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 allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). 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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/11/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 33, 35-37, 39, 41, 43-44, 46-49, 51-52, and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. (US 2023/0269809) in view of Deng et al. (US 2023/0397068).
Regarding claim 33, Cheng teaches a communication method performed by a first communication apparatus, comprising: initiating, by a first terminal device, radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment in a first manner when the first terminal device determines that a second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide a relay service to the first terminal device, wherein the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a new terminal device, or a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the second terminal device (i.e., a remote UE may be configured to reestablish RRC Connection by first attempting to find a suitable cell, by first attempting to find a suitable relay. The exact messaging to reestablish the RRC connection may depend on whether a suitable cell or suitable relay is found first. If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send (through Uu/first manner) an RRC reestablishment request directly to the network (e.g., to a gNB of the suitable cell). If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send an RRC reestablishment request to the network via the suitable cell ([0085]). A remote UE may detect a PC5 or Uu RLF and, in an effort to reestablish the RRC connection, may perform joint cell selection and relay selection, as described in greater detail below (with reference to FIGS. 14-17) ([0088])… upon detecting an RLF, a remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing joint cell selection and relay selection (e.g., simultaneously). In such cases, the remote UE may have no preference whether it re-establishes RRC via a gNB or a relay UE. Thus, in this case, the remote UE may be able to initiate RRC re-establishment procedure as long as either one suitable cell or one suitable relay is available [0093], [0095], [0108], [0112], [0114], and [0117]).
Cheng does not specifically teach at least one of the following when Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of a first cell is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus does not select a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when RSRP of a first cell is greater than a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when the RSRP of the cell selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus selects the third terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device; or when a difference between the RSRP of the cell and the RSRP of the third terminal device selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device, wherein the third terminal device is a new terminal device that is selected by the first communication apparatus and that is capable of providing the relay service, or the third terminal device and the second terminal device are a same terminal device.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of communications. Deng teaches the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay and/or the suitable cell to access the first cell as follows. When the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal obtains the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal determines a relay or cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP in the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure according to the relay or a cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP to access the first cell. It should be noted that, when the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal may sort the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell, and select the strongest RSRP. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the available relay, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay to access the cell accessed by the available relay. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the suitable cell, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the suitable cell to access the suitable cell ([0106]-[0114]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, to have implanted the technique of Deng within the system of Cheng in order to optimize connection stability and minimize mobility interruption time by ensuring the terminal automatically latches onto the strongest possible signal, whether it comes from a direct base station or a relay node.
Regarding claim 35, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches the first terminal device determines that a second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide a relay service to the first terminal device comprises: detecting, by the first terminal device, a sidelink (SL) radio link failure (RLF) between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; or requesting, by a first protocol layer in the first terminal device, to release a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device (i.e.., Example RRC Re-Establishment and RLF Reporting in Sidelink Relay Systems: upon detecting an RLF on Uu and/or PC5, the remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing cell selection and/or relay selection (because the RLF may effectively render the relay UE and/or current serving cell unsuitable) [0075]-[0078], The remote UE may be allowed to use (resources of) an exceptional pool for sidelink transmission during the period from RLF detection to RRC-re-establishment [0112]).
Regarding claim 36, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches when the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, the method further comprises: starting, by the first terminal device, a first timer, wherein the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device selects a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device completes establishment of a connection to a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; or the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device obtains an identifier of a serving cell of a new terminal device that is selected by the first terminal device and that is capable of providing the relay service; and stopping, by the first terminal device, the first timer when selecting a first cell (i.e., If a suitable cell is found first (e.g., before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the timer and initiate an RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message directly to a gNB (and starts a T301 timer used for RRC connection reestablishment). On the other hand, if a suitable relay is selected first (before a suitable cell is found and before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the T311 timer and initiate RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message to a gNB via forwarding through the selected relay (and may start the T301 timer) ([0094]-[0095])).
Regarding claim 37, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches the starting, by the first terminal device, a first timer comprises: starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer when initiating RRC reestablishment in the first manner ([0094]-[0095]); starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer when determining that the second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide the relay service to the first terminal device; or starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer after initiating RRC reestablishment in the first manner and before performing cell selection ([0094]-[0095]).
Regarding claim 39, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches wherein that the first communication apparatus does not select a cell comprises: the first communication apparatus does not select a cell when a first timer expires, wherein the first timer is started when the first communication apparatus initiates RRC reestablishment in the first manner, the first timer is started when the first communication apparatus determines that the second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide the relay service to the first terminal device, or the first timer is started after the first communication apparatus initiates RRC reestablishment in the first manner and before cell selection is performed (i.e., Upon RLF detection, the remote UE may start the T391 timer and perform only cell selection. If a suitable cell is selected first (before the T391 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the T391 timer and initiate RRC re-establishment procedure by sending RRCReestablishmentRequest message directly to gNB (and starting the T301 timer and performing the remaining operations described above for the example where the UE performs joint cell and relay selection (simultaneously [0094]-[0095], [0098], [0107]-[0110]).
Regarding claim 41, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches when the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a new terminal device, the method further comprises: starting, by the first terminal device, a second timer when the first terminal device initiates RRC reestablishment in the first manner, when the first terminal device determines that the second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide the relay service to the first terminal device, or before the first terminal device reselects a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service ([0094]-[0095], [0107]-[0111]); and stopping, by the first terminal device, the second timer when the first terminal device selects the third terminal device, when the first terminal device completes establishment of a connection to the third terminal device, or when the first terminal device obtains an identifier of a serving cell of the third terminal device ([0094]-[0095], [0107]-[0111]).
Regarding claim 43, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches wherein when the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a new terminal device, the method further comprises: starting a first timer, wherein the first timer is stopped when the first communication apparatus selects a cell, or is stopped when the first communication apparatus selects a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service;the first timer is stopped when the first communication apparatus selects a cell, or is stopped when the first communication apparatus completes establishment of a connection to a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; or the first timer is stopped when the first communication apparatus selects a cell, or is stopped when the first communication apparatus obtains an identifier of a serving cell of a new terminal device that is selected by the first communication apparatus and that is capable of providing the relay service; and performing one of the following actions: reselecting a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, and stopping the first timer when selecting the third terminal device; reselecting a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, and stopping the first timer when selecting the third terminal device and establishing a connection to the third terminal device; or reselecting a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, and stopping the first timer when selecting the third terminal device and obtaining an identifier of a serving cell of the third terminal device (i.e., the remote UE starts T392, and performs only relay selection. If a suitable relay is selected first (before the T392 timer expires), the remote UE stops the T392 timer and initiates RRC the re-establishment procedure by sending the RRCReestablishmentRequest message to the gNB, via forwarding through the selected relay, and starts T301. If the T392 expires, the remote UE starts T311, and performs both cell selection and relay selection simultaneously, again reverting to the joint selection example described above [0111]).
Regarding claim 44, Cheng teaches a communication apparatus (fig. 4, 120), comprising: at least one processor (fig. 4, 480); and one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor and storing programming instructions for execution by the at least one processor to cause the first terminal device to perform operations (fig. 4, 120a) comprising: initiating, by a first terminal device, radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment in a first manner when the first terminal device determines that a second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide a relay service to the first terminal device, wherein the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a new terminal device, or a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the second terminal device (i.e., a remote UE may be configured to reestablish RRC Connection by first attempting to find a suitable cell, by first attempting to find a suitable relay. The exact messaging to reestablish the RRC connection may depend on whether a suitable cell or suitable relay is found first. If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send (through Uu/first manner) an RRC reestablishment request directly to the network (e.g., to a gNB of the suitable cell). If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send an RRC reestablishment request to the network via the suitable cell ([0085]). A remote UE may detect a PC5 or Uu RLF and, in an effort to reestablish the RRC connection, may perform joint cell selection and relay selection, as described in greater detail below (with reference to FIGS. 14-17) ([0088])… upon detecting an RLF, a remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing joint cell selection and relay selection (e.g., simultaneously). In such cases, the remote UE may have no preference whether it re-establishes RRC via a gNB or a relay UE. Thus, in this case, the remote UE may be able to initiate RRC re-establishment procedure as long as either one suitable cell or one suitable relay is available [0093], [0095], [0108], [0112], [0114], and [0117]).
Cheng does not specifically teach at least one of the following when Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of a first cell is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus does not select a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when RSRP of a first cell is greater than a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when the RSRP of the cell selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus selects the third terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device; or when a difference between the RSRP of the cell and the RSRP of the third terminal device selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device, wherein the third terminal device is a new terminal device that is selected by the first communication apparatus and that is capable of providing the relay service, or the third terminal device and the second terminal device are a same terminal device.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of communications. Deng teaches the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay and/or the suitable cell to access the first cell as follows. When the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal obtains the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal determines a relay or cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP in the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure according to the relay or a cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP to access the first cell. It should be noted that, when the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal may sort the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell, and select the strongest RSRP. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the available relay, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay to access the cell accessed by the available relay. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the suitable cell, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the suitable cell to access the suitable cell ([0106]-[0114]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, to have implanted the technique of Deng within the system of Cheng in order to optimize connection stability and minimize mobility interruption time by ensuring the terminal automatically latches onto the strongest possible signal, whether it comes from a direct base station or a relay node.
Regarding claim 46, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches the first terminal device determines that a second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide a relay service to the first terminal device comprises: detecting, by the first terminal device, a sidelink (SL) radio link failure (RLF) between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; or requesting, by a first protocol layer in the first terminal device, to release a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device (i.e.., Example RRC Re-Establishment and RLF Reporting in Sidelink Relay Systems: upon detecting an RLF on Uu and/or PC5, the remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing cell selection and/or relay selection (because the RLF may effectively render the relay UE and/or current serving cell unsuitable) [0075]-[0078], The remote UE may be allowed to use (resources of) an exceptional pool for sidelink transmission during the period from RLF detection to RRC-re-establishment [0112]).
Regarding claim 47, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches when the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, the method further comprises: starting, by the first terminal device, a first timer, wherein the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device selects a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device completes establishment of a connection to a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; or the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device obtains an identifier of a serving cell of a new terminal device that is selected by the first terminal device and that is capable of providing the relay service; and stopping, by the first terminal device, the first timer when selecting a first cell (i.e., If a suitable cell is found first (e.g., before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the timer and initiate an RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message directly to a gNB (and starts a T301 timer used for RRC connection reestablishment). On the other hand, if a suitable relay is selected first (before a suitable cell is found and before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the T311 timer and initiate RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message to a gNB via forwarding through the selected relay (and may start the T301 timer) ([0094]-[0095])).
Regarding claim 48, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches the starting, by the first terminal device, a first timer comprises: starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer when initiating RRC reestablishment in the first manner ([0094]-[0095]); starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer when determining that the second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide the relay service to the first terminal device; or starting, by the first terminal device, the first timer after initiating RRC reestablishment in the first manner and before performing cell selection ([0094]-[0095]).
Regarding claim 49, Cheng teaches a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program code, wherein the computer program code comprises instructions that, when run on a first terminal device, the first terminal device is caused to perform: : initiating, by a first terminal device, radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment in a first manner when the first terminal device determines that a second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide a relay service to the first terminal device, wherein the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a new terminal device, or a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the second terminal device (i.e., a remote UE may be configured to reestablish RRC Connection by first attempting to find a suitable cell, by first attempting to find a suitable relay. The exact messaging to reestablish the RRC connection may depend on whether a suitable cell or suitable relay is found first. If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send (through Uu/first manner) an RRC reestablishment request directly to the network (e.g., to a gNB of the suitable cell). If a suitable cell is found first, the remote UE may send an RRC reestablishment request to the network via the suitable cell ([0085]). A remote UE may detect a PC5 or Uu RLF and, in an effort to reestablish the RRC connection, may perform joint cell selection and relay selection, as described in greater detail below (with reference to FIGS. 14-17) ([0088])… upon detecting an RLF, a remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing joint cell selection and relay selection (e.g., simultaneously). In such cases, the remote UE may have no preference whether it re-establishes RRC via a gNB or a relay UE. Thus, in this case, the remote UE may be able to initiate RRC re-establishment procedure as long as either one suitable cell or one suitable relay is available [0093], [0095], [0108], [0112], [0114], and [0117]).
Cheng does not specifically teach at least one of the following when Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of a first cell is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus does not select a terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when RSRP of a first cell is greater than a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is the manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through a Uu interface, wherein the first cell is a cell selected by the first communication apparatus; when the RSRP of the cell selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, and the first communication apparatus selects the third terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device; or when a difference between the RSRP of the cell and the RSRP of the third terminal device selected by the first communication apparatus is less than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, the first manner is a manner of initiating RRC reestablishment through the third terminal device, wherein the third terminal device is a new terminal device that is selected by the first communication apparatus and that is capable of providing the relay service, or the third terminal device and the second terminal device are a same terminal device.
However, the preceding limitation is known in the art of communications. Deng teaches the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay and/or the suitable cell to access the first cell as follows. When the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal obtains the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal determines a relay or cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP in the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell. The terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure according to the relay or a cell corresponding to the strongest RSRP to access the first cell. It should be noted that, when the terminal has determined the available relay and the suitable cell, the terminal may sort the RSRP of the available relay and the RSRP of the suitable cell, and select the strongest RSRP. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the available relay, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the available relay to access the cell accessed by the available relay. If the strongest RSRP corresponds to the suitable cell, the terminal performs the RRC reestablishment or the handover procedure through the suitable cell to access the suitable cell ([0106]-[0114]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at the time of the invention, to have implanted the technique of Deng within the system of Cheng in order to optimize connection stability and minimize mobility interruption time by ensuring the terminal automatically latches onto the strongest possible signal, whether it comes from a direct base station or a relay node.
Regarding claim 51, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches detecting, by the first terminal device, a sidelink (SL) radio link failure (RLF) between the first terminal device and the second terminal device; or requesting, by a first protocol layer in the first terminal device, to release a connection between the first terminal device and the second terminal device (i.e.., Example RRC Re-Establishment and RLF Reporting in Sidelink Relay Systems: upon detecting an RLF on Uu and/or PC5, the remote UE may attempt RRC connection reestablishment by performing cell selection and/or relay selection (because the RLF may effectively render the relay UE and/or current serving cell unsuitable) [0075]-[0078], The remote UE may be allowed to use (resources of) an exceptional pool for sidelink transmission during the period from RLF detection to RRC-re-establishment [0112]).
Regarding claim 52, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches starting, by the first terminal device, a first timer, wherein the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device selects a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device completes establishment of a connection to a new terminal device that is capable of providing the relay service; or the first timer is stopped when the first terminal device selects a cell, or is stopped when the first terminal device obtains an identifier of a serving cell of a new terminal device that is selected by the first terminal device and that is capable of providing the relay service; and stopping, by the first terminal device, the first timer when selecting a first cell (i.e., If a suitable cell is found first (e.g., before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the timer and initiate an RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message directly to a gNB (and starts a T301 timer used for RRC connection reestablishment). On the other hand, if a suitable relay is selected first (before a suitable cell is found and before the T311 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the T311 timer and initiate RRC re-establishment procedure by sending an RRCReestablishmentRequest message to a gNB via forwarding through the selected relay (and may start the T301 timer) ([0094]-[0095])).
Regarding claim 54, Cheng in view of Deng teaches all the limitations above. Cheng further teaches wherein that the first communication apparatus does not select a cell comprises: the first communication apparatus does not select a cell when a first timer expires, wherein the first timer is started when the first communication apparatus initiates RRC reestablishment in the first manner, the first timer is started when the first communication apparatus determines that the second terminal device is incapable of continuing to provide the relay service to the first terminal device, or the first timer is started after the first communication apparatus initiates RRC reestablishment in the first manner and before cell selection is performed (i.e., Upon RLF detection, the remote UE may start the T391 timer and perform only cell selection. If a suitable cell is selected first (before the T391 timer expires), the remote UE may stop the T391 timer and initiate RRC re-establishment procedure by sending RRCReestablishmentRequest message directly to gNB (and starting the T301 timer and performing the remaining operations described above for the example where the UE performs joint cell and relay selection (simultaneously [0094]-[0095], [0098], [0107]-[0110]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
TSAI et al. (US 2022/0124573) teaches A relay User Equipment (UE) detects a Radio Link Failure (RLF) or a Handover (HO) failure associated with a first base station when providing a relay service for a remote UE to indirectly communicate with the first base station. The relay UE sends a first command to the remote UE to indicate suspension of the relay service. The relay UE performs a Radio Resource Control (RRC) re-establishment procedure with the first base station or a second base station based on a cell search result. The relay UE sends a second command to the remote UE to indicate that the relay service is associated with the first base station or the second base station with which the RRC re-establishment procedure is performed ([abstr.).
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/JEAN A GELIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643
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