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 with respect to claims 1, 15, 29, and 30 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
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.
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.
Claims 1-6, 10, 12-13, 15-20, 24, 26-27, and 29-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al (US 2025/0344275 A1)(hereinafter “Li ‘275”) in view of Xue et al. (US 2020/0413267 A1)(hereinafter “Xue”).
Regarding claim 1, Li ‘275 discloses: an apparatus for wireless communication (Fig. 11: communication apparatus 1100), comprising: memory (Fig. 11: memory 1103); a transceiver (Fig. 11: transceiver 1102); and at least one processor (Fig. 11: processor 1101) of a user equipment (UE) ([¶0285]: the communication apparatus 1100 may be a terminal device.), the at least one processor coupled with the memory and the transceiver and configured to cause the apparatus to:
receive, via the transceiver from a network entity, configuration information for transmission of a report of UE-collected data associated with relational information for one or more network nodes and a collection rule… (Fig. 1, [¶0058]: step S101: a source base station (“a network entity”) of a terminal device (“a user equipment”) may send a measurement configuration to the terminal device. [¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.), wherein the UE is an aerial UE (Fig. 2: the terminal device is a UAV) and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.); and
transmit, via the transceiver, the report to the network entity in accordance with the configuration information, wherein the report indicates the UE-collected data associated with the relational information for the one or more network nodes in response to a satisfaction of the collection rule (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Although Li ‘275 discloses use of a collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE in which the collection rule is used to trigger an event for measurement reporting, Li ‘275 fails to disclose that the collection rule is used to trigger the UE to collect the UE-collected data. However, Xue discloses a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0092]: in another aspect, height and/or area-based measurement triggering may be performed. In particular, memory storage for logging radio-level data may be of concern for MDT. If the drone operators have specific interest in learning the signal quality of a given 3D area, a finer granularity of area information (compared with the existing standard that only allows for configuring cell ID list of interest) can be configured for RAN-level measurement logging to achieve more efficient use of memory storage. For example, a height threshold to trigger RAN-level data collection may be used to greatly reduce the amount of MDT data storage for drone applications. In this case, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured by a cloud application server (or other device) to trigger an MDT measurement when the UE altitude is above a predetermined threshold and/or when the UE enters a particular 3D area of interest. In further embodiments, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured to trigger an MDT measurement with different MDT configurations, e.g., different measurement time intervals, when the UE altitude is between different ranges and/or when the UE enters different 3D areas of interest.).
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 the collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE for measurement reporting, as taught by Li ‘275, to include a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE, as taught by Xue. Doing so allows for conservation of storage used for measurements within the UE (See Xue [¶0092]).
Regarding claim 2, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein the altitude condition for the UE comprises at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.), and the UE- collected data comprises handover data or cell change data collected by the UE in response to the altitude of the UE satisfying the at least one altitude threshold ([¶0067]: step S104: after receiving the measurement report, the source base station determines a target cell based on the measurement report. [¶0068]: for example, the source base station evaluates the measurement result in the measurement report, to determine the target cell. [¶0069]: step S105: the source base station sends a handover request to a target base station to which the target cell belongs. Correspondingly, the target base station receives the handover request from the source base station.).
Regarding claim 3, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein, to receive the configuration information, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to:
receive information indicating an area scope that is based at least in part on the altitude condition, wherein the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE in response to a satisfaction of the area scope ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold. Accordingly, the height H1 and height H2 indicate an area scope based on the altitude condition.).
Regarding claim 4, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 3 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: the configuration information further comprises one or more cell indicators ([¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), and
the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE for one or more cells associated with the one or more cell indicators ([¶0089]: the RLF report may include a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell)).
Regarding claim 5, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 4 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein the altitude condition for the UE comprises at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: collect first data associated with one or more first cells of the one or more cells in response to a satisfaction of a first threshold of the at least one altitude threshold ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.).
Regarding claim 6, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: the collection rule is further based at least in part on a signal quality condition ([¶0060]: the trigger event may include an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, and the like. The event A1 is that signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a first preset threshold. The event A2 is that the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a second preset threshold. The event A3 is that signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than the signal quality of the serving cell. The event A4 is that the signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than a third preset threshold. The event A5 is that the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second preset threshold, and the signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than the third preset threshold.), the altitude condition comprising at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold. Accordingly, the height H1 and height H2 indicate an area scope based on the altitude condition), and
the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE in response to a satisfaction of the signal quality condition and the altitude of the UE satisfying the at least one altitude threshold ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.).
Regarding claim 10, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: to receive the configuration information, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive cell report configuration information instructing the UE to collect cell data associated with one or more cells in response to a satisfaction of the altitude condition ([¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.); and
to transmit the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit a cell report comprising the cell data associated with the one or more cells (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Regarding claim 12, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein, to transmit the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit UE characteristic data associated with the UE (Fig. 6, [¶0126]: S601: a terminal device determines first information. [0129]-[0130]: optionally, the first information includes at least one of the following: (1) Location information of the terminal device when the connection failure occurs.), altitude data associated with the UE ([¶0141]: (3) height information of the terminal device when the connection failure occurs), detected aerial UE density data, or any combination thereof.
Regarding claim 13, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein the report is a random access report, a connection establishment failure report, a radio link failure report ([¶0088]: when an RLF occurs between a terminal device and a network device 1, the terminal device generates an RLF report.), a successful handover report, a successful primary secondary cell change report, or a report comprising secondary cell group failure information.
Regarding claim 15, Li ‘275 discloses an apparatus for wireless communication (Fig. 11: communication apparatus 1100), comprising: memory (Fig. 11: memory 1103); and at least one processor (Fig. 11: processor 1101) of a network entity ([¶0285]: the communication apparatus 1100 may be a network device.), the at least one processor coupled with the memory and configured to cause the apparatus to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information for transmission of a report of UE-collected data associated with relational information for one or more network nodes and a collection rule… (Fig. 1, [¶0058]: step S101: a source base station (“a network entity”) of a terminal device (“a user equipment”) may send a measurement configuration to the terminal device. [¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.), wherein the UE is an aerial UE (Fig. 2: the terminal device is a UAV) and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.); and
receive the report from the UE in accordance with the configuration information, wherein the report indicates the UE-collected data associated with the relational information for the one or more network nodes in response to a satisfaction of the collection rule (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Although Li ‘275 discloses use of a collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE in which the collection rule is used to trigger an event for measurement reporting, Li ‘275 fails to disclose that the collection rule is used to trigger the UE to collect the UE-collected data. However, Xue discloses a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0092]: in another aspect, height and/or area-based measurement triggering may be performed. In particular, memory storage for logging radio-level data may be of concern for MDT. If the drone operators have specific interest in learning the signal quality of a given 3D area, a finer granularity of area information (compared with the existing standard that only allows for configuring cell ID list of interest) can be configured for RAN-level measurement logging to achieve more efficient use of memory storage. For example, a height threshold to trigger RAN-level data collection may be used to greatly reduce the amount of MDT data storage for drone applications. In this case, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured by a cloud application server (or other device) to trigger an MDT measurement when the UE altitude is above a predetermined threshold and/or when the UE enters a particular 3D area of interest. In further embodiments, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured to trigger an MDT measurement with different MDT configurations, e.g., different measurement time intervals, when the UE altitude is between different ranges and/or when the UE enters different 3D areas of interest.).
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 the collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE for measurement reporting, as taught by Li ‘275, to include a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE, as taught by Xue. Doing so allows for conservation of storage used for measurements within the UE (See Xue [¶0092]).
Regarding claim 16, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein the altitude condition for the UE comprises at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.), and the UE- collected data comprises handover data or cell change data collected by the UE in response to the altitude of the UE satisfying the at least one altitude threshold ([¶0067]: step S104: after receiving the measurement report, the source base station determines a target cell based on the measurement report. [¶0068]: for example, the source base station evaluates the measurement result in the measurement report, to determine the target cell. [¶0069]: step S105: the source base station sends a handover request to a target base station to which the target cell belongs. Correspondingly, the target base station receives the handover request from the source base station.).
Regarding claim 17, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein, to transmit the configuration information, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit information indicating an area scope that is based at least in part on the altitude condition, wherein the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE in response to a satisfaction of the area scope ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold. Accordingly, the height H1 and height H2 indicate an area scope based on the altitude condition).
Regarding claim 18, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 17 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: the configuration information further comprises one or more cell indicators ([¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), and the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE for one or more cells associated with the one or more cell indicators ([¶0089]: the RLF report may include a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell)).
Regarding claim 19, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 18 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: the altitude condition for the UE comprises at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.).
Regarding claim 20, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: the collection rule is further based at least in part on a signal quality condition ([¶0060]: the trigger event may include an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, and the like. The event A1 is that signal quality of the serving cell is greater than a first preset threshold. The event A2 is that the signal quality of the serving cell is less than a second preset threshold. The event A3 is that signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than the signal quality of the serving cell. The event A4 is that the signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than a third preset threshold. The event A5 is that the signal quality of the serving cell is less than the second preset threshold, and the signal quality of the neighboring cell is greater than the third preset threshold.), the altitude condition comprising at least one altitude threshold for an altitude of the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold. Accordingly, the height H1 and height H2 indicate an area scope based on the altitude condition), and
the UE-collected data comprises data collected by the UE in response to a satisfaction of the signal quality condition and the altitude of the UE satisfying the at least one altitude threshold ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.).
Regarding claim 24, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein: to transmit the configuration information, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit cell report configuration information instructing the UE to collect cell data associated with one or more cells in response to a satisfaction of the altitude condition ([¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.); and
to receive the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive a cell report comprising the cell data associated with the one or more cells (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Regarding claim 26, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein, to receive the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: receive UE characteristic data associated with the UE (Fig. 6, [¶0126]: S601: a terminal device determines first information. [0129]-[0130]: optionally, the first information includes at least one of the following: (1) Location information of the terminal device when the connection failure occurs.), altitude data associated with the UE ([¶0141]: (3) height information of the terminal device when the connection failure occurs), detected aerial UE density data, or any combination thereof.
Regarding claim 27, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 also discloses wherein the report is a random access report, a connection establishment failure report, a radio link failure report ([¶0088]: when an RLF occurs between a terminal device and a network device 1, the terminal device generates an RLF report.), a successful handover report, a successful primary secondary cell change report, or a report comprising secondary cell group failure information.
Regarding claim 29, Li ‘275 discloses a method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving, from a network entity, configuration information for transmission of a report of UE-collected data associated with relational information for one or more network nodes and a collection rule… (Fig. 1, [¶0058]: step S101: a source base station (“a network entity”) of a terminal device (“a user equipment”) may send a measurement configuration to the terminal device. [¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.), wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.); and
transmitting the report to the network entity in accordance with the configuration information, wherein the report indicates UE-collected data associated with the relational information for the one or more network nodes in response to a satisfaction of the collection rule (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Although Li ‘275 discloses use of a collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE in which the collection rule is used to trigger an event for measurement reporting, Li ‘275 fails to disclose that the collection rule is used to trigger the UE to collect the UE-collected data. However, Xue discloses a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0092]: in another aspect, height and/or area-based measurement triggering may be performed. In particular, memory storage for logging radio-level data may be of concern for MDT. If the drone operators have specific interest in learning the signal quality of a given 3D area, a finer granularity of area information (compared with the existing standard that only allows for configuring cell ID list of interest) can be configured for RAN-level measurement logging to achieve more efficient use of memory storage. For example, a height threshold to trigger RAN-level data collection may be used to greatly reduce the amount of MDT data storage for drone applications. In this case, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured by a cloud application server (or other device) to trigger an MDT measurement when the UE altitude is above a predetermined threshold and/or when the UE enters a particular 3D area of interest. In further embodiments, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured to trigger an MDT measurement with different MDT configurations, e.g., different measurement time intervals, when the UE altitude is between different ranges and/or when the UE enters different 3D areas of interest.).
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 the collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE for measurement reporting, as taught by Li ‘275, to include a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE, as taught by Xue. Doing so allows for conservation of storage used for measurements within the UE (See Xue [¶0092]).
Regarding claim 30, Li ‘275 discloses a method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), configuration information for transmission of a report of UE-collected data associated with relational information for one or more network nodes and a collection rule… (Fig. 1, [¶0058]: step S101: a source base station (“a network entity”) of a terminal device (“a user equipment”) may send a measurement configuration to the terminal device. [¶0059]: the measurement configuration may include a measurement object (for example, a serving cell or a neighboring cell), a triggering event for measurement reporting, and the like. [¶0061]: step S102: the terminal device measures the measurement object based on the received measurement configuration.), wherein the UE is an aerial UE (Fig. 2: the terminal device is a UAV) and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0155]: the preset condition may be a trigger event for measurement reporting. For example, the preset condition may be an event A1, an event A2, an event A3, an event A4, an event A5, an event H1, an event H2, or the like. For the events A1 to A5, refer to the foregoing definitions. The event H1 is that the height of the terminal device is greater than a fourth preset threshold, and the event H2 is that the height of the terminal device is less than a fifth preset threshold.); and
receiving the report from the UE in accordance with the configuration information, wherein the report indicates UE-collected data associated with the relational information for the one or more network nodes in response to a satisfaction of the collection rule (Fig. 1, [¶0066]: step S103: the terminal device sends a measurement report to the source base station. Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report from the terminal device. [¶0089]: the RLF report may include at least one of the following: a cell global identifier (CGI) of a last serving cell (or a PCI and a frequency of the cell), a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device attempts to perform RRC reestablishment, a CGI of a cell in which the terminal device is located during last handover initialization, duration from last handover initialization of the terminal device to a connection failure, a cause indicating that a connection failure is an RLF or a handover failure, and a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by a last serving cell to the terminal device, an RLF trigger of a last RLF detected by the terminal device, duration from a connection failure to a time point at which the terminal device sends an RLF report, and a radio measurement quantity.).
Although Li ‘275 discloses use of a collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE in which the collection rule is used to trigger an event for measurement reporting, Li ‘275 fails to disclose that the collection rule is used to trigger the UE to collect the UE-collected data. However, Xue discloses a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE ([¶0092]: in another aspect, height and/or area-based measurement triggering may be performed. In particular, memory storage for logging radio-level data may be of concern for MDT. If the drone operators have specific interest in learning the signal quality of a given 3D area, a finer granularity of area information (compared with the existing standard that only allows for configuring cell ID list of interest) can be configured for RAN-level measurement logging to achieve more efficient use of memory storage. For example, a height threshold to trigger RAN-level data collection may be used to greatly reduce the amount of MDT data storage for drone applications. In this case, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured by a cloud application server (or other device) to trigger an MDT measurement when the UE altitude is above a predetermined threshold and/or when the UE enters a particular 3D area of interest. In further embodiments, the modem can be pre-programmed or remotely configured to trigger an MDT measurement with different MDT configurations, e.g., different measurement time intervals, when the UE altitude is between different ranges and/or when the UE enters different 3D areas of interest.).
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 the collection rule based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE for measurement reporting, as taught by Li ‘275, to include a collection rule for triggering the UE to collect the UE-collected data, wherein the UE is an aerial UE and the collection rule is based at least in part on an altitude condition for the UE, as taught by Xue. Doing so allows for conservation of storage used for measurements within the UE (See Xue [¶0092]).
Claims 7 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li ‘275 in view of Xue and further in view of Li et al. (US 20250324328 A1)(hereinafter “Li ‘328”).
Regarding claim 7, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 6 as outlined above.
Although Li ‘275 discloses determining a signal quality condition, Li ‘275 does not specifically disclose receiving one or more reference signals corresponding to one or more cells, wherein satisfaction of the signal quality condition comprises one or more measures of the one or more reference signals satisfying a signal quality threshold.
However, Li ‘328 discloses wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive one or more reference signals corresponding to one or more cells, wherein satisfaction of the signal quality condition comprises one or more measures of the one or more reference signals satisfying a signal quality threshold ([¶0152]: reporting configuration: may indicate a trigger condition of a measurement reporting event. For example, a measurement parameter of the reporting configuration includes a type of a reference signal. [¶0127]: signal quality may be signal strength. A parameter representing or indicating the signal strength may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indication (RSSI), and a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine a signal quality to determine whether a signal quality condition has been satisfied, as taught by Li ‘275, using received reference signals as taught by Li ‘328. Doing so allows for measurement of signal quality in conformance with existing telecommunications standards.
Regarding claim 21, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 20 as outlined above.
Although Li ‘275 discloses determining a signal quality condition, Li ‘275 does not specifically disclose wherein, to receive the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: receive data indicating one or more reference signals corresponding to one or more cells, wherein collection by the UE of the data indicating one or more reference signals is in response to satisfaction of the signal quality condition that comprises one or more measures of the one or more reference signals satisfying a signal quality threshold. However, Li ‘328 discloses wherein, to receive the report, the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to: receive data indicating one or more reference signals corresponding to one or more cells, wherein collection by the UE of the data indicating one or more reference signals is in response to satisfaction of the signal quality condition that comprises one or more measures of the one or more reference signals satisfying a signal quality threshold ([¶0152]: reporting configuration: may indicate a trigger condition of a measurement reporting event. For example, a measurement parameter of the reporting configuration includes a type of a reference signal. [¶0127]: signal quality may be signal strength. A parameter representing or indicating the signal strength may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a received signal strength indication (RSSI), and a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine a signal quality to determine whether a signal quality condition has been satisfied, as taught by Li ‘275, using received reference signals, as taught by Li ‘328. Doing so allows for measurement of signal quality in conformance with existing telecommunications standards.
Claims 11 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li ‘275 in view of Xue and further in view of Okvist et al. (US 20200413303 A1)(hereinafter “Okvist”)(cited in IDS filed 01/28/2025).
Regarding claims 11 and 25, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claims 10 and 24 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 in view of Xue does not disclose wherein the cell data is included in an automatic neighbor relation table. However, Okvist discloses wherein the cell data is included in an automatic neighbor relation table ([¶0022]: the purpose of the ANR function is to relieve the network operator from the burden of manually managing neighbor relations (NRs). An ANR function resides in the eNBs and manages the conceptual Neighbor Relation Table (NRT). [¶0023]: located within ANR, the Neighbor Detection Function finds new neighbors and adds them to the NRT. ANR also contains the Neighbor Removal Function which removes outdated NRs. An ANR procedure is further illustrated in FIG. 2, which shows a UE detecting a new cell (i.e., the “Detected eNB”). [¶0028]: an improved ANR mechanism that takes UEs altitude into consideration is proposed. In brief, the suggested solution is to use altitude information in NRT to distinguish beneficial cell relations for UEs (UAVs) operating at different altitudes. That would enable more efficient utilization of radio network resources as more relevant cells are considered for UE's handover.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the cell data associated with one or more cells in response to a satisfaction of an altitude condition, as taught by Li ‘275, within an automatic neighbor relation table, as taught by Li ‘328. Doing so allows for relieving an operator from the burden of manually managing neighbor relations and enable more efficient utilization of radio network resources (See Okvist [¶0022] & [¶0028].).
Claims 14 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li ‘275 in view of Xue and further in view of Ramachandra et al. (WO 2022264086 A1)(hereinafter “Ramachandra”).
Regarding claim 14, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 1 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 in view of Xue does not disclose wherein the UE-collected data is logged data, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit an availability indication to the network entity indicating that the logged data is available; and receive a request for the logged data based at least in part on the availability indication, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit the report to the network entity based at least in part on receiving the request for the logged data.
However, Ramachandra discloses wherein the UE-collected data is logged data, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: transmit an availability indication to the network entity indicating that the logged data is available (page 3, lines 15-35: in NR, the UE informs the network regarding availability of logged MDT report by including UE MeasurementsAvailable IE in one of the RRCSetupComplete, RRCReconfigurationComplete, RRCResumeComplete, RRCReestablishmentComplete messages. The logMeasAvailable indicator is included in the UE-MeasurementsAvailable IE); and receive a request for the logged data based at least in part on the availability indication, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit the report to the network entity based at least in part on receiving the request for the logged data (page 3, lines 36-38: upon receiving indications from the UE, the network may choose to retrieve the information via UEInformationRequest message. The network includes logMeasReportReq flag if it intends to receive the report. The UE then responds to it by sending UEInformationResponse message including the measured report.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the UE-collected data, as taught by Li ‘275, by transmitting an availability indication to the network entity, as taught by Ramachandra. Doing so allows for providing the UE-collected data in an optimal time interval to enable more efficient utilization of radio network resources.
Regarding claim 28, Li ‘275 in view of Xue discloses all features of claim 15 as outlined above.
Li ‘275 in view of Xue does not disclose wherein the UE-collected data is logged data, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive an availability indication from the UE indicating that the logged data is available; and transmit a request for the logged data based at least in part on the availability indication, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive the report from the UE based at least in part on transmitting the request for the logged data.
However, Ramachandra discloses wherein the UE-collected data is logged data, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the apparatus to: receive an availability indication from the UE indicating that the logged data is available (page 3, lines 15-35: in NR, the UE informs the network regarding availability of logged MDT report by including UE MeasurementsAvailable IE in one of the RRCSetupComplete, RRCReconfigurationComplete, RRCResumeComplete, RRCReestablishmentComplete messages. The logMeasAvailable indicator is included in the UE-MeasurementsAvailable IE); and
transmit a request for the logged data based at least in part on the availability indication, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to receive the report from the UE based at least in part on transmitting the request for the logged data (page 3, lines 36-38: upon receiving indications from the UE, the network may choose to retrieve the information via UEInformationRequest message. The network includes logMeasReportReq flag if it intends to receive the report. The UE then responds to it by sending UEInformationResponse message including the measured report.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the UE-collected data, as taught by Li ‘275, by transmitting an availability indication to the network entity, as taught by Ramachandra. Doing so allows for providing the UE-collected data in an optimal time interval to enable more efficient utilization of radio network resources.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-9 and 22-23 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park et al. (US 2026/0032622 A1) – Communication Method In Earth Moving Cell.
Park et al. (US 2026/0006502 A1) – Communication Method In ATG System.
Yun (US 2024/0214880 A1) – Method and Apparatus For Cell Selection In Communication.
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 MICHAEL W MADDOX whose telephone number is (571)272-5834. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30am-5:00pm, 1st F 7:30am-4:00pm, 2nd F off.
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, Asad M Nawaz can be reached at 571-272-3988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHAEL WAYNE MADDOX/Examiner, Art Unit 2463
/ASAD M NAWAZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2463
Prosecution Insights