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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2023-10-13 has been considered by the examiner and made of record in the application file. However, examiner has only considered that which is in English. If applicant wishes examiner to consider foreign patent documents in their entirety, applicant is requested to submit English translations for consideration.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 2, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2024/0422575 to Wu in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0337020 to Da Silva et al. (“Da Silva”).
As to claim 1 (and similarly applied to claim 6), Wu discloses a terminal (Fig. 1A, UE 102) comprising: a control unit (Fig. 1A, processing hardware 150) that deactivate a secondary cell group according to a state of the secondary cell group (Fig. 21, steps 2104 and 2106; ¶0243-246. UE suspends SCG transmission in response to detecting a SC condition (i.e., state of SCG, e.g. power level and/or data rate below threshold)).
Wu does not disclose: a transmission unit that transmits failure information of the secondary cell group to a network, wherein the transmission unit transmits, when a failure of the secondary cell group in an inactive state occurs, the failure information including an information element indicating a state of cells of the secondary cell group.
However, Da Silva discloses: a transmission unit (Fig. 32, transmitter 3233) that transmits failure information of the secondary cell group to a network, wherein the transmission unit transmits, when a failure of the secondary cell group in an inactive state occurs, the failure information including an information element indicating a state of cells of the secondary cell group (Figs. 26A-B and 27; ¶0468-470 and ¶0482. Additionally, Fig. 28, blocks 2850, 2855, and 2856; ¶0493 and ¶0496-7).
Wu and Da Silva are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu to incorporate the teachings of Da Silva to include: a transmission unit that transmits failure information of the secondary cell group to a network, wherein the transmission unit transmits, when a failure of the secondary cell group in an inactive state occurs, the failure information including an information element indicating a state of cells of the secondary cell group. Doing so would "facilitate energy reduction…while preserving a degree of readiness in terms of beam alignment" and would allow "the UE [to perform] BFR while in deactivated state, so beam alignment is established even while second cell group is deactivated" (Da Silva, ¶0267).
As to claim 2, Wu in view of Da Silva discloses the terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including at least one of identification information of the failed cell and a cause for the failure (Da Silva, Fig. 27 and ¶0482. Additionally, Fig. 28, blocks 2850, 2855, and 2856; ¶0493 and ¶0496-7).
Claims 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Da Silva and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2021/0153281 to Deogun et al. (“Deogun”).
As to claim 4, Wu in view of Da Silva discloses the terminal according to claim 1.
Wu in view of Da Silva does not disclose: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell and neighboring cell.
However, Deogun discloses: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell (¶0054) and neighboring cell (¶0053).
Wu, Da Silva, and Deogun are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu in view of Da Silva to incorporate the teachings of Deogun to include: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell and neighboring cell. Doing so would allow "the measurements reported for the SCG serving frequencies and the non serving frequencies [to] be used for selecting a new SCG configuration and network optimization" (Deogun, ¶0054).
As to claim 7, Wu in view of Da Silva discloses the terminal according to claim 2.
Wu in view of Da Silva does not disclose: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell and neighboring cell.
However, Deogun discloses: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell (¶0054) and neighboring cell (¶0053).
Wu, Da Silva, and Deogun are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu in view of Da Silva to incorporate the teachings of Deogun to include: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including reception quality of the serving cell and neighboring cell. Doing so would allow "the measurements reported for the SCG serving frequencies and the non serving frequencies [to] be used for selecting a new SCG configuration and network optimization" (Deogun, ¶0054).
Claims 5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Da Silva and further in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0413088 to Sedin et al. (“Sedin”).
As to claim 5, Wu in view of Da Silva discloses the terminal according to claim 1.
Wu in view of Da Silva does not disclose: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access.
However, Sedin discloses: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access (¶0222 and ¶0227-228).
Wu, Da Silva, and Sedin are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu in view of Da Silva to incorporate the teachings of Sedin to include: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access. Doing so would allow "the network [to get] a full understanding of the radio conditions that causes the SCG failure and/or the MCG failure and speeds up the UE recovery for accessing both nodes for MR-DC" (Sedin, ¶0158).
As to claim 9, Wu in view of Da Silva discloses the terminal according to claim 2.
Wu in view of Da Silva does not disclose: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access.
However, Sedin discloses: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access (¶0222 and ¶0227-228).
Wu, Da Silva, and Sedin are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu in view of Da Silva to incorporate the teachings of Sedin to include: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access. Doing so would allow "the network [to get] a full understanding of the radio conditions that causes the SCG failure and/or the MCG failure and speeds up the UE recovery for accessing both nodes for MR-DC" (Sedin, ¶0158).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Da Silva and Deogun and further in view of Sedin.
As to claim 11, Wu in view of Da Silva and Deogun discloses the terminal according to claim 4.
Wu in view of Da Silva and Deogun does not disclose: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access.
However, Sedin discloses: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access (¶0222 and ¶0227-228).
Wu, Da Silva, Deogun, and Sedin are considered to be similar to the claimed invention because they are in one or more of the same fields of: supervisory, monitoring, or testing arrangements in wireless communication networks; arrangements for optimizing operational condition; arrangements for maintaining operational condition; and/or testing using real traffic; and/or scheduling measurement reports. As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wu in view of Da Silva and Deogun to incorporate the teachings of Sedin to include: wherein the transmission unit transmits the failure information including content related to execution result of an initial access. Doing so would allow "the network [to get] a full understanding of the radio conditions that causes the SCG failure and/or the MCG failure and speeds up the UE recovery for accessing both nodes for MR-DC" (Sedin, ¶0158).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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.
Claims 8 and 10 depend on claim 3 and therefore are objected to for the same reasons as claim 3.
References Cited
Deogun, Pravjyot Singh et al. (2021). Methods and systems for reporting a secondary node failure in dual connectivity networks (US 2021/0153281 A1). Filed 2018-05-04.
Da Silva, Icaro Leonardo et al. (2023). Beam failure detection and recovery for deactivated secondary cell group (scg) (US 2023/0337020 A1). Filed 2021-09-27.
Sedin, Jonas et al. (2023). Cli reporting for mcg/scg failure (US 2023/0413088 A1). Filed 2021-02-12.
Wu, Chih-Hsiang (2024). Saving power in a communication device with a conditional configuration (US 2024/0422575 A1). Filed 2021-07-09.
Other Pertinent References
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Araujo, Lian et al. (2024). User equipment, network node and methods in a wireless communications network (US 2024/0195594 A1). Filed 2022-03-21.
Eklöf, Cecilia et al. (2024). Secondary cell group (scg) deactivation at mobility (US 2024/0056910 A1). Filed 2021-12-20.
Fujishiro, Masato et al. (2016). Communication control method (US 2016/0219604 A1). Filed 2016-04-04.
Geng, Tingting et al. (2023). Communication method and communication apparatus thereof (US 2023/0362686 A1). Filed 2023-07-14.
Hu, Xingxing et al. (2022). Communication method, apparatus, and system (US 2022/0030444 A1). Filed 2021-09-28.
Hu, Xingxing et al. (2022). Communication method and communication apparatus (US 2022/0264486 A1). Filed 2022-05-06.
Kim, Taehun et al. (2024). Transmission of data of logical channel (US 2024/0015639 A1). Filed 2023-07-11.
Pelletier, Ghyslain et al. (2025). Uplink transmissions in wireless communications (US 2025/0220589 A1). Filed 2024-11-15.
Sha, Tong et al. (2023). Communication method and apparatus (US 2023/0345232 A1). Filed 2023-06-28.
Sharma, Vivek et al. (2020). Telecommunications apparatus and methods for handling split radio bearers (US 2020/0008255 A1). Filed 2017-08-30.
Siomina, Iana et al. (2015). Enhancing positioning with transmit-timing adjustment information (US 2015/0189610 A1). Filed 2013-05-03.
Teyeb, Oumer et al. (2023). Scg suspension/dormancy/deactivation - signaling, configurations and behavior (US 2023/0345579 A1). Filed 2021-07-20.
Wu, Lianhai et al. (2024). Methods and apparatuses for a rlf processing procedure and a phr procedure in a deactivated sn case (US 2024/0172017 A1). Filed 2021-03-16.
Wu, Chih-Hsiang (2023). Managing secondary cell group deactivation and activation (US 2023/0413356 A1). Filed 2021-10-20.
Xu, Fangli et al. (2022). Secondary cell activation and change procedures (US 2022/0264404 A1). Filed 2021-01-12.
You, Chunhua et al. (2023). Communication method and communication apparatus (US 2023/0371064 A1). Filed 2023-07-14.
Zhang, Chongming et al. (2023). Method performed by user equipment, and user equipment (US 2023/0171838 A1). Filed 2021-04-02.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL H LEONARD whose telephone number is (571)272-5720. The examiner can normally be reached Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm (PT).
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/SAMUEL H. LEONARD/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649