/IQBAL ZAIDI/ 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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed December 18, 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 10-15 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of 35 USC § 103.
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.
Claims 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang et al. (US 20230078059 A1) in view of Zhou et al. (US 20220322115 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang et al. teaches a terminal comprising: a receiver that receives one channel state information (CSI) report configuration corresponding to both a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a serving cell and an SSB of a non-serving cell having a physical cell ID (PCI) that is different from the PCI of the serving cell (Paragraph 56, 69, 92, 100, 107, 139, 143, These passages teach that a terminal receives a CSI-ReportConfig that configures SSB measurement reference signals for multiple PCIs including a serving cell PCI and at least one different non-serving cell PCI, thereby corresponding to both SSBs in a single CSI report configuration); wherein when the receiver receives the one CSI report configuration, the processor includes, in the CSI report, received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 113, 121, 126, These passages teach selecting and reporting the SSB/PCI corresponding to the best (largest) received power/quality among multiple PCIs, thereby including in the CSI report the measurement of the SSB having the largest received power out of serving and non-serving cell SSBs).
Zhang et al. does not explicitly teach a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell.
However, Zhou et al. teaches a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 73, 76, 102, These passages disclose that the UE, responsive to a CSI report configuration, transmits a report including L1-RSRP (received power) measurements for reference signals including SSBs from both the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell as taught by Zhou et al. in the system of Zhang et al., so that it would enable a terminal already configured to measure and select SSBs across multiple PCIs to consistently transmit standardized multi-cell received power measurements for improved measurement reporting, mobility support, and network decision-making.
Regarding claim 11, Zhang et al. teaches the processor controls transmission of capability information indicating whether to support a CSI report for the non- serving cell (Paragraph 84, 92, 93, 111, 143, 158, These passages disclose that the terminal processor, responsive to configuration of a PCI corresponding to a non-serving cell in CSI-ReportConfig, controls transmission of uplink control signaling (UCI or MAC-CE) conveying CSI/mobility measurement results for that non-serving cell, indicating support for and execution of CSI reporting for the non-serving cell).
Regarding claim 12, Zhang et al. teaches the processor controls transmission of capability information indicating a number of the non-serving cells supported in the CSI report (Paragraph 116, 117, 120, 158, These passages collectively disclose that the terminal transmits uplink control signaling (e.g., UCI or MAC-CE) that explicitly includes a PCI list or measurement results corresponding to multiple PCIs, thereby conveying information identifying and enumerating multiple non-serving cells included in the CSI-related reporting, which indicates how many such cells are supported in the report).
Regarding claim 13, Zhang et al. teaches a radio communication method for a terminal, comprising: receiving one channel state information (CSI) report configuration corresponding to both a(Paragraph 56, 69, 92, 100, 107, 139, 143, These passages teach that a terminal receives a CSI-ReportConfig that configures SSB measurement reference signals for multiple PCIs including a serving cell PCI and at least one different non-serving cell PCI, thereby corresponding to both SSBs in a single CSI report configuration); and when the one CSI report configuration is received, including, in the CSI report, received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 113, 121, 126, These passages teach selecting and reporting the SSB/PCI corresponding to the best (largest) received power/quality among multiple PCIs, thereby including in the CSI report the measurement of the SSB having the largest received power out of serving and non-serving cell SSBs).
Zhang et al. does not explicitly teach controlling, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell.
However, Zhou et al. teaches controlling, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 73, 76, 102, These passages disclose that the UE, responsive to a CSI report configuration, transmits a report including L1-RSRP (received power) measurements for reference signals including SSBs from both the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide controlling, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell as taught by Zhou et al. in the system of Zhang et al., so that it would enable a terminal already configured to measure and select SSBs across multiple PCIs to consistently transmit standardized multi-cell received power measurements for improved measurement reporting, mobility support, and network decision-making.
Regarding claim 14, Zhang et al. teaches a base station comprising: a transmitter that transmits one channel state information (CSI) report configuration corresponding to both a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a serving cell and an SSB of a non-serving cell having a physical cell ID (PCI) that is different from the PCI of the serving cell (Paragraph 70, 84, 92, 118, 123, 138, 139, 146, 153, These passages disclose the base station sending a CSI-ReportConfig including PCI-based parameters that configure mobility measurement SSBs for multiple PCIs, including SSBs of both the serving cell and non-serving cells having different PCIs).
Zhang et al. does not explicitly teach a processor that controls reception of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell, the CSI report being transmitted based on the one CSI report configuration, wherein when the transmitter transmits the one CSI report configuration, the CSI report includes received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell.
However, Zhou et al. teaches a processor that controls reception of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell, the CSI report being transmitted based on the one CSI report configuration (Paragraph 90, 101–102, 108, 123–124, teaches that the base station processor (baseband unit/controller) transmits a CSI report configuration that configures reporting of L1-RSRP and then receives, based on that configuration, a report including received power measurements for SSBs of both serving and non-serving cells), wherein when the transmitter transmits the one CSI report configuration, the CSI report includes received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 77, 104, 106, teaches that the base station configures the UE to report a subset of SSB reference signals having the highest L1 metric (e.g., highest L1-RSRP) across multiple cells with different PCIs, thereby including the SSB with the largest received power among serving and non-serving cells).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a processor that controls reception of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell, the CSI report being transmitted based on the one CSI report configuration, wherein when the transmitter transmits the one CSI report configuration, the CSI report includes received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell as taught by Zhou et al. in the system of Zhang et al., so that it would enable the base station to efficiently receive and evaluate power measurements for multiple SSBs configured under a single CSI report configuration to support accurate cell measurement, comparison, and mobility-related decision making.
Regarding claim 15, Zhang et al. teaches a system comprising a terminal and a base station, wherein the terminal comprises: a receiver that receives one channel state information (CSI) report configuration corresponding to both a synchronization signal block (SSB) of a serving cell and an SSB of a non-serving cell having a physical cell ID (PCI) that is different from the PCI of the serving cell (Paragraph 56, 69, 92, 100, 107, 139, 143, These passages teach that a terminal receives a CSI-ReportConfig that configures SSB measurement reference signals for multiple PCIs including a serving cell PCI and at least one different non-serving cell PCI, thereby corresponding to both SSBs in a single CSI report configuration); , wherein when the receiver receives the one CSI report configuration, the processor includes, in the CSI report, received power of an SSB having a largest received power out of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 113, 121, 126, These passages teach selecting and reporting the SSB/PCI corresponding to the best (largest) received power/quality among multiple PCIs, thereby including in the CSI report the measurement of the SSB having the largest received power out of serving and non-serving cell SSBs), and the base station comprises: a processor that controls reception of the CSI report (Paragraph 43, 62, 158–159, 168–169, These passages collectively show that the base station (as the second communication node) receives the uplink control signaling carrying the measurement result/CSI report and includes a processor configured to execute the described methods, thereby controlling the reception and processing of the CSI report).
Zhang et al. does not explicitly teach a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell.
However, Zhou et al. teaches a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell (Paragraph 73, 76, 102, These passages disclose that the UE, responsive to a CSI report configuration, transmits a report including L1-RSRP (received power) measurements for reference signals including SSBs from both the serving cell and one or more non-serving cells).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a processor that controls, based on the one CSI report configuration, transmission of a CSI report including received power of the SSB of the serving cell and the SSB of the non-serving cell as taught by Zhou et al. in the system of Zhang et al., so that it would enable a terminal already configured to measure and select SSBs across multiple PCIs to consistently transmit standardized multi-cell received power measurements for improved measurement reporting, mobility support, and network decision-making.
Allowable Subject Matter
Some amendments that could be made to the independent claims that might help get an allowance based on the specification, the applicant could consider adding concepts that clarify support for layer 1/layer 2 inter-cell mobility without RRC reconfiguration, such as explicitly reciting that the CSI reporting enables serving cell change through beam control without handover or RRC reconnection. The claim could further incorporate the concept that CSI reporting is performed for a reference signal of the non-serving cell in the context of mobility facilitation, rather than merely reporting SSB received power, thereby tying the reporting to mobility decision support. The applicant could also add that the terminal supports transmission and reception with the non-serving cell without performing a handover procedure, emphasizing reduced latency and overhead. Additionally, the claim could reflect that separate CSI report configurations may alternatively be received for the serving cell and the non-serving cell, as described in the specification, rather than being limited to a single configuration. The applicant might also incorporate the objective of preventing CSI reporting failure for non-serving cells in next-generation systems (e.g., NR Rel. 15 or later), such as by specifying that the configuration enables appropriate CSI measurement and reporting for beam management across cells. Finally, the claim could include that the CSI report supports efficient downlink/uplink beam management for inter-cell mobility scenarios, thereby more clearly aligning the claim with the disclosed technical problem and advantageous effect of enabling appropriate CSI reporting for non-serving cells in future radio communication systems.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
KOSKELA et al. (US 20230164607 A1)
Niu et al. (US 12192805 B2)
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN whose telephone number is (703)756-1878. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
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/ANDREW SHAJI KURIAN/Examiner, Art Unit 2464
/IQBAL ZAIDI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2464