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 .
Response to Amendment
The examiner has taken notice that claims 1, and 3-5 have been amended and clams 1-5 are currently pending in the present application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see response, filed on 07/23/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, and 3-5 under 35 USC103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Teyeb.
The applicant has submitted a replacement sheet, and the specification has been amended. Accordingly, the objection to the drawings and specification is withdrawn.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2019/0313315; hereinafter Xu) in view of Teyeb et al. (US 2024/0080722; hereinafter Teyeb).
Regarding claim 1, A terminal apparatus for communicating with a base station apparatus via a relay terminal apparatus, the terminal apparatus comprising (Paragraph [0038] describes that a “remote UE” (the terminal apparatus) communicates with an “eNB” (the base station apparatus) via a “relay UE”):
a receiver configured to receive a measurement parameter configured by the base station apparatus (Fig. 16B and Paragraphs [0081]; [0145] describes the remote UE (terminal apparatus) receiving measurement configuration parameters from the eNB (base station apparatus). The measurement parameters include “SupportERelay” and “remoteThresh” which are measurement parameters configured by the base station and sent to the terminal apparatus via the “measConfig cell carried in the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message);
a measurement circuitry configured to measure a reference signal received power of one or more measurement objects based on the measurement parameter (Paragraphs [0091]; [0142]; [0112] describes the remote UE (terminal apparatus) measuring reference signal received power - specifically SD-RSRP (sidelink discovery reference signal received power) and S-RSRP (sidelink reference signal received power). The passage states “When the remote UE measures the SD-RSRP...” and “When the remote UE measures the S-RSRP...”, confirming that the remote UE contains measurement functionality configured to measure reference signal received power of measurement objects (sidelink signals) based on received measurement parameters);
a processor configured to generate a measurement report message based on the reference signal received power measured by the measurement circuitry (Paragraph [0062] describes the remote UE (terminal apparatus) generating a measurement report based on the measured reference signal power. The passage states “The remote UE or the relay UE needs to report the measurement ID, the measurement result of the serving cell, and the measurement result of the neighboring cell to the eNB of the serving cell,” which clearly indicates generating a measurement report message containing the measurement results, which would include the reference signal received power measurements described in other paragraphs);
and a transmitter configured to transmit the measurement report message to the base station apparatus via the relay terminal apparatus (Paragraph [0062] describes the remote UE or the relay UE needs to report the measurement to the base station),
Xu doesn’t explicitly teach wherein; the measurement parameter includes parameters for at least one of a first event or a second event to be evaluated based on a reference signal received power received from the relay terminal apparatus, the processor determines whether to measure the reference signal received power of some or all of the one or more measurement objects based on a reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus and a threshold included in the measurement parameter, and the determination is made for the second event and not made for the first event.
However, in analogous art Teyeb discloses wherein; the measurement parameter includes parameters for at least one of a first event or a second event to be evaluated based on a reference signal received power received from the relay terminal apparatus (Paragraphs [0085];[0087]; [0191] Describes a second event measurement that is evaluated based on RSRP measurements, including RSRP from the relay/sidelink),
the processor determines whether to measure the reference signal received power of some or all of the one or more measurement objects based on a reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus and a threshold included in the measurement parameter (Paragraphs [0191]-[0193] Describes determining the measurement (based on relay RSRP and thresholds), and controls whether the terminal performs measurements on neighbor cells ),
and the determination is made for the second event and not made for the first event (Paragraphs [0213]; [0191];[0193]; [0198] Describes the first event :- the relay sometimes forwards all measurements immediately or determination not made. In the other case the second event determination made (perform measurement only when SL-RSRP below threshold)).
Xu and Teyeb are both regarded as analogous art because they operate within the same field of wireless communication, particularly focusing on UE communication via relay terminals and adaptive measurement strategies for link selection.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method of Xu by incorporating Teyeb’s teaching of measuring relay quality first, then decide whether measuring alternatives is actually necessary based on threshold comparison to improve battery life and efficiency in relay-assisted wireless networks (Teyeb, Paragraph [0079]).
Regarding claim 2, Xu in view of Teyeb, Teyeb teaches wherein the processor determines to measure the reference signal received power of some or all of the one or more measurement objects based on the reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus being lower than the threshold included in the measurement parameter (Paragraphs [0191]; [0193] describes measuring relay link quality first and compare to threshold and if relay quality is poor or below then measure alternatives),
and determines not to measure the reference signal received power of some or all of the one or more measurement objects based on the reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus being higher than the threshold included in the measurement parameter (Paragraphs [0085]; [0191] describes measuring relay link quality (RSRP, CBR or other metric) compare to threshold if RSRP > Thresh (or CBR < T) strong or good relay quality, determination-don’t measure).
Regarding claim 3, Xu discloses a base station apparatus for communicating with a terminal apparatus via a relay terminal apparatus (Fig. 9 and Paragraph [0038] describes that a “remote UE” (the terminal apparatus) communicates with an “eNB” (the base station apparatus) via a “relay UE”),
the base station apparatus comprising: a processor configured to generate a measurement parameter of a reference signal received power in sidelink communication, the measurement parameter being configured for the terminal apparatus (Paragraphs [0081];[0112]; [0145] describes that the eNB (base station apparatus) generating measurement configuration parameters, including sidelink measurement configuration, which would include reference signal received power parameters);
and a transmitter configured to transmit the measurement parameter (Fig. 8, Fig. 15 and Paragraphs [0081]; [0145] these paragraphs and figures show the eNB (base station apparatus) transmitting measurement parameters to the remote UE, which requires a transmitter configured to transmit these parameters),
Xu doesn’t explicitly teach wherein: the measurement parameter includes parameters for at least one of a first event or a second event to be evaluated based on a reference signal received power received from the relay terminal apparatus, the processor includes a threshold in the measurement parameter, and the threshold is for causing the terminal apparatus to determine whether to measure a reference signal received power of some or all of measurement objects based on the reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus and the threshold, and the determination is made for the second event and not made for the first event.
However, in analogous art Teyeb discloses wherein: the measurement parameter includes parameters for at least one of a first event or a second event to be evaluated based on a reference signal received power received from the relay terminal apparatus (Paragraphs [0085];[0087]; [0191] Describes a second event measurement that are evaluated based on RSRP measurements, including RSRP from the relay/sidelink),
the processor includes a threshold in the measurement parameter, and the threshold is for causing the terminal apparatus to determine whether to measure a reference signal received power of some or all of measurement objects based on the reference signal received power of the relay terminal apparatus and the threshold (Paragraphs [0191]-[0193] Describes determining the measurement (based on relay RSRP and thresholds), and controls whether the terminal performs measurements on neighbor cells),
and the determination is made for the second event and not made for the first event (Paragraphs [0213]; [0191];[0193]; [0198] Describes the first event :- the relay sometimes forwards all measurements immediately or determination not made. In the other case the second event determination made (perform measurement only when SL-RSRP below threshold).
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected for the same reason as set forth in claim 1 respectively.
The claims have been slightly reworded and rearranged. However, these changes do not add any new technical details. The core meaning of the claims remains the same. Because of this, these claims can be rejected for the same reasons as the earlier claims.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEHERET WOLDEGEBREAL KIDANE whose telephone number is (571)270-3642. The examiner can normally be reached M-F8:30-5.
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/M.W.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/RICKY Q NGO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2464