DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present U.S. non-provisional application is being examined under the first-inventor-to- file provisions of the AIA . The present U.S. non-provisional application, filed on June 12, 2023, claims benefit to a U.S. provisional application, filed on July 8, 2022.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 December 19, 2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This Office action is responsive to the amendment and arguments on December 19, 2025. Claims 1, 3, 11 and 13 were amended. Claims 1-7, 9-17, 19 and 20 are pending for re-consideration in the present U.S. non-provisional application.
Response to Arguments
The arguments (pages 7-8) directed to the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered. The arguments indicate that Ma does not teach an interruption structure before and after measurement because Ma merely describes a measurement gap. However, Chen at paragraph [0037] provides sufficient prior art disclosure and suggestions for the interruption structure via description of a measurement gap that provides time to retune a transceiver to a frequency target (i.e. before measurement), perform the measurement, and retune the transceiver back to an active BWP (i.e. after measurement). Accordingly, the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 are maintained.
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 1-4, 7, 9-14, 17, 19 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2024/0032008 A1) in view of Ma et al. (US 2020/0296612 A1).
1. A method (Chen, FIG. 11), comprising:
reporting, by a processor of a user equipment (UE), to a network a need for an interruption in communications between the UE and the network (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], “…The UE may then respond by reporting UE capability information in an RRC reconfiguration complete message based on the band combinations configured by the network. The UE capability information may be transmitted by a need-for-gaps information (NeedForGapsInfoNR) IE that indicates whether measurement gap is required for the UE to perform measurements on an NR target band. In the existing design, the UE will report that a gap is needed in a gap indication field of the NeedForGapsInfoNR IE if any configured BWP requires a gap on a measurement frequency (for example, intra-frequency serving cell or inter-frequency target bands).”); and
performing, by the processor, a measurement of one or more resources during the interruption (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], “…The UE may then respond by reporting UE capability information in an RRC reconfiguration complete message based on the band combinations configured by the network. The UE capability information may be transmitted by a need-for-gaps information (NeedForGapsInfoNR) IE that indicates whether measurement gap is required for the UE to perform measurements on an NR target band. In the existing design, the UE will report that a gap is needed in a gap indication field of the NeedForGapsInfoNR IE if any configured BWP requires a gap on a measurement frequency (for example, intra-frequency serving cell or inter-frequency target bands).” Id.),
wherein the reporting comprises reporting to the network based on a reporting capability of layer 3 (L3) that is extended for layer 1 (L1) measurement (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], “It should also be noted that the measurement quantity of the target measurement described in this embodiment may be all measurement quantities of L1, L2 and L3. […] In this manner, the UE informs the network device of measurement gaps that need to be configured according to its own operation requirements, so that the network device completes configuration of the measurement gaps at one time, and informs the UE. Therefore, when the UE needs to use the measurement gaps, the UE does not always need to request for a measurement gap, which can reduce communication resource consumption in the subsequent communication procedure.”), and the interruption occurs before and after the L1 measurement (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], “The base station 108 may configure the UE 104 with measurement gaps to perform configured measurements that cannot be completed while the UE 104 is tuned to the current serving cell. Measurement gaps for inter-frequency or inter-system measurements may provide the UE 104 time to retune its transceiver to a target carrier, complete the measurements, and retune its transceiver back to the original carrier. In some scenarios, the UE 104 may also re-direct its beam to perform the measurements. Measurement gaps for intra-frequency measurements may be provided if the UE 104 is configured with an active bandwidth part (BWP) but does not contain the intra-frequency target (for example, SSB). In this case, the measurement gap may provide the UE 104 with the time to retune its transceiver to the intra-frequency target, perform the measurement, and re-tune the transceiver back to the active BWP…” emphasis added.)
Chen et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Ma et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as wherein the reporting comprises reporting to the network based on a reporting capability of layer 3 (L3) that is extended for layer 1 (L1) measurement (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Ma et al. are for reasons of reducing communication resource consumption (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of reducing communication resource consumption.
2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the measurement comprises performing a layer 1 (L1) measurement (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) on the one or more resources outside an active bandwidth part (BWP) of the UE (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], Id.)
3. The method of Claim 2, wherein the performing of the measurement further comprises performing radio frequency (RF) re-tuning during the interruption to enlarge a bandwidth of the UE to cover the one or more resources outside the active BWP (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], Id.)
4. The method of Claim 2, wherein the performing of the L1 measurement comprises performing the L1 measurement with respect to a serving cell, and wherein the serving cell comprises a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) (Chen, paras. [0045], [0061], “…For example, with reference to the UE configuration 304, the UE 104 may indicate whether a gap is needed in each of the eight BWPs (four for the PCell and four for the SCell). This NeedForGap information may be referred to herein as BWP-specific NeedForGap information.”)
7. The method of Claim 1, wherein the reporting comprises transmitting a report after a radio resource control (RRC) re-configuration or a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id.)
9. The method of Claim 1, prior to the reporting, further comprising: determining, by the processor, whether there is the need for the interruption in communications between the UE and the network (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id.)
10. The method of Claim 9, wherein the determining comprises: determining that there is no need for the interruption responsive to the one or more resources being within an active bandwidth part (BWP) of the UE; or determining that there is the need for the interruption responsive to the one or more resources being outside the active BWP of the UE (Chen, paras. [0039], [0045], “Measurement gap (MG) capability information may be provided on a per-UE basis in measurement and mobility parameters. This information may include an inter-frequency-measurement-no-gap field to indicate whether the UE can perform inter-frequency SSB based measurements without measurement gaps if the SSB is completely contained in the active BWP of the UE…”)
11. An apparatus implementable in a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform, via the transceiver, operations (Chen, FIG. 11, Id.) comprising:
reporting, via the transceiver, to a network a need for an interruption in communications between the UE and the network (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id.); and
performing, via the transceiver, a measurement of one or more resources during the interruption (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id.),
wherein the reporting comprises reporting to the network based on a reporting capability of layer 3 (L3) that is extended for layer 1 (L1) measurement (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.), and the interruption occurs before and after the L1 measurement (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 1).
Chen et al. may not seem to describe the identical claimed invention, however in the same field of endeavor, Ma et al. provides prior art disclosure for the claimed invention, such as wherein the reporting comprises reporting to the network based on a reporting capability of layer 3 (L3) that is extended for layer 1 (L1) measurement (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Ma et al. are for reasons of reducing communication resource consumption (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of reducing communication resource consumption.
12. The apparatus of Claim 11, wherein the performing of the measurement comprises performing a layer 1 (L1) (Ma, paras. [0071], [0074], Id.) measurement on the one or more resources outside an active bandwidth part (BWP) of the UE (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 2).
13. The apparatus of Claim 12, wherein the performing of the measurement further comprises performing radio frequency (RF) re-tuning during the interruption to enlarge a bandwidth of the UE to cover the one or more resources outside the active BWP (Chen, paras. [0037], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 3).
14. The apparatus of Claim 12, wherein the performing of the L1 measurement comprises performing the L1 measurement with respect to a serving cell, and wherein the serving cell comprises a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) (Chen, paras. [0045], [0061], Id. cf. Claim 4).
17. The apparatus of Claim 11, wherein the reporting comprises transmitting a report after a radio resource control (RRC) re-configuration or a downlink control information (DCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 7).
19. The apparatus of Claim 11, prior to the reporting, the processor is further configured to perform operations comprising: determining whether there is the need for the interruption in communications between the UE and the network (Chen, paras. [0044], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 9).
20. The apparatus of Claim 19, wherein the determining comprises: determining that there is no need for the interruption responsive to the one or more resources being within an active bandwidth part (BWP) of the UE; or determining that there is the need for the interruption responsive to the one or more resources being outside the active BWP of the UE (Chen, paras. [0039], [0045], Id. cf. Claim 10).
Claims 5, 6, 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2024/0032008 A1) in view of Ma et al. (US 2020/0296612 A1) further in view of Sharma et al. (US 2023/0130297 A1).
5. The method of Claim 2, wherein the L1 measurement comprises a measurement of at least one of L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), L1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ) and L1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) (Sharma, paras. [0030], [0074], “…In an aspect, under the configuration 400 or the configuration 500, a RedCap UE configured with an active DL BWP 460, 540 that is not configured with an SSB, may be configured with L1 measurement gaps for measuring SSBs on other frequencies such as the shared initial DL BWP 430, 530, and/or the separate initial DL BWP 450. For simplicity, further descriptions make reference to the configuration 400, but may also be applicable to the configuration 500. In an aspect, a RedCap UE may perform L1 measurements for radio link monitoring (RLM), beam failure detection (BFD), candidate beam detection (CBD), and L1-RSRP, for example. Such L1 measurements may have a shorter periodicity and a shorter duration than L3 measurements. For instance, the SSB index for L1 measurements may be known, so the RedCap UE may be configured with an L1 measurement resource to measure a specific SSB for the SSB index.”) The prior art disclosure and suggestions of Sharma et al. are for reasons of enabling a reduced capability UE to perform L1 measurements despite a lack of an SSB transmitted on an active BWP (Sharma, paras. [0030], [0074], Id.) In view of the prior art of record, the claimed invention 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, for reasons of enabling a reduced capability UE to perform L1 measurements despite a lack of an SSB transmitted on an active BWP.
6. The method of Claim 2, wherein the L1 measurement comprises a measurement related to at least one of radio link monitoring (RLM), beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate beam detection (CBD) (Sharma, paras. [0030], [0074], Id.)
15. The apparatus of Claim 12, wherein the L1 measurement comprises a measurement of at least one of L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP), L1 reference signal received quality (L1-RSRQ) and L1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) (Sharma, paras. [0030], [0074], Id. cf. Claim 5).
16. The apparatus of Claim 12, wherein the L1 measurement comprises a measurement related to at least one of radio link monitoring (RLM), beam failure detection (BFD) and candidate beam detection (CBD) (Sharma, paras. [0030], [0074], Id. cf. Claim 6).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record (PTO-1449, PTO-892) and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the subject matter of the present U.S. non-provisional application.
Ozan et al. (US 2024/0314824 A1) provides reference disclosure considered as relevant to the subject matter of the claimed invention (Ozan, Abstract, “Techniques pertaining to the selective use of BWP interruptions for performing L1 measurements are described. A user equipment (UE) determines whether a resource for use to perform a Layer 1 (L1) measurement for a serving cell of a wireless communication network is within a corresponding active bandwidth part (BWP) of the resource. In response to determining that the resource is outside the corresponding active BWP of the resource, the UE reports to the wireless communication network that the UE needs an interruption to the corresponding active BWP of the resource.”)
All claims are identical to or patentably indistinct from, or have unity of invention with claims in the application prior to the entry of the submission under 37 CFR 1.114 (i.e. restriction (including a lack of unity of invention) would not be proper) and all claims could have been finally rejected on the grounds and art of record in the next Office action if they had been entered in the application prior to entry under 37 CFR 1.114. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL even though it is a first action after the filing of a request for continued examination and the submission under 37 CFR 1.114. MPEP 706.07(b). 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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/TIMOTHY J WEIDNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476