DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/06/2026 has been entered.
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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 47, 52-53, 58-59 and 62 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WEI et al., US 2018/0242381 A1 (Wei hereinafter), in view of GULATI et al., US 2016/0337954 A1 (Gulati hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claim 47, Wei discloses a method in a first terminal device (Wei, abstract, A method of relaying a terminal-to terminal communication in a mobile telecommunication system, the mobile communication system including a first mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal, and a mobile node configured to operate as a terminal-to-terminal relay node), comprising:
obtaining a first measurement result for a first link between the first terminal device and a second terminal device (Wei, Fig. 7 and paragraph [0041], FIG. 7 schematically represents different types of criteria that may be used for to trigger an event ( or a measurement report if appropriate). In the example of FIG. 7, the example criteria are related to channel quality and in particular to channel quality for two links: the Uu link between a terminal and the base station and the PC5 link between two terminals (i.e., first terminal measurement result between PC5 link or a link between first device and a second device in a D2D arrangement). In the present disclosure, the term "request" UE or terminal (i.e., a first terminals device) will refer to a terminal that wishes to establish a D2D link or that has already established a D2D link with at least another (also "request") terminal (i.e., a second terminal device). Also see paragraph [0007], the method comprises measuring a first link quality between the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal wherein the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal are establishing a, or are in an established, device-to-device communication), wherein the first measurement result is obtained by receiving the first measurement result from the second terminal device (Wei, abstract, a UE making measurements may send measurement reports to others and/or select the relay itself and/or may send the trigger to another terminal (i.e., the first measurement result is obtained by receiving the first measurement result from the second terminal device));
obtaining a second measurement result for a second link between the first terminal device and a network node (Wei, Fig. 7 and paragraph [0041], FIG. 7 schematically represents different types of criteria that may be used for to trigger an event ( or a measurement report if appropriate). In the example of FIG. 7, the example criteria are related to channel quality and in particular to channel quality for two links: the Uu link between a terminal and the base station (i.e., obtaining a measurement result related to channel quality between a terminal and a base station)), wherein the second measurement result is obtained by measuring the second link (Wei, Fig. 7 and paragraphs [0042]-[0043], Example measurements in accordance with the present disclosure include, as illustrated in FIG. 7: … (1) Uu link quality, refer to as RSRP Uu, which indicates the link quality between a request UE and network, the case where the request UE is within coverage of a base station (e.g. eNobdeB)); and
transmitting a measurement report to the network node (Wei, paragraph [0068], In some examples a relatively good link with a neighbour may trigger a measurement report to a base station (i.e., the measurement report is transmitted to the base station) and the base station can decide whether to use the neighbour as a relay based on this and any other measurement reports its receives (e.g. from another request UE)),
Regarding claim 59, Wei discloses a method in a network node (Wei, abstract, A method of relaying a terminal-to terminal communication in a mobile telecommunication system, the mobile communication system including a first mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal, and a mobile node configured to operate as a terminal-to-terminal relay node), comprising: … receiving, from the first terminal device, a first measurement result for the first link and a second measurement result for the second link (Wei, Fig. 7 and paragraph [0041], FIG. 7 schematically represents different types of criteria that may be used for to trigger an event (or a measurement report if appropriate). In the example of FIG. 7, the example criteria are related to channel quality and in particular to channel quality for two links: the Uu link between a terminal and the base station and the PC5 link between two terminals (i.e., receiving from the first terminal measurement result between PC5 link and a link, such as, a Uu link). In the present disclosure, the term "request" UE or terminal (i.e., a first terminals device) will refer to a terminal that wishes to establish a D2D link or that has already established a D2D link with at least another (also "request") terminal (i.e., a second terminal device)),
wherein the first measurement result and the second measurement result are received in a single measurement report or in separate measurement reports from the first terminal device (Wei, paragraph [0068], In some examples a relatively good link with a neighbour may trigger a measurement report to a base station (i.e., transmitted measurement report is received by the base station) and the base station can decide whether to use the neighbour as a relay based on this and any other measurement reports its receives).
Wei does not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 47, the measurement report comprising the first measurement result and the second measurement result;
wherein the first link and the second link are measured in accordance with separate measurement configurations.
Regarding claim 59, transmitting, separate measurement configurations for measuring a first link between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and a second link between the first terminal device and the network node;
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Gulati discloses a method related to selecting relay in communication systems that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 47, the measurement report comprising the first measurement result and the second measurement result (Gulati, paragraph [0072], when a remote UE (i.e., the first UE) is in coverage, the remote UE can send measurement report to a base station, e.g., eNB containing PC5 and Uu link quality);
wherein the first link and the second link are measured in accordance with separate measurement configurations (Gulati, paragraph [0069], The line 706 on the graph 700 is: y=x/3. The case illustrated in FIG. 6 is an example with more weight given to the PC5 link quality. Accordingly, even though in some cases the Uu link quality of one link may be worse than the Uu link quality of another link, the link with the lower Uu link quality may be selected, i.e., when the PC5 link quality for a particular path is high enough to overcome the poor quality on the particular Uu link. (Overcoming poor link quality on a Uu link may not require a very high link quality on a PC5 link, depending on the weights, e.g., w1, w2, used) The link with the worst Uu link quality may be selected when the loading of the base station, e.g., eNB, is not a large constraint, e.g., more weight may be given for loading on devices other than the base station, e.g., the loading on the relay UEs (i.e., the first and the second link are measured in accordance with a separate configurations for measuring the link between the device to device and device to network)).
Regarding claim 59, transmitting, separate measurement configurations for measuring a first link between a first terminal device and a second terminal device, and a second link between the first terminal device and the network node (Gulati, paragraph [0069], The line 706 on the graph 700 is: y=x/3. The case illustrated in FIG. 6 is an example with more weight given to the PC5 link quality. Accordingly, even though in some cases the Uu link quality of one link may be worse than the Uu link quality of another link, the link with the lower Uu link quality may be selected, i.e., when the PC5 link quality for a particular path is high enough to overcome the poor quality on the particular Uu link. (Overcoming poor link quality on a Uu link may not require a very high link quality on a PC5 link, depending on the weights, e.g., w1, w2, used) The link with the worst Uu link quality may be selected when the loading of the base station, e.g., eNB, is not a large constraint, e.g., more weight may be given for loading on devices other than the base station, e.g., the loading on the relay UEs (i.e., the first and the second link are measured in accordance with a separate configurations for measuring the link between the device to device and device to network));
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei by using the features, as taught by Gulati, in order to support further improvements in LTE technology to meet the increasing demand for mobile broadband access (Gulati, paragraphs [0003] and [0006]).
Regarding claim 52, Wei discloses wherein the first link and/or the second link is a non-serving link and said measuring of the first link and/or the second link is in response to:
a radio quality of a current serving link being lower than a threshold, or a trigger from a network node, the second terminal device, or another terminal device controlling the first terminal device and the second terminal device, for the first or second terminal device to perform the measuring (Wei, paragraph [0099], In the examples above where information has to be sent from a terminal to another mobile node ( e.g. a relay node or a base station), the terminal may not always be already in a connected state (i.e., first or the second link is in a non-serving state) and might have to change to a connected mode to send the information, and the terminal may then change back to a non-connected state. For example, in a case where a neighbouring terminal (regardless of it being a request terminal or not) wishes to send a measurement report to a base station, a terminal or a relay node, in a 3GPP environment using an RRC protocol, the neighbouring terminal may not be in a RRC_CONNECTED state. In this case, the terminal may transition to a RRC_CONNECTED state, for example following the network (e.g. the base station) sending RRC connection establishment signalling (i.e., a trigger from the network node), so that the terminal can send the measurement report. The terminal may then transition back to the RRC_IDLE state, if appropriate)
Regarding claim 53, Wei discloses wherein the threshold is higher than a radio quality threshold for triggering a relay reselection (Wei, paragraph [0038], thresholds to be used with one or more events may be communicated by the network via a reportConfig Information Element (IE) from the base station to the terminal, with dedicated signalling. Then, at S602, it is determined or monitored whether at least one of these event(s) for initiating a terminal-to-terminal relay selection has been triggered at a mobile node. If such an event has not been triggered, then the mobile node continues monitoring the event(s). If however an event has been triggered, then the method moves on to S603 where a terminal-to-terminal relay is selected).
Regarding claim 58, Wei discloses a first terminal device, comprising a transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor whereby the first terminal device is operative to perform the method according to claim 47 (Wei, paragraph [0010], According to a fourth example aspect, there is provided circuitry for a mobile terminal for use in a mobile telecommunications system comprising the mobile terminal, a second mobile terminal and a mobile node configured to operate as a terminal-to-terminal relay node, wherein the circuitry comprises a controller element and a transceiver element configured to operate together).
Regarding claim 62, Wei discloses a network node, comprising a transceiver, a processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor whereby the network node is operative to perform the method according to claim 59 (Wei, paragraph [0017], According to an eleventh and twelfth example aspect, there is provided computer software which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the above methods and a storage medium which stores the computer software, respectively).
Claim(s) 48-51 and 60 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WEI et al., US 2018/0242381 A1 (Wei hereinafter), in view of GULATI et al., US 2016/0337954 A1 (Gulati hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of CHEN et al., US 2016/0100355 A1 (Chen hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 48-51, Wei and Gulati disclose the method of claim 47. Wei and Gulati do not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 48, wherein each of the separate measurement configurations, comprises one or more of:
one or more measurement quantities, one or more measurement objects, one or more time and/or frequency resources to be measured, one or more measurement identities, one or more measurement gaps, or one or more measurement reporting configurations.
Regarding claim 49, wherein at least one of the one or more measurement objects is associated with one or more resource pools.
Regarding claim 50, wherein the one or more resource pools comprise an exceptional resource pool that is used only for measurement during a discovery procedure.
Regarding claim 51, wherein the one or more measurement identities comprise one or more of:
a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used for non- discovery-related measurement, or a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used only for discovery-related measurement.
Regarding claim 60, wherein each of the separate measurement configurations, comprises one or more of: one or more measurement quantities, one or more measurement objects, one or more time and/or frequency resources to be measured, one or more measurement identities, one or more measurement gaps, or one or more measurement reporting configurations;
wherein at least one of the one or more measurement objects is associated with one or more resource pools, and/or wherein the one or more measurement identities comprise one or more of:
a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used for non- discovery-related measurement, or a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used only for discovery-related measurement.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Chen discloses a method related to processing D2D measurement that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 48, wherein each of the separate measurement configurations, comprises one or more of:
one or more measurement quantities, one or more measurement objects, one or more time and/or frequency resources to be measured, one or more measurement identities, one or more measurement gaps, or one or more measurement reporting configurations (Chen, paragraph [0010], the D2D measurement configuration information comprises at least one of: UE based measurement object information, a UE-based measurement reporting condition and a UE-based measurement reporting content).
Regarding claim 49, wherein at least one of the one or more measurement objects is associated with one or more resource pools (Chen, paragraph [0110], Wherein, the UE performs the measurement on a measurement object corresponding to the measurement object information in the D2D measurement configuration information includes: when at least one of the following resource set is indicated in the measurement object information: a time-domain resource set, a frequency-domain resource set, a code-domain resource set, the UE performs the measurement on an adjacent UE using the resource indicated in the measurement object information, wherein it is important to note that the resource set includes a specific resource or resource pool; when the measurement object information includes an identification information list of one or more to-be-measured objects, the UE performs a measurement on an adjacent UE identified by identification information indicated in the measurement object information, wherein the identification information list may include one or more pieces of identification information, and the identification information may comprise device identification information or discovery identification information or other information for identifying the UE).
Regarding claim 50, wherein the one or more resource pools comprise an exceptional resource pool that is used only for measurement during a discovery procedure (Chen, paragraph [0110], Wherein, the UE performs the measurement on a measurement object corresponding to the measurement object information in the D2D measurement configuration information includes: when at least one of the following resource set is indicated in the measurement object information: … wherein it is important to note that the resource set includes a specific resource or resource pool; when the measurement object information includes an identification information list of one or more to-be-measured objects, the UE performs a measurement on an adjacent UE identified by identification information indicated in the measurement object information, wherein the identification information list may include one or more pieces of identification information, and the identification information may comprise device identification information or discovery identification information or other information for identifying the UE).
Regarding claim 51, wherein the one or more measurement identities comprise one or more of:
a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used for non- discovery-related measurement, or a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used only for discovery-related measurement (Chen, paragraph [0110], Wherein, the UE performs the measurement on a measurement object corresponding to the measurement object information in the D2D measurement configuration information includes: when at least one of the following resource set is indicated in the measurement object information: a time-domain resource set, a frequency-domain resource set, a code-domain resource set, the UE performs the measurement on an adjacent UE using the resource indicated in the measurement object information, wherein it is important to note that the resource set includes a specific resource or resource pool; when the measurement object information includes an identification information list of one or more to-be-measured objects, the UE performs a measurement on an adjacent UE identified by identification information indicated in the measurement object information, wherein the identification information list may include one or more pieces of identification information, and the identification information may comprise device identification information or discovery identification information or other information for identifying the UE).
Regarding claim 60, wherein each of the separate measurement configurations, comprises one or more of: one or more measurement quantities, one or more measurement objects, one or more time and/or frequency resources to be measured, one or more measurement identities, one or more measurement gaps, or one or more measurement reporting configurations (Chen, paragraph [0010], the D2D measurement configuration information comprises at least one of: UE based measurement object information, a UE-based measurement reporting condition and a UE-based measurement reporting content);
wherein at least one of the one or more measurement objects is associated with one or more resource pools, and/or wherein the one or more measurement identities comprise one or more of:
a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used for non- discovery-related measurement, or a measurement identity assigned from a measurement identity pool used only for discovery-related measurement (Chen, paragraph [0110], Wherein, the UE performs the measurement on a measurement object corresponding to the measurement object information in the D2D measurement configuration information includes: when at least one of the following resource set is indicated in the measurement object information: a time-domain resource set, a frequency-domain resource set, a code-domain resource set, the UE performs the measurement on an adjacent UE using the resource indicated in the measurement object information, wherein it is important to note that the resource set includes a specific resource or resource pool; when the measurement object information includes an identification information list of one or more to-be-measured objects, the UE performs a measurement on an adjacent UE identified by identification information indicated in the measurement object information, wherein the identification information list may include one or more pieces of identification information, and the identification information may comprise device identification information or discovery identification information or other information for identifying the UE).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei and Gulati by using the features, as taught by Chen, in order to effectively control D2D discovery and D2D communication, increase a resource utilization rate and improve quality of user service (see Chen, abstract).
Claim(s) 54-55 and 57 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WEI et al., US 2018/0242381 A1 (Wei hereinafter), in view of GULATI et al., US 2016/0337954 A1 (Gulati hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Freda et al., US 2018/0092017 A1 (Freda hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 54-57, Wei and Gulati disclose the method of claim 47. Wei and Gulati do not explicitly disclose the following features.
Regarding claim 54, wherein the first terminal device is a relay User Equipment, UE, and the second terminal device is a remote UE in a Layer 2, L2, or Layer 3, L3, UE-to-Network Relay configuration.
Regarding claim 55, wherein the first measurement result and the second measurement result are transmitted in a Uu RRC message, wherein the first measurement result and the second measurement result are transmitted in a single or separate report.
Regarding claim 57, wherein the single or separate measurement reports comprise one or more of: one or more measurement identities, a measurement result for each of one or more serving frequencies, a measurement result for each of one or more inter-RAT or frequency links, an indication of the first link and/or the second link with which the first measurement result and/or the second measurement result is associated, a RAT or frequency with which the first measurement result and/or the second measurement result is associated, or an identifier of the first terminal device or the second terminal device.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Freda discloses a method related to a WTRU to act as a mobile relay that comprises the following features.
Regarding claim 54, wherein the first terminal device is a relay User Equipment, UE, and the second terminal device is a remote UE in a Layer 2, L2, or Layer 3, L3, UE-to-Network Relay configuration (Freda, paragraph [0119], The identification may include L2 ID, physical layer ID, and/or the like. The measurement report may contain a list of measured mobile relay WTRUs. The list of measure mobile relay WTRUs may be reported in terms of L2 ID or physical layer ID. The measurement report may contain associated measurements for a mobile relay. The measurement report may contain the measurement quality of the mobile relay to which the remote WTRU is connecting. The measurement report may contain type of service requested by the WTRU).
Regarding claim 55, wherein the first measurement result and the second measurement result are transmitted in a Uu RRC message, wherein the first measurement result and the second measurement result are transmitted in a single or separate report (Freda, paragraph [0119], The mobile relay WTRU may send the measurements over the Uu interface to the eNB. For example, the mobile relay WTRU may send the measurements over the Uu interface to the eNB when receiving a measurement packet (e.g., a MAC CE or a RRC-like message) over the PC5 interface from the remote WTRU. This measurement report may be sent using RRC signaling and/or MAC CE. The measurement report may contain identification of the remote WTRU making the measurements).
Regarding claim 57, wherein the single or separate measurement reports comprise one or more of: one or more measurement identities, a measurement result for each of one or more serving frequencies, a measurement result for each of one or more inter-RAT or frequency links, an indication of the first link and/or the second link with which the first measurement result and/or the second measurement result is associated, a RAT or frequency with which the first measurement result and/or the second measurement result is associated, or an identifier of the first terminal device or the second terminal device (Freda, paragraph [0097], The measurements reported to higher layers may contain one or more of: channel quality measurements ( e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP)) and/or mobile relay ID. The mobile relay ID may correspond to an ID retrieved from PSBCH. The mobile relay ID may correspond to the Layer 1 ID decoded in the system aspects (SA). The mobile relay ID may correspond to the L2 WTRU ID. The mobile relay ID may correspond to the ID decoded in MAC header. For example, the mobile relay ID may correspond to the ID decoded in MAC header if measurements are taken from data packets. The measurements may allow the association of a channel quality measurement to the mobile relay ID corresponding to a given mobile relay. Also see paragraph [0105], The remote WTRU may trigger the lower layers to perform targeted measurements through the application layer. The list of mobile relay WTRUs may be provided to the lower layers. For example, the list of mobile relay WTRUs may be provided to the lower layers as a list of L2 IDs. The lower layers may return with corresponding measurements for one or more of the identified WTRUs).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei and Gulati by using the features, as taught by Freda, in order to define D2D protocols in a flexible manner so that one or more public safety (PS) and commercial applications could be supported (see Freda, abstract and paragraph [0006]).
Claim(s) 56 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WEI et al., US 2018/0242381 A1 (Wei hereinafter), in view of GULATI et al., US 2016/0337954 A1 (Gulati hereinafter), in view of Freda et al., US 2018/0092017 A1 (Freda hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of TANG et al., US 2020/0068580 A1 (Tang hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claims 56, Wei, Gulati and Freda disclose the method of claim 55. Wei, Gulati and Freda do not explicitly disclose wherein the first measurement report and/or the second measurement result are transmitted periodically, or when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:
a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving PC5 link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving Uu link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of any one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of the first link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of an inter - Radio Access Technology, RAT, or frequency link on which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are operating or capable of operating is higher than another threshold, an overall measured quality of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower or higher than a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link by an offset, or a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold by an offset dependent on a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Tang discloses a method related to a remote communication apparatus, a relay communication apparatus and a base station that comprises wherein the first measurement report and/or the second measurement result are transmitted periodically (Tang, paragraph [0225], For example, the report may be issued periodically. Furthermore, the report may be issued X subframes after measurement. The value of this X may be a predetermined value, or may be notified by the base station 100 or the relay UE 200, or may be decided by the remote UE 300. Furthermore, the report may be issued at a timing when a report request is received from the relay UE 200 or the base station 100), or when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:
a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving PC5 link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving Uu link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of any one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of the first link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of an inter - Radio Access Technology, RAT, or frequency link on which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are operating or capable of operating is higher than another threshold, an overall measured quality of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower or higher than a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link by an offset, or a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold by an offset dependent on a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei, Gulati and Freda by using the features, as taught by Tang, in order to efficiently perform measurements in a radio communication system (see Tang, paragraphs [0001] and [0004]).
Claim(s) 61 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WEI et al., US 2018/0242381 A1 (Wei hereinafter), in view of GULATI et al., US 2016/0337954 A1 (Gulati hereinafter), as applied to the claims above and further in view of Freda et al., US 2018/0092017 A1 (Freda hereinafter) and in view of TANG et al., US 2020/0068580 A1 (Tang hereinafter).
Here is how the references teach the claims.
Regarding claim 61, Wei and Gulati discloses the method of claim 59. Wei and Gulati do not explicitly disclose wherein the first terminal device is a relay UE, and the second terminal device is a remote UE in an L2 or L3 UE-to-Network Relay configuration, and wherein the first measurement report and/or the second measurement result are received periodically, or when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:
a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving PC5 link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving Uu link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of any one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of the first link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of an inter - Radio Access Technology, RAT, or frequency link on which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are operating or capable of operating is higher than another threshold, an overall measured quality of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower or higher than a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link by an offset, or a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold by an offset dependent on a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Freda discloses a method related to a WTRU to act as a mobile relay that comprises wherein the first terminal device is a relay UE, and the second terminal device is a remote UE in an L2 or L3 UE-to-Network Relay configuration (Freda, paragraph [0119], The identification may include L2 ID, physical layer ID, and/or the like. The measurement report may contain a list of measured mobile relay WTRUs. The list of measure mobile relay WTRUs may be reported in terms of L2 ID or physical layer ID. The measurement report may contain associated measurements for a mobile relay. The measurement report may contain the measurement quality of the mobile relay to which the remote WTRU is connecting. The measurement report may contain type of service requested by the WTRU),
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei and Gulati by using the features, as taught by Freda, in order to define D2D protocols in a flexible manner so that one or more public safety (PS) and commercial applications could be supported (see Freda, abstract and paragraph [0006]).
Wei, Gulati and Freda do not explicitly disclose and wherein the first measurement report and/or the second measurement result are received periodically, or when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:
a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving PC5 link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving Uu link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of any one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of the first link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of an inter - Radio Access Technology, RAT, or frequency link on which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are operating or capable of operating is higher than another threshold, an overall measured quality of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower or higher than a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link by an offset, or a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold by an offset dependent on a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link.
In the same field of endeavor (e.g., communication system) Tang discloses a method related to a remote communication apparatus, a relay communication apparatus and a base station that comprises and wherein the first measurement report and/or the second measurement result are received periodically (Tang, paragraph [0225], For example, the report may be issued periodically. Furthermore, the report may be issued X subframes after measurement. The value of this X may be a predetermined value, or may be notified by the base station 100 or the relay UE 200, or may be decided by the remote UE 300. Furthermore, the report may be issued at a timing when a report request is received from the relay UE 200 or the base station 100), or when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied:
a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving PC5 link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of a serving Uu link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of a non-serving Uu link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of any one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link is higher than another threshold, a measured quality of the first link is lower than a threshold, while a measured quality of an inter - Radio Access Technology, RAT, or frequency link on which the first terminal device and the second terminal device are operating or capable of operating is higher than another threshold, an overall measured quality of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold, a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower or higher than a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link by an offset, or a measured quality of one of the first link and the second link is lower than a threshold by an offset dependent on a measured quality of the other one of the first link and the second link.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Wei, Gulati and Freda by using the features, as taught by Tang, in order to efficiently perform measurements in a radio communication system (see Tang, paragraphs [0001] and [0004]).
Response to Amendment
This action is responsive to applicant’s amendment and remarks received on 04/06/2026. Claims 47-62 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s argument, filed on 04/06/2026, with respect to the claims 47-62 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the new ground (s) of rejection. Newly found prior art, Wei and Gulati, disclose the features of the independent claims as discussed in the office action above.
Conclusion
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/OBAIDUL HUQ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2473 Dated:05/25/2026
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