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/communication filed 6/25/2024.
No claims have been added.
Claim(s) 19-20 and 23-25 has/have been cancelled.
Claims(s) 1-18 and 21-22 is/are currently pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS(s)) submitted on 12/30/2023 and 6/25/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 12/30/2023. These drawings are accepted.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 7, 14, 15, 18, 21 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hu et al. US 20240236750.
As to claim 1:
Li et al. discloses:
An apparatus of a user equipment device (UE) device for activating and deactivating pre-configured measurement gaps in carrier aggregation, the apparatus comprising processing circuitry coupled to storage for storing information associated with the pre-configured measurement gaps, the processing circuitry configured to:
detect a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network;
(“The technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure provide a scheme of measurement gap enhancement under a carrier aggregation-dual connectivity (CA/DC) network architecture. Preconfigured measurement gaps are supported, while introducing concurrent gaps. It is realized that a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps and other legacy measurement gaps in the concurrent gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0148)
(“In some optional implementations, the network device sends first indication information and the terminal device receives the first indication information. The first indication information is used for indicating: for each of N bandwidth parts (BWPs), whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when the BWP is activated, N being a positive integer. Further, optionally, in a case that a number of the preconfigured measurement gaps is more than one, the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0104)
(“As an example, Table 9 below shows whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when each of 3 BWP is activated. Whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated is indicated by the value of one bit. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state) When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated.”; Hu et al.; 0105)
(where
“the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps”/”When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network”, where “first information…indicating identifiers”/”determine through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap”, where “determine” maps to “detect”, “Pre-MG maps to “pre-configured measurement gap”, “network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “configured by a network”
detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated; and
(where
“When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “When” maps to “detect”, “preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “pre-configued measurement gap”, “activated”/”deactivated” maps to “activated or deactivated”
activate or deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated.
(“If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap or performs measurement that needs no measurement gap, and normally performs data transceiving on a serving carrier.”; Hu et al.; 0068)
(where
“When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap”/”When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “activate or deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “Pre-MG is activated” maps to “activate…the pre-configured measurement gap”, where “preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated” maps to “deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap”, “through the first indication information”/”When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state” maps to “based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement is to be activated or deactivated”
Hu et al. teaches a network configuring preconfigured measurement gaps and receiving information indicating the preconfigured measurement gaps are to be activated or deactivated and performing activation or deactivation based on the received information.
As to claim 2:
Li et al. discloses:
An apparatus, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
detect an addition or removal of a measurement object associated with the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the addition or removal of the measurement object.
(“Rule 1: in case of a measurement object change, the preconfigured measurement gap is activated or deactivated. The measurement object change is embodied by at least one of following: adding a measurement object, deleting a measurement object, adding a PSCell, releasing a PSCell, changing a PSCell, activating a PSCell, or deactivating a PSCell.”; Hu et al.; 0052)
As to claim 7:
Li et al. discloses:
An apparatus, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
detect an activation or deactivation of a secondary cell,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the activation or deactivation of the secondary cell.
(“Rule 1: in case of a measurement object change, the preconfigured measurement gap is activated or deactivated. The measurement object change is embodied by at least one of following: adding a measurement object, deleting a measurement object, adding a PSCell, releasing a PSCell, changing a PSCell, activating a PSCell, or deactivating a PSCell.”; Hu et al.; 0052)
As to claim 14:
Li et al. discloses:
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause processing circuitry of a user equipment device (UE) for activating and deactivating pre-configured measurement gaps in carrier aggregation, upon execution of the instructions by the processing circuitry, to:
detect a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network;
(“The technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure provide a scheme of measurement gap enhancement under a carrier aggregation-dual connectivity (CA/DC) network architecture. Preconfigured measurement gaps are supported, while introducing concurrent gaps. It is realized that a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps and other legacy measurement gaps in the concurrent gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0148)
(“In some optional implementations, the network device sends first indication information and the terminal device receives the first indication information. The first indication information is used for indicating: for each of N bandwidth parts (BWPs), whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when the BWP is activated, N being a positive integer. Further, optionally, in a case that a number of the preconfigured measurement gaps is more than one, the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0104)
(“As an example, Table 9 below shows whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when each of 3 BWP is activated. Whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated is indicated by the value of one bit. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state) When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated.”; Hu et al.; 0105)
(where
“the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps”/”When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network”, where “first information…indicating identifiers”/”determine through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap”, where “determine” maps to “detect”, “Pre-MG maps to “pre-configured measurement gap”, “network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “configured by a network”
detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated; and
(where
“When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “When” maps to “detect”, “preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “pre-configued measurement gap”, “activated”/”deactivated” maps to “activated or deactivated”
activate or deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated.
(“If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap or performs measurement that needs no measurement gap, and normally performs data transceiving on a serving carrier.”; Hu et al.; 0068)
(where
“When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap”/”When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “activate or deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “Pre-MG is activated” maps to “activate…the pre-configured measurement gap”, where “preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated” maps to “deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap”, “through the first indication information”/”When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state” maps to “based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement is to be activated or deactivated”
Hu et al. teaches a network configuring preconfigured measurement gaps and receiving information indicating the preconfigured measurement gaps are to be activated or deactivated and performing activation or deactivation based on the received information.
As to claim 15:
Li et al. discloses:
The computer-readable medium of claim 14,
wherein execution of the instructions further causes the processing circuitry to
detect an addition or removal of a measurement object associated with the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the addition or removal of the measurement object.
(“Rule 1: in case of a measurement object change, the preconfigured measurement gap is activated or deactivated. The measurement object change is embodied by at least one of following: adding a measurement object, deleting a measurement object, adding a PSCell, releasing a PSCell, changing a PSCell, activating a PSCell, or deactivating a PSCell.”; Hu et al.; 0052)
As to claim 18:
Li et al. discloses:
The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein execution of the instructions further causes the processing circuitry to
detect an activation or deactivation of a secondary cell,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the activation or deactivation of the secondary cell.
(“Rule 1: in case of a measurement object change, the preconfigured measurement gap is activated or deactivated. The measurement object change is embodied by at least one of following: adding a measurement object, deleting a measurement object, adding a PSCell, releasing a PSCell, changing a PSCell, activating a PSCell, or deactivating a PSCell.”; Hu et al.; 0052)
As to claim 21:
Li et al. discloses:
A method for activating and deactivating pre-configured measurement gaps in carrier aggregation, the method comprising
detecting, by processing circuitry of a user equipment device (UE), a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network;
(“The technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure provide a scheme of measurement gap enhancement under a carrier aggregation-dual connectivity (CA/DC) network architecture. Preconfigured measurement gaps are supported, while introducing concurrent gaps. It is realized that a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps and other legacy measurement gaps in the concurrent gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0148)
(“In some optional implementations, the network device sends first indication information and the terminal device receives the first indication information. The first indication information is used for indicating: for each of N bandwidth parts (BWPs), whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when the BWP is activated, N being a positive integer. Further, optionally, in a case that a number of the preconfigured measurement gaps is more than one, the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0104)
(“As an example, Table 9 below shows whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when each of 3 BWP is activated. Whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated is indicated by the value of one bit. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state) When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated.”; Hu et al.; 0105)
(where
“the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps”/”When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap configured by a network”, where “first information…indicating identifiers”/”determine through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated” maps to “detect a pre-configured measurement gap”, where “determine” maps to “detect”, “Pre-MG maps to “pre-configured measurement gap”, “network configures preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “configured by a network”
detecting that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated; and
(where
“When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “When” maps to “detect”, “preconfigured measurement gaps” maps to “pre-configued measurement gap”, “activated”/”deactivated” maps to “activated or deactivated”
activating or deactivating the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated.
(“If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap or performs measurement that needs no measurement gap, and normally performs data transceiving on a serving carrier.”; Hu et al.; 0068)
(where
“When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated”/”If the terminal device is configured with only a preconfigured measurement gap (Pre-MG), once the preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated, the terminal device performs no measurement that needs a measurement gap”/”When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state)” maps to “activate or deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated”, where “Pre-MG is activated” maps to “activate…the pre-configured measurement gap”, where “preconfigured measurement gap is deactivated” maps to “deactivate the pre-configured measurement gap”, “through the first indication information”/”When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state” maps to “based on the detection that the pre-configured measurement is to be activated or deactivated”
Hu et al. teaches a network configuring preconfigured measurement gaps and receiving information indicating the preconfigured measurement gaps are to be activated or deactivated and performing activation or deactivation based on the received information.
As to claim 22:
Li et al. discloses:
A method of claim 21, further comprising
detect an addition or removal of a measurement object associated with the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the addition or removal of the measurement object.
(“Rule 1: in case of a measurement object change, the preconfigured measurement gap is activated or deactivated. The measurement object change is embodied by at least one of following: adding a measurement object, deleting a measurement object, adding a PSCell, releasing a PSCell, changing a PSCell, activating a PSCell, or deactivating a PSCell.”; Hu et al.; 0052)
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 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.
Claim(s) 3, 8 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Li et al. US 20230337023.
As to claim 3:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
detect a network-controlled activation or deactivation indication based on a radio resource control (RRC) measurement gap list from the network,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the network-controlled activation or deactivation indication.
However, Li et al. further teaches an RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability which includes:
detect a network-controlled activation or deactivation indication based on a radio resource control (RRC) measurement gap list from the network,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the network-controlled activation or deactivation indication.
(“FIG. 12 illustrates an example where the UE may use a table (e.g., provided by the network, such as in a measurement gap configuration in RRC signaling) to decide between different measurement gap patterns. For example, the table may explicitly indicate which MG should be activated for every active BWP combo for all the serving cells. In the example of FIG. 12, BWP1 is the active BWP in Cell 1 and BWP2 is the active BWP in Cell 2. Using the table for this particular combination, the UE may automatically use MG1 as the MGP.”; Li et al.; 0113)
(“In some embodiments, a same measurement gap pattern may be used for multiple BWPs, e.g., with different status for each BWP. Such embodiments may be useful for situations where the UE is configured with per-UE or per-FR gap and a ON/OFF indication may be used to determine whether the preconfigured measurement gap pattern should be activated or deactivated.”; Li et al.; 0114)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability of Li et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Li et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with improved reliability (Li et al.; 0003) are achieved.
As to claim 8:
Hu et al. discloses:
pre-configured [measurement gap]
(“The technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure provide a scheme of measurement gap enhancement under a carrier aggregation-dual connectivity (CA/DC) network architecture. Preconfigured measurement gaps are supported, while introducing concurrent gaps. It is realized that a network configures preconfigured measurement gaps and other legacy measurement gaps in the concurrent gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0148)
(“In some optional implementations, the network device sends first indication information and the terminal device receives the first indication information. The first indication information is used for indicating: for each of N bandwidth parts (BWPs), whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when the BWP is activated, N being a positive integer. Further, optionally, in a case that a number of the preconfigured measurement gaps is more than one, the first indication information is further used for indicating identifiers of the preconfigured measurement gaps.”; Hu et al.; 0104)
(“As an example, Table 9 below shows whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated when each of 3 BWP is activated. Whether the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated is indicated by the value of one bit. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are activated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in an activated state). When the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the preconfigured measurement gaps are deactivated (that is, the preconfigured measurement gaps are in a deactivated state) When the terminal device is switched to BWP2, it may be determined through the first indication information that the Pre-MG is activated when the BWP2 is activated.”; Hu et al.; 0105)
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
detect that a status of the … measurement gap is to be updated based on whether a measurement object's frequency layer is contained by a bandwidth part activated by a primary cell or a secondary cell of the UE,
wherein to detect that the … measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection that the status of the pre-configured measurement gap is to be updated.
However, Li et al. further teaches an PCell/PSCell/component carrier/activate/deactivate/measurement gap capability which includes:
detect that a status of the …measurement gap is to be updated based on whether a measurement object's frequency layer is contained by a bandwidth part activated by a primary cell or a secondary cell of the UE,
wherein to detect that the … measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection that the status of the pre-configured measurement gap is to be updated.
(“In some embodiments, a measurement gap pattern may only be associated with the BWPs of a subset of the component carriers (e.g., a special cell such as a PCell in CA or a PSCell in DC). In such embodiments, changes of BWPs of other component carriers may not result in any change in measurement gap pattern. However, if there is a change in the BWP of the subset (e.g., one or more component carriers), the UE may automatically change the measurement gap pattern (e.g., activating the measurement gap pattern, deactivating the measurement gap pattern, changing to a different measurement gap pattern, modifying parameters of the measurement gap pattern, etc.).”; Li et al.; 0134)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the PCell/PSCell/component carrier/activate/deactivate/measurement gap capability of Li et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the PCell/PSCell/component carrier/activate/deactivate/measurement gap capability as taught by the processing/communications of Li et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with improved reliability (Li et al.; 0003) are achieved.
As to claim 16:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
detect a network-controlled activation or deactivation indication based on a radio resource control (RRC) measurement gap list from the network,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the network-controlled activation or deactivation indication.
However, Li et al. further teaches an RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability which includes:
detect a network-controlled activation or deactivation indication based on a radio resource control (RRC) measurement gap list from the network,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection of the network-controlled activation or deactivation indication.
(“FIG. 12 illustrates an example where the UE may use a table (e.g., provided by the network, such as in a measurement gap configuration in RRC signaling) to decide between different measurement gap patterns. For example, the table may explicitly indicate which MG should be activated for every active BWP combo for all the serving cells. In the example of FIG. 12, BWP1 is the active BWP in Cell 1 and BWP2 is the active BWP in Cell 2. Using the table for this particular combination, the UE may automatically use MG1 as the MGP.”; Li et al.; 0113)
(“In some embodiments, a same measurement gap pattern may be used for multiple BWPs, e.g., with different status for each BWP. Such embodiments may be useful for situations where the UE is configured with per-UE or per-FR gap and a ON/OFF indication may be used to determine whether the preconfigured measurement gap pattern should be activated or deactivated.”; Li et al.; 0114)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability of Li et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the RRC/table/activation/deactivation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Li et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with improved reliability (Li et al.; 0003) are achieved.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Li et al. US 20230337023 and in further view of Yamamoto et al. US 20240276277.
As to claim 4:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the RRC measurement gap list comprises an indication of a measurement object change.
However, Yamamoto et al. further teaches an RRC/measurement object/change capability which includes:
wherein the RRC measurement gap list comprises an indication of a measurement object change.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RRC/measurement object/change capability of Yamamoto et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the RRC/measurement object/change capability as taught by the processing/communications of Yamamoto et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced RRC message (Yamamoto et al.; 0107) are achieved.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Li et al. US 20230337023 and in further view of Orsino et al. US 20220132348.
As to claim 5:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the RRC measurement gap list cannot be reconfigured and updated by the network with a measurement object change.
However, Orsino et al. further teaches an RRCResume/MeNB cannot change/list capability which includes:
wherein the RRC measurement gap list cannot be reconfigured and updated by the network with a measurement object change.
(“In suspend/resume procedure for NR, the UE in RRC_CONNECTED has a stored measurement configuration (modeled in the specification in the UE variable VarMeasconfig, which is like the IE MeasConfig) and, upon reception of an RRCRelease with suspend configuration, the measurement configuration is stored and connected mode measurements are suspended. Then, when the UE needs to resume (e.g., due to paging, NAS request or RNA update) the UE sends an RRC Resume Request like message and receives an RRCResume message. Only at that point in time the UE enters RRC_CONNECTED, restore the previous configuration and apply the measConfig of MeasConfig IE (possibly as a delta signaling to the stored configuration). That is the point in time during the procedure that network may either activate existing events (e.g., A4) configured to assist the setup of CA/DC or add new events (e.g., A4) configuration. When embodiments disclosed herein add new events or activate existing events here it also includes measurement identifiers and/or measurement objects.”; Orsino et al.; 0406)
(“The MeNB cannot change the SCG-Config from the SeNB, just accept or reject. The reason for this is that the MeNB is not fully aware of the available resources and capabilities of the SeNB. Thus, if the MeNB modifies the SCG-Config can lead to the case that the UE utilizes incorrect resources. In practice, the measurement configuration is controlled by the MN. Note also that in LTE-DC centralized solution the UE's measurement report is sent to the MN only.”; Orsino et al.; 0052)
(“In some embodiments, the measurement configuration provided comprises one or more of the group consisting of: one or more lists of measurement objects; one or more report configurations; one or more measurement identifiers; and associations between these.”; Orsino et al.; 0009)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RRCResume/MeNB cannot change/list capability of Orsino et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the RRCResume/MeNB cannot change/list capability as taught by the processing/communications of Orsino et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with improved measurement (Orsino et al.; 0003) are achieved.
Claim(s) 6, 10 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Tao, “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENDING OR RECEIVING CAPABILITY INDICATION INFORMATION, AND DEVICE AND MEDIUM”, 2023-04-20, WO, WO 2023060576 (citations are from English translation).
As to claim 6:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
identify, autonomously, a status of the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the autonomous identification of the status.
However, Tao further teaches an autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability which includes:
identify, autonomously, a status of the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the autonomous identification of the status.
(“Mode 2, the user equipment may autonomously determine to configure the pre-configured measurement gap gap of the user equipment to be activated or deactivated.”; Tao; p.8, bottom of page)
(“In this method, when any trigger condition is met, the user equipment may be triggered to autonomously determine that the pre-configured measurement gap gap of the user equipment is activated or deactivated.”; Tao; p.10, bottom of page)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability of Tao into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability as taught by the processing/communications of Tao, the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced resource occupation (Tao; p.7, middle of page) are achieved.
As to claim 10:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the UE is not required to identify a status of the pre-configured measurement gap autonomously.
However, Tao further teaches an independent/status capability which includes:
wherein the UE is not required to identify a status of the pre-configured measurement gap autonomously.
(“In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the user equipment supports the activation or deactivation of the pre-configured measurement gap gap, the user equipment may autonomously configure the pre-configured measurement gap gap of the user equipment based on whether the measurement carrier in the measurement configuration needs a measurement gap as Activation or deactivation does not need to receive status indication information from network devices, saving resources.”; Tao; p.11 near bottom of page)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the independent/status capability of Tao into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the independent/status capability as taught by the processing/communications of Tao, the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced resource occupation (Tao; p.7, middle of page) are achieved.
As to claim 17:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
identify, autonomously, a status of the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the autonomous identification of the status.
However, Tao further teaches an autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability which includes:
identify, autonomously, a status of the pre-configured measurement gap,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the autonomous identification of the status.
(“Mode 2, the user equipment may autonomously determine to configure the pre-configured measurement gap gap of the user equipment to be activated or deactivated.”; Tao; p.8, bottom of page)
(“In this method, when any trigger condition is met, the user equipment may be triggered to autonomously determine that the pre-configured measurement gap gap of the user equipment is activated or deactivated.”; Tao; p.10, bottom of page)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability of Tao into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the autonomous/activation/deactivation/condition capability as taught by the processing/communications of Tao, the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced resource occupation (Tao; p.7, middle of page) are achieved.
Claim(s) 9 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Bergstrom et al. US 20150124728.
As to claim 9:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the activation or deactivation of the secondary cell is based on a medium access control (MAC) control element.
However, Bergstrom et al. further teaches a MAC CE/SCell/activation/deactivation capability which includes:
wherein the activation or deactivation of the secondary cell is based on a medium access control (MAC) control element.
(“The Rel-10 Activation/Deactivation MAC control element (CE) is defined in section 6.1.3.8 of 3GPP TS 36.321. The Activation/Deactivation MAC CE consists of a single octet containing seven C-fields and one R-field. Each C-field corresponds to a specific SCellindex and indicates whether the specific SCell is activated or deactivated. The UE will ignore all C-fields associated with Cell indices not being configured. The Activation/Deactivation MAC CE always indicates the activation status of all configured SCells, meaning that if the eNB wants to activate one SCell, it must include all configured SCells, setting them to activated or deactivated even if their status has not changed.”; Bergstrom et al.; 0036)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the MAC CE/SCell/activation/deactivation capability of Bergstrom et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the MAC CE/SCell/activation/deactivation capability as taught by the processing/communications of Bergstrom et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced throughput losses (Bergstrom et al.; 0169) are achieved.
As to claim 12:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein the UE is required to identify a status of the pre-configured measurement gap autonomously.
However, Bergstrom et al. further teaches an autonomous/status/pre-configure/measurement gap capability which includes:
wherein the UE is required to identify a status of the pre-configured measurement gap autonomously.
(“There are two types of gaps for doing measurements: network configurable measurement gaps, e.g., compressed mode gaps in HSPA and measurement gaps in LTE; and UE autonomous gaps, e.g., gaps which are autonomously created by the UE when the UE is requested to read system information of a neighbor cell.”; Bergstrom et al.; 0051)
(“The Rel-10 Activation/Deactivation MAC control element (CE) is defined in section 6.1.3.8 of 3GPP TS 36.321. The Activation/Deactivation MAC CE consists of a single octet containing seven C-fields and one R-field. Each C-field corresponds to a specific SCellindex and indicates whether the specific SCell is activated or deactivated. The UE will ignore all C-fields associated with Cell indices not being configured. The Activation/Deactivation MAC CE always indicates the activation status of all configured SCells, meaning that if the eNB wants to activate one SCell, it must include all configured SCells, setting them to activated or deactivated even if their status has not changed.”; Bergstrom et al.; 0036)
(“In the case of network configuration, the serving network node (e.g., eNode B) indicates or configures the UE that when the UE cannot transmit feedback signaling in subframe(s) during or after the measurement gaps on certain cell (e.g., PCell) then the UE sends its feedback signaling on another cell (e.g., SCell) on which the UE is allowed to transmit in subframe(s) after the measurement gaps. The network node may also indicate the cell on which the UE sends the feedback signaling, e.g., a specific SCell. The network may also pre-configure the UE with this information, e.g., at the time of configuring gaps and/or when setting up SCell(s).”; Bergstrom et al.; 0101)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the autonomous/status/pre-configure/measurement gap capability of Bergstrom et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the autonomous/status/pre-configure/measurement gap capability as taught by the processing/communications of Bergstrom et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced throughput losses (Bergstrom et al.; 0169) are achieved.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Tao, “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENDING OR RECEIVING CAPABILITY INDICATION INFORMATION, AND DEVICE AND MEDIUM”, 2023-04-20, WO, WO 2023060576 (citations are from English translation) and in further view of Abraham et al. US 20230077965.
As to claim 11:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
detect that the network reconfigured and updated the pre-configured measurement gap status based on a RRC indication for an addition, release, or change of … or a secondary cell,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection that the network reconfigured and updated the pre-configured measurement gap status.
However, Abraham et al. further teaches a RRC Reconfiguration/preconfigured measurement gap/SCell/activation status/switch/condition trigger capability which includes:
detect that the network reconfigured and updated the pre-configured measurement gap status based on a RRC indication for an addition, release, or change of … or a secondary cell,
wherein to detect that the pre-configured measurement gap is to be activated or deactivated is based on the detection that the network reconfigured and updated the pre-configured measurement gap status.
(“In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method for supporting multiple measurement gaps in a wireless network is provided. The method includes creating, by a radio access network node (RAN node) in the wireless network, a radio resource control (RRC) message comprising one of a RRC Reconfiguration or a RRC Resume with additional Information Elements (IEs) for configuration of the multiple measurement gaps, wherein the additional IEs for each measurement gap includes at least one of an identifier of each measurement gap, a mapping of the measurement gaps with a list of measurement objects, reference signals in a measurement object, where the measurement gaps are applicable, whether a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) is to be measured during the measurement gaps, an activation status of the measurement gaps, a presence of a type of the measurement gaps indicating whether the measurement gap is a preconfigured measurement gap”; Abraham et al.; 0012)
(“In an embodiment, the method includes detecting, by the UE, an activation or deactivation of a configured secondary cell group (SCG) or secondary cell (SCell). Further, the method includes activating or deactivating, by the UE, at least one of the preconfigured measurement gaps of the multiple measurement gaps based on detection.”; Abraham et al.; 0029)
(“In an embodiment, the method includes determining, by the UE, at least one of switching of the reference signal in the measurement object (MO) to the type that does not need the measurement gap, release of measurement object by a RRC message or autonomously with MO is only associated to a report configuration with report-type set to condition trigger configuration, release of the PRS. Further, the method includes determining, by the UE, that any other MO or the PRS need the measurement gap.”; Abraham et al.; 0023)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the RRC Reconfiguration/preconfigured measurement gap/SCell/activation status/switch/condition trigger capability of Abraham et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the RRC Reconfiguration/preconfigured measurement gap/SCell/activation status/switch/condition trigger capability as taught by the processing/communications of Abraham et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with improved messaging (Abraham et al.; Abstract) are achieved.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu et al. US 20240236750 in view of Bergstrom et al. US 20150124728 and in further view of Li et al. US 20230337023.
As to claim 13:
Hu et al. as described above does not explicitly teach:
wherein a RRC indication associated with the pre-configured measurement gap cannot be reconfigured and updated by the network with a measurement object change.
However, Bergstrom et al. further teaches a MO/switch/RRC reconfiguration/not fast enough capability which includes:
wherein a RRC indication associated with the pre-configured measurement gap cannot be reconfigured and updated by the network with a measurement object change.
(“Whether a measurement gap is needed may depend on whether all the measurement objectives (MOs) can be measured outside of the measurement gap. For example, a measurement gap may not be needed when the reference signals (or other types of measurements) can be measured by the UE using the currently active bandwidth part (BWP) (e.g., where the measurements are in or near the same carrier frequency as the BWP). However, the situation may change when there is BWP switch, e.g., where a measurement gap may become necessary. Note that a BWP switch procedure may be performed in 1-3 ms, while reconfiguration of the measurement gap (e.g., via RRC procedure) may take up to dozens or even hundreds of ms. In other words, RRC-based measurement gap update may not be fast enough to follow a BWP switch.”; Li et al.; 0103)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the MO/switch/RRC reconfiguration/not fast enough capability of Li et al. into Hu et al. By modifying the processing/communications of Hu et al. to include the MO/switch/RRC reconfiguration/not fast enough capability as taught by the processing/communications of Li et al., the benefits of improved measurement efficiency (Hu et al.; 0148) with reduced increased reliability (Li et al.; 0003) are achieved.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20240080694 – teaches MG activation/deactivation (see para. 0224).
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MICHAEL K. PHILLIPS
Examiner
Art Unit 2464
/MICHAEL K PHILLIPS/Examiner, Art Unit 2464