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
This is in response to an amendment/response filed on June 11, 2026.
Claims 1,19-22,27-28,31, and 48-49 have been amended.
Claims 6,17-18,24, and 30 have been cancelled.
No Claims have been added.
Claims 1,4,19-23,27-28,31-32, and 48-49 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-8, filed on June 11, 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1,4,19-23,27-28,31-32, and 48-49 under 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Zhou et al. (US Application 2023/0328652, hereinafter Zhou) which discloses wherein the configuration comprises at least a subset of parameters, fields and/or Information Elements (IEs) within ServingCellConfigCommon([0112], [0302]), which recites the RRCSetup request comprising different parameters as claimed by the instant application) .
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.
Claim(s) 1,4,22-23,27,28,31-32, and 47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (US Application 2023/0328652, hereinafter Zhou).
Regarding claim 1,27, 28, Kim discloses a method (Figs. 1, 5-7) performed by a user equipment (UE)(1-35), comprising processing circuitry (1940,1942) and network interfaces (1910,1920) connected thereto, the method comprising:
receiving, transmitting, a configuration for Layer (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) (6-05) centric inter-cell mobility([0155], which recites an RCC connection message considered as a configuration for Layer (L1)/Layer 2 (L2) centric inter-cell mobility as claimed by the instant application as described on [0136]-[0137] The RRCSetup message may contain at least one of configuration information for each logical channel, configuration information for each bearer, configuration information for a PDCP layer device, configuration information for an RLC layer device, and configuration information for a MAC layer device. The RRCSetup message may allocate a bearer identifier (e.g., an SRB identifier or a DRB identifier) to each bearer and indicate configuration of a PDCP layer device, an RLC layer device, a MAC layer device, and/or a PHY layer device for each bearer);
receiving, transmitting a suspend message (6-10) to suspend a connection with a network node([0155], which recites he gNB may transmit an RRCRelease message containing an indicator (suspend-config) instructing the UE to transition to the RRC inactive mode); suspending the connection([0155], which recites he gNB may transmit an RRCRelease message containing an indicator (suspend-config) instructing the UE to transition to the RRC inactive mode thereby, suspending the connection)and
in response to receiving the suspend message, deleting the configuration for the L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility([0337], which recites the RRCRelease message may define an indicator to discard the frequency measurement configuration information or the frequency measurement result, and may set change, or delete only part of the stored frequency measurement configuration information. As disclosed on [0039], the RRCRelease message containing the indication to set change or delete only part of the stored frequency measurement configuration information is received by the UE from the base station ).
Kim does not explicitly disclose wherein the configuration comprises at least a subset of parameters, fields and/or Information Elements (IEs) within ServingCellConfigCommon.
However, Zhou teaches wherein the configuration comprises at least a subset of parameters, fields and/or Information Elements (IEs) within ServingCellConfigCommon ([0112], [0302]), which recites the RRCSetup request comprising different parameters as claimed by the instant application) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhou with the teaching of Kim by using the above features such as wherein the configuration comprises at least a subset of parameters, fields and/or Information Elements (IEs) within ServingCellConfigCommon as taught by Zhou for the purpose of saving power in carrier aggregation(Abstract).
Regarding claim 4, Kim discloses the method of claim 1, wherein suspending the connection comprises transitioning to an inactive state([0155]).
Regarding claim 22, Kim discloses the method of claim 16, wherein deleting the configuration is further in response to receiving an indication from the network node to discard the configuration to avoid configuration mismatch between the network node and the UE([0129],[0335]).
Regarding claim 23, Kim discloses the method of claim 1, wherein deleting the configuration comprises deleting at least a subset of parameters for one of candidate cells([0337]-[0338]).
Regarding claim 31, Kim discloses the method of claim 30, wherein the one or more parameters comprise cell-specific parameters or Physical Cell Identity (PCI)-specific parameters([0323]).
Regarding claim 32, Kim discloses the method of claim 28, further comprising receiving a request for a UE context from a second network node and providing the UE context to the second network node([0139]).
Regarding claim 47, Kim discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to receiving the suspend message, before entering RRC_INACTIVE, deleting the configuration for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility([0155]).
Claim(s) 19-21,48-50 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Zhou et al. (US Application 2022/0014983, hereinafter Zhou).
Regarding claims 19,48, Kim discloses the method of claim 18 as addressed above, except wherein the one or more parameters comprise cell-specific parameters, wherein the cell-specific parameters are configured for each target candidate cell for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility.
However, Zhou teaches the one or more parameters comprise cell-specific parameters, wherein the cell-specific parameters are configured for each target candidate cell for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility(Abstract, [0007], [0083]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhou with the teaching of Kim by using the above features such as the one or more parameters comprise cell-specific parameters, wherein the cell-specific parameters are configured for each target candidate cell for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility as taught by Zhou for the purpose of fast CA/DC reconfiguration in L1/L2 based inter-cell mobility(Abstract).
Regarding claims 20, 49, Kim discloses the method of claim 18 as addressed above, except wherein the one or more parameters comprise Physical Cell Identity (PCI)-specific parameters, wherein the PCI-specific parameters are configured for each target PCI candidate for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility.
However, Zhou teaches the one or more parameters comprise Physical Cell Identity (PCI)-specific parameters, wherein the PCI-specific parameters are configured for each target PCI candidate for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility (Abstract, [0007], [0083]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhou with the teaching of Kim by using the above features such as the one or more parameters comprise Physical Cell Identity (PCI)-specific parameters, wherein the PCI-specific parameters are configured for each target PCI candidate for L1/L2 centric inter-cell mobility as taught by Zhou for the purpose of fast CA/DC reconfiguration in L1/L2 based inter-cell mobility(Abstract).
Regarding claims 21, 50, Kim discloses the method of claim 18 as addressed above, except wherein the configuration is for a Master Cell Group (MCG), a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) or both the MCG and SCG.
However, Zhou teaches the configuration is for a Master Cell Group (MCG), a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) or both the MCG and SCG (Abstract, [0007], [0083]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Zhou with the teaching of Kim by using the above features such as the configuration is for a Master Cell Group (MCG), a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) or both the MCG and SCG as taught by Zhou for the purpose of fast CA/DC reconfiguration in L1/L2 based inter-cell mobility(Abstract).
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 DADY CHERY whose telephone number is (571)270-1207. The examiner can normally be reached M to T, 8 am to 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Moo Jeong can be reached at 571-272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DADY CHERY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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