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 Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed on 04/30/2026 has been entered. Claims 28-30,33,36-38 and 41-47 have been amended. Claims 32,34 and 39 have been canceled in this amendment. New Claims 48-50 have been added in this amendment. Claims 28-50 are pending in this application, with claims 28,36,41 and 45 being independent.
Claim Objections
Claims 28,36,41 and 45 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 28, line 8, “. . from a serving cell . .” should read “. . from a serving cell . .”
In claim 28, line 8, “. . from each . .” should read “. . from each . .”
In claim 36, line 8, “. . from a serving cell . .” should read “. . from a serving cell . .”
In claim 36, line 9, “. . from each . .” should read “. . from each . .”
In claim 41, line 9, “. . from a serving cell . .” should read “. . from a serving cell . .”
In claim 41, line 10, “. . from each . .” should read “. . from each . .”
In claim 45, line 9, “. . from a serving cell . .” should read “. . from a serving cell . .”
In claim 45, line 10, “. . from each . .” should read “. . from each . .”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 28-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. The claims are not clearly written to define metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
In claims 28,36,41 and 45, the phrase “. . a measurement configuration or a reporting . . ” is unclear as to what is being achieved. It is not easy to understand whether only a measurement is configured or reporting is configured..
The claim also recites of receiving a measurement result in contrast to the previous limitation reciting configuring for measurement or reporting. In case of only reporting is configured, it is not clear what is being measured.
Claims 29-31,33,35 and 48 are rejected based upon claim dependency to independent claim 28.
Claims 37-38,40 and 49-50 are rejected based upon claim dependency to independent claim 36.
Claims 42-44 are rejected based upon claim dependency to independent claim 41.
Claims 46-47 are rejected based upon claim dependency to independent claim 45.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 28-31,33,35-38,41-47 and 49-50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ZHANG et al. (US 2022/0377622 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Zhang”) – IDS in view of Yang et al. (US 2023/0180081 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Yang”).
Regarding Claims 28,36,41 and 45, Zhang discloses methods of wireless communication comprising: transmitting, by a network node (Zhang Fig.1,4A Para[0027,0033-34] A source gNB) and receiving by a terminal device (Zhang Fig.1,4A Para[0027,0033-34] A UE), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including one or more candidate cells configurations (Zhang Fig.3,4A Para[0032-34] A RRC signal for CMR configurations), one or more measurement configurations (Zhang Fig.3,4A Para[0032-34] A neighbor (i.e. candidate) cells measurement configurations), or one or more reporting configuration (Zhang Fig.3,4A Para[0032-34] A neighbor (i.e. candidate) cells report configuration) associated with the one or more measurement configurations; and performing by the terminal and receiving, by the network node, a measurement result reported by the terminal device based on the RRC message (Zhang Fig.3,4A Para[0033-39] The UE sends collected measurements to the gNB).
Zhang does not explicitly disclose wherein the measurement result comprises i) a measurement result from a serving cell and measurement result from each of (M - 1) candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of a serving cell being configured to be included in a reporting, or ii) a measurement result from each of M candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of the serving cell being not configured to be included in the reporting, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and wherein the measurement result comprises N synchronization signal block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI), and reference signal received power (RSRP) corresponding to SSBRI or CRI, where N is a number of RS or SSB or CSI-RS to be reported.
However, Yang from the same field of invention discloses wherein the measurement result comprises i) a measurement result from a serving cell and measurement result from each of (M - 1) candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of a serving cell being configured to be included in a reporting (Yang Fig.2-3 Para[0074,0115-130] The current cell and neighboring cells measurement is reported based on the first configuration), or ii) a measurement result from each of M candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of the serving cell being not configured to be included in the reporting (Yang Fig.2-3 Para[0074,0115-130] The neighboring cells measurement is reported based on the different first configuration), wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1 (Yang Para[0116] The neighbor cell value is greater or equal to 1), and wherein the measurement result comprises N synchronization signal block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI) (Yang Para[0145] The multiple SSBRIs reported) or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resource indicator (CRI), and reference signal received power (RSRP) corresponding to SSBRI (Yang Para[0027] The UE measures and reports RSRP for each RS (i.e. SSBRI)) or CRI, where N is a number of RS or SSB or CSI-RS to be reported (Yang Para[0027] The multiple RS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang to have the feature of “wherein the measurement result comprises i) a measurement result from a serving cell and measurement result from each of (M - 1) candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of a serving cell being configured to be included in a reporting, or ii) a measurement result from each of M candidate cells reported by the terminal device, in response to the measurement result of the serving cell being not configured to be included in the reporting, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and wherein the measurement result comprises N synchronization signal block (SSB) resource indicator (SSBRI), and reference signal received power (RSRP) corresponding to SSBRI, where N is a number of RS or SSB to be reported” as taught by Yang. The motivation would have been to for mobility enhancement and avoid short-term fluctuations in measurements (Yang Para[0004]).
Specifically for claims 41 and 45, Zhang discloses the UE and the network device that includes a processor (Zhang Fig.2 Para[0031] A processor) and a memory (Zhang Fig.2 Para[0031] A memory).
Regarding claims 29,37,42 and 46, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein at least one of the one or more candidate cells configurations or the one or more measurement configurations is configured separately from serving cell configuration (Zhang Fig.7 Para[0069] A separate measurement configuration for serving and neighbor cells).
Regarding claim 30, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein a a candidate cell configuration from the one or more candidate cells configurations or a configuration corresponding to an identification of a candidate cell provides or configures at least one of: an RS resource configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a RS resource set configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state configuration (Zhang Fig.7 Para[0069] TCI configuration), or a random-access channel (RACH) configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Regarding claims 31 and 43, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein a candidate cell of one or more candidate cells or an identification corresponding to the candidate cell of the one or more candidate cells is associated with one or more Reference Signal (RS) resources or RS indexes within an RS resource or index set, or is associated with the measurement configurations (Zhang Fig.7 Para[0071] A CSI RS from neighbor cells for CMR).
Regarding claims 33 and 38, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein the one or more reporting configuration configure at least one of: a number of candidate cells, M (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a number of RS or SSB or CSI-RS to be reported (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); whether to include a measurement result of a serving cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) (Zhang Para[0060] RSRP requested); a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) (Zhang Para[0060] SINR requested); a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a SSB resource indicator (SSBRI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or a cell identification (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Regarding claims 35,44 and 49, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses transmitting, by the network node to the terminal device, a MAC control element (MAC CE), wherein the MAC CE is used to activate or deactivate a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state associated with at least one of one or more candidate cells (Zhang Fig.9 Para[0076,0081-82] A MAC-CE is used to trigger reporting).
Regarding claim 47, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein the one or more reporting configuration configure at least one of: a number of candidate cells, M (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a number of RS or SSB or CSI-RS to be reported (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); whether to include a measurement result of serving cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) (Zhang Para[0060] RSRP requested);a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) (Zhang Para[0060] SINR requested);a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a SSB resource indicator (SSBRI) (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or a cell identification (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Regarding claim 50, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang further discloses wherein a candidate cell configuration from the one or more candidate cells configurations or a configuration corresponding to an identification of a candidate cell provides or configures at least one of: an RS resource configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), an RS resource set configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state configuration (Zhang Fig.7 Para[0069] TCI configuration), or a random-access channel (RACH) configuration (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or wherein a candidate cell of the one or more candidate cells or an identification corresponding to a candidate cell of the one or more candidate cells is associated with one or more Reference Signal (RS) resources (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) or RS indexes within an RS resource or index set (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or is associated with the one or more measurement configurations (Zhang Fig.7 Para[0071] A CSI RS from neighbor cells for CMR), or wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with same candidate cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) or an identification corresponding to a candidate cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with different candidate cells or identifications corresponding to respective candidate cells (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Claims 40 and 48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Yang and further in view of RAMACHANDRA et al. (US 2023/0379777 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Rama”)-IDS.
Regarding claim 40, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang in view of Yang does not explicitly disclose wherein a number of measurement configurations for one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device.
However, Rama from the same field of invention discloses wherein a number of measurement configurations for one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device (Rama Para[0035] Only subset of PCIs is sent to the WD (i.e. terminal) due to WD limited capability).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang to have the feature of “wherein a number of measurement configurations for the one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device” as taught by Rama. The motivation would have been to for mobility enhanced reporting of cells (Rama Para[0002]).
Regarding claim 48, Zhang in view of Yang discloses the methods, the network device and the terminal as explained above for Claim 28. Zhang in view of Yang does not explicitly disclose wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with same candidate cell or an identification corresponding to a candidate cell, or wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with different candidate cells or identifications corresponding to respective candidate cells, or wherein a number of measurement configurations for one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device.
However, Rama from the same field of invention discloses wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with same candidate cell or an identification corresponding to a candidate cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or wherein different RS resources or RS indexes are associated with different candidate cells or identifications corresponding to respective candidate cells (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or wherein a number of measurement configurations for one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device (Rama Para[0035] Only subset of PCIs is sent to the WD (i.e. terminal) due to WD limited capability).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Zhang to have the feature of “wherein a number of measurement configurations for the one or more candidate cells, or a number of reporting configurations for the one or more candidate cells is based on a capability of the terminal device” as taught by Rama. The motivation would have been to for mobility enhanced reporting of cells (Rama Para[0002]).
Although specific columns, figures, reference numerals, lines of the reference(s), etc. have been referred to, Applicant should consider the entire applied prior art reference(s).
Additional References
The following prior arts are made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0167953 to Guan (Paragraphs:158-174)
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 Sudesh M. Patidar whose telephone number is (571)272-2768. The examiner can normally be reached M-F:: 10AM-6:30PM ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached at (571) 270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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