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
The Amendment filed 11/02/2023 has been entered. Claims 1-6, 8, 12, 14-16, 20, 22, 24-26, and 33-35 have been amended. Claims 7, 9-11, 13, 17-19, 21, 23, 27-32, and 36-46 are canceled. Claims 1-6, 8, 12, 14-16, 20, 22, 24-26, and 33-35 are pending in this application.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/13/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 26 objected to because of the following informalities: claim 26 recites "The method of claim 24" appears to be a typographical error and should read as "The method of claim 25". 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 34 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as failing to set forth the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 34 recites the limitation “the condition associated with a configured MDT” in claim 34 recites. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-6, 8, 12,14-16, 20, 22, 24-26, and 33-35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamine (US 20180063737 A1), hereinafter Yamine, in view of Wang (US 20210409990 A1), hereinafter Wang .
Regarding to claim 1,
Yamine teaches determine whether a stopping criterion of logging of minimization of drive test, MDT, data is met; and stop logging of MDT data based at least on determining that the criterion is met ([0059-0060] the control information may further comprise a condition under which an operation associated with the respective control indicator is to be applied ... the control may also comprise one or more conditions to allow for conditional control. As such, the control may apply upon fulfilment of one or more conditions only (e.g., if the log size is above a first threshold 1 and/or below a second threshold 2; if the strongest Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) is below a third threshold 3; if the signal quality is below a fourth threshold 4; if the battery level drops below a fifth threshold 5; etc.). ... the stop indicator may be one of an MDT logging duration parameters set to a predefined value, an MDT logging duration parameter set to 0 and an explicit command ‘stop MDT traces.)
Yamine does not explicitly teach a wireless device , comprising processing circuitry.
Wang teaches a wireless device , comprising processing circuitry ([0028] driving test method and apparatus ... the configuration side sends sidelink driving test configuration information to the terminal [0115] sidelink driving test configuration activation and reporting by using a Minimization of Drive-tests (MDT) mechanism).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Yamine. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve efficiency of obtaining the sidelink driving test information ([0028] Wang).
Regarding to claim 2,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 1.
Yamine further teaches wherein the stopping criterion comprises one of the following: expiration of a timer which started upon starting logging of MDT data ([0058-0060]... identification may comprise, for example, log ID, log type, a condition identifying the relevant logs (e.g., any log configured after a certain time and/or in a certain area and/or comprising a certain log configuration parameter meeting a condition... As such, the control may apply upon fulfilment of one or more conditions only (e.g., if the log size is above a first threshold 1 and/or below a second threshold 2; if the strongest Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) is below a third threshold 3; if the signal quality is below a fourth threshold 4; if the battery level drops below a fifth threshold 5; etc.) .... the stop indicator may be one of an MDT logging duration parameter set to a predefined value, an MDT logging duration parameter set to 0 and an explicit command ‘stop MDT traces’. That is, the present realization may comprise sending a message or an indication to stop MDT traces via SI. In an even more specific realization, this may comprise sending an MDT logging duration parameter with a pre-defined value (e.g., 0 seconds or 0 minutes). In an alternative more specific realization, the control may comprise a command e.g. ‘stop MDT traces’ ) a condition associated with a configured MDT mode that triggered the starting of logging of MDT data is no longer met; and changing of current network coverage status.
Regarding to claim 3,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 2.
Yamine further teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine whether a suspending or postponing criterion of logging of MDT data is met; and suspend or postpone an ongoing logging of MDT data based at least on determining that the suspending or postponing criterion is met (fig. 3a, [0054] ... second field F2 comprising a stop indicator 3012 to instruct stopping a log of an existing MDT trace to be resumed later...).
Regarding to claim 4,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 3.
Yamine further teaches wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
restart or resume the logging of MDT data when one or more conditions to trigger restarting or resuming the logging of MDT data are met (fig. 3a, [0054] resume indicator 3014 to instruct resuming a log of a previously stopped MDT trace).
Regarding to claim 5 ,
Claim 5 is rejected under the same reasoning as Claim 2, where it further limits unselected option.
Regarding to claim 6 ,
Claim 6 is rejected under the same reasoning as Claim 2, where it further limits unselected option.
Regarding to claim 8 ,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 2.
Yamine does not explicitly teach wherein the network coverage status comprises one of in-coverage, out-of-coverage and partial coverage.
Wang further teaches wherein the network coverage status comprises one of in-coverage, out-of-coverage and partial coverage (Embodiment four to six, and [0105] UE is in no network coverage. In this way, the UE driving test may not be controlled by the network, but the UE can perform sidelink communication driving test autonomously based on pre-configuration information. This method may be applied to UEs in any connection state (UE in a connected state, UE in an idle state, inactive UE, or UE in no coverage) .... [0112] UE is in the connected state, the network sends the sidelink driving test configuration information to the UE through a dedicated driving test configuration message (for example, Log Measurement Configuration).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Yamine. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve efficiency of obtaining the sidelink driving test information.([0028] Wang) .
Regarding to claim 12,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 1.
Yamine does not explicitly teach wherein the MDT data includes at least one of: a cellular measurement result; a sidelink measurement result; a cell identifier of a cell on which the cellular measurement is performed; information associated with a sidelink wireless device on which a sidelink measurement is performed; a time when the sidelink operational criterion is met; a time when the MDT data is logged; wireless device mobility status when the MDT data is logged; wireless device location information when the MDT data is logged; and a duration over which the MDT data is logged.
Wang teaches wherein the MDT data includes at least one of: a cellular measurement result; a sidelink measurement result; a cell identifier of a cell on which the cellular measurement is performed; information associated with a sidelink wireless device on which a sidelink measurement is performed; a time when the sidelink operational criterion is met; a time when the MDT data is logged; wireless device mobility status when the MDT data is logged; wireless device location information when the MDT data is logged; and a duration over which the MDT data is logged (Fig. 6, and [0115 - 0116] sidelink driving test configuration activation and reporting by using a Minimization of Drive-tests (MDT) mechanism... The sidelink driving test activation information includes at least one of: a sidelink driving test instruction (which is used for instructing the terminal to perform the sidelink driving test, and may instruct to perform the immediate driving test and/or the log driving test), a sidelink QoS prediction purpose instruction, a sidelink measurement item (for example, sidelink resource pool congestion measurement, sidelink resource pool resource conflict measurement, coverage measurement, mobility measurement, synchronization measurement, SPS usage measurement, sidelink QoS measurement, or sidelink channel quality measurement), a sidelink measurement traffic type, a trace identification, a PLMN list, a log duration, a log interval, a measurement period, a reporting period, a reporting trigger, or an event threshold. After the base station receives the sidelink driving test activation information, the base station sends the sidelink driving test configuration information to the UE according to the activation information (as described in Embodiment three)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Yamine. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve efficiency of obtaining the sidelink driving test information ([0028] Wang).
Regarding to claim 20 ,
Yamine and Wang teach the wireless device of Claim 14.
Yamine does not explicitly teach wherein the MDT data includes a sidelink coverage status that indicates a type of network coverage the wireless device operates under at a time of logging of MDT data, the type of network coverage includes one of in-coverage, out-of-coverage and partial coverage.
Wang further teaches wherein the MDT data includes a sidelink coverage status that indicates a type of network coverage the wireless device operates under at a time of logging of MDT data, the type of network coverage includes one of in-coverage, out-of-coverage and partial coverage (Embodiment four to six, and [0105] UE is in no network coverage. In this way, the UE driving test may not be controlled by the network, but the UE can perform sidelink communication driving test autonomously based on pre-configuration information. This method may be applied to UEs in any connection state (UE in a connected state, UE in an idle state, inactive UE, or UE in no coverage) .... [0112] UE is in the connected state, the network sends the sidelink driving test configuration information to the UE through a dedicated driving test configuration message (for example, Log Measurement Configuration)).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Yamine. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve efficiency of obtaining the sidelink driving test information ([0028] Wang).
Claim(s) [14-16] (network node, apparatus), and [24-26, and 35] (wireless device, method) are rejected under the same reasoning as claims [1-2,5-6, 8, and 12] (wireless device, apparatus), where Yamine teaches both apparatus and method ([0001] and [0012]).
Claim 14 differs from claim 1 only by the additional recitation of the following limitation “receive MDT data; and perform at least one action based on the received MDT data.” Where Yamine [0016-0020] teaches ( [0016] transmitting/receiving of the control information may further comprise dedicated signaling of the control information).
Regarding to claim 22,
Yamine and Wang teach the network node of claim 14.
Yamine does not explicitly teach wherein the MDT data indicates a sidelink operational mode implemented by the wireless device, the sidelink operational mode being one of a unicast operational mode, multicast operational mode, broadcast operational mode, dedicated carrier operational mode and shared carrier operational mode.
Wang further teaches wherein the MDT data indicates a sidelink operational mode implemented by the wireless device, the sidelink operational mode being one of
a unicast operational mode, multicast operational mode, broadcast operational mode, dedicated carrier operational mode and shared carrier operational mode ([0124] FIG. 7, the core network element sends sidelink driving test willingness information (as part of the UE context) of the UE to an access network element, where the sidelink driving test willingness information includes at least one of: a sidelink driving test execution willingness (whether willing to perform sidelink driving test), a sidelink driving test information reporting willingness (whether willing to report the sidelink derive testing result/recording information), a timely/immediate sidelink driving test willingness (immediate MDT), a sidelink driving test logging willingness (logging MDT), a sidelink driving test communication type willingness (unicast, multicast or broadcast), or an application scope PLMN list. The access network element receives the sidelink driving test willingness information of the UE and stores the sidelink driving test willingness information in the UE context information. When the access network element receives the sidelink driving test activation information, the access network element selects the appropriate UE to perform sidelink driving test according to the sidelink driving test activation information and sidelink driving test willingness information of the UE as well as other information).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add the teaching of Wang to the teaching of Yamine. The motivation for such an addition would be to improve efficiency of obtaining the sidelink driving test information ([0028] Wang).
Claim [33] (wireless device, method) is rejected under the same reasoning as claim [22] (network node, apparatus), where Yamine teaches both apparatus and method ([0001] and [0012]).
Regarding to claim 34,
Yamine and Wang teach the network node of claim 24.
Yamine further teaches receiving the stopping criterion of logging of MDT data and the condition associated with a configured MDT mode that triggered the starting of logging of MDT data from a network node (fig. 1 A, [0010] comprising the step of sending, from the base station to at least one User Equipment ... wherein the control indicators comprise at least two of a first start indicator to instruct starting a log of a new MDT trace ... , a second stop indicator to instruct stopping a log of an existing MDT).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VAN T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-6178. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (EST). 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, Ayman A Abaza can be reached at (571) 270-0422. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/VAN TA NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/AYMAN A ABAZA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465