DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant's arguments filed 5 August 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts, on page 11 of Remarks, that “As described in Xiao, during the handover process of the UE, it is the source eNB and the target eNB that interact with each other, i.e., the source eNB transmits the handover request to the target eNB, the target eNB transmits the handover request response to the source eNB, then the source eNB transmits the handover command to the UE, and finally the UE performs random access with the target eNB. The core network does not participate in the handover process of the UE.”
On the contrary, Xiao states, in paragraph [0033]: “A schematic diagram of an application scene of a method for positioning a UE according to this embodiment is as shown in FIG. 2, in which, both a source eNB and a target eNB are connected to the same MME (Mobility Management Entity, mobility management entity), the MME is connected to a positioning server E-SMLC (Evolved Serving Mobile Position Centre, evolved serving mobile position centre) used for initiating the UE positioning service, and the source eNB communicates with the target eNB via an X2 interface. In this application scene, the UE is performing the E-CID positioning, and then triggers the handover.” [emphasis added]. The E-SMLC is part of the core network, and as seen in paragraph [0033], it is clear that the E-SMLC participates in the handover process of the UE.
Applicant asserts, on pages 14-15 of Remarks, that “As can be seen, regarding the handover of the UE, Puente Pestaña merely describes that the handover can be triggered according to conventional handover techniques and that the target base station for the handover can be determined based on the geographical distance.
However, regarding a scenario where “when cell handover of the terminal is performed, the terminal may hand over from one cell to another cell, and then may send the SRS to a base station corresponding to the cell handed over. However, the core network may not be able to determine the cell handed over of the terminal, resulting in the core network being unable to timely acquire the measurement result of the base station corresponding to the cell handed over of the terminal on the SRS sent by the terminal, thus interrupting a position process of the terminal,” Puente Pestaña does not involve any relevant description. In contrast, in the claims, during the procedure of the terminal handing over from one cell to another cell, the first base station may send the response information to the core network in response to the first acquisition request of the core network for acquiring the position information of the terminal. The response information can indicate to the core network that the handover of the terminal is to be performed and can indicate to the core network at least one base station corresponding to at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over. Based on the response information, the core network can send the second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station corresponding to the at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over, where the second acquisition request is configured to”
On the contrary, Puente Pestaña states, in paragraph [0116]: “In some embodiments, the notification in step 803 is a notification to perform a handover for the wireless device. In these embodiments, the notification may comprise location information for the wireless device, such as one or more locations of the wireless device obtained by a satellite positioning system receiver, or one or more locations of the wireless device obtained by short-range communications. In these embodiments, the network node 400 (AMF 760) can determine a target base station for the handover based on the location information for the wireless device. In particular, the network node 400 (AMF 760) can determine the target base station as a base station that is geographically closer to the wireless device than a current serving base station of the wireless device. This can be done by comparing the received location information to location information for at least one base station.” [emphasis added]. Clearly, Puente Pestaña discloses that the notification indicates that a handover should be performed, and also indicates the location of the wireless device, whereby the AMF uses this location information to determine a target base station for the handover of the wireless device.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Claims 1, 3-5, 8, 12, 14, 22, and 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0319709 (hereinafter Puente Pestaña), in view of Xiao et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0135013 (hereinafter Xiao), further in view of Barbu et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0267738 (hereinafter Barbu).
Regarding claim 1, Puente Pestaña discloses a method for sending a request performed by a core network (disclosed is a method for sending a request, applicable to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Policy Control Function (PCF), and a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) [collectively constituting the claimed “core network”], according to Abstract, [0039]-[0040], [0081], Figs. 1 and 7), the method comprising:
sending a first acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal to a first base station corresponding to a cell where the terminal is currently located (the NWDAF collects information about a UE, whereby said information about the UE includes location information for the UE, whereby said location for the UE is obtained by a satellite positioning system receiver in said UE [therefore, the NWDAF’s act of collecting such location information from the UE necessarily entails said NWDAF sending a request for said location information to said UE by way of the base station that serves the cell where the UE is currently located], according to [0093]-[0094], Fig. 7B [step 710]);
determining, according to response information for the first acquisition request, that a cell handover of the terminal is to be performed, wherein the response information is configured to indicate to the core network at least one base station corresponding to at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over
(the NWDAF sends the UE’s location information to the AMF, and said AMF determines, based on the received location information for the UE, a target base station for handover of said UE, according to [0102]-[0104], [0116], Fig. 7C [steps 719 and 720]).
Puente Pestaña does not expressly disclose sending a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station corresponding to the at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over, wherein the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS; at least sending, in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to a second base station among the at least one base station, request information to the second base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal; and determining a location of the terminal according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
Xiao discloses sending a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station corresponding to the at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over (as part of the process of handing over a UE from a source base station to a target base station, a positioning server Evolved Serving Mobile Position Centre (E-SMLC) sends, by way of a Mobility Management Entity (MME), source base station, and a UE, positioning measurement related information of said UE [“a second acquisition request for acquiring position information of the terminal”] to said target base station, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33]);
at least sending, in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to a second base station among the at least one base station, request information to the second base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal (as part of the process of handing over a UE from a source base station to a target base station, the positioning server E-SMLC sends E-CID positioning measurement related information to the target base station by way of the MME, the source base station, and the UE, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33], whereby said E-CID positioning measurement related information causes the target base station to acquire a measurement result of said target base station on a signal sent by the UE, according to [0042]-[0046], Fig. 3 [steps 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38], whereby E-CID positioning is performed by measuring an uplink SRS transmitted from the UE, according to [0005]); and
determining a location of the terminal according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station (the positioning server E-SMLC calculates the precise position of the UE using the UE E-CID positioning measurement report sent from the target base station, according to [0047]-[0054], Fig. 3 [steps 39, 310, and 311]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña with Xiao by sending a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station corresponding to the at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over; at least sending, in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to a second base station among the at least one base station, request information to the second base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal; and determining a location of the terminal according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Xiao expressly discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
Barbu discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS (a second base station receives, from a first base station (which communicate via a core network, according to [0023]), a request for a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration so that an SRS report is generated for a UE, according to [0067]-[0068]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao with Barbu such that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce interference between UEs (Barbu: [0030], [0067]).
Regarding claim 12, Puente Pestaña discloses a method for sending response information, performed by a first base station (disclosed is a method for sending a response, applicable to a current serving base station [“first base station”], according to Abstract, [0093]-[0094], [0103]), the method comprising:
receiving a first acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal sent by a core network (a NWDAF [“core network”] collects information about a UE, whereby said information about the UE includes location information for the UE, whereby said location for the UE is obtained by a satellite positioning system receiver in said UE [therefore, the NWDAF’s act of collecting such location information from the UE necessarily entails said NWDAF sending a request for said location information to said UE by way of the base station that serves the cell where the UE is currently located], according to [0093]-[0094], Fig. 7B [step 710]);
sending response information for the first acquisition request to the core network, wherein the response information is configured to indicate to the core network that the cell handover of the terminal is to be performed, indicate to the core network at least one base station corresponding to at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over (the NWDAF collects information about a UE, whereby said information about the UE includes location information for the UE, whereby said location for the UE is obtained by a satellite positioning system receiver in said UE [therefore, the NWDAF’s act of collecting such location information from the UE necessarily entails the UE sending its location information, as a response to the NWDAF’s request, to said NWDAF by way of the base station that serves the cell where the UE is currently located], according to [0093]-[0094], Fig. 7B [step 710], whereby the NWDAF sends the UE’s location information to an AMF [also part of the core network], and said AMF determines, based on the received location information for the UE, a target base station for handover of said UE, according to [0102]-[0104], [0116], Fig. 7C [steps 719 and 720]).
Puente Pestaña does not expressly disclose that the first base station sends, in response to determining a cell to which the terminal is to be handed over, response information, and triggering the core network to send a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, wherein the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS, request information is at least sent to a second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal, and a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
Xiao discloses that the first base station sends, in response to determining a cell to which the terminal is to be handed over, response information (as part of the process of handing over a UE from a source base station to a target base station, a source base station sends a handover command [“response information”] in response to measurement information received from said UE by said source base station, according to [0037]-[0038], [0043], Fig. 3 [steps 32 and 35]), and
triggering the core network to send a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, request information is at least sent to a second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal (as part of the process of handing over a UE from a source base station to a target base station, the positioning server E-SMLC sends E-CID positioning measurement related information to the target base station by way of the MME, the source base station, and the UE, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33], whereby said E-CID positioning measurement related information causes the target base station to acquire a measurement result of said target base station on a signal sent by the UE, according to [0042]-[0046], Fig. 3 [steps 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38], whereby E-CID positioning is performed by measuring an uplink SRS transmitted from the UE, according to [0005]), and
a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station (the positioning server E-SMLC calculates the precise position of the UE using the UE E-CID positioning measurement report sent from the target base station, according to [0047]-[0054], Fig. 3 [steps 39, 310, and 311]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña with Xiao such that the first base station sends, in response to determining a cell to which the terminal is to be handed over, response information, and triggering the core network to send a second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, request information is at least sent to a second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal, and a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Xiao expressly discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
Barbu discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS (a second base station receives, from a first base station (which communicate via a core network, according to [0023]), a request for a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration so that an SRS report is generated for a UE, according to [0067]-[0068]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao with Barbu such that the second acquisition request is configured to request the at least one base station to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce interference between UEs (Barbu: [0030], [0067]). Regarding claim 14, Puente Pestaña discloses a method for acquiring position information performed by a second base station (disclosed is a method applied to a target base station, according to [0009]-[0010]), the method comprising:
wherein at least one base station corresponding to at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over includes the second base station, response information of the first base station is configured to indicate to the core network that a cell handover of the terminal is to be performed, indicate to the core network the at least one base station corresponding to the at least one target cell to which the terminal is to be handed over (an NWDAF collects information about a UE, whereby said information about the UE includes location information for the UE, whereby said location for the UE is obtained by a satellite positioning system receiver in said UE [therefore, the NWDAF’s act of collecting such location information from the UE necessarily entails the UE sending its location information, as a response to the NWDAF’s request, to said NWDAF by way of the base station that serves the cell where the UE is currently located], according to [0093]-[0094], Fig. 7B [step 710], whereby the NWDAF sends the UE’s location information to an AMF [also part of the core network], and said AMF determines, based on the received location information for the UE, a target base station for handover of said UE, according to [0102]-[0104], [0116], Fig. 7C [steps 719 and 720]).
Puente Pestaña does not expressly disclose receiving a second acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal sent by a core network, wherein the second acquisition request is configured to request a base station corresponding to a target cell to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS; acquiring, in response the terminal being handed over from a cell corresponding to a first base station to a cell corresponding to the second base station, a measurement result according to request information sent by the core network, wherein the measurement result is obtained by measuring the SRS sent by the terminal; sending the measurement result to the core network; and triggering the core network to send the second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, request information is at least sent to the second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal, and a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
Xiao discloses receiving a second acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal sent by a core network (the target base station receives, from a positioning server Evolved Serving Mobile Position Centre (E-SMLC) [“core network”] and by way of a Mobility Management Entity (MME), source base station, and a UE, positioning measurement related information of said UE [“a second acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal”], according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33]);
acquiring, in response the terminal being handed over from a cell corresponding to a first base station to a cell corresponding to the second base station, a measurement result according to request information sent by the core network, wherein the measurement result is obtained by measuring the SRS sent by the terminal (as part of the process of handing over said UE from the source base station to the target base station, said target base station acquires an E-CID positioning measurement report [“measurement result”] of the UE according to the positioning measurement related information of said UE that was received from the positioning server E-SMLC, according to [0046], Fig. 3 [step 38], whereby E-CID positioning is performed by measuring an uplink SRS transmitted from the UE, according to [0005]); and
sending the measurement result to the core network (the target base station sends the E-CID positioning measurement report to the positioning server E-SMLC by way of the MME, according to [0047]-[0048], Fig. 3 [steps 39 and 310]); and
triggering the core network to send the second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, request information is at least sent to the second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal (as part of the process of handing over a UE from a source base station to a target base station, the positioning server E-SMLC sends E-CID positioning measurement related information to the target base station by way of the MME, the source base station, and the UE, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33], whereby said E-CID positioning measurement related information causes the target base station to acquire a measurement result of said target base station on a signal sent by the UE, according to [0042]-[0046], Fig. 3 [steps 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38], whereby E-CID positioning is performed by measuring an uplink SRS transmitted from the UE, according to [0005]), and
a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station (the positioning server E-SMLC calculates the precise position of the UE using the UE E-CID positioning measurement report sent from the target base station, according to [0047]-[0054], Fig. 3 [steps 39, 310, and 311]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña with Xiao by receiving a second acquisition request for acquiring position information of a terminal sent by a core network; acquiring, in response the terminal being handed over from a cell corresponding to a first base station to a cell corresponding to the second base station, a measurement result according to request information sent by the core network, wherein the measurement result is obtained by measuring the SRS sent by the terminal; sending the measurement result to the core network; and triggering the core network to send the second acquisition request for acquiring the position information of the terminal to the at least one base station, request information is at least sent to the second base station among the at least one base station by the core network in response to determining that the terminal has been handed over to a cell corresponding to the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the request information is configured to request to acquire a measurement result of the second base station on the SRS sent by the terminal, and a location of the terminal is determined by the core network according to the measurement result sent by at least the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Xiao expressly discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request a base station corresponding to a target cell to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
Barbu discloses that the second acquisition request is configured to request a base station corresponding to a target cell to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS (a second base station receives, from a first base station (which communicate via a core network, according to [0023]), a request for a sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration so that an SRS report is generated for a UE, according to [0067]-[0068]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao with Barbu such that the second acquisition request is configured to request a base station corresponding to a target cell to determine a second sounding reference signal (SRS) configuration, and the second SRS configuration is used to configure the terminal to send an SRS.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce interference between UEs (Barbu: [0030], [0067]).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Barbu expressly discloses that the request information includes at least one of an identifier of the terminal or a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station.
Xiao discloses that the request information includes at least one of an identifier of the terminal or a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station (the E-CID positioning measurement related information comprises a UE identifier, according to [0041], Table 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Xiao such that the request information includes at least one of an identifier of the terminal or a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Barbu expressly discloses that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station.
Xiao discloses that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station (the positioning server E-SMLC sends E-CID positioning measurement related information to the target base station by way of the MME, the source base station, and the UE, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Xiao such that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña nor Barbu expressly discloses that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station and at least one neighbor base station of the second base station.
Xiao discloses that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station and at least one neighbor base station of the second base station (the positioning server E-SMLC sends E-CID positioning measurement related information to the target base station by way of the MME, the source base station [“neighbor base station of the second base station”], and the UE, according to [0033]-[0040], Fig. 3 [steps 31, 32, and 33]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Xiao such that at least sending the request information to the second base station comprises: sending the request information to the second base station and at least one neighbor base station of the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to shorten the positioning delay of a UE (Xiao: [0019]).
Regarding claim 8, since the claim upon which this claim depends recites options for a step written in the alterative and the option to which this claim is directed is not the one for which prior art is cited, no art need be cited in the rejection of this claim.
Regarding claim 22, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Puente Pestaña discloses an electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory configured to store processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when collectively executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the method for sending a request according to claim 1 (the core network necessarily comprises a memory that stores instructions and a process that executes those instructions).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Puente Pestaña discloses an electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory configured to store processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when collectively executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the method for sending a request according to claim 12 (the current serving base station necessarily comprises a memory that stores instructions and a process that executes those instructions).
Regarding claim 25, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Puente Pestaña discloses an electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; and a memory configured to store processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor-executable instructions, when collectively executed by the one or more processors, cause the electronic device to perform the method for sending a request according to claim 14 (the target base station comprises a memory that stores instructions and a processor that executes those instructions, according to [0056]-[0058], Fig. 4 [elements 41 and 42]).
5. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña in view of Xiao in view of Barbu as applied to claim 2 above, further in view of Manolakos et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0297289 (hereinafter Manolakos).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses sending release indication information to other base stations other than the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the release indication information is configured to instruct the other base stations to release SRS resources configured for the terminal.
Manolakos discloses sending release indication information to other base stations other than the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the release indication information is configured to instruct the other base stations to release SRS resources configured for the terminal (a network deactivates configured SRS resource sets of a serving cell [“other than the second base station”], according to [0119]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Manolakos by sending release indication information to other base stations other than the second base station among the at least one base station, wherein the release indication information is configured to instruct the other base stations to release SRS resources configured for the terminal.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to accommodate a scenario wherein a UE will no longer be served by a particular cell, such as handover (Manolakos: [0119]).
6. Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña in view of Xiao in view of Barbu as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Keating et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0356581 (hereinafter Keating).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses sending an SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station to the first base station.
Keating discloses sending an SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station to the first base station (a Location Management Function (LMF) forwards an SRS configuration, received from a gNB, to a neighbor gNB, according to [0142], Fig. 4 [steps 4 and 5]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Keating by sending an SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station to the first base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to minimize the amount of SRS resources used among neighboring cells (Keating: [0137]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses that the second acquisition request further comprises a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station.
Keating discloses that the second acquisition request further comprises a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station (an LMF sends the SRS configuration determined by a serving base to a neighbor base station, according to [0142], Fig. 4 [steps 4 and 5]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Keating such that the second acquisition request further comprises a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to minimize the amount of SRS resources used among neighboring cells (Keating: [0137]).
7. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña in view of Xiao in view of Barbu as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Keating, further in view of Shreevastav et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0368496 (hereinafter Shreevastav).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the first base station; and receiving the second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station from the at least one base station.
Keating discloses receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the first base station (an LMF receives an SRS configuration from a serving gNB, according to [0142], Fig. 4 [step 4]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Keating by receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the first base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to minimize the amount of SRS resources used among neighboring cells (Keating: [0137]).
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, Barbu, nor Keating expressly discloses receiving the second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station from the at least one base station.
Shreevastav discloses receiving the second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station from the at least one base station (when receiving nodes are ready to receive, an SRS configuration is sent from a gNB to an LMF, according to [0103]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu as modified by Keating with Shreevastav by receiving the second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the at least one base station from the at least one base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to store reference signal configurations, for use by a UE, in a specific place (Shreevastav: [0019]).
8. Claim 13 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña in view of Xiao in view of Barbu as applied to claims 12 and 14 above, further in view of Barbu et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0053514 (hereinafter Barbu ‘514).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 12.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses receiving a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station sent by the core network; and sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal, and instructing the terminal to send the SRS based on the second SRS configuration after
handing over to the second base station.
Barbu ‘514 discloses receiving a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station sent by the core network (two base stations, gNB1 and gNB2, exchange SRS configurations with each other, according to [0052], whereby the base stations communicate with each other via a core network [therefore, the SRS configuration that is sent from gNB2 to gNB1 is sent from the core network to gNB1], according to [0019]), and
sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal, and instructing the terminal to send the SRS based on the second SRS configuration after
handing over to the second base station (a received SRS configuration is used by the receiving base station to perform measurements on an SRS transmitted by a terminal (which may be handed over to the receiving base station), served by said receiving base station, in accordance with said SRS configuration, according to [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Barbu ‘514 by receiving a second SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the second base station sent by the core network; and sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal, and instructing the terminal to send the SRS based on the second SRS configuration after
handing over to the second base station.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent interference (Barbu ‘514: [0001]-[0003]).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, and Barbu discloses all the limitations of claim 14.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses determining the second SRS configuration for the terminal; and sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal.
Barbu ‘514 discloses determining the second SRS configuration for the terminal (a base station gNB2 determines an SRS configuration for a UE served by gNB2, according to [0052]); and
sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal (the gNB2 uses the determined SRS configuration to measure an SRS transmitted by the UE, according to [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu with Barbu ‘514 by determining the second SRS configuration for the terminal; and sending the second SRS configuration to the terminal.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent interference (Barbu ‘514: [0001]-[0003]).
Regarding claim 16, combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, Barbu, and Barbu ‘514 discloses all the limitations of claim 15.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses sending the second SRS configuration to the core network.
Barbu ‘514 discloses sending the second SRS configuration to the core network (two base stations, gNB1 and gNB2, exchange SRS configurations with each other, according to [0052], whereby the base stations communicate with each other via a core network [therefore, the SRS configuration that is sent from gNB2 to gNB1 is sent to the core network], according to [0019]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu as modified by Barbu ‘514 with Barbu ‘514 by sending the second SRS configuration to the core network.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent interference (Barbu ‘514: [0001]-[0003]).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, Barbu, and Barbu ‘514 discloses all the limitations of claim 16.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses receiving the second SRS configuration from the core network; and receiving the SRS sent by the terminal according to the second SRS configuration.
Barbu ‘514 discloses receiving the second SRS configuration from the core network (two base stations, gNB1 and gNB2, exchange SRS configurations with each other, according to [0052], whereby the base stations communicate with each other via a core network [therefore, the SRS configuration that is sent from gNB2 to gNB1 is sent from the core network to gNB1], according to [0019]); and
receiving the SRS sent by the terminal according to the second SRS configuration (the gNB2 uses the determined SRS configuration to measure an SRS transmitted by the UE, according to [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu as modified by Barbu ‘514 with Barbu ‘514 by receiving the second SRS configuration from the core network; and receiving the SRS sent by the terminal according to the second SRS configuration.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent interference (Barbu ‘514: [0001]-[0003]).
9. Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Puente Pestaña in view of Xiao in view of Barbu in view of Barbu ‘514 as applied to claim 15 above, further in view of Keating.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Puente Pestaña, Xiao, Barbu, and Barbu ‘514 discloses all the limitations of claim 15.
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, nor Barbu expressly discloses receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the core network; and determining the second SRS configuration according to the first SRS configuration.
Barbu ‘514 discloses receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the core network (two base stations, gNB1 and gNB2, exchange SRS configurations with each other, according to [0052], whereby the base stations communicate with each other via a core network [therefore, the SRS configuration that is sent from gNB1 to gNB2 is sent from the core network to gNB2], according to [0019]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu as modified by Barbu ‘514 with Barbu ‘514 by receiving a first SRS configuration for the terminal determined by the first base station from the core network.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent interference (Barbu ‘514: [0001]-[0003]).
Neither Puente Pestaña, Xiao, Barbu, nor Barbu ‘514 expressly discloses determining the second SRS configuration according to the first SRS configuration.
Keating discloses determining the second SRS configuration according to the first SRS configuration (a neighbor gNB uses, as its SRS configuration, the SRS configuration sent to said neighbor gNB from a serving gNB, according to [0142], Fig. 4 [steps 4 and 5]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Puente Pestaña as modified by Xiao as modified by Barbu as modified by Barbu ‘514 with Keating by determining the second SRS configuration according to the first SRS configuration.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to minimize the amount of SRS resources used among neighboring cells (Keating: [0137]).
Conclusion
10. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW W GENACK whose telephone number is (571)272-7541. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
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/MATTHEW W GENACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
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