPQ2d 1664, 1667 (Fed. Cir. 2000). Fig. 3 and Para. [0066-71] of Teyeb describe the UE detecting a radio link failure with respect to the master node and storing a radio link failure (RLF) report, which is subsequently transmitted to the network upon request. These portions of Teyeb establish the creation, storage, and reporting of an RLF report associated with the master node (i.e., PCell) at the time of failure. Teyeb also explains what information is contained in that RLF report. Specifically, Para. [0029] states that, upon detection of a radio link failure, the UE stores radio link failure information in a VarRLF-Report, and that this stored information includes measResultLastServCell, which is set to include RSRP and RSRQ of the PCell, if available, based on measurements collected up to the moment the UE detected the radio link failure. Because the “last served cell” is the serving cell at the time of failure, measResultLastServCell corresponds to measurement information of the PCell. Further, Para. [0080-0082] identifies VarRLF-Report as a structured report that includes measResultLastServCell together with identifiers for the failed PCell, confirming that the measurement information for the PCell is explicitly set and stored in the RLF report. Since measResultLastServCell is populated using measurements collected up to the failure event and includes RSRP and RSRQ values derived from the UE’s measurements on the PCell, the stored measResultLastServCell reasonably reflects both cell-level measurement information and beam-related measurement results associated with the PCell as included in the RLF report described in Fig. 3 and Para. [0066-0071]. In conclusion, Teyeb teaches “setting of cell-level and beam-level measurement information.” Accordingly, the rejection of Claims 1, 5, 8, and 12 under 35 U.S.C. §103 is upheld. Applicant’s arguments on pg. 8 that the “combination of Teyeb and Ramachandra is improper” and on pg. 9 that “Ramachandra fails to teach the specific listing rule for serving cell beam-level information” have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 10, filed 11/28/2025, presented with respect to Claim(s) 2-4, 6-7, 9-11, and 13-15 are substantively the same as those set forth for Claims 1, 5, 8, and 12. Accordingly, the same reasoning and supporting explanation provided for Claims 1, 5, 8, and 12 are equally applicable to Claim(s) 2-4, 6-7, 9-11, and 13-15. 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. Claim(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teyeb and Ramachandra (US 2023/0086398, previously presented), Teyeb hereinafter, in view of 3GPP; TSG RAN; NR; RRC protocol specification (Release 16), 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.1.0 (2020-07), 2020-07-24, 3GPP2020 hereinafter; 3GPP2020 was presented in the IDS submitted on 01/25/2023. Regarding Claim 1, Teyeb teaches a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising (Figs. 3-8; Paras. [0066-0114]): detecting a connection failure with a primary cell (PCell) serving the terminal (Fig. 3; Para. [0066] - FIG. 3 is a message flow diagram illustrating various embodiments of this disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, UE 302 detects a radio link failure (RLF) (e.g. due to physical layer problem, random access problem, reaching maximum number of RLF retransmissions) for a link between the UE and a master node 304; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); setting cell level measurement information of the PCell based on measurements collected up to the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0067] - In at least one embodiment, in response to detecting the RLF, the UE generates and stores a RLF report regardless of whether not fast MCG failure recovery is configured; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); setting beam level measurement information of the PCell based on measurements collected up to the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0067] - In at least one embodiment, in response to detecting the RLF, the UE generates and stores a RLF report regardless of whether not fast MCG failure recovery is configured; See also Paras. [0069-0074]; Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); transmitting, to a base station, a first message including an indicator indicating that reporting of information related to the connection failure is available (Fig. 3; Para. [0068] - In response to detecting the RLF, UE also initiates a fast MCG link recovery procedure (this assumes that the UE is configured for MCG failure recovery). Initiating the fast MCG link recovery procedure comprises the UE 302 transmitting MCG failure information to the MN 304 via a secondary node (SN) 306. For example, the MCG failure information is transmitted to the SN 306 using the SCG leg of split SRB1 or SRB3. Additionally, if the UE has no radio link failure reports stored, the UE initializes a radio link failure report list (with zero entries) and adds the generated radio link failure report as one element to the radio link failure report list. In one embodiment, an indication is included in this entry to indicate that the RLF report was generated while MCG failure recovery was available. The RRC format that is used to encode the RLF report could be based on the MN (in both intra-RAT and inter-RAT DC cases). Some fields of the RLF report (e.g., failed PCell identity) could be included both within the RLF report and also directly in the message (MCG failure information) to aid the SN's forwarding of the RLF report message to the MN; See also Paras. [0069-0074]; Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); receiving, from the base station, a second message requesting the information related to the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0075] - As shown in FIG. 3, after UE 302 transmits the RRC response message, the UE 302 may receive a request from the network to send the RLF report(s) (e.g. UEInformationRequest message with the rlf-ReportReq IE included); See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); and in response to the second message, transmitting, to the base station, a third message including the cell level measurement information and the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Fig. 3; Para. [0075] - In response, the request, UE 302 transmits one or more of its stored RLF reports to the requestor; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]), Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information (See Figures 1 and 1); See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). Examiner’s Note: 3GPP2020 Section 5.5.5.1 teaches setting beam level measurement information of the PCell by requiring that, for each serving cell configured with a servingCellIMO, the UE includes beam measurement information according to the associated report configuration (i.e., the PCell, as the serving cell, is configured to have beam measurement information included in the measurement report according to Section 5.5.5.2). Section 5.5.5.2 further teaches that in case RSRP values for reference signals are available, the UE uses RSRP as the sorting quantity and orders the beam measurement results accordingly (i.e., the beam associated with the highest RSRP value is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). PNG media_image1.png 936 810 media_image1.png Greyscale Figure 1: Excerpt from 3GPP2020 Section 5.5.5.1, illustrating serving-cell measurement reporting and inclusion of beam measurement information in a measurement report based on the associated report configuration. PNG media_image2.png 890 813 media_image2.png Greyscale Figure 2: Excerpt from 3GPP2020 showing beam measurement reporting rules, including use of RSRP as a sorting quantity and ordering of beam measurement results. Regarding Claim 5, Teyeb teaches a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: (Figs. 3-8; Paras. [0066-0114]): receiving, from a terminal, a first message including an indicator indicating that reporting of information related to a connection failure is available (Fig. 3; Para. [0068]; See also Paras. [0069-0074]; Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150); transmitting, to the terminal, a second message requesting the information related to the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); and in response to the second message, receiving, from the terminal, a third message including cell level measurement information of a primary cell (PCell) on which the connection failure is detected that is based on measurements collected up to a moment at which the connection failure is detected and beam level measurement information of the PCell that is based on measurements collected up to the moment at which the connection failure is detected, (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]), Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claim 8, Teyeb teaches a terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising (Fig. 9; Para. [0115]): a transceiver (Fig. 9, elements 945, 947, and 948; Para. [0115]); and a controller configured to (Fig. 9, elements 902 and 955; Para. [0115]): detect a connection failure with a primary cell (PCell) serving the terminal (Fig. 3; Para. [0066]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); set cell level measurement information of the PCell based on measurements collected up to a moment at which the terminal detected the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0067]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); set beam level measurement information of the PCell based on measurements collected up to the moment at which the terminal detected the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0067]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); transmit, to a base station via the transceiver, a first message including an indicator indicating that reporting of information related to the connection failure is available (Fig. 3; Para. [0068]; See also Paras. [0069-0074]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); receive, from the base station via the transceiver, a second message requesting the information related to the connection failure (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); and in response to the second message, transmit, to the base station via the transceiver, a third message including the cell level measurement information of the PCell and the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]), Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claim 12, Teyeb teaches a base station in a wireless communication system, the base station comprising (Fig. 10; Para. [0116]): a transceiver (Fig. 10, elements 1045, 1047, and 1048; Para. [0116]); a controller configured to (Fig. 10, elements 1002 and 1055; Para. [0116]): receive, from a terminal via the transceiver, a first message including an indicator indicating that reporting of information related to a connection failure is available, (Fig. 3; Para. [0068]; See also Paras. [0069-0074]; Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); transmit, to the terminal via the transceiver, a second message requesting the information related to the connection failure, (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]); and in response to the second message, receive, from the terminal via the transceiver, a third message including cell level measurement information of a primary cell (PCell) on which the connection failure is detected that is based on measurements collected up to a moment at which the connection failure is detected and beam level measurement information of the PCell that is based on measurements collected up to the moment at which the connection failure is detected (Fig. 3; Para. [0075]; See also Fig. 2, Para. [0017-0045]; Fig. 3, Para. [0066-0087]; Fig. 4, Para. [0088-0092]; Fig. 5, Para. [0093-0102]; Fig. 6, Para. [0103-0107]; Fig. 7, Para. [0108-0110]; Fig. 8, Para. [0111-0114]; Para. [0117-0150]), Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein in case that reference signal received power (RSRP) values for reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRP values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claims 2, 6, 9, and 13, Teyeb in view of 3GPP2020 teaches Claims 1, 5, 8, and 12. Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein in case that the RSRP values are not available and reference signal received quality (RSRQ) values for the reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRQ values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell, and wherein in case that both the RSRP values and the RSRQ values are not available and signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) values for the reference signals are available, a highest of the SINR values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein in case that the RSRP values are not available and reference signal received quality (RSRQ) values for the reference signals are available, a highest of the RSRQ values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell, and wherein in case that both the RSRP values and the RSRQ values are not available and signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) values for the reference signals are available, a highest of the SINR values is listed first in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claims 3, 10, and 14, Teyeb in view of 3GPP2020 teaches Claims 1, 8, and 12. Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein index information of each of the reference signals is stored in the beam level measurement information of the PCell. However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein index information of each of the reference signals is stored in the beam level measurement information of the PCell (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). The examiner interprets rsIndexResults and maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport as index information of the reference signals. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claims 4, 11, and 15, Teyeb in view of 3GPP2020 teaches Claims 1, 5, 8, and 12. Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein the at least one reference signal is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein each of the reference signals is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). The examiner interprets SS/PBCH blocks to be SSB blocks. Further, the examiner notes that Section 5.5.5.2 teaches that the reference signals may be SS/PBCH based or CSI-RS based. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Regarding Claim 7, Teyeb in view of 3GPP2020 teaches Claim 5. Yet, Teyeb does not expressly teach wherein index information of each of the reference signals is included in the beam level measurement information of the PCell, and wherein each of the reference signals is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). However, 3GPP2020 teaches wherein index information of each of the reference signals is included in the beam level measurement information of the PCell, and wherein each of the reference signals is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) (Section 5.5.5.1 General and Section 5.5.5.2 Reporting of beam measurement information; See also Section 5.5.2.1 General; Section 5.5.3.1 General; Section 5.5.3.3 Derivation of cell measurement results; Section 5.5.5.3 Sorting of cell measurement results). wherein each of the reference signals is a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) (Para. [0170] - In addition, for NR, a UE can have measurements based on more than one reference signals, such as SSB and CSI-RS. This can also create ambiguity in an RLF report. For example, in such a scenario, the UE does not know if it should sort the measurements based on only one reference signal and report both measurements, or if it should sort based on both reference signals and report accordingly; See also Paras. [0172, 0182, 0184, 0185, 0193, 0198, 0200, 0201, 0204]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Teyeb’s invention of a method for providing RLF information (Teyeb §Abstract) with 3GPP2020’s invention of “Radio Resource Control protocol for the radio interface between UE and NG-RAN” (3GPP2020 pg. 21) because 3GPP2020’s invention provides a standardized RRC measurement framework in which a network configures a UE to perform and report various types of radio measurements, including per-cell and per-reference-signal measurements, using dedicated RRC signaling (3GPP2020 pg. 127). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAENITA ANN FENNER whose telephone number is (571)270-0880. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 - 5:30 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, Marcus Smith can be reached on (571) 270-1096. 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. /R.A.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2468 /Thomas R Cairns/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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Prosecution Timeline

Jan 25, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 15, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Jul 17, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 24, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Nov 28, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Dec 06, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 06, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
83%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+6.3%)
2y 10m
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
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