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 with respect to claim(s) 18-42 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 18-23, 28-38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 20230189041) in view of DU et al. (US 20250056445 with foreign app. PCT/CN2023/11478 filed on 08/07/2023).
Regarding claims 18, 31, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, UE), comprising:
one or more memories (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, UE);
and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the UE (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, UE) to:
receive a first gap measurement configuration for measurement during an active period of cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX) operation of a first cell and a second gap measurement configuration for measurement during a non-active period of the cell DTX or DRX operation of the first cell (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, measurement gaps are typically configured with an offset (e.g., gapOffset), length (e.g., mgl), repetition period (e.g., mgrp), and timing advance (e.g., mgta)…measurement gap 802b overlaps with an eCDRX active time in which a PDSCH is sent carrying a portion of Burst Traffic #2. During the measurement gap 802b, the inactivity timer expires and the UE enters the inactive state at the end of the measurement gap 802b…the UE may receive a measurement gap configuration from a BS (e.g., a gNB)… measurement gaps do not overlap with eCDRX active cycles (i.e., they occur in eCDRX inactive cycles), the UE may perform the measurement gap procedure in these measurement gaps without impact on burst traffic delivery), wherein the gap measurement configuration with different periodicity (par. 61, 65, 99, 160, the measurement gap periodicity (e.g., 20/40/80/160ms)); and
measure, during the non-active period using the second gap measurement configuration, a signal of a second cell during a gap in signals of the first cell (par. 59, 69, 78, 79, 86, the UE may measure neighboring cells in a multi-cellular network during measurement gaps… During the measurement gap 802b, the inactivity timer expires and the UE enters the inactive state at the end of the measurement gap 802b…measurement gaps do not overlap with eCDRX active cycles (i.e., they occur in eCDRX inactive cycles), the UE may perform the measurement gap procedure in these measurement gaps).
However, LEE does not teach wherein the first measurement configuration is different from the second measurement configuration;
But, DU et al. (US 20250056445) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches receive a first measurement configuration for measurement during an active period of cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX) operation of a first cell and a second measurement configuration for measurement during a non-active period of the cell DTX or DRX operation of the first cell (par. 38, 39, 41, The measurement periodicity may be longer than the periodicity for perform the SSB measurement during the active period, such that the SSB measurement during the non-active period may be infrequent compared with that during the active period…SSB measurement during the non-active period according to the scaling factor multiplied by the periodicity of the SSB measurement or by the larger between a periodicity of the c-DRX of the UE 110 and the periodicity of the SSB measurement. The periodicity of the c-DRX may be a parameter in the c-DRX configuration 170, and the periodicity of the SSB measurement may be a parameter in the SMTC 165); wherein the first measurement configuration is different from the second measurement configuration (par. 30, 31, 38, 39, the network device 150 may transmit to the UE 110 the measurement configuration 260 to make the first condition satisfied…the UE 110 may perform the SSB measurement during the non-active period according to the measurement periodicity and within the measurement window. The measurement periodicity may be longer than the periodicity for perform the SSB measurement during the active period, such that the SSB measurement during the non-active period may be infrequent compared with that during the active period);
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by DU in the system of LEE to measure.
The motivation would have been to maximize power saving without sacrificing the measurement performance (DU par. 25).
Regarding claims 19, 32, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein a frequency resource associated with the first cell is a same frequency resource as a frequency resource associated with the second cell (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used in certain operating frequency ranges (e.g., FR2) for a UE to perform a receive (Rx) beam search for intra-frequency handover).
Regarding claims 20, 33, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein a frequency resource associated with the first cell and a frequency resource associated with the second cell are different (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used for inter-frequency handover (within a same radio access technology/RAT), as well as for inter-RAT handover).
Regarding claims 21, 34, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first cell is associated with a first radio access technology and the second cell is associated with a second radio access technology (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used for inter-frequency handover…as well as for inter-RAT handover).
Regarding claims 22, 35, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to measure, in the active period, a signal of the second cell during a gap using the first gap measurement configuration (par. 59, 69, the UE may measure neighboring cells in a multi-cellular network during measurement gaps… measurement gap 802b overlaps with an eCDRX active time in which a PDSCH is sent carrying a portion of Burst Traffic #2).
Regarding claims 23, 36, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein the signal of the second cell is a synchronization signal block (par. 61, The measurement gap may be designed to include a target cell synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC)).
Regarding claim 28, 37, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration corresponds to the active period (par. 59, 69, 75, the UE may measure neighboring cells in a multi-cellular network during measurement gaps… measurement gap 802b overlaps with an eCDRX active time in which a PDSCH is sent carrying a portion of Burst Traffic #2).
Regarding claim 29, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first PDSCH configuration indicates one or more parameters for transmission of a PDSCH (par. 59, 69, 75, the indication may be provided via an RRC information element (IE), mgPriority, which can configure the priority between the normal data traffic and the measurement gaps (per measGapConfig or measObject). This mgPriority IE may indicate whether the UE is to prioritize data traffic over a measurement gap procedure (e.g., if mgPriority=1) or to prioritize the measurement gap procedure over data traffic (e.g., if mgPriority=0). In other words, if the mgPriority IE is set, the data traffic (PDSCH/PUSCH) of eCDRX active cycle may have a higher priority than the measurement gaps, and the UE is able to keep receiving data packets from (or transmitting data packets to) the gNB).
Regarding claims 30, 38, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 18, wherein a second physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) configuration corresponds to the non-active period (par. 59, 69, 75, measurement gap 802b overlaps with an eCDRX active time in which a PDSCH is sent carrying a portion of Burst Traffic #2…Similarly, measurement gap 802c overlaps with that subsequent on duration, causing the UE to enter the inactive state after transmitting only a portion of Burst Traffic #3 and to delay transmission of a remainder of Burst Traffic #3 until a subsequent on duration).
Claim(s) 24-27, 39-42 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LEE et al. (US 20230189041) in view of DU et al. (US 20250056445 with foreign app. PCT/CN2023/11478 filed on 08/07/2023) and UKIL et al. (US 20220264382).
Regarding claim 24, 39, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, BS (e.g., a gNB)), comprising:
one or more memories (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, BS (e.g., a gNB)); and
one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories, configured to cause the network entity (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, BS (e.g., a gNB)) to:
transmit a first gap measurement configuration for measurement during an active period of cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX) operation of a first cell and a second gap measurement configuration for measurement during a non-active period of the cell DTX or DRX operation of the first cell (par. 61, 69, 74, 78, 79, measurement gaps are typically configured with an offset (e.g., gapOffset), length (e.g., mgl), repetition period (e.g., mgrp), and timing advance (e.g., mgta)…measurement gap 802b overlaps with an eCDRX active time in which a PDSCH is sent carrying a portion of Burst Traffic #2. During the measurement gap 802b, the inactivity timer expires and the UE enters the inactive state at the end of the measurement gap 802b…the UE may receive a measurement gap configuration from a BS (e.g., a gNB)… measurement gaps do not overlap with eCDRX active cycles (i.e., they occur in eCDRX inactive cycles), the UE may perform the measurement gap procedure in these measurement gaps without impact on burst traffic delivery), wherein the gap measurement configuration with different periodicity (par. 61, 65, 99, 160, the measurement gap periodicity (e.g., 20/40/80/160ms)); and
receive, after being in the non-active period, a measurement of a signal of a second cell (par. 93, 101, the network may trigger CLI measurement and reporting from a UE to learn of inter-UE interference… selective prioritization of processing data traffic over CLI measurement (or vice-versa) during CLI measurement occasions (an example of a measurement gap)).
However, LEE does not teach wherein the first measurement configuration is different from the second measurement configuration;
But, DU et al. (US 20250056445) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches transmit a first measurement configuration for measurement during an active period of cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX) operation of a first cell and a second measurement configuration for measurement during a non-active period of the cell DTX or DRX operation of the first cell (par. 38, 39, 41, The measurement periodicity may be longer than the periodicity for perform the SSB measurement during the active period, such that the SSB measurement during the non-active period may be infrequent compared with that during the active period…SSB measurement during the non-active period according to the scaling factor multiplied by the periodicity of the SSB measurement or by the larger between a periodicity of the c-DRX of the UE 110 and the periodicity of the SSB measurement. The periodicity of the c-DRX may be a parameter in the c-DRX configuration 170, and the periodicity of the SSB measurement may be a parameter in the SMTC 165); wherein the first measurement configuration is different from the second measurement configuration (par. 30, 31, 38, 39, the network device 150 may transmit to the UE 110 the measurement configuration 260 to make the first condition satisfied…the UE 110 may perform the SSB measurement during the non-active period according to the measurement periodicity and within the measurement window. The measurement periodicity may be longer than the periodicity for perform the SSB measurement during the active period, such that the SSB measurement during the non-active period may be infrequent compared with that during the active period);
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by DU in the system of LEE to measure.
The motivation would have been to maximize power saving without sacrificing the measurement performance (DU par. 25).
However, LEE does not explicitly teach receive, after being in the non-active period, a measurement of a signal of a second cell.
But, UKIL et al. (US 20220264382) in a similar or same field of endeavor teaches receive, after being in the non-active period, a measurement of a signal of a second cell (par. 58, 73, 74, 85, 86, 99, reports the measurement results back to the network for handover considerations.).
Thus, it would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the effectively filing date of the claimed invention to implement the system or method as taught by UKIL in the system of LEE and DU to report the measurement.
The motivation would have been to manage overall network resource allocation at the network.
Regarding claim 25, 40, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein a frequency resource associated with the first cell and a frequency resource associated with the second cell are the same (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used in certain operating frequency ranges (e.g., FR2) for a UE to perform a receive (Rx) beam search for intra-frequency handover).
Regarding claim 26, 41, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein a frequency resource associated with the first cell and a frequency resource associated with the second cell are different (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used for inter-frequency handover (within a same radio access technology/RAT), as well as for inter-RAT handover).
Regarding claim 27, 42, LEE et al. (US 20230189041) teaches the apparatus of claim 24, wherein the first cell is associated with a first radio access technology and the second cell is associated with a second radio access technology (par. 60, measurement gaps may be used for inter-frequency handover…as well as for inter-RAT handover).
Conclusion
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 THINH D TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3934. The examiner can normally be reached mon-fri 9-6.
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/THINH D TRAN/for /Thinh Tran/, Patent Examiner of Art Unit 2466 09/02/2026
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