DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 6-7, 9, 12-15, 17 and 19-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2022/0116837) in view of Li (US 2022/0386157).
Regarding claim 1, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches a method, comprising: receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node, a configuration of time information for measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device (Fig. 10 and Paragraphs [0127]; [0161] discloses the UE receiving various time related configuration parameters from a network node),
Lee doesn’t teach wherein the configuration indicates to use a fixed time interval between the measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device;
In analogous art Li teaches wherein the configuration indicates to use a fixed time interval between the measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device (Paragraphs [0003]-[0004]; [0040] describes a base station configuring periodic timing information for inter-frequency measurements, including fixed periodic measurement intervals such as 40 ms or 80 ms, and a UE performing measurements according to that periodic timing configuration. Recurring measurement gaps define the temporal spacing of measurements, and measurements occur within those periodic intervals);
Lee teaches and performing, by the wireless communication device, at least one of the measurements according to the configuration (Paragraph [0125] discloses the UE performing measurements according to the received configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee to incorporate the teachings of Li to let the device keep receiving important serving-cell data while still getting a chance to measure another cell for handover or positioning and improve flexibility in scheduling measurements when receiver bandwidth is limited (Li, Paragraph [0045]).
Regarding claim 2, Lee in view of Li, Li teaches wherein the measurements comprise at least one of: intra-frequency measurement, inter-frequency measurement, measurement of neighboring cells, or measurement of radio access technology (RAT) (Paragraph [0040] describes measurements of neighboring cells).
Regarding claim 4, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches wherein the configuration indicates to use a time interval that increases or decreases between successive measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device (Paragraphs [0177]-[0179] states that if RSRP increases (UE moving toward cell center) the measurement rule maybe adjusted to have longer measurement period. This means the interval between successive measurements increases. If RSRP decreases (UE moving toward cell edge) the measurement rule may be adjusted to have shorter measurement period. This means the interval between successive measurements decreases).
Regarding claim 6, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches wherein a start of a next time interval is at a time instance at which a measurement of a current time interval is complete (Paragraphs [0153]; [0170]-[0174] states that the time interval for the next measurement begins once the previous is complete, or at least measured. The system ensures that the next measurement time depends on the completion point of the first).
Regarding claim 7, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches comprising: starting or restarting, by the wireless communication device, a timer for the next time interval, at the time instance at which the measurement of the current time interval is complete (Paragraphs [0157]; [0173]-[0175] these paragraphs describe a timing mechanism where measurements times are determined relatively to the completion of previous measurements and the system start counting a time duration starting from the time point at which the first RSRP was measured. This time duration (e.g. 3 seconds) effectively represents a timer that is started at the completion of the first measurement and the second measurement occurs after this timer expires).
Regarding claim 9, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches comprising: initiating, by the wireless communication device, one of the measurements according to the configuration, and during a downlink gap (Paragraph [0127] describes the measurement configuration includes “measurement gap” parameters. This gap is specifically provided for the UE to measure a neighbor cell/inter-frequency. Since the gap involves no transmissions and reception, inherently includes a downlink gap (no reception by the UE) and measurements are explicitly performed during this gap period).
Regarding claim 12, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches wherein the time information for the measurements includes at least one of: time interval between at least two of the measurements (Paragraph [0127] this paragraph defines measurement period as a time spacing between two consecutive moments at which a measurement is performed),
time interval or duration in which there is no measurement (Paragraph [0127] this paragraph defines although the gap is defined for measurement purposes, no transmission/reception occurs, representing a period during which other measurements may not be made, satisfying the “no measurement” condition),
or time duration for at least one of the measurements (Paragraphs [0173]-[0175] Shows that a specific duration (e.g., 3 seconds) is allocated before the next measurement can begin).
Regarding claim 13 , Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches wherein the time interval is configured to increase or decrease between successive measurements, according to a result of at least one prior measurement of the measurements (Paragraphs [0177]-[0179] defines the RSRP variation between prior art measurements determines the RSRP value range. This range is mapped to a corresponding measurement configuration, including measurement period (time interval). Therefore, the next measurement interval is increased or decreased based on the pervious measurement results).
Regarding claim 19, Lee in view of Li, Lee teaches a wireless communication device, comprising: at least one processor configured to: receive, via a receiver from a wireless communication node, a configuration of time information for measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device (Fig. 10 and Paragraphs [0127]; [0161] discloses the UE receiving various time related configuration parameters from a network node),
Lee doesn’t teach wherein the configuration indicates to use a fixed time interval between the measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device;
In analogous art Li teaches wherein the configuration indicates to use a fixed time interval between the measurements to be performed by the wireless communication device (Paragraphs [0003]-[0004]; [0040] describes a base station configuring periodic timing information for inter-frequency measurements, including fixed periodic measurement intervals such as 40 ms or 80 ms, and a UE performing measurements according to that periodic timing configuration. Recurring measurement gaps define the temporal spacing of measurements, and measurements occur within those periodic intervals);
and perform at least one of the measurements according to the configuration (Paragraph [0125] discloses the UE performing measurements according to the received configuration).
Regarding claim 21, Lee in view of Li, Li teaches comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device after performing a first measurement of the at least one of the measurements, whether one or more conditions corresponding to the at least one of the measurements is satisfied; and responsive to the one or more conditions being satisfied, suspending, by the wireless communication device, subsequent measurements from being performed by the wireless communication device; or responsive to the one or more conditions not being satisfied, continue performing, by the wireless communication device, one or more subsequent measurements of the at least one of the measurements according to the configuration (Paragraphs [0037]; [0041]-[0042]; [0046]; [0069]-[0070] describes UE determines if allowed to measure per RRC, UE evaluates handover condition from measurements, UE stops inter-freq measurement when URLLC active, and no permission or no measurement. UE continues periodic measurements when no conflict).
Claim 14 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1 respectively.
Claim 15 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 2 respectively.
Claim 17 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 4 respectively.
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 19 respectively.
Claim 22 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 21 respectively.
Claim(s) 5, 10 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Li in further view of Roy et al. (US 2023/0086144).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Lee, Li and Roy, Specifically Roy teaches comprising: initiating, by the wireless communication device, a measurement for each time interval in which a quality of a serving cell fails to satisfy a threshold value (Paragraphs [0145]-[0146] discloses the UE performs cell measurements when SpCell RSRP is lower than the configured threshold, and the UE doesn’t perform cell measurements when SpCell quality is higher than the configured threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Li to incorporate the teachings of Roy to provide a fixed time interval configuration for measurements. Doing so would ensure consistent measurement timing and predictable measurements intervals, thereby improving measurement accuracy and reliability (Roy, Paragraph [0194]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Lee, Li and Roy, Lee teaches comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, at least one threshold value; and performing, by the wireless communication device according to the configuration, the measurements when at least one parameter exceeds the at least one threshold value (Paragraphs [0119]-[0122]; [0128]; [0145] discloses receiving threshold values from a network node and performing measurements when parameters exceed or fall below these thresholds),
However, Lee doesn’t teach wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of: a repetition number, a modulation order, a transport block size, or a number of transmitted negative-acknowledgement (NACK) messages.
In analogous art Roy teaches wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one of: a repetition number, a modulation order, a transport block size, or a number of transmitted negative-acknowledgement (NACK) messages (Paragraph [0194] teaches a number of repetitions for transmissions and measurements).
Claim 18 is rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 5 respectively.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Li in further view Jung et al. (US 2020/0145177).
Regarding claim 8, Lee and Yang doesn’t teach comprising: initiating, by the wireless communication device, one of the measurements according to the configuration, during an opportunity for discontinuous reception (DRX) in a DRX cycle.
However, in analogous art Jung teaches comprising: initiating, by the wireless communication device, one of the measurements according to the configuration, during an opportunity for discontinuous reception (DRX) in a DRX cycle (Paragraphs [0330]; [0372] describes UEs waking up during DRX periods specifically to perform measurements).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Yang to incorporate the teachings of Jung to perform measurements specifically during DRX periods within DRC cycles to optimize power consumption during measurements while ensuring reliable network operations (Jung, Paragraph [0332]).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee in view of Li in further view of Yang et al. (US 20150148039).
Regarding claim 11, Lee in view of Li and Yang, Yang teaches comprising: determining, by the wireless communication device, to stop or start at least one of the measurements if one or more conditions are satisfied (Paragraph [0055] describes to start measurements based on satisfied conditions),
wherein the one or more conditions that are satisfied comprise at least one of: the wireless communication device obtains measurement results for all neighbor cells, the wireless communication device obtains measurement results for some of the neighbor cells identified by the wireless communication device, the wireless communication device obtains measurement results for neighbor cells identified or configured by the wireless communication device, the wireless communication device obtains measurement results for neighbor cells with strongest signal strengths, or the wireless communication device obtains measurement results for neighbor cells which indicate that a cell quality associated with the neighbor cells is higher than a quality of a serving cell of the wireless communication device (Paragraph [0063] describes measurement results for neighbor cells with strongest signal strengths).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee and Li to incorporate the teachings of Yang to determine when a device should start/suspend neighbor cell measurements to improve power consumption and efficiency in wireless communication devices.
Conclusion
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.
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/Chandrahas B Patel/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/M.W.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2464
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