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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 March 4, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhe Fu (US Patent No: US 2023/0007523 A1), hereinafter, Fu in view of CHENG et al. (Patent No: US 2022/0046498 A1), hereinafter CHENG, and further in view of Zhe Fu (Patent No: US 2022/0353714 A1), hereinafter, Fu2.
Regarding Claim 1, Fu teaches,
A method of wireless communication, the method performed by a user device and comprising: receiving, from a network device, i) measurement configuration information including a SMTC (SSB based measurement configuration) and a measurement gap configuration configuring a measurement gap for the user device to perform measurements -Fig. 3; Paragraph [0035, 0037, 0041] ([0037] recites, “When the terminal device is in the NR connected state, the network device may send measurement configuration information to the terminal device…… For example, the network device may send the measurement configuration information to the terminal device via an RRC message. In some embodiments, the measurement configuration information may include at least one of: a measurement object, reporting configuration, a measurement identity, a measurement gap.” [0041] recites, “The measurement gap may be configured to indicate a time point when the terminal device performs inter-frequency measurement or inter-system measurement. The terminal device may perform inter-frequency measurement or inter-system measurement during the measurement gap. Measurement gap configuration may include a period of the measurement gap (mgrp), a starting time of the measurement gap within one period (also known as a starting time gap offset), a time length of the measurement gap (mgl), and so on. “[0035] recites,” The network device may configure a synchronous block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) parameter for each measurement frequency point. The SMTC parameter may be configured to indicate a time point when the terminal device receives the synchronous signal block (SSB). The terminal device may receive the SSB based on the SMTC “As seen in Fig. 3, Network device sends plurality of measurement parameters are sent from network device to terminal device to configure.
and ii) measurement reporting information including a measurement report triggering condition; [0039] recites, “Reporting Configuration: Each measurement object may correspond to one or more reporting configurations. The reporting configuration may include at least one of: a reporting criterion, an RS type, and a reporting format. The reporting criterion may be a trigger condition for the terminal device to perform measurement reporting…..”)
performing measurements based on the measurement configuration information received from the network device -Fig. 3 (step S304); Paragraph [0149] ([0149] recites, “In an operation S304, the terminal device may measure the TN cell based on the first measurement parameter.”)
and performing an evaluation for a measurement event according to the measurement report triggering condition, -Paragraph [0042-0043] ([0042] recites, “Measurement Reporting: Measurement reporting may refer to the terminal device sending a measurement report to the network device. After the terminal device performs measurement on the cell, when certain trigger conditions are met, the terminal device may perform evaluation of measurement reporting. When the conditions for reporting are met, the terminal device may send a measurement report to the network device…”)
Although implicit, Fu does not explicitly mention,
wherein the SMTC includes an extra measurement gap offset configured for a specific network scenario;
However, in an analogous invention CHENG teaches ,
wherein the SMTC includes an extra measurement gap offset configured for a specific network scenario; -Paragraph [0178, 0180] ([0178] recites, “In some implementations, to adopt more than one SMTC window per SSB frequency, the measurement gap configuration may need to be enhanced. This is because the UE (e.g., based on 3GPP Rel-16 NR) may be configured with a list of measurement objects, and only one measurement gap. This measurement gap may be a period that allows the UE to stop some transmissions (or receptions) to perform the required measurements. When the NTN-SMTC3 field is configured, there may be a need for the UE to set up an additional measurement gap to perform the configured measurement.” [0180] recites, “In some implementations, a new measurement gap (e.g., NTN_MeasGapConfig_2) may be carried by an RRC message that contains MeasConfig and measGapConfig. This new IE may be used for additional measurement gap configuration, including measurement gap configuration that applies to FR1 and FR2 or all frequency, the gap offset of the gap pattern, the measurement gap length, the measurement gap repetition period of the measurement gap, the measurement gap timing advance, etc.”)
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 the “CELL MEASUREMENT METHOD, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND NETWORK DEVICE” proposed by Fu to include the concept of “SMTC includes an extra measurement gap offset configured for a specific network scenario;” of CHENG . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the efficiency of CHO, cell addition, EMR measurements, etc. [0119].
Although implicit, Fu and CHENG combination do not explicitly mention,
wherein the applying of the extra measurement gap offset includes delaying a start timing of the measurement gap by a value of the extra measurement gap offset, and wherein the extra measurement gap offset is a transmission delay associated with at least one of: a path between the user device and a satellite or a high altitude platform station (HAPS), a path between the user device and a network gateway, or a path between the satellite or the HAPS and the network gateway.
However, in an analogous invention Fu2 teaches,
wherein the applying of the extra measurement gap offset includes delaying a start timing of the measurement gap by a value of the extra measurement gap offset, -Paragraph [0144, 0149] ([0144] recites, “In another implementation manner, the network device may determine an offset according to the first difference, and then determine the target start time of the measurement gap for the terminal device to measure the first cell according to the basic start time of the measurement gap and the offset; and/or, the network device may determine, according to the basic start time of the SMTC and the offset, the target start time of the SMTC for the terminal device to measure the first cell.” [0149] recites, “Similar to the target start time of the measurement gap, for example, the target start time of SMTC=basic start time of SMTC+offset.” i.e., delaying the start time of measurement gap by an offset as described.)
and wherein the extra measurement gap offset is a transmission delay associated with at least one of: a path between the user device and a satellite or a high altitude platform station (HAPS), a path between the user device and a network gateway, or a path between the satellite or the HAPS and the network gateway. -Paragraph [0134-0138] ([0134-0135] recites, “the signal transmission delay between the terminal device and the satellite in NTN is greatly increased. In addition, due to the large coverage of satellites, the signal transmission delays between terminal device and different satellites are also quite different. If the measurement configuration scheme of the current terrestrial NR system is completely used in the NTN system without making up for the relatively large signal transmission delay between the terminal device and the base stations of different cells, the problem of failing to find a suitable handover cell or provide a reasonable neighbor relationship may be occurred, and eventually the terminal device may fail to switch to a suitable cell, resulting in poor performance of the terminal device or even network drop. In view of this, the network device may determine, according to the difference between the signal transmission delay between the terminal device and the base station of the neighboring cell and the signal transmission delay between the terminal device and the base station of the serving cell, the target start time of the SMTC and/or the target start time of the measurement gap for the terminal device to measure at least one cell in the cell list.” As, described above the large transmission delay between the user device and the satellite is considered for the measurement start time.)
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 the “CELL MEASUREMENT METHOD, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND NETWORK DEVICE” proposed by Fu to include the concept of “wherein the applying of the extra measurement gap offset includes delaying a start timing of the measurement gap by a value of the extra measurement gap offset, and wherein the extra measurement gap offset is a transmission delay associated with at least one of: a path between the user device and a satellite or a high altitude platform station (HAPS), a path between the user device and a network gateway, or a path between the satellite or the HAPS and the network gateway.” of Fu2. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to ensure the coverage of satellites and improve the system capacity of the entire satellite communication system [0048].
Regarding Claim 2, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement configuration information and the measurement reporting information are included in a system information or a dedicated radio resource control signaling. -Paragraph [0037] (Measurement configuration information may be sent to the terminal using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. [0037] recites, “…For example, the network device may send the measurement configuration information to the terminal device via an RRC message. In some embodiments, the measurement configuration information may include at least one of: a measurement object, reporting configuration, a measurement identity, a measurement gap.”)
Regarding Claim 3, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the SMTC (SSB based measurement configuration) is configured for the specific network scenario, a specific frequency, a specific cell, a specific satellite, or a specific high altitude platform station (HAPS). -Paragraph [0035] ([0035] recites, “The network device may configure a synchronous block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) parameter for each measurement frequency point. The SMTC parameter may be configured to indicate a time point when the terminal device receives the synchronous signal block (SSB). The terminal device may receive the SSB based on the SMTC and measure signal quality of the current cell and/or the cell adjacent to the current cell based on the received SSB to perform cell selection or reselection.” As recited above, the configuration is for measuring a particular cell (current or adjacent) for specific network scenarios, e.g., cell reselection etc.)
Regarding Claim 4, Fu CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 3.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 3, wherein the specific network scenario includes at least one of: a non-terrestrial network (NTN), an air-to-ground (ATG), a network served by satellite or the high altitude platform station (HAPS), a network served by a low earth orbit (LEO) or a Non-LEO satellite, or a network served by a geostationary (GEO) or a Non-GEO satellite. -Fig. 1; Paragraph [0048] [0024] (Fig. 1 shows a wireless network which includes non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell. [0048] recites, “FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system may include a terminal device 101 and a satellite 102. Wireless communication may be performed between the terminal device 101 and satellite 102. A network formed between the terminal device 101 and the satellite 102 may be referred to as an NTN. In the architecture of the communication system shown in FIG. 1, the satellite 102 may function as a base station, and direct communication may be performed between the terminal device 101 and the satellite 102. The cell served by the satellite 102 may be referred to as an NTN cell, and a neighboring cell of the NTN cell may include a TN cell (such as a cell served by the base station). In the system architecture, the satellite 102 may be referred to as a network device.”[0024] recites, “A network device may usually have wireless transceiver function. The network device may be mobile. For example, the network device may be a mobile device. In some embodiments, the network device may be a satellite, a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, and so on…”)
Regarding Claim 5, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, further comprising: triggering to report the measurement event when the measurement report triggering condition is satisfied. -Paragraph [0042-0043] ([0043] recites, “Event-triggered reporting means that sending the measurement report may be triggered only when the terminal device meets a measurement event entry threshold configured by the network device and lasts for a period of time. A reporting process may be terminated after the measurement report is sent for once…”)
Regarding Claim 6, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 3.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 3, wherein the SMTC includes one of followings:
a default or limited SMTC configuration, -Paragraph [0035] ([0035] recites, “The network device may configure a synchronous block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) parameter for each measurement frequency point..”)
an indicator showing whether extra compensation is needed in the SMTC
an extra measurement gap offset used to delay a start of the SMTC,
an indicator showing reference timing of the SMTC is a timing on the satellite or the HAPS serving a primary cell (PCell) or a timing on a NTN (non-terrestrial network) or a HAPS gateway (GW) serving the PCell, or
a start timing reference used to indicate a start point of the SMTC.
Although implicit, Fu does not explicitly mention,
an indicator showing whether extra compensation is needed in the SMTC
a start timing reference used to indicate a start point of the SMTC.
Also, Fu2 teaches,
an indicator showing whether extra compensation is needed in the SMTC, -Paragraph [0133] ([0133] recites, “For example, the network device sends SSB at the 1.sup.st ms, and the start time of SMTC is also the 1.sup.st ms. By configuring the duration of SMTC to compensate for the difference in signal transmission delays between the terminal device and the base stations of different cells, it can be ensured that the terminal device receives the SSBs of different cells within the duration of the SMTC…”)
a start timing reference used to indicate a start point of the SMTC. -Paragraph [0007] ([0007] recites, “determining, by a network device, a target start time of a Synchronization signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) and/or a target start time of a measurement gap for a cell list; and sending, by the network device, Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration measurement information to a terminal device, where the RRC measurement configuration information includes the cell list, and includes the target start time of the SMTC and/or a start time of the measurement gap.”)
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 the “CELL MEASUREMENT METHOD, TERMINAL DEVICE, AND NETWORK DEVICE” proposed by Fu to include the concept of “an indicator showing whether extra compensation is needed in the SMTC, a start timing reference used to indicate a start point of the SMTC“ of Fu2 . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve coverage and system capacity [0048].
Regarding Claim 7, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report triggering condition is an area scope configured for a serving cell, a serving frequency, a neighbour cell, or a neighboring frequency, or a time range configured for a serving cell, a serving frequency, a neighbour cell, or a neighbor frequency, -Paragraph [0039] ([0039] recites, “Reporting Configuration: Each measurement object may correspond to one or more reporting configurations. The reporting configuration may include at least one of: a reporting criterion, an RS type, and a reporting format. The reporting criterion may be a trigger condition for the terminal device to perform measurement reporting. The reporting may be triggered periodically or may be triggered by a measurement event. The RS type may be a type of an RS used by the terminal device to perform beam and cell measurement. The RS type may be SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS. The reporting format may be the amount of reported measurements performed by the terminal device for each cell and each beam (such as a reference signal receiving power (RSRP)). The reporting format may include other relevant information, such as the maximum number of cells reported by the terminal device and the maximum number of beams reported by the terminal device for each cell. The measurement event supported in the NR can include: an A1 event, an A2 event, an A3 event, an A4 event, an A5 event, an A6 event, a B1 event, and a B2 event. The A1 event may be that signal quality of a serving cell is higher than a threshold. The A2 event may be that signal quality of a serving cell is lower than a threshold. The A3 event may be that signal quality of a neighboring cell is higher than a threshold compared to signal quality of a SpCell (primary and primary-secondary cell). The A4 event may be that the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than a threshold. The A5 event may be that the signal quality of the SpCell is lower than a threshold 1. The A6 event may be that the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than a threshold compared to the signal quality of the PCell (primary cell). The B1 event may be that the signal quality of the neighboring cell of the inter-frequency measurement is higher than a threshold. The B2 event may be that the signal quality of the PCell (primary cell) is lower than the threshold 1, and the signal quality of the neighboring cell of the inter-frequency measurement is higher than a threshold 2.”)
and wherein the area scope is configured as one of followings:
1) a distance between UE and one of a satellite, a high altitude platform station (HAPS), a cell center, or a reference point, -Paragraph [0176] ([0176] recites, “…The terminal device may obtain the distance between the terminal device and the NTN from the first information. Alternatively, the terminal device may determine the distance between the terminal device and the NTN based on the astronomical calendar of the NT, the radius of the coverage range of the NTN, and the location of the terminal device.”)
2) a reference location and a radius associated with the reference location, -Paragraph [0138] ([0138] recites, “…The deployment information of the TN may include a location of the network device (such as the base station), a radius of the network device, and a coverage area of the network device.”
3) a list of location coordinates,
4) a list of tracking area identifiers (TAIs) of terrestrial network (TN) cells,
5) two pairs of high and low thresholds for longitude and latitude, or
6) either a low or high threshold along with an offset for longitude and latitude.
Regarding Claim 8, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report triggering condition is configured together with a periodical measurement report triggering condition or an event based triggering condition based on reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR). -Paragraph [0039][0026] ([0039] recites, “The reporting configuration may include at least one of: a reporting criterion, an RS type, and a reporting format. The reporting criterion may be a trigger condition for the terminal device to perform measurement reporting. The reporting may be triggered periodically or may be triggered by a measurement event. The RS type may be a type of an RS used by the terminal device to perform beam and cell measurement. The RS type may be SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS. The reporting format may be the amount of reported measurements performed by the terminal device for each cell and each beam (such as a reference signal receiving power (RSRP))….” [0026] recites, “…The measurement of the cell may obtain at least one of following information: a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), a received signal strength indication (RSSI), and so on”)
Regarding Claim 9, Fu, CHENG and Fu2 teach the limitations of Claim 1.
Fu further teaches,
The method of claim 1, further comprising: triggering a measurement report to be sent when one or all of the measurement report triggering condition, a periodical measurement report triggering condition or an event based triggering condition based on reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or signal to noise and interference ratio (SINR) are satisfied. -Paragraph [0039] [0026](Measurement report are sent when trigger condition is satisfied based on measurement of RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR. Trigger condition may be periodic or event based as explained in [0039]. [0039] recites, “The reporting configuration may include at least one of: a reporting criterion, an RS type, and a reporting format. The reporting criterion may be a trigger condition for the terminal device to perform measurement reporting. The reporting may be triggered periodically or may be triggered by a measurement event. The RS type may be a type of an RS used by the terminal device to perform beam and cell measurement. The RS type may be SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS. The reporting format may be the amount of reported measurements performed by the terminal device for each cell and each beam (such as a reference signal receiving power (RSRP)) “[0026] recites, “…The measurement of the cell may obtain at least one of following information: a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), a received signal strength indication (RSSI), and so on”)
Claim 10 is very similar to Claim 1 and the only difference is Claim 10 is viewed from network device perspective (i.e., transmitting configuration information to terminal device and receiving measurement report from the terminal device) while Claim 1 viewed from terminal device perspective (i.e., receiving configuration information from network device and transmitting measurement report to the network device). Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1 which has been rejected above. Claim 10 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 1.
Claim 11 is essentially the same as Claim 2 and the only difference is Claim 11 is dependent of independent Claim 10, while Claim 2 is dependent of independent Claim 1. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 2 which has been rejected above. Claim 11 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 2.
Claim 12 is essentially the same as Claim 3 and the only difference is Claim 12 is dependent of independent Claim 10, while Claim 3 is dependent of independent Claim 1. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 3 which has been rejected above. Claim 12 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 3.
Claim 13 is essentially the same as combination of Claim 4 and Claim 6 and the only difference is Claim 13 is dependent of Claim 12, while Claim 4 and Claim 6 are dependent of Claim 3. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 4 and Claim 6, both of which have been rejected above. Claim 13 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 4 and Claim 6.
Claim 14 is essentially the same as Claim 7 and the only difference is Claim 14 is dependent of independent Claim 10, while Claim 7 is dependent of independent Claim 1. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 7 which has been rejected above. Claim 14 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 7.
Claim 15 is essentially the same as Claim 8 and the only difference is Claim 15 is dependent of independent Claim 10, while Claim 8 is dependent of independent Claim 1. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 8 which has been rejected above. Claim 15 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 8.
Claim 16 is apparatus claim corresponding to the method Claim 1 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 1. Claim 16 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 1.
Fu further teaches
A communication apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to implement a method -Fig. 9; Paragraph [0373] ([0373] recites, “ FIG. 9 is a structural schematic view of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal device 30 may include a transceiver 31, a memory 32, a processor 33. ..”)
Claim 17 is apparatus claim corresponding to the method Claim 2 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 2. Claim 17 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 2.
Claim 18 is apparatus claim corresponding to the method Claim 7 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 7. Claim 18 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 7.
Claim 19 is apparatus claim corresponding to the method Claim 8 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 8. Claim 19 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 8.
Claim 20 is apparatus claim corresponding to the method Claim 9 which has been rejected above. Applicant’s attention is directed towards Claim 9. Claim 20 is rejected under the same rational as Claim 9.
Response to Argument(s)
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
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/AHMED SAIFUDDIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2475
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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