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has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
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.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2023/0239748 A1; hereinafter “Xu”), in view of AGIWAL et al. (US 2022/0150975 A1; hereinafter "AGIWAL").
Regarding claim 1, Xu teaches a cell handover method (FIG. 21), comprising: receiving, at a terminal device, a physical layer measurement configuration from a source cell ([0238] a wireless device receives one or more RRC messages from the source base station, wherein the RRC messages comprise configuration parameters including a first plurality of RSs of the target cell, an RSRP threshold for measurement, a SINR threshold for measurement, a time window for measurement, and a counter threshold for measurement);
measuring, by the terminal device, a downlink reference signal of a target cell based on the physical layer measurement configuration ([0238] the configuration parameters comprise a second plurality of RSs of the target cell, [0239] the wireless device performs a measurement of RSRP value and/or SINR value based on the second plurality of RSs);
reporting, by the terminal device, a measurement result of the target cell downlink reference signal to the source cell ([0239] the wireless device may transmit a measurement report comprising measurement RSRP value and/or SINR value of the target cell to the serving base station, source base station, or source cell via the indicated PUCCH resources);
wherein the indication information indicates a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and cell handover ([0241] the TCI state indication messages indicate one or more TCI states associated target cell, [0251] the MAC CE indicates a TCI-StateID, and [0240] the HO command initiates handover to the target cell);
initiating random access to the target cell according to the indication information ([0241] the wireless device receives one or more TCI state indication messages associated with the target cell, [0242] in response to receiving the one or more TCI state indication messages comprising the target cell ID, the wireless device determines a preamble based on the one or more TCI states and transmits, to the target base station, the preamble of a random access procedure);
receiving first response information from the target cell based on the random access ([0242] the wireless device transmits the preamble of a random access procedure to the target base station, [0237] the wireless device receives, from the target base station or via the target cell, a random access response (RAR)), the first response information being received using a target beam selected based on the indication information ([0252] the MAC CE activates one or more TCI states associated with the target cell, [0242] the wireless device determines beam-related transmission filters based on the indicated TCI states, [0237] the wireless device receives the RAR based on a downlink beam); and
after receiving the first response information from the target cell, returning, by the terminal device, second response information to the source cell ([0237] the wireless device may receive, from the target base station, a random access response (RAR), and may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message for a handover procedure from the source cell to the target cell, [0241] the wireless device may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station), where the second response information indicates that the first TCI state is successfully activated ([0241] the wireless device receives one or more TCI state indication messages indicating one or more TCI states associated with the target cell and, in response, transmits an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message, [0251] a TCI state with TCI-StateID is activated when the corresponding field Ti is set to 1).
However, Xu does not teach receiving, at the terminal device, indication information from the source cell, wherein the indication information is based on the measurement result.
In an analogous art, AGIWAL teaches receiving, at the terminal device, indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703 (e.g., a gNB)), wherein the indication information is based on the measurement result ([0186] the source gNB decides to handover the UE based on a MeasurementReport and [0190] sends the RRCReconfiguration message).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a random-access procedure as taught by AGIWAL within the system of Xu. One would have been motivated to do so in order to enhance a two-step random access procedure for development for system network improvement (AGIWAL [0006]).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically Xu teaches wherein the first TCI state indicates a first reference signal ([0241] the one or more TCI states are associated with the target cell, [0242] each of the one or more TCI states comprises a quasi-collocated reference signal or a spatial relation reference signal); and the initiating random access to the target cell according to the indication information includes:
initiating the random access to the target cell based on a first random access resource associated with the first reference signal ([0242] each TCI state comprises a quasi-collocated reference signal or a spatial relation reference signal, the wireless device determines the preamble based on an association between random access resources of the target cell and the reference signal, and transmits the preamble of a random access procedure to the target base station).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the method (FIG. 17) further comprises: receiving an association relationship between a random access resource and a first reference signal from the source cell ([0198] pre-allocated UL grants signaled in a handover command may be associated with one or more SSB/CSI RS(s), [0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703. The RRCReconfiguration message includes a pre-allocated UL grant configuration and information (i.e., SSB ID/CSI-RS ID) about an SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants);
wherein the initiating random access to the target cell according to the indication information includes ([0174], [0178] the UE performs random access if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable): initiating the random access to the target cell based on the indication information by using a first random access resource associated with the first reference signal ([0174] If a RACH-less handover is configured and if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable, the UE performs random access, [0198] A UE selects an SSB/CSI RS and then transmit in a UL grant corresponding to the selected SSB/CSI RS).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically Xu teaches wherein the using the first random access includes using a random access preamble ([0242] the random access resources comprise one or more preambles and/or one or more random access occasions).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the method (FIG. 17) further comprises:
receiving a configuration of a random access resource of the target cell ([0202] In FIG. 17, UE receiving the RRCReconfiguration message includes a pre-allocated UL grant configuration (parameters indicate periodically occurring UL grants) which contains the configuration for the pre-allocated UL grant to be used in the target cell 1705), wherein the configuration of the random access resource is used to determine the random access resource of the target cell ([0198] pre-allocated UL grants signaled in a handover command may be associated with one or more SSB/CSI RS(s). A UE selects an SSB/CSI RS and then transmit in a UL grant corresponding to the selected SSB/CSI RS);
wherein the initiating random access to the target cell according to the indication information includes ([0174], [0178] the UE performs random access if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable): initiating the random access to the target cell according to the indication information by using the random access resource ([0174] If a RACH-less handover is configured and if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable, the UE performs random access).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein there is an association relationship between a plurality of reference signals of the target cell and a plurality of random access resources, and the first reference signal is one of the plurality of reference signals ([0198] In FIG. 17 step 1710 and 1720, pre-allocated UL grants signaled in a handover command may be associated with one or more SSB/CSI RS(s). A UE selects an SSB/CSI RS and then transmit in a UL grant corresponding to the selected SSB/CSI RS).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the receiving the indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703 (e.g., a gNB)) includes receiving one or more of the following: an identifier of a random access resource ([0148] In FIG. 12, the UE receives the msgB including the random access preamble identifier (RAPID) in the fallback information matches the random access preamble index of the PRACH preamble transmitted by the UE) or an identifier of the target beam ([0069] beam information (e.g. one or more DL TX beam ID(s))).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the receiving the identifier of the target beam ([0069] DL TX beam ID) includes receiving one or more of the following: an identifier of a TCI state ([0053] One DL RS (SSB or CSI-RS) is RRC configured per TCI state. A UE identifies its beam information based on the DL RS in the indicated TCI state).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the receiving the identifier of the random access resource ([0148] In FIG. 12 step 1230 and 1240) includes receiving a random access preamble ([0089] In FIG. 6A, received by the UE 601 includes a random access preamble identifier (RAPID) corresponding to the PRACH preamble).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the method (FIG. 17) further comprises: receiving configuration information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703),
wherein the configuration information includes a physical layer measurement configuration ([0202] includes information (i.e., SSB ID/CSI-RS ID) about an SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants, [0177] an activated TCI state based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of a target cell included in a last measurement report), and the physical layer measurement configuration includes synchronization signal block (SSB) information of a neighboring cell ([0173] The gNB configures the single TCI state based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of the target cell included in a last measurement report); and
measuring a SSB of the neighboring cell according to the physical layer measurement configuration ([0203] In FIG. 17, the UE 1701 measures the SS-RSRP/CSI-RSRP of SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants in step 1720); and reporting a SSB measurement result of the neighboring cell to the source cell ([0173] based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of the target cell included in a last measurement report, [0185] the UE reports according to the measurement configuration).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the receiving the indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703) includes receiving the indication information carried by a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) ([0169] For PDCCH beam indication, a set of TCI states are RRC configured per CORESET. One TCI state amongst these based on which UE determines the PDCCH beam is indicated by a MAC CE).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein receiving the indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703) that indicates the first TCI state ([0169] the indicated TCI state) includes receiving the indication information from the source cell that indicates one or more of the following:
an identifier of a TCI status ([0169] One DL RS (SSB or CSI-RS) is RRC configured per TCI state. A UE identifies its beam information based on the DL RS in the indicated TCI state).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the receiving the indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703) includes receiving the indication information used to instruct to activate the first TCI state ([0176] a gNB indicates an activated TCI state (i.e., the gNB signals an activated TCI state ID in a reconfiguration message) amongst a list of TCI states configured for a target cell).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically Xu teaches wherein the returning the second response information to the source cell includes returning acknowledgement (ACK) information indicating a beam switch of the terminal device to a beam used by the target cell succeeds ([0241] the wireless device receives TCI state indication messages associated with the target cell and transmits an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message, [0242] applies the HO command and determines a beam based on the indicated TCI state, [0251] the indicated TCI-StateID is activated when Ti is set 1).
Regarding claim 15, Xu teaches a communication apparatus (FIG. 15 wireless device 1502), comprising:
a transceiver (FIG. 15 Air interface 1506), configured to receive a physical layer measurement configuration from a source cell ([0238] a wireless device receives one or more RRC messages from the source base station, wherein the RRC messages comprise configuration parameters including a first plurality of RSs of the target cell, an RSRP threshold for measurement, a SINR threshold for measurement, a time window for measurement, and a counter threshold for measurement);
a processor (FIG. 15 processing system 1518), configured to measure a downlink reference signal of a target cell based on the physical layer measurement configuration ([0238] the configuration parameters comprise a second plurality of RSs of the target cell, [0239] the wireless device performs a measurement of RSRP value and/or SINR value based on the second plurality of RSs) and to report a measurement result of the target cell downlink reference signal to the source cell ([0239] the wireless device may transmit a measurement report comprising measurement RSRP value and/or SINR value of the target cell to the serving base station, source base station, or source cell via the indicated PUCCH resources);
wherein the indication information indicates a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and cell handover ([0241] the TCI state indication messages indicate one or more TCI states associated target cell, [0251] the MAC CE indicates a TCI-StateID, and [0240] the HO command initiates handover to the target cell);
wherein the processor, is further configured to: initiate random access to the target cell according to the indication information ([0241] the wireless device receives one or more TCI state indication messages associated with the target cell, [0242] in response to receiving the one or more TCI state indication messages comprising the target cell ID, the wireless device determines a preamble based on the one or more TCI states and transmits, to the target base station, the preamble of a random access procedure);
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive first response information from the target cell based on the random access ([0242] the wireless device transmits the preamble of a random access procedure to the target base station, [0237] the wireless device receives, from the target base station or via the target cell, a random access response (RAR)), the first response information being received using a target beam selected based on the indication information ([0252] the MAC CE activates one or more TCI states associated with the target cell, [0242] the wireless device determines beam-related transmission filters based on the indicated TCI states, [0237] the wireless device receives the RAR based on a downlink beam), and, after receiving the first response information from the target cell, to return second response information to the source cell ([0237] the wireless device may receive, from the target base station, a random access response (RAR), and may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message for a handover procedure from the source cell to the target cell, [0241] the wireless device may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station), where the second response information indicates that the first TCI state is successfully activated ([0241] the wireless device receives one or more TCI state indication messages indicating one or more TCI states associated with the target cell and, in response, transmits an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message, [0251] a TCI state with TCI-StateID is activated when the corresponding field Ti is set to 1).
However, Xu does not teach wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive indication information from the source cell, wherein the indication information is based and the measurement result.
In an analogous art, AGIWAL teaches wherein the transceiver (FIG. 20 transceiver 2010) is further configured to receive indication information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703 (e.g., a gNB)), wherein the indication information is based and the measurement result ([0186] the source gNB decides to handover the UE based on a MeasurementReport and [0190] sends the RRCReconfiguration message).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a random-access procedure as taught by AGIWAL within the system of Xu. One would have been motivated to do so in order to enhance a two-step random access procedure for development for system network improvement (AGIWAL [0006]).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically Xu teaches wherein the first TCI state indicates a first reference signal ([0241] the one or more TCI states are associated with the target cell, [0242] each of the one or more TCI states comprises a quasi-collocated reference signal or a spatial relation reference signal); and
the processor (FIG. 15 processing system 1518) is further configured to initiate the random access to the target cell based on a first random access resource associated with the first reference signal ([0242] each TCI state comprises a quasi-collocated reference signal or a spatial relation reference signal, the wireless device determines the preamble based on an association between random access resources of the target cell and the reference signal, and transmits the preamble of a random access procedure to the target base station).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the transceiver (FIG. 20 transceiver 2010) is further configured to:
receive an association relationship between a random access resource and a first reference signal from the source cell ([0198] pre-allocated UL grants signaled in a handover command may be associated with one or more SSB/CSI RS(s), [0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703. The RRCReconfiguration message includes a pre-allocated UL grant configuration and information (i.e., SSB ID/CSI-RS ID) about an SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants); and
initiate the random access to the target cell based on the indication information by using a first random access resource associated with the first reference signal ([0174] If a RACH-less handover is configured and if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable, the UE performs random access, [0198] A UE selects an SSB/CSI RS and then transmit in a UL grant corresponding to the selected SSB/CSI RS).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein: the transceiver (FIG. 20 transceiver 2010) is further configured to receive a configuration of a random access resource of the target cell ([0202] In FIG. 17, UE receiving the RRCReconfiguration message includes a pre-allocated UL grant configuration (parameters indicate periodically occurring UL grants) which contains the configuration for the pre-allocated UL grant to be used in the target cell 1705),
wherein the configuration of the random access resource is used to determine the random access resource of the target cell ([0198] pre-allocated UL grants signaled in a handover command may be associated with one or more SSB/CSI RS(s). A UE selects an SSB/CSI RS and then transmit in a UL grant corresponding to the selected SSB/CSI RS); and
the processor (FIG. 20 a processor 2010) is further configured to initiate the random access to the target cell according to the indication information by using the random access resource ([0174] If a RACH-less handover is configured and if an SSB ID/CSI RS ID indicated by a TCI state is not suitable, the UE performs random access).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein the indication information includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the target beam ([0069] beam information (e.g. one or more DL TX beam ID(s))).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Xu and AGIWAL, specifically AGIWAL teaches wherein: the transceiver (FIG. 20 transceiver 2010) is further configured to receive configuration information from the source cell ([0202] a UE 1701 receives an RRCReconfiguration message from a source cell 1703), wherein the configuration information includes a physical layer measurement configuration ([0202] includes information (i.e., SSB ID/CSI-RS ID) about an SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants, [0177] an activated TCI state based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of a target cell included in a last measurement report), and
the physical layer measurement configuration includes synchronization signal block (SSB) information of a neighboring cell ([0173] The gNB configures the single TCI state based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of the target cell included in a last measurement report); and
the processor (FIG. 20 a processor 2010) is further configured to measure a SSB of the neighboring cell according to the physical layer measurement configuration ([0203] In FIG. 17, the UE 1701 measures the SS-RSRP/CSI-RSRP of SSB/CSI-RS(s) associated with the pre-allocated UL grants in step 1720); and
the transceiver (FIG. 20 transceiver 2010) is further configured to report a SSB measurement result of the neighboring cell to the source cell ([0173] based on an SSB ID/CSI RS ID of the target cell included in a last measurement report, [0185] the UE reports according to the measurement configuration).
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 2020/0314664 A1 (Zhou et al.) discloses a wireless device receives configuration parameters comprising first parameters of downlink RSs and second parameter indicating that a default beam is used for uplink transmission.
US 2022/0131793 A1 (Ramachandra et al.) discloses a method is performed by a network node comprising a CU.
US 2023/0128255 A1 (Liberg et al.) discloses service link switching in a wireless communications network.
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/T.I./ Examiner, Art Unit 2413
/REDENTOR PASIA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
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