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 .
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finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/06/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission filed on 04/06/2026 has been entered. Claim(s) 1-30 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant' s arguments with respect to claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1, 3, 10, 12, 14, 21, 23 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cui et al. (US 2025/0071700 A1), hereinafter “CUI” in view of Yang et al. (US 2022/0232391 A1), hereinafter “YANG” in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0180110 A1), hereinafter “KIM”.
Regarding claim 1, CUI teaches, ‘an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:’ (Paragraphs [0115]-[0116]: The wireless device 1002 may include one or more processor(s) 1004… The wireless device 1002 may include a memory 1006):
‘measure a first type of synchronization signal block (SSB) that is periodically transmitted to a first group of user equipments (UEs)’ (Paragraph [0020]: a UE… may be configured to detect downlink Synchronization Signals… in a Synchronization Signal Block… identified as cell-defining SSBs or “CD-SSBs”; Paragraph [0024]: CD-SSB are required… to be broadcast on a repeated basis, typically with a periodicity of 20 ms [Note: As taught by CUI, the CD-SSB is the baseline block broadcast to all UEs in the cell, corresponding to the first group])
‘and a second type of SSB that is periodically transmitted… to a second group of UEs,’ (Paragraph [0032]: an SSB modification specific to RedCap UE… introduces a non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB). [Note: As taught by CUI, the NCD-SSB is targeted specifically to RedCap UEs, corresponding to the second group]),
‘wherein the measurement of at least one of the first type of SSB, the second type of SSB, or a combination thereof is for an operation based on a configuration of the operation,’ (Paragraph [0038]: These measurements… can inform radio resource management (RRM) decisions of the RedCap UE, radio link monitoring (RLM) operations),
‘and perform the operation based on the measurement’ (Paragraph [0038]: performing RRM, RLM, serving cell link recovery operations, etc., based on the measurements)
‘of at least one of the first type of SSB,’ (Paragraph [0020]: a UE… may be configured to detect downlink Synchronization Signals… in a Synchronization Signal Block… identified as cell-defining SSBs or “CD-SSBs”; Paragraph [0024]: CD-SSB are required… to be broadcast on a repeated basis, typically with a periodicity of 20 ms),
‘the second type of SSB, or the combination thereof.’ (Paragraph [0020]: a UE… may be configured to detect downlink Synchronization Signals… in a Synchronization Signal Block… identified as cell-defining SSBs or “CD-SSBs”; Paragraph [0024]: CD-SSB are required… to be broadcast on a repeated basis, typically with a periodicity of 20 ms).
CUI teaches that the second type of SSB (NCD-SSB) is transmitted periodically to save power for RedCap UEs, but CUI does not explicitly state that the measurement occurs ‘within a time window’. However, YANG teaches restricting SSB measurements to be periodically transmitted within a time window (YANG - Paragraph [0049]: The SMTC is an occasion configured by the network device for the terminal device for measuring the SSB… used to indicate a periodicity of a measurement window at which the terminal device receives the SSB; Paragraph [0064]: The first SMTC is a time window configured… for measuring the SSB).
Motivation to Combine CUI and YANG: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the SSB measurement scheme of CUI to include YANG’s specific measurement time windows (SMTC). The motivation for this modification is to further reduce the power consumption of the RedCap UE by ensuring the device only wakes up to monitor the NCD-SSB during a strictly defined time segment, preventing unnecessary hardware retuning and over-searching (See Paragraph [0049], YANG).
Furthermore, while CUI distinguishes between “full capability UEs” and “RedCap UEs”, CUI does not explicitly use the claim’s exact hierarchical terminology regarding the first and second groups and types. However, KIM explicitly teaches ‘wherein the apparatus belongs to the second group of UEs, and wherein the first group of UEs include one or more UEs of a first type and one or more UEs of a second type, and wherein the second group of UEs include one or more UEs of the second type, wherein the one or more UEs of the second type have reduced capabilities relative to the one or more UEs of the first type;’ (KIM - Paragraph [0005]: The UE may be a second type of UE with reduced capability to support a narrower bandwidth than a first type of UE; Paragraph [0143]: a normal NR UE that supports all or some of the 5G main use cases is referred to as an NR UE… to distinguish it from the RedCap device… the RedCap UE may be a UE of which some capabilities are intentionally reduced);
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG and KIM: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply KIM’s explicit hierarchical UE classification (first type vs. second type with reduced capabilities) to the dual-SSB network framework of CUI and YANG. The motivation is to establish a standardized network classification protocol that allows the base station to predictably segregate and target the second type of SSB (NCD-SSB) exclusively to the reduced-capability devices (second group) without disrupting the baseline cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) relied upon by the standard, full-capability devices (first group) (See Paragraph [0143], KIM).
Regarding claims 3 and 14, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI further teaches, wherein the operation includes’ (Paragraph [0038]: These measurements ( or other information aggregation or parsing operations) can inform radio resource management (RRM) decisions of the RedCap UE)
‘a determination of a random access channel occasion, a determination of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state for a downlink channel, a determination of an uplink spatial relation for an uplink channel, a layer 1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) reporting operation, a radio link monitoring operation, a beam failure detection, a candidate beam detection, or a beam failure recovery operation.’ (Paragraph [0038]: can inform radio resource management (RRM) decisions of the RedCap UE, radio link monitoring (RLM) operations for the RedCap UE[a radio link monitoring operation], serving cell link recovery operations[Beam failure recovery operation], random access occasion selections[a determination of a random access channel occasion], mobility modes/settings).
Regarding claims 10, 21 and 30, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI and YANG do not explicitly teach but KIM teaches, ‘wherein a first SSB symbol repetition pattern of the first type of SSB is different from a second SSB symbol repetition pattern of the second type of SSB.’ (KIM – Paragraph [0248]: When a PBCH-R is transmitted in the above described cell access examples, the PBCH-R may be transmitted after TDM with a CD-SSB or PBCH. The PBCH-R may consist of X (>=1) consecutive or non-consecutive OFDM symbols, and the position of the PBCH-R transmission OFDM symbol(s) may be determined by a relative time offset from the CD-SSB. In this case, the time offset may be predefined in units of OFDM symbols or slots. The position of the PBCH-R may be configured such that X=2 in consideration of the position of the SSB in the slot and the PBCH-R may be located between CD-SSBs. Alternatively, in consideration of the amount of PBCH-R information, coverage recovery/improvement, etc., X=4 may be configured, and two OFDM symbol pairs may be disposed before and after the CD-SSB. The above example is an example at SCS=15 kHz. When the SCS varies, the pattern of PBCH-R transmission OFDM symbols may also vary depending on a change in the location of the SSB in the slot).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG and KIM: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply KIM’s explicit hierarchical UE classification (first type vs. second type with reduced capabilities) to the dual-SSB network framework of CUI and YANG. The motivation is to establish a standardized network classification protocol that allows the base station to predictably segregate and target the second type of SSB (NCD-SSB) exclusively to the reduced-capability devices (second group) without disrupting the baseline cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) relied upon by the standard, full-capability devices (first group) (See Paragraph [0143], KIM).
Regarding claim 12, the claim includes features identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 1. The claim is mere reformulation of claim 1 in order to define the corresponding method, and the rejection to claim 1 is applied hereto.
CUI teaches, ‘A method of wireless communication for a user equipment (UE), comprising:’ (Paragraph [0102]: In the context of certain methods of operating a UE such as a RedCap UE):
Regarding claim 23, CUI teaches, ‘An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:’ (Paragraphs [0123]-[0124]: The network device 1020 may include one or more processor(s) 1022… The network device 1020 may include a memory 1024):
‘transmit a first type of synchronization signal block (SSB) periodically to a first group of user equipments (UEs) and a second type of SSB periodically… to a second group of UEs,’ (Paragraph [0096]: The method 800 includes operation 802 at which a network configuration is received and/or accessed by a base station, such as described herein… Thereafter, at operation 804 the base station can implement the configuration and can broadcast each of a CD-SSB and an NCD-SSB according to the configuration; Paragraph [0020]: a UE… may be configured to detect downlink Synchronization Signals… in a Synchronization Signal Block… identified as cell-defining SSBs or “CD-SSBs”; Paragraph [0024]: CD-SSB are required… to be broadcast on a repeated basis, typically with a periodicity of 20 ms; Paragraph [0032]: In 3GPP Release 17 (Rel-17), an SSB modification specific to RedCap UE is proposed, and introduces a noncell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB)… but is located in the frequency domain within a typical/defined system bandwidth of RedCap UE),
CUI does not explicitly teach but YANG teaches, ‘…within a time window…’ (YANG – Paragraph [0049]: The SMTC is an occasion configured by the network device for the terminal device for measuring the SSB… used to indicate a periodicity of a measurement window at which the terminal device receives the SSB; Paragraph [0064]: The first SMTC is a time window configured… for measuring the SSB).
‘and receive a message associated with an operation of a UE based on a measurement of at least one of the first type of SSB, the second type of SSB, or a combination thereof.’ (YANG – Paragraph [0012]: and then, the first network device receives a first SMTC report, where the first SMTC report is
used to indicate that an SSB measurement result is incorrect, and the SSB measurement result is obtained by the terminal device through measurement based on the first SMTC… the first network device can detect a PCI conflict with reference to information reported by the terminal device).
Motivation to Combine CUI and YANG: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the SSB measurement scheme of CUI to include YANG’s specific measurement time windows (SMTC). The motivation for this modification is to further reduce the power consumption of the RedCap UE by ensuring the device only wakes up to monitor the NCD-SSB during a strictly defined time segment, preventing unnecessary hardware retuning and over-searching (See Paragraph [0049], YANG).
CUI and YANG do not explicitly teach but KIM teaches, ‘wherein the first group of UEs include one or more UEs of a first type and one or more UEs of a second type, and wherein the second group of UEs include one or more UEs of the second type, wherein the one or more UEs of the second type have reduced capabilities relative to the one or more UEs of the first type;’ (KIM - Paragraph [0005]: The UE may be a second type of UE with reduced capability to support a narrower bandwidth than a first type of UE; Paragraph [0143]: a normal NR UE that supports all or some of the 5G main use cases is referred to as an NR UE… to distinguish it from the RedCap device… the RedCap UE may be a UE of which some capabilities are intentionally reduced);
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG and KIM: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply KIM’s explicit hierarchical UE classification (first type vs. second type with reduced capabilities) to the dual-SSB network framework of CUI and YANG. The motivation is to establish a standardized network classification protocol that allows the base station to predictably segregate and target the second type of SSB (NCD-SSB) exclusively to the reduced-capability devices (second group) without disrupting the baseline cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) relied upon by the standard, full-capability devices (first group) (See Paragraph [0143], KIM).
Claims 2, 4, 8-9, 11, 13, 15, 19-20, 22, 24-25 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CUI in view of YANG in view of KIM in view of Cozzo et al. (US 2023/0147154 A1), hereinafter “COZZO”.
Regarding claims 2, 13 and 24, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI further teaches, ‘wherein the first type of SSB is a cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) and the second type of SSB is a non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB),’ (Paragraph [0020]: a UE… may be configured to detect downlink Synchronization Signals… in a Synchronization Signal Block… identified as cell-defining SSBs or “CD-SSBs”; Paragraph [0032]: an SSB modification specific to RedCap UE… introduces a non-cell-defining SSB (NCD-SSB). NCD-SSB, as proposed, is defined by a network and is not specific to a particular cell.
The block, as proposed, is substantially similar to CD-SSB in the time domain (e.g., four OFDM symbols including PSS, SSS, and PBCH)),
‘wherein the CD-SSB is constantly activated and is broadcast to all UEs,’ (Paragraphs [0024]-[0025]: CD-SSB are required… to be broadcast on a repeated basis, typically with a periodicity of 20 ms. In other words, a particular CD-SSB (e.g., associated with a particular beam of a particular cell) is typically rebroadcast every 20 ms… Generally and broadly, it may be appreciated that locating, receiving, and monitoring CD-SSBs are essential operations for any UE configured to operate in a 5G NR network),
CUI and YANG do not explicitly teach but KIM details that the system configuration parameters required for a RedCap UE to interact with its modified system information block layout (SIB1-R/NCD-SSB related items) are actively packaged and scheduled using Downlink Control Information (DCI) in Paragraph [0200]. COZZO explicitly teaches, ‘and wherein the NCD-SSB is activated by downlink control information (DCI), a medium access control (MAC)-control entity (CE), or dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling.’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0087]: A UE can be provided a first RACH configuration associated with a CD-SSBs and a second RACH configuration associated with a NCD-SSBs that can be same or differ in one or more parameters and can be provided by higher layers via common RRC signaling, such as by system information, or via UE-specific RRC signaling. For example, the first configuration can be provided by SIB1 and the second configuration can be provided by UE-specific RRC signaling).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
Regarding claims 4, 15 and 25, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI further teaches, ‘wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the configuration of the operation,’ (FIG. 8, 802: RECEIVE/ACCESS CONFIGURATION DEFINING AT LEAST A PORTION Of
A CD-SSB AND A NCD-SSB TO TRANSMIT FROM BASE STATION; Paragraph [0096]: The method 800 includes operation 802 at which a network configuration is received and/or accessed by a base
station, such as described herein),
CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but COZZO teaches, ‘wherein the configuration of the operation indicates to use the first type of SSB, the second type of SSB, or both the first type of SSB and the second type of SSB for the operation.’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0087]: A UE can be provided a first RACH configuration associated with a CD-SSBs and a second RACH configuration associated with a NCD-SSBs that can be same or differ in one or more parameters and can be provided by higher layers via common RRC signaling, such as by system information, or via UE-specific RRC signaling; Paragraph [0030]: for a UE in connected mode, the gNB can configure SSB-based RRM measurements on CD-SSBs and/or NCD-SSBs. When in a serving cell both CD-SSBs and NCD-SSBs are configured, the PCIs of CD-SSBs and NCD-SSBs can be same; Paragraph [0085]: The present disclosure relates to determining spatial settings for transmission during initial access. The present disclosure relates to determining a spatial setting for a PRACH transmission based on CD-SSBs, or NCD-SSBs, or a combination of CD-SSBs and NCD-SSBs, or a combination of a first set of CD-SSBs and a second set of CD-SSBs).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
Regarding claims 8, 19 and 28, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but COZZO teaches, ‘for a first group of operations, measure the first type of SSB;’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0030]: It is also possible that for a UE in idle or inactive mode, the gNB can configure NCDSSBs that the UE can use to perform measurements, however, to read SIB the UE needs to use CD-SSBs);
‘for a second group of operations, measure the second type of SSB;’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0030]: The gNB can configure NCD-SSBs for a UE in connected mode for different functionalities, such as RLM, BFD, link recovery, RO selection, in TCI-states or for any other functionality other than RRM measurements);
‘and for a third group of operations, measure both the first type of SSB and the second type of SSB.’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0030]: For example, for a UE in connected mode, the gNB can configure SSB-based RRM measurements on CD-SSBs and/or NCD-SSBs; Paragraph [0091]: It is also possible that, when NCD-SSB is configured, the UE uses both CD-SSB and NCD-SSB resources to determine a spatial setting to transmit a PRACH preamble. When CD-SSB and NCD-SSB resources are transmitted
with a same power, a UE performs measurements for one or both of CD-SSBs and NCD-SSBs).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
Regarding claims 9, 20 and 29, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but COZZO teaches, ‘wherein a first transmit power of the first type of SSB is different from a second transmit power of the second type of SSB.’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0086]: The transmission power of CD-SSB and NCD-SSB can be same or different and can depend on whether they are both associated to a same serving cell; Paragraph [0091]: When CD-SSB and NCD-SSB are transmitted with different power, the UE can apply a scaling of the RSRP measurements based on an
information provided by the gNB for the relative powers of the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB. For example, when NCD-SSB is transmitted with a different power than a CD-SSB, the gNB can provide an offset relative to a power of a CD-SSB, for example, in a SIB or by VE-specific RRC signaling providing information for the NCD-SSB).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
Regarding claims 11 and 22, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI further teaches, ‘…and wherein a first SSB to network access occasion association periodicity of the first type of SSB is different from a second SSB to network access occasion association periodicity of the second type of SSB.’ (Paragraph [0035], Further, because NCD-SSB has a greater periodicity than CD-SSB ( e.g., a longer period of time between NCD-SSB transmissions than between CD-SSB transmissions; a first periodicity compared against a different, second periodicity), search procedures that may be required of RedCap UE may take significantly longer than CD-SSB based cell search procedures).
CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but COZZO teaches, ‘wherein a first SSB to network access occasion association pattern of the first type of SSB is different from a second SSB to network access occasion association pattern of the second type of SSB,’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0100]: It is also possible that the gNB configures parameters for random access procedures for both CD-SSBs and NCD-SBBs, and that the configured PRACH preambles are common to CD-SSBs and NCD-SSBs… Additionally, or alternatively, the gNB can configure a mapping that associates PRACH preambles and/or ROs for CD-SSBs and for NCD-SSBs, wherein the mapping can include PRACH resources that are configured for either CD-SSBs or NCD-SSBs[Note: In 5G NR, random access occasions – referred to as RACH Occasions or “ROs” – are the network access occasions configured for preamble transmission]);
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
Claims 5, 7, 16, 18 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CUI in view of YANG in view of KIM in view of HU et al. (US 2025/0150876 A1), hereinafter “HU”.
Regarding claims 5 and 16, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI further teaches, ‘…a duplex mode of the apparatus, a radio resource control (RRC) state, a timer configuration, a type of mobility procedure, a status of multi- connectivity with one or multiple network entities, first execution criteria used for conditional reconfiguration of the measurement, second execution criteria used for measurement reporting, a measurement gap configuration, a location measurement configuration, a paging search space configuration,’ (Paragraph [0038]: Example measurements (or measurement objects, gaps and so on) include but may not be limited to idle state measurements, inactive state measurements, connected mode measurements and so on[a Radio Resource Control (RRC) state]; Paragraph [0039]: In some cases, an MG[measurement gap] associated with receiving a CD-SSB may be prioritized over an MG associated with receiving an NCD-SSB[a measurement gap configuration], but this may not be required of all embodiments),
CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but HU teaches, ‘wherein the configuration of the operation is based on one or more priority rules, wherein the one or more priority rules indicates to measure at least one of the first type of SSB, the second type of SSB, or both the first type of SSB and the second type of SSB for the operation based on at least one of’ (HU – Paragraph [0092]: in response to a measurement object being configured with a CD-SSB and an NCD-SSB, performing the RRM measurement for an SSB with a higher priority in the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB; Paragraph [0094]: In some embodiments, the priority of the CD-SSB and the priority of the NCD-SSB may be determined based on an indication of the network device, or determined based on a specification of a communication protocol)
‘a capability of the apparatus, or one or more conditions for relaxing a layer 1 measurement or a layer 3 measurement.’ (HU – Paragraph [0040]: In the embodiment, the user equipment is user equipment supporting an NCD-SSB measurement capability[a capability of the apparatus]; Paragraph [0085]: When the first measurement result is greater than a set threshold, that is, when the signal quality of the serving cell is good, it is determined to allow to perform the RRM measurement based on the NCD-SSB on the neighboring cell of the serving cell… Here, when the signal quality of the serving cell is poor, the RRM measurement based on the NCD-SSB does not need to be performed on the neighboring cell[Note: Decreasing or entirely omitting measurement behavior depending on a serving cell signal quality threshold defines a structural condition for relaxing layer 1 or layer 3 measurements]).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and HU: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply HU’s secondary signal layer creating a unique coexistence scenario, where the user equipment is forced to manage both signaling matrices simultaneously. This is necessary to look for prioritization rules to prevent the device from undergoing duplicated, conflicting, or power-draining parallel cell evaluations. Because both reference blocks share identical underlying tracking identifiers (same PCI, period, and power attributes), they represent overlapping operational metrics for the terminal, where the apparatus can dynamically choose the highest priority block matching its current environment state, predictably maximizing processing efficiency and avoiding redundant cell-metric decoding steps (See Paragraphs [0034]-[0035], HU).
Regarding claims 7, 18 and 27, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but HU teaches, ‘wherein the first type of SSB and the second type of SSB are transmitted in a same bandwidth part of the apparatus.’ (HU – Paragraph [0048]: performing the RRM measurement based on a synchronized signal block (SSB) on an activated bandwidth part (BWP) for the serving cell, where the SSB on the activated BWP is a CD-SSB or an NCD-SSB).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and HU: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply HU’s secondary signal layer creating a unique coexistence scenario, where the user equipment is forced to manage both signaling matrices simultaneously. This is necessary to look for prioritization rules to prevent the device from undergoing duplicated, conflicting, or power-draining parallel cell evaluations. Because both reference blocks share identical underlying tracking identifiers (same PCI, period, and power attributes), they represent overlapping operational metrics for the terminal, where the apparatus can dynamically choose the highest priority block matching its current environment state, predictably maximizing processing efficiency and avoiding redundant cell-metric decoding steps (See Paragraphs [0034]-[0035], HU).
Claims 6, 17 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CUI in view of YANG in view of KIM in view of COZZO in view of HU.
Regarding claims 6, 17 and 26, CUI, YANG and KIM teach, The apparatus of claim 1, CUI, YANG and KIM do not explicitly teach but COZZO teaches, ‘wherein the operation is a differential reference signal received power reporting operation,’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0112]: The UE can report a channel quality, such as an RSRP, associated with the best spatial setting… or a channel quality associated with multiple spatial settings, based on measurements from NCD-SSB receptions),
‘containing a difference between a first signal strength of the first type of SSB and a second signal strength of the second type of SSB.’ (COZZO – Paragraph [0091]: When CD-SSB and NCD-SSB are transmitted with different power, the UE can apply a scaling of the RSRP measurements based on an
information provided by the gNB for the relative powers of the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB. For example, when NCD-SSB is transmitted with a different power than a CD-SSB, the gNB can provide an offset relative to a power of a CD-SSB; Paragraph [0096]: In step 720, the UE is provided an offset relative to a power of a CD-SSB for the NCD-SSB configuration. In step 730, the VE determines a path loss from RSRP measurements based on CD-SSB and NCD-SSB receptions and on the offset).
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM and COZZO: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply COZZO’s alternative or additional way to provide an NCD-SSB configuration to a UE that is “via UE-specific RRC signaling” (i.e., dedicated RRC signaling) rather than relying solely on general broadcast system information (SIB1). This allows the network node to selectively target and activate NCD-SSB measurement parameters only for specific RedCap UEs that require dynamic link monitoring or beam recovery via dedicated, point-to-point RRC signaling (See Paragraphs [0030]-[0031], COZZO).
CUI, YANG, KIM and COZZO do not explicitly teach but HU teaches, ‘wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit a message including a measurement report’ (HU – FIG. 2 and Paragraph [0131]: In step 202, a measurement result of the RRM measurement is reported to a network device),
Motivation to Combine CUI/YANG/KIM/COZZO and HU: It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply HU’s secondary signal layer creating a unique coexistence scenario, where the user equipment is forced to manage both signaling matrices simultaneously. This is necessary to look for prioritization rules to prevent the device from undergoing duplicated, conflicting, or power-draining parallel cell evaluations. Because both reference blocks share identical underlying tracking identifiers (same PCI, period, and power attributes), they represent overlapping operational metrics for the terminal, where the apparatus can dynamically choose the highest priority block matching its current environment state, predictably maximizing processing efficiency and avoiding redundant cell-metric decoding steps (See Paragraphs [0034]-[0035], HU).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAESHIL J CHOI whose telephone number is (703)756-5409. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jae Y Lee can be reached on 571-270-3936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479
/JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
Prosecution Insights