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 .
This office action is in response to remarks filed 04/17/2026.
Claims 1, 2, 4-6, 12, 13, and 15-17 are pending and presented for examination. Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 15, and 16 are amended. Claims 3, 7-11, and 14 are cancelled. No claims are added.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Objection to the specification is withdrawn.
Specification
The amended specification is objected to because of the following informalities: Upon review of the specification amendments, the RSRP values listed for wireless device 120 are in error as compared to amended Figure 2. Amended figure 2 indicates that wireless device receives the following RSRP levels from cells: 110-1 at -75, 110-2 at -80, and 110-3 at -85. The amended specification recites “In addition, the wireless device 120 may determine the first list having a plurality of RSRPs transmitted from the cells 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 to the wireless device 120 (e.g., -70 dBm, -80 dBm and -85 dBm), respectively.” , emphasis in amended specification page. Therefore, value of -70 dBm for respective cell 110-1 is in error according to amended Fig. 2. Examiner suggests applicant review the disclosure in its entirety in regards to this error.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 12 recite “determining a second RSRP measurement result by receiving the at least one RS forwarded by a wireless device in a second CC”. The ‘at least one RS forwarded by a wireless device’, where RS is a reference signal, is indefinite. The claim element fails to particular point out and distinctly claim the subject matter of forwarding a reference signal from one device to another device.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 13, 15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal et al. (US 20170208636 A1, hereinafter “Agiwal”), in view of Liang (WO 2023274072 A1, hereinafter “Liang”), in view of Chen et al (US 20230397100 A1, hereinafter “Chen”).
RE Claim 1, 12, Agiwal discloses an apparatus or method:
An apparatus implementable in a user equipment (UE) (¶0078, Fig. 13), comprising:
a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly(¶0078, Fig. 13); and
a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform, via the transceiver(¶0078, Fig. 13), operations comprising:
Agiwal does not explicitly disclose:
determining, by a processor of an apparatus, a first reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement result by receiving at least one reference signal (RS) from at least one candidate cell in a first component carrier (CC), wherein the first RSRP measurement result comprises a first list indicating at least one first RSRP, and each first RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell;
determining, by the processor, a second RSRP measurement result by receiving the at least one RS forwarded by a wireless device in a second CC, wherein the second RSRP measurement result comprises a second list indicating at least one second RSRP, and each second RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell; and
performing, by the processor, a cell selection based on the first RSRP measurement and the second RSRP measurement.
However, Chen discloses:
determining, by a processor of an apparatus, a first reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement result by receiving at least one reference signal (RS) from at least one candidate cell in a first component carrier (CC) (UE, apparatus, periodically measures Uu link quality RSRP_Uu, signal from network node, a first CC. ¶0263, Fig. 8);
determining, by the processor, a second RSRP measurement result by receiving the at least one RS forwarded by a wireless device in a second CC (Remote UE, apparatus, measures sidelink quality between it and the relay UE, wireless device, for RSRP_Relay and RSRQ_relay, a second CC. ¶0258, Fig. 6); and
performing, by the processor, a cell selection based on the first RSRP measurement and the second RSRP measurement (Remote UE, apparatus, checks whether the signal quality of the newly selected frequency meets reselection criteria. ¶0260; Remote UE, apparatus, selects the cell based on RSRP_n, network node, and RSRP_relay, wireless device, by comparing values, thresholds, and frequency priorities. ¶0260. Fig. 6).
Agiwal and Chen do not explicitly disclose:
wherein the first RSRP measurement result comprises a first list indicating at least one first RSRP, and each first RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell;
wherein the second RSRP measurement result comprises a second list indicating at least one second RSRP, and each second RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell; and
However, Liang discloses:
wherein the first RSRP measurement result comprises a first list indicating at least one first RSRP, and each first RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell (Remote terminal is within the cell coverage area. ¶0073; Second measurement result, RSRP values, are the relay, the wireless device, measuring the cell and neighboring cells and forwarding it to the remote terminal, a first list. ¶¶0081, 0201-0202);
wherein the second RSRP measurement result comprises a second list indicating at least one second RSRP, and each second RSRP is associated with a respective candidate cell (First measurement result is the measurement result of the remote terminal, the apparatus, on the direct link of local cell and neighboring cells, such as RSRP, a second list. ¶0069; Remote terminal performs an evaluation of cell selection or reselection based on first system information and first measurement result. The first measurement result is the measurement result of the remote terminal on the direct link of the local cell and neighboring cells, such as RSRP, a second list. ¶¶0067-0069; Therefore, the remote performs a cell selection based on at least one (cell) of the first list, remote RSRP of available cell links, and second list, relay RSRP of available cell links.); and
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Agiwal, sidelink communication where serving cell link quality is shared between remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Chen, determination of serving cells based on comparing the link quality of serving cells of each remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Liang, determination of a remote UE serving cell based on comparing the link quality of available direct link cells for a remote and relay UE.
The motivation in doing so would be to reduce the time and overhead of a remote UE searching/discovering other cells for selection, due to signal variations causing coverage issues, by determining best serving cells for communication reliability. (Agiwal: Abstract, ¶¶0014-0016, 0070, Fig. 8; Chen: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0101-0103, 0199-201; Liang: ¶¶0005-0013, 003, 0201-0202, 0296-0297)
RE Claim 2, 13, Agiwal discloses an apparatus or method:
wherein the processor is further configured to perform operations (¶0078, Fig. 13) comprising:
Agiwal does not explicitly disclose:
selecting a first cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be a serving cell, wherein the first cell corresponds to a maximum RSRP in the first list;
selecting a second cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the second cell corresponds to a maximum RSRP in the second list; or
selecting a third cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the third cell corresponds to a maximum sum value determined by the first list and the second list.
However, Chen discloses:
selecting a second cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the second cell corresponds to a maximum RSRP in the second list (Remote UE scans RF channels and searches for the strongest cell, such as RSRP, via Uu. Once a suitable cell is found the cell may be selected. ¶¶0199-0201); or
selecting a third cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the third cell corresponds to a maximum sum value determined by the first list and the second list (Element is optional).
Agiwal and Chen do not explicitly disclose:
selecting a first cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the first cell corresponds to a maximum RSRP in the first list;
However, Liang discloses:
selecting a first cell from the plurality of candidate cells to be the serving cell, wherein the first cell corresponds to a maximum RSRP in the first list (The remote terminal performs cell selection or reselection evaluation based on the second system information and the second measurement result, ¶0079; Second measurement result, RSRP values, are the relay, the wireless device, measuring the cell and neighboring cells and forwarding it to the remote terminal, a first list. ¶0081; The remote terminal performs an assessment of cell selection or reselection based on second system information and second measurement results, a first list. ¶0084; Evaluation whether the results meet the conditions for cell selection or reselection based on RSRP of local cell or neighboring cell. ¶¶0201-0202);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Agiwal, sidelink communication where serving cell link quality is shared between remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Chen, determination of a remote UE serving cell based on comparing the link quality of serving cells of each remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Liang, determination of a remote UE serving cell based on comparing the link quality of available direct link cells of for a remote and relay UE.
The motivation in doing so would be to reduce the time and overhead of a remote UE searching/discovering other cells for selection, due to signal variations causing coverage issues, by selecting service cell candidates for best RSRP for communication reliability. (Agiwal: Abstract, ¶¶0014-0016, 0070, Fig. 8; Chen: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0101-0103; Liang: ¶¶0005-0013, 003, 0201-0202, 0296-0297)
RE Claim 4, 15, Agiwal does not explicitly disclose an apparatus or method:
wherein the first CC and the second CC are not overlapped in a frequency domain.
However, Chen discloses:
wherein the first CC and the second CC are not overlapped in a frequency domain (The UE needs only search for the strongest signal via Uu and the strongest relay UE via PC5, except for operation with shared spectrum channel access where the UE may search for the next strongest cell(s). In searching for the strongest relay UE, the UE may perform discovery to determine the relay UEs on the frequency. ¶0219; Therefore, first CC is Uu to network and second CC is PC5 to relay in same frequency band but not overlapping).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Agiwal, sidelink communication where serving cell link quality is shared between remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Chen, determination of serving cells based on comparing the link quality of serving cells of each remote and relay UE.
The motivation in doing so would be to reduce the time and overhead of a remote UE searching/discovering other cells for selection, due to signal variations causing coverage issues, by selecting service cell candidates within a shared spectrum for best RSRP and/or RSRP meeting minimum thresholds. (Agiwal: Abstract, ¶¶0014-0016; Chen: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0101-0103, 0199-201)
RE Claim 6, 17, Agiwal discloses an apparatus or method:
wherein the apparatus is associated with the wireless device for device collaboration (Relay UE receives RS from network and measures RSRP/RSRQ of link between Relay UE and network, candidate cell. Relay, wireless device, sends measured RSRP/RSRQ, a measurement list, to remote UE, an apparatus. ¶0070, Fig. 8: 804 – indirect link and collaboration with remote UE;).
Claim(s) 5 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Agiwal in view of Liang, in view of Chen in view of Back et al. (WO 2024058636 A1, hereinafter “Back”).
RE Claim 5, 16, Agiwal discloses an apparatus or method:
the processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving a measurement configuration from a network node (eNB, network node, sends RRC reconfiguration message, with measurement configuration, to the UE, apparatus. ¶0064. Fig. 5:502);
transmitting a measurement report to the network node (UE sends a measurement report to the eNB, network node. ¶0064: Fig. 5:503);.
Agiwal does not explicitly disclose:
performing a handover to a target cell after receiving a reconfiguration from the network node;
wherein the measurement configuration comprises a configuration for the first CC and the second CC, and the measurement report comprises a measurement for the first CC and the second CC.
However, Chen discloses:
wherein the measurement configuration comprises a configuration for the first CC and the second CC, and the measurement report comprises a measurement for the first CC and the second CC (RRC connection between gNB and UE where remote UE periodically measures the RSRP of the PC5 and Uu interfaces, first and second CC. Selected path, based on RRC connection to the gNB, may be indirect or direct link based on RSRP measurements and thresholds. ¶0305, Fig. 14).
Agiwal and Chen do not explicitly disclose:
performing a handover to a target cell after receiving a reconfiguration from the network node;
However, Back discloses:
performing a handover to a target cell after receiving a reconfiguration from the network node ( Remote UE handover (HO) method: Remote UE transmits a measurement result to serving base station. Remote UE receives RRC reconfiguration with sync message transmitted by target base station from the serving base station. Remote UE transmits an RRC reconfiguration complete to the target base station. ¶0031; Remote and Relay UE are in a relay relationship. ¶0033);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Agiwal, sidelink communication where serving cell link quality is shared between remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Chen, determination of a remote UE serving cell based on comparing the link quality of serving cells of each remote and relay UE, with the teachings of Back, method to perform handover for remote UE.
The motivation in doing so would be to improve handover procedures for a sidelink configuration with remote and relay UE by determining target cell candidates with best RSRP and/or RSRP meeting minimum thresholds. (Agiwal: Abstract, ¶¶0014-0016; Chen: Abstract, ¶¶0004-0006, 0101-0103; Back: Abstract, ¶¶0001, 0027-0028)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/17/2026 with respect to claims 1 and 12 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant submits that Agiwal, Liang, and Chen fails to teach or suggest all the limitations of each of claims 1 and 12, as amended, viewed as a whole. Applicant further submits that “In contrast, in the claimed invention, the same RS(s) are: (1) transmitted from the candidate cell(s) to the UE in the first CC and (2) forwarded by the wireless device to the UE in the second CC. Accordingly, the claimed invention fundamentally differs from Chen in that Chen relies on independent measurements of different signals over different interfaces, whereas the claimed invention leverages at least one RS(s) that is transmitted and forwarded across different CCs. Such a configuration is neither disclosed nor suggested by Chen, which does not contemplate reusing or forwarding the same RS across different carriers or interfaces.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant’s argument over the references is that ‘the same RS(s) are: (1) transmitted from the candidate cell(s) to the UE in the first CC and (2) forwarded by the wireless device to the UE in the second CC.’ and ‘the same RS across different carriers or interfaces’. Neither of these statements are supported by either of the claims, as written. The claims, as amended, recite ‘receiving at least one reference signal (RS) from at least one candidate cell’ which only requires a reference signal and not a specific or same reference signal.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., ‘same RS’) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20250071657 A1 Liu
This application discloses a multi-path establishment method, a terminal, and a network side device, and belongs to the wireless communication field. The multi-path establishment method in an embodiment of this application includes: receiving, by a first terminal through a first path to a first base station, path addition signaling sent by the first base station, where the first path is a direct path between the first terminal and the first base station, the path addition signaling carries an identifier of a second terminal through which a second path passes, and the second path is an indirect path between the first terminal and the first base station.
US 20240340668 A1 Back et al.
This application discloses a multi-path establishment method, a terminal, and a network side device, and belongs to the wireless communication field. The multi-path establishment method in an embodiment of this application includes: receiving, by a first terminal through a first path to a first base station, path addition signaling sent by the first base station, where the first path is a direct path between the first terminal and the first base station, the path addition signaling carries an identifier of a second terminal through which a second path passes, and the second path is an indirect path between the first terminal and the first base station.
WO-2023226883-A1 Liu et al.
The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and discloses a reporting method and apparatus for a measurement report, and a terminal and a network side device. The reporting method for the measurement report in embodiments of the present application comprises: a first terminal determines that a first target condition is satisfied, wherein the first terminal is one of a plurality of terminals associated with multi-path data transmission; and the first terminal triggers reporting of the measurement report.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL A. LANGER whose telephone number is (703)756-1780. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nishant B. Divecha can be reached at 1 (571) 270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL A. LANGER/Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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