DETAILED ACTION
This action is in response to applicant’s amendment filed on 08 July 2026. Claims 1, 4-6, 9-11, 14-15, and 19-21 are now pending in the present application and claims 2-3, 7-8, 12-13, and 16-18 are canceled. This office action is made Non-Final.
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 08 July 2026 has been entered.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-13, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by ZTE-3GPP (“Identification and Access Restriction for RedCap”; R2-2100572).
Regarding claims 1, 6, and 11, ZTE-3GPP discloses a terminal (e.g., UE) comprising:
at least one processor (e.g., UE) with a memory (e.g., UE) storing computer program code, wherein the at least one processor (e.g., UE) with the memory (e.g., UE) is configured to { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2) }:
receive (e.g., UE) a system information block 1 (SIB1) { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1), where the system has SIB1 }; and
determine whether or not first information indicating that a Reduced Capability (RedCap) terminal is allowed to camp on a cell is included in the SIB1 { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2), where the system provides a RedCap UE access, and the system provides information to bar or allow to camp on a cell (see pg. 2, sec. 2.1, ‘proposal 3’); As a note, the claim recites the limitation "whether or not" which is alternative language. };
consider the cell as barred in a case where the first information is not included in the SIB1 SIB1 { (see pg. 2, sec. 2.1), where the system provides a RedCap UE access, and the system provides an option in the MIB to include information to bar (or allow) to camp on a cell (see pg. 2, sec. 2.1, ‘proposal 3’) }; and
determine whether or not second information indicating that whether or not the cell is barred for a RedCap terminal with a specific number of receivers is included in the SIB1 in a case where the first information is included in the SIB1 { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2), where the system can allow/block access of a RedCap UE in which the feature a specific number of receivers is a parameter (specification/capability/criteria) of a RedCap UE (e.g., UE capabilities) (Note 1: also, see pg. 1, [0005] of orig. spec. of instant application that references 3GPP standard); As a note, the claim recites the limitation "whether or not" which is alternative language. },
determine whether or not the cell is barred for the RedCap terminal with the specific number of receivers based on the second information and a number of receivers of the terminal in a case where the second information is included in the SIB1 { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2), where the system can allow/block access of a RedCap UE in which the feature a specific number of receivers is a parameter (specification/capability/criteria) of a RedCap UE (e.g., UE capabilities) (see Note 1 above); As a note, the claim recites the limitation "whether or not" which is alternative language. }; and
control selection or reselection of the cell based on a measured reception level in a case where the cell is not barred { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2), where the system provides reselection (see ‘Proposals 3-4’}.
Regarding claims 5, 10, and 15, ZTE-3GPP discloses the terminal according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the RedCap terminal is in an idle state, an inactive state, or a connected state during running of a specific timer, the at least one processor with the memory is configured to determine whether or not the first information is included in the SIB1 { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2) }.
Regarding claims 19, 20, and 21, ZTE-3GPP discloses the terminal according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is the RedCap terminal (UE) (e.g., RedCap UE) { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2), where the system has a RedCap UE (see pp. 4-6, sec. 2.3-2.4), and the system provides a RedCap UE access (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1) }.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 9, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZTE-3GPP (“Identification and Access Restriction for RedCap”; R2-2100572) in view of further support Nokia-3GPP (“Initial Access for RedCap UEs”; R1-20008072).
Regarding claims 4, 9, and 14, ZTE-3GPP discloses
the terminal according to any one of claims 1, wherein the specific number of receivers is a single receiver or two receivers { (see pp. 1-2, sec. 2.1; pp. 3-4, sec. 2.2) }.
ZTE-3GPP does not specifically disclose having the feature(s) single receiver. However, the examiner maintains that the feature(s) single receiver was well known in the art, as taught by Nokia-3GPP.
In the same field of endeavor, Nokia-3GPP discloses the feature(s) single receiver { (see sec. 2.1-2.2), }.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of ZTE-3GPP as further supported by Nokia-3GPP to have the feature(s) single receiver, in order to provide procedure to reduce capability of devices, as taught by Nokia-3GPP (see pp. 1-2, sec. 1).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1, 4-6, 9-11, 14-15, and 19-21 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection necessitated by the amended language, new limitations, and/or new claims.
In response to applicant’s arguments, the Examiner respectfully disagrees as the applied reference(s) provide more than adequate support and to further clarify (see the above claims for relevant citations and comments in this section).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Liu et al. (US 2021/0045054 A1) discloses cell selection based on class of user equipments.
Nagano et al. (US 2024/0015641 A1) discloses terminal, base station, and wireless communication method.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIE J DANIEL JR whose telephone number is (571)272-7907. The examiner can normally be reached on 9 - 6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gary Mui can be reached on 571-270-1420. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIE J DANIEL JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
WJD,Jr
25 August 2026
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