Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: there is a slight typographical error; RRSI should be RSSI, as reflected in amended claim 7. Appropriate correction is required.
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, and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Novlan and Ng (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2016/0302230), herein referred to as “Novlan”, in view of Alriksson et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2024/0007206), herein referred to as “Alriksson”.
Regarding Claim 1,
Novlan teaches: A method comprising: receiving by a User Equipment (UE) from a base station, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurement time configuration (RMTC)
[0216] As shown in FIG. 14, the signaling flow for the RSSI transmission 1400 comprises a UE 1405 and an eNB 1410. At step 1415, the eNB 1410 may generate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement timing configuration (RMTC). At step, 1420, the eNB 1415 may transmit the RMTC generated at the step 1415 to the UE 1405 over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA). In some embodiments, the eNB 1410 may transmit, at step 1420, at least one threshold to the UE 1405 for the average RSSI measurement of the UE 1405 at step 1430. In some embodiments, the RMTC, at step 1420, is independently configured from a discovery reference signal (DRS) measurement timing configuration (DMTC).
performing, by the UE, RSSI measurement based on the RMTC
[0219] At step 1425, the UE 1405 may receive, at step 1420, the RMTC over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA) and process the RMTC transmitted at step 1425. At step 1430, the UE 1405 may measure RSSI in accordance with RMTC transmitted at step 1420 and generate an average RSSI measurement in accordance with the received RMTC.
Novlan does not disclose wherein the RSSI measurement is performed in a Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2), wherein the FR2-2 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz and wherein the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state based on the UE having no serving cells in the FR2-2.
However, Alriksson discloses wherein the RSSI measurement is performed in a Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2), wherein the FR2-2 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access. That is, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, will receive interference from the same direction as it is currently receiving PDCCH for its serving link(s). This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not. This way of operating may e.g. be indicated to the UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. This e.g. allows the gNB, such as e.g., the network node 200, to gain information on the expected interference conditions on another frequency in the same direction as the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is currently receiving.
Note: Paragraph [0097] above demonstrates that embodiments of the reference use study items under 3GPP, including FR2-2 millimeter wave frequencies (52.6 GHz-71 GHz).
Alriksson also discloses wherein the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state based on the UE having no serving cells in the FR2-2.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access. That is, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, will receive interference from the same direction as it is currently receiving PDCCH for its serving link(s). This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not. This way of operating may e.g. be indicated to the UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. This e.g. allows the gNB, such as e.g., the network node 200, to gain information on the expected interference conditions on another frequency in the same direction as the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is currently receiving.
Note: “[N]o TCI state(s) for PDDCH is/are configured” is indicative of not having any valid TCI states.
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concepts of performing RSSI in FR2-2 based on the RMTC, and where the RMTC does not include the TCI state based on the UE not having any serving cells as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 2,
Novlan does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 2.
However, Alriksson discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein, based on the UE having multiple serving cells in the FR2-2, the step of performing the RSSI measurement is performed using Quasi Co Location (QCL) TypeD for the latest Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a serving cell corresponding to the highest cell index or the lowest cell index among the multiple serving cells.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0122] Hence, if TypeD is configured for one of the reference signals of the indicated TCI state for reception of a DL signal, e.g., PDCCH, it tells the UE that it may receive the PDCCH with the same spatial domain receiver settings as it used to receive the reference signal configured with TypeD within the TCI state. The implicit assumption is that the UE has previously performed measurements on this reference signal and “remembers” which spatial domain receiver settings it used for reception of that reference signal. In other words, the TCI state provides a means to indicate to the UE which receive beam to use for reception of the DL signal, e.g., PDCCH.
[0138] In this embodiment the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is explicitly indicated one or more TCI state indices corresponding to a plurality of configured TCI state(s) for the purposes of performing RSSI measurement. The UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, then uses the same receiver beam for RSSI measurements corresponding to the indicated TCI states. In case of multiple TCI state indices, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, may either report a list of RSSI values corresponding to each of the TCI state indices or it may report the RSSI and TCI state index of the one with the lowest RSSI (i.e. lowest interference). In a variant of this embodiment, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, reports the RSSI with the highest L1-RSRP/RSSI ratio (equivalent to reference-signal receive quality (RSRQ)). The list of TCI state indices may be indicated to the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, in UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI.
Note: Per the specification in paragraph [0246], if there is no serving cell, there would be no TCI state indicated (through tci-StateInfo). Here, since there are multiple TCI state indices, there are cells present. Thus, with a list of RSSI values tied into a lowest RSSI (and TCI state index) is indicative of having a low cell index since cells exist.
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concept of performing the RSSI measurement using QCL TypeD for the latest PDCCH in a serving cell corresponding to the lowest cell index as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 3,
Novlan does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 3.
However, Alriksson discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein, based on the UE having multiple serving cells in the FR2-2, the step of performing the RSSI measurement is performed using Quasi Co Location (QCL) TypeD for the latest Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in a serving cell corresponding to the highest cell index or the lowest cell index among the multiple serving cells.
[0120] A quasi-co-location (QCL) type is associated with each of the reference signals of the TCI state, and the type may take one of 4 possible values: TypeA, TypeB, TypeC, or TypeD. A particular TCI state is indicated to the UE to aid in the reception of other signals/channels in the DL, e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH, other CSI-RS, etc. The indication of the TCI state to aid in reception of a DL signal is performed through either dynamic or semi-static signaling, i.e., via DCI, MAC-CE, or by RRC depending on the DL signal to be received. For example, for reception of PDCCH, a TCI state is indicated by MAC-CE signaling.
[0138] In this embodiment the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is explicitly indicated one or more TCI state indices corresponding to a plurality of configured TCI state(s) for the purposes of performing RSSI measurement. The UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, then uses the same receiver beam for RSSI measurements corresponding to the indicated TCI states. In case of multiple TCI state indices, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, may either report a list of RSSI values corresponding to each of the TCI state indices or it may report the RSSI and TCI state index of the one with the lowest RSSI (i.e. lowest interference). In a variant of this embodiment, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, reports the RSSI with the highest L1-RSRP/RSSI ratio (equivalent to reference-signal receive quality (RSRQ)). The list of TCI state indices may be indicated to the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, in UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI.
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concept of performing the RSSI measurement using QCL TypeD for the latest PDSCH in a serving cell corresponding to the lowest cell index as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 4,
Novlan does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 4.
However, Alriksson discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein, based on the UE having no serving cell in the FR2-2, the UE skips to perform the RSSI measurement.
[0104] In LTE, E-UTRA Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurements were introduced for LAA and defined as the linear average of the total received power (in Watt) observed only in the configured OFDM symbols and in the measurement bandwidth over a pre-defined number of (e.g., 6) resource blocks, by the UE from all sources, including co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise etc.
[0105] Higher layers, e.g., an radio resource control (RRC) layer, indicate an RSSI measurement timing configuration (RMTC), e.g., the measurement duration and which one or more OFDM symbols should be measured by the UE. Namely, the RSSI is configured, e.g., according to 3GPP document TS 36.331, version 16.2.1, by means of the following information element (IE) in MeasObjectEUTRA: rmtc-Period, rmtc-SubframeOffset, and measDuration. For example, the UE performs RSSI measurements during measDuration only within periodic RMTC occasions.
Note: Paragraph [0104] highlights that RSSI measurements can also apply to non-serving cells. Paragraph [0105] demonstrates “skipping” since the UE performs RSSI measurements within periodic RMTC occasions, thus meaning that some instances of RSSI measurements are “skipped.”
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concept of skipping performing the RSSI measurement as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 8,
Novlan teaches: The method of claim 1, wherein the step of performing the RSSI measurement is performed for unlicensed band.
[0219] At step 1425, the UE 1405 may receive, at step 1420, the RMTC over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA) and process the RMTC transmitted at step 1425. At step 1430, the UE 1405 may measure RSSI in accordance with RMTC transmitted at step 1420 and generate an average RSSI measurement in accordance with the received RMTC. In some embodiments, the UE 1405 may generate, at step 1430, a channel occupancy measurement report including a channel occupancy ratio, wherein the channel occupancy ratio is determined based on an amount of occupied measurement time unit (MTU) exceeding at least one threshold for the average RSSI measurement, and wherein the at least one threshold is configured by a higher layer signal from the eNB 1410. At step 1435, the UE 1405 may transmit, to the eNB 1410, the channel occupancy measurement report with an RSSI measurement report including the average RSSI measurement.
Regarding Claim 9,
Claim 9 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in Claim 1.
Novlan teaches: A User Equipment (UE) comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor operably connectable to the at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operating comprising: a transceiver; and a processor wherein the processor performs operation comprising: receiving, from a base station, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurement time configuration (RMTC)
[0216] As shown in FIG. 14, the signaling flow for the RSSI transmission 1400 comprises a UE 1405 and an eNB 1410. At step 1415, the eNB 1410 may generate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement timing configuration (RMTC). At step, 1420, the eNB 1415 may transmit the RMTC generated at the step 1415 to the UE 1405 over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA). In some embodiments, the eNB 1410 may transmit, at step 1420, at least one threshold to the UE 1405 for the average RSSI measurement of the UE 1405 at step 1430. In some embodiments, the RMTC, at step 1420, is independently configured from a discovery reference signal (DRS) measurement timing configuration (DMTC).
performing RSSI measurement based on the RMTC
[0219] At step 1425, the UE 1405 may receive, at step 1420, the RMTC over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA) and process the RMTC transmitted at step 1425. At step 1430, the UE 1405 may measure RSSI in accordance with RMTC transmitted at step 1420 and generate an average RSSI measurement in accordance with the received RMTC.
Novlan does not disclose wherein the RSSI measurement is performed in a Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2), wherein the FR2-2 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz and wherein the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state based on the UE having no serving cells in the FR2-2.
However, Alriksson discloses wherein the RSSI measurement is performed in a Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2), wherein the FR2-2 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access. That is, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, will receive interference from the same direction as it is currently receiving PDCCH for its serving link(s). This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not. This way of operating may e.g. be indicated to the UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. This e.g. allows the gNB, such as e.g., the network node 200, to gain information on the expected interference conditions on another frequency in the same direction as the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is currently receiving.
Note: Paragraph [0097] above demonstrates that embodiments of the reference use study items under 3GPP, including FR2-2 millimeter wave frequencies (52.6 GHz-71 GHz).
Alriksson also discloses wherein the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state based on the UE having no serving cells in the FR2-2.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access. That is, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, will receive interference from the same direction as it is currently receiving PDCCH for its serving link(s). This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not. This way of operating may e.g. be indicated to the UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. This e.g. allows the gNB, such as e.g., the network node 200, to gain information on the expected interference conditions on another frequency in the same direction as the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is currently receiving.
Note: “[N]o TCI state(s) for PDDCH is/are configured” is indicative of not having any valid TCI states.
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concepts of performing RSSI in FR2-2 based on the RMTC, and where the RMTC does not include the TCI state based on the UE not having any serving cells as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 10,
Claim 10 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in Claim 1.
Novlan teaches: A method comprising: transmitting, by a base station to a User Equipment (UE), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) measurement time configuration (RMTC)
[0216] As shown in FIG. 14, the signaling flow for the RSSI transmission 1400 comprises a UE 1405 and an eNB 1410. At step 1415, the eNB 1410 may generate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement timing configuration (RMTC). At step, 1420, the eNB 1415 may transmit the RMTC generated at the step 1415 to the UE 1405 over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA). In some embodiments, the eNB 1410 may transmit, at step 1420, at least one threshold to the UE 1405 for the average RSSI measurement of the UE 1405 at step 1430. In some embodiments, the RMTC, at step 1420, is independently configured from a discovery reference signal (DRS) measurement timing configuration (DMTC).
receiving, by a base station from the UE, a result of RSSI measurement performed by the UE based on the RMTC,
[0219] At step 1425, the UE 1405 may receive, at step 1420, the RMTC over an unlicensed spectrum in a licensed assisted access (LAA) and process the RMTC transmitted at step 1425. At step 1430, the UE 1405 may measure RSSI in accordance with RMTC transmitted at step 1420 and generate an average RSSI measurement in accordance with the received RMTC. In some embodiments, the UE 1405 may generate, at step 1430, a channel occupancy measurement report including a channel occupancy ratio, wherein the channel occupancy ratio is determined based on an amount of occupied measurement time unit (MTU) exceeding at least one threshold for the average RSSI measurement, and wherein the at least one threshold is configured by a higher layer signal from the eNB 1410. At step 1435, the UE 1405 may transmit, to the eNB 1410, the channel occupancy measurement report with an RSSI measurement report including the average RSSI measurement.
Novlan does not disclose wherein, based on the UE having no serving cell in Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2) (Frequency Range2-2), the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, wherein the FR202 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz.
However, Alriksson discloses wherein, based on the UE having no serving cell in Frequency Range2-2 (FR2-2) (Frequency Range2-2), the RMTC does not include Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state, wherein the FR202 is from 52600 MHz to 71000 MHz.
[0097] Embodiments of the technique may full one or more of the objectives of a study item of 3GPP. 3GPP RAN is currently working on a study item for NR Release 17 on supporting NR operation from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz (e.g., 3GPP document R1-2007038), which includes the following objectives: [0098] (1) Study of required changes to NR using existing DL/UL NR waveform to support operation between 52.6 GHz and 71 GHz [0099] Study of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel BW (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical RF impairments [RAN1, RAN4].
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access. That is, the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, will receive interference from the same direction as it is currently receiving PDCCH for its serving link(s). This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not. This way of operating may e.g. be indicated to the UE RMTC-Config and/or RSSI-ResourceConfigCLI. This e.g. allows the gNB, such as e.g., the network node 200, to gain information on the expected interference conditions on another frequency in the same direction as the UE, such as e.g., the radio device 100, is currently receiving.
Note: “[N]o TCI state(s) for PDDCH is/are configured” is indicative of not having any valid TCI states.
Novlan and Alriksson are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan to include the concept of where the RMTC does not include the TCI state based on the UE not having any serving cells as taught by Alriksson so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 11,
Claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in Claim 4.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Novlan in view of Alriksson, held further in view of Liu et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2023/0100135), herein referred to as “Liu”.
Regarding Claim 5,
Novlan in view of Alriksson does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 5.
However, Liu discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein, based on the UE having no serving cell in the FR2-2, the step of performing the RSSI measurement is measuring RSSI for each of multiple Rx beams.
[0061] In the physical layer, RSSI comprises the linear average of the total received power (in [W]) observed only per configured OFDM symbol and in the measurement bandwidth, by the UE from all sources, including co-channel serving and non-serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise etc.
[0062] Approaches regarding CLI measurement and RSSI and channel occupancy measurement are provided, which may provide an unambiguous specification for the UE reception beam configuration for performing RSSI measurement for NR operation in higher frequency bands (e.g., FR2-1 and FR2-2) where receiver beamforming is widely used to improve received signal strength; thus, RSSI measurements may be more representative and reliable in such scenarios.
[0069] In general, instead of, or in addition to, RSSI measurement, CLI measurement may be performed. It may be considered that a reception beam may be based on an assumption and/or state and/or configuration, e.g. a QCL assumption and/or TCI state and/or measurement configuration, e.g. a RMTC and/or RSSI and/or CLI configuration. In particular, different reception beams may be associated to different assumptions and/or states.
Note: Paragraph [0061] highlights that RSSI measurements can also apply to non-serving cells. Paragraph [0062] demonstrated that those same measurements can be on FR2-2. Paragraph [0069] uses different (multiple) reception beams. “
Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan in view of Alriksson to include the concept of measuring RSSI for multiple Rx beams without a serving cell as taught by Liu so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Claims 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu, held further in view of Raghavan and Li (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0271809), herein referred to as “Raghavan”.
Regarding Claim 6,
Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 6.
However, Raghavan discloses: The method of claim 5, further comprising: reporting, to the base station, a result of the RSSI measurement, wherein the step of reporting the result of the RSSI measurement is reporting the greatest RSSI among the measured RSSIs for each of the multiple Rx beams.
[0028] In millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies (e.g., frequency range 2 (FR2) or beyond), a UE and base station may perform beamforming to improve gain and reliability of transmissions and to improve reception of transmitted signals. To establish and retain an optimal beam pair (a transmission beam and a corresponding reception beam) for strong connectivity, the UE and base station may perform various beam management procedures. Such procedures may include, for instance, beam training (also referred to as a P1 procedure), transmission beam refinement (also referred to as a P2 procedure), and reception beam refinement (also referred to as a P3 procedure).
[0029] In beam training, a base station transmits a burst of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to a UE. The base station may transmit each SSB over a different transmission beam (referred to as transmission beam sweeping), and the UE may receive each SSB over multiple reception beams (referred to as reception beam sweeping). During transmission or reception beam sweeping, the UE determines K beam pairs (of transmission and reception beams) which result in the highest signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) or received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) (i.e., the K best beam pairs). Upon determining the K best beam pairs, the UE reports these pair(s) to the base station in random access channel (RACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB(s) associated with the best beam pairs.
Novlan in view of Alriksson, Liu, and Raghavan are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu to include the concept of reporting the greatest RSSI among measured RSSIs for multiple Rx beams as taught by Raghavan so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 12,
Claim 12 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in Claim 6.
Claims 7 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over by Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu, held further in view of Shibaike et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2024/0031843), herein referred to as “Shibaike”.
Regarding Claim 7,
Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu does not explicitly disclose the limitations of Claim 7.
However, Shibaike discloses: The method of claim 5, further comprising: reporting, to the base station, a result of the RSSI measurement, wherein the step of reporting the result of the RSSI measurement is reporting average value of the measured RSSIs for each of the multiple Rx beams.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an example of a frequency range according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the NR specifications of 3GPP Release 15 and Release 16, for example, operation in a frequency band of 52.6 GHz or higher has been discussed. As shown in FIG. 2, FR (Frequency range) 1 for which the current operation is defined is a frequency band from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz. In FR1, SCS (Sub carrier spacing) is 15, 30, or 60 kHz, and the bandwidth is from 5 MHz to 100 MHz. FR2 is a frequency band from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. In FR2, SCS is 60, 120, or 240 kHz, and the bandwidth is from 50 MHz to 400 MHz. For example, the newly operated frequency band may be assumed to be from 52.6 GHz to 71 GHz.
[0038] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the measurement according to the embodiment of the present invention. In step S1, the terminal 20 receives a configuration related to measurement of RSSI and CO from a base station. In the subsequent step S2, the terminal 20 performs the measurement of RSSI and CO for a DL signal. In the subsequent step S3, the terminal 20 reports a result of the measurement of RSSI and CO to the base station.
[0045] As a result of the measurement in step S3, a plurality of values related to an RSSI average and/or CO may be reported. Thus, for example, the RSSI average and/or the CO can be reported for each beam, and the hidden node problem can be detected more accurately.
Novlan in view of Alriksson, Liu, and Shibaike are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Novlan in view of Alriksson and Liu to include the concept of reporting the average value of the measured RSSIs for each of the multiple Rx beams as taught by Shibaike so as to promote effective communications over FR2-2 frequencies.
Regarding Claim 13,
Claim 13 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in Claim 7.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s response filed on November 25, 2025 is acknowledged.
The objection to the title has been removed. However, there is a claim objection.
The rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112 is withdrawn.
The following claims were amended as part of applicant’s response: 1-3, 6-7, and 9-10.
No claims were canceled and there are no new claims.
Claims 1-13 are pending.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 9, and 10 have been fully considered but are unpersuasive.
Applicant argues that secondary reference Alriksson does not discuss where the TCI state is not configured due to no serving cell. See generally page 9 of Applicant’s remarks. Applicant remarks that Alriksson states a mere scenario of why TCI is not configured. Id. at 8. However, paragraph [0136] states, in pertinent part, that:
[0136] In the first embodiment, the UE 100, such as e.g., the radio device 100, uses the same receiver beam(s) for RSSI measurements as for the currently active PDCCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state(s) or selected SSB if no TCI state(s) for PDCCH is/are configured, e.g. in IDLE mode or during initial access.
and:
This applies regardless of if the measurement is done on the same frequency resources as the serving cell or not.
So the issue is “based on” per the claim language. Here, TCI is not configured on serving or non-serving cells. If the TCI was not configured on just they serving cell, it would be indicated as such. However, both situations occur here, and the reference still reads on the claim. The claim language does not state that the TCI state does not need to be configured solely due to the fact there is no serving cell. As such, the claim language is suggested to reflect this requirement.
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE P. SAMLUK whose telephone number is (571)270-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411