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 .
Claim Status
Claims 5, 8, 12, 18, 25-36 have been cancelled. Thus, claims 1-4, 6-7, 9-11, 13-17, 19-24 are presented for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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 1-4, 6-7, 9-11, 13-17, 19-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0045031) in view of Yang (US Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0413150).
Regarding claim 1, Lee teaches a first network node (Fig. 4), the first network node being a first Next Generation Node B, gNB (gNB 421, 210), and comprising:
processing circuitry (211) configured to:
receive, from within the first network node, a first information indicative of an open systems interconnection, OSI, Layer 1, L1, configuration of at least two cells served by the first network node, the at least two cells being candidate cells (OSI L1 info is received for configuring target cells [Paragraphs 8-11, 62, 65, 173]); and
make a Wireless Device, WD, mobility decision [(UE 410 decides whether to move to a to the target cells based on the OSI L1 and performance of those target cells [Paragraphs 8-11, 62, 65, 97, 173]).
However, Lee does not explicitly mention: by considering at least a performance gain of the candidate cells, the performance gain being.
Yang teaches, in a similar field of endeavor of communication systems, the following:
by considering at least a performance gain of the candidate cells, the performance gain being (for the disclosed system, performance of the cells is considered for the mobility of UE to target cells [Paragraphs 6-8, 34-35, 71, 85-87, 96, 113]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the communication system (as taught by Lee) by considering performance of the candidate cells (as taught by Yang) for the purpose of selecting proper cells (Yang – Paragraph 6).
Regarding claim 2, Yang further teaches the first network node of claim 1, wherein the performance gain of the candidate cells is further determined by one of: determining the performance gain of each candidate cell relative to a source cell; and determining the performance gain of one candidate cell of the candidate cells relative to another candidate cell of the candidate cells (cell with better performance, compared to other candidate cells, is selected as the target cell [Paragraphs 6-8, 34-35, 71, 85-87, 96, 113]).
Regarding claim 3, Yang further teaches the he first network node of claim 1, wherein the first network node further comprises a first gNB Central Unit, gNB-CU, and a first plurality of gNB-Distributed Units, gNB-DUs, the first gNB-CU comprising a gNB-CU-Control Plane, gNB-CU-CP ([Paragraph 27]).
Regarding claim 4, Yang further teaches the first network node of claim 3, wherein the at least two candidate cells served by the first network node are served by at least one gNB-DU of the first plurality of gNB-Dus ([Paragraph 27]).
Regarding claim 6, Lee further teaches the first network node of claim 1, wherein the received first information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration is received over an F1 interface ([Paragraphs 50, 59, 65]).
Regarding claim 7, Lee further teaches the first network node of claim 1, wherein the first network node (421) further comprises a communication interface (Xn) configured for communication with a second network node (gNB 421), the second network node being a second gNB (gNB 421) and comprising at least one gNB-Distributed Unit, gNB-DU (gNB 421), the communication interface being configured to:
receive from the second gNB a second information indicative of an OSI L1 configuration of at least one cell served by the at least one gNB-DU of the second gNB ([Paragraph 65]), the at least one cell served by the at least one gNB-DU of the second gNB being included in the candidate cells ([Paragraphs 8-11, 62, 65, 173]).
Regarding claim 9, Lee further teaches the first network node of claim 1, wherein any one of the first information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration and the second information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration is associated with a 5G radio access technology network ([Paragraph 26]) and includes at least any one of a bandwidth parameter ([Paragraph 32]), a layer parameter ([Paragraph 49]) including supported Multiple Inputs Multiple Outputs, MIMO, layers, an order parameter including a supported modulation order ([Paragraph 80]), a subcarrier spacing, ([Paragraph 80]) a subcarrier numerology, a duplex scheme, a number of Non-Zero Power, NZP, Channel State Information, CSI ([Paragraph 138]), Reference Signal, RS ([Paragraphs 138, 147]), Ports, and a number of Tracking Reference Signal, TRS, Resource sets.
Regarding claim 10, Lee further teaches the first network node of claim 7, wherein any one of the first information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration and the second information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration is included in an information element ([Paragraph 37, 39]), the information element being a Served Cell Information New Radio, NR ([Paragraph 26]), Information Element, IE, included in any one of an Xn setup request ([Paragraph 64]), an Xn setup response, an New Generation Radio Access Network, NG-RAN ([Paragraph 62]), node configuration update, and an NG-RAN node configuration update acknowledgement ([Paragraphs 65, 78]).
Regarding claim 11, Lee further teaches the first network node of claim 1, wherein making the mobility decision comprises selecting at least one candidate cell and includes making a capability aware Primary Cell, PCell ([Paragraph 160]), selection that is used at least in part to any one of:
compare a combination of PCells and Secondary Cells, SCells ([Paragraph 97]);
change a PCell to one of the first network node and the second network node ([Paragraph 156]); and
add an SCell to one of the first network node and the second network node ([Paragraph 160]).
Regarding claims 13-16, 19, 21-23, these claims are rejected as applied to claims 1-4, 7, 9-11.
Regarding claim 17, Lee further teaches the method of claim 15, wherein the received first information indicative of the OSI L1 configuration is received at the gNB-CU-CP of the first network node ([Paragraphs 62, 64, 74, 86]).
Regarding claim 20, Lee further teaches the method of claim 19, wherein the communication interface is an Xn interface ([Paragraph 64]).
Regarding claim 24, Lee further teaches the method of claim 13, wherein making the WD mobility decision includes any one of triggering a Hand Over, HO, to one of the candidate cells and a cell re-selection of one of the candidate cells ([Paragraphs 96, 98]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FABRICIO R MURILLO GARCIA whose telephone number is (571)270-5708. The examiner can normally be reached 9-5pm.
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, Sam K Ahn can be reached at 5712723044. 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.
May 15, 2026
/FABRICIO R MURILLO GARCIA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2633
Prosecution Insights