DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 15 May 2026. Claims 1-7 and 15-27 are pending examination.
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 Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 15 May 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Liu fails to teach or suggest the limitations relating to whether the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW and the corresponding relaxed cycles. However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. As set forth in the rejection below, the combined teaches of Hwang and Liu teach or suggest the claimed limitations.
Regarding limitation 1.1, Applicant argues that Liu only teaches RRM measurement relaxation that is limited to the PTW and does not teach RRM measurement relaxation that is not limited to the PTW. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Liu teaches relaxed RRM measurement in which the UE may perform an RRM measurement once every M DRX cycles, where M is greater than one and may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle (Liu, [0069]). Liu further describes PTW as a time window within an eDRX cycle (Liu, [0072]). Accordingly, Liu’s relaxed RRM measurement is not limited to measurements occurring only within a single PTW.
Regarding limitation 1.1a, Applicant argues that Liu fails to teach or suggest that the number of DRX cycles in the relaxed cycle is allowed to be greater than the number of DRX cycles in one PTW. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Liu teaches that the relaxed RRM measurement may occur every M DRX cycles, where M>1 and M may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. Liu further teaches PTW durations and DRX cycle lengths (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]). Thus, Liu teaches or suggests a configurable number of DRX cycles for the relaxed measurement cycle relative to the PTW. See the rejection below for further details.
Regarding limitation 1.2, Applicant argues that Liu fails to teach the relaxed measurement/evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to both (1) a relaxation coefficient and (2) the length of the PTW when the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW. The examiner respectfully disagrees. Liu further teaches performing relaxed RRM measurements once every M DRX cycles, where M is an integer greater than one and determines the relaxed RRM measurement cycle. Liu further teaches a PTW length/duration and describes the relationship between the PTW duration and the DRX cycle length. Thus, under the broadest reasonable interpretation, Liu’s value M corresponds to the claimed relaxation coefficient, and Liu’s PTW duration corresponds to the claimed length of the PTW (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]).
Regarding limitation 1.2a, Applicant argues that Liu fails to teach the claimed relationship between the number of DRX cycles in the relaxed measurement/evaluation cycle and the number of DRX cycles in one PTW. The examiner respectfully disagrees for the reasons discussed above and as further set forth in the rejection below.
Thus, the examiner maintains 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 20220295318 A1) (hereinafter Hwa) in view of Liu et al. (US 20190320490 A1) (hereinafter Liu).
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.
Claims 1-7 and 15-27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 20220295318 A1) (hereinafter Hwa) in view of Liu et al. (US 20190320490 A1) (hereinafter Liu):
In regards to claim 1, 15 and 16, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
for determining a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration, performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2I, [0076]-[0169], [0170]-[0240], [0241]-[0344], [0345]-[0421]: [0127] The UE 1e-05 determines whether to perform relaxed RRM measurement, based on the parameters provided from the gNB 1e-10 and the mobility state derived in operation 1e-20 (operation 1e-25). For example, as in Table 2 below, the UE 1e-05 may determine a measurement state about cells on an intra-frequency, in consideration of a result of comparison between a QoS (i.e., Srxlev or Squal) of a serving cell and the thresholds described above and the mobility state derived in operation 1e-20. Relaxed RRM measurement with respect to an intra-frequency may be performed when at least one condition from among conditions below is fulfilled. [0128] When Srxlev value is greater than s-IntraSearchP, Squal value is less than or equal to s-IntraSearchQ and is greater than s-RelaxedIntraSearchQ, and a mobility state is Normal-mobility state [0129] When Srxlev value is less than or equal to s-IntraSearchP and is greater than s-RelaxedIntraSearchP, Squal value is greater than s-IntraSearchQ, and a mobility state is Normal-mobility state [0130] When Srxlev value is less than or equal to s-IntraSearchP and is greater than s-RelaxedIntraSearchP, Squal value is less than or equal to s-IntraSearchQ and is greater than s-RelaxedIntraSearchQ, and a mobility state is Normal-mobility state):
a processor, a transceiver, and a memory storing instructions that when run by the processor, the processor is configured to (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2I, [0076]-[0169], [0170]-[0240], [0241]-[0344], [0345]-[0421]: [0230] The controller 1k-40 controls overall operations of the UE. For example, the controller 1k-40 transmits and receives signals via the baseband processor 1k-20 and the RF processor 1k-10. Also, the controller 1k-40 records and reads data on or from the storage 1k-30. To this end, the controller 1k-40 may include at least one processor. For example, the controller 1k-40 may include a communication processor (CP) for controlling communications and an application processor (AP) for controlling an upper layer such as an application program. Also, the controller 1k-40 may control the UE to perform the aforementioned method of performing a handover procedure. Also, at least one configuration in the UE may be implemented as one chip.):
storing executable programs instructions that, wherein when the executable programs are executed by a processor, a method for determining a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration is implemented, the method comprising (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2I, [0076]-[0169], [0170]-[0240], [0241]-[0344], [0345]-[0421]: [0418] When implemented as software, a computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product storing one or more programs (e.g., software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium or the computer program product are configured for execution by one or more processors in an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions directing the electronic device to execute the methods according to the embodiments of the disclosure as described in the claims or the specification.):
wherein the RRM measurement configuration comprises RRM measurement configuration for a neighbor cell, wherein the RRM measurement configuration for the neighbor cell comprises at least one of a detection cycle, a measurement cycle or an evaluation cycle (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2I, [0076]-[0169], [0170]-[0240], [0241]-[0344], [0345]-[0421]: [0109] When the measurement signal power with respect to the serving cell is lower than SnonintraSearch 1c-30, the UE performs inter-freq/RAT measurement on a frequency with priority equal to or lower than a frequency of a current serving cell. The reason UE-measurement is stepwise triggered is to reduce power consumption of the UE due to measurement of neighboring cells. [0353] In the example above, the first report and the second report may have contents below. [0200] According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a network may configure separate values of N and L, according to DRX cycles configured for the UE. That is, separate values of N and L may be configured for a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle. The network may separately configure, in an SIB or a dedicated RRC message, determination thresholds for a long DRX cycle and a short DRX cycle. The UE may determine whether its DRX cycle is short or long, based on the configured thresholds, and may apply values of N and L to its DRX cycle according to a result of the determination and may apply the values of N and L as a measurement interval. For example, when its DRX cycle is long, the UE may use values of N and L corresponding to the long DRX cycle, and on the contrary, when its DRX cycle is short, the UE may use values of N and L corresponding to the short DRX cycle. [0354] They may have one of indicators below as connection Failure types: RLF, handover failure, and conditional handover failure. In a case of the conditional handover failure, whether it is initially-performed conditional handover, or conditional handover failure due to a failure in RLF/HOF/CHOF [0355] the number of failures occurred while a failure report is being recorded [0356] an absolute time when each failure event occurs, and in an additional embodiment, in a case of handover, [0357] as information of a target cell performed a failure event, PCI and ARFCN information or CGI information of the target cell is available when handover and conditional handover are performed. [0383] The UE receives handover configuration information (cell information, performance condition, and configuration information by target cell) from a source cell, and starts to evaluate a condition of handover. );
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach in response to an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle of the UE having a paging time window (PTW), determining a relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to a situation where an RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW. wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises at least one of: in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of a relaxed detection cycle, a relaxed measurement cycle or a relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed detection cycle, the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle is allowed to be greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW or in response to the RRM measurement relaxation being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of a relaxed measurement cycle or a relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient and a length of the PTW, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle is not greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches that during eDRX operation the UE uses an eDRX cycle having a PTW and performs relaxed RRM measurements over multiple cycles, which can be seen as, in response to an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle of the UE having a paging time window (PTW), determining a relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to a situation where an RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0049] The UE 104 may enter a relaxed Radio RRM measurement with a first cell, where the relaxed RRM measurement comprises a single RRM measurement for more than one DRX cycle. When reselecting to a second cell that supports the relaxed RRM measurement, the UE 104 returns to a regular RRM measurement for a period of time, where the regular RRM measurement comprises one RRM measurement for each DRX cycle. [0067] In a DRX mode, a UE may use a DRX cycle 2106, as illustrated in FIG. 21A. A DRX cycle may include a Paging Occasion (PO) 2102 followed by a sleep portion 2104 during which the UE enters a sleep mode, or reduced power mode in which the UE reduces power consumption by shutting down a radio frequency (RF) function without detecting communication from the base station. At the end of the DRX cycle, the UE may wake up for the next PO. In an eDRX mode, the UE may employ an eDRX cycle 2108 in which the UE remains in the sleep mode for multiple DRX cycles 2106, as illustrated in FIG. 21B. The UE may listen for paging during POs 2102 within a paging transmission window (PTW) 2112, and if no paging is received, the UE may enter an extended sleep 2110 during which the UE does not wake up for multiple POs.).
wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises at least one of (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0142] FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate the step of detecting the DRX cycle directly until the next WUS timing 1720 in further detail. The WUS mode may comprise a single WUS for N multiple DRX cycles, and the eDRX mode may comprise a relaxed RRM measurement mode having a single RRM measurement for every M DRX cycles, where M is a number of cycles for the relaxed RRM measurement. As shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, the time period X before the UE will go back to the WUS mode may be X=N*DRX cycles when N≤M. The UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmitted at the N DRX cycle. The time period may correspond to N DRX cycles.):
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches performing relaxed RRM measurements once every M DRX cycles, where M represents a configurable number of DRX cycles over which the RRM measurement is relaxed and may be determined based on the DRX cycle, which can be seen as, in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of a relaxed detection cycle, a relaxed measurement cycle or a relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed detection cycle, the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle is allowed to be greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0069] The RRM measurement relaxation, which saves power of the UE, may be enabled/disabled by the network. The WUS can still be enabled by the network when the relaxed RRM measurement is disabled. This might not imply a change in the random access procedure/power control/CE level selection, nor relaxations in the requirements related to the random access procedure. The WUS may provide synchronization of up to a timing and/or frequency offset resulting from not synchronizing with the base station for the M number of DRX cycles. For example, the relaxed RRM measurement configuration may also apply to eDRX mode. Within each PTW, the UE may perform only a single RRM measurement every M DRX cycles. There may be a WUS configuration that enables synchronization for at least a value of duration or M DRX cycles (M>1). The number M of the DRX cycles over which the RRM measurement will be relaxed may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. For example, the maximum number of consecutive DRX cycles during which the UE may use the WUS for synchronization and skipping serving cell measurements may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. M may be equal to, or less than, the maximum number of consecutive DRX cycles. [0086] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrate example look up tables providing numbers of POs per PTW length and DRX/eDRX cycle length for the NB-IoT UE and the eMTC UE respectively. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrate relationships between the PTW duration, and the DRX cycle length. As shown in FIG. 7A, for the NB-IoT UE, there may be different PTW durations and different DRX cycles. Tmax may correspond to a length in time of a maximum number of consecutive DRX cycles during which the UE may use the WUS for synchronization and skip serving cell measurements. Tmax may be configured e.g., based on the required response time latency or predefined, e.g. as the largest DRX cycle If the largest duration of N*DRX cycle length needs to be smaller than a value Tmax, the value of N may be calculated as N=Tmax/DRX cycle length. For example, when PTW is about 40.96 s, and the DRX cycle is about 5.12 s, the corresponding number of DRX cycles is 8 and the number N of the multiple paging occasions may be 2 if Tmax=10.24. The number of WUS required within the PTW could be calculated as Number of WUS=PTW length/Tmax. Alternatively, Tmax may be implicitly indicated, e.g., scaled by eDRX cycle. A lower requirement for the paging response time may correspond to a longer eDRX cycle, so that the N may be a function of the DRX cycle, PTW and the eDRX cycle. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are only for the purpose of illustrating the relationship between the number of the multiple paging occasions and the UE's parameters. The values may vary from those in the examples of FIGS. 7A and 7B. [0122] At 1402, the UE enters a relaxed RRM measurement mode with a first cell, wherein the relaxed RRM measurement comprises a single RRM measurement for more than one DRX cycle. For example, in the relaxed RRM measurement mode, the UE may perform only a single measurement for multiple cycles, e.g., once every M DRX cycles. M corresponds to an integer value. [0125] For example, the time period may be based on an indication received from a base station via the broadcast system information. The time period may be calculated based on configuration parameters for the relaxed RRM measurement received from a base station via a broadcast system information. The base station may explicitly or implicitly indicate the time period for the UE to keep regular RRM measurement before go back to the relaxed RRM measurement. For example, the base station may define M*DRX cycles for the UE to perform regular RRM measurement until the time for the next relaxed RRM measurement or the time for several relaxed RRM measurement duration. Alternatively, the UE may keep regular RRM measurement until the next timing for the relaxed RRM measurement within the PTW, or the end of the PTW, if in eDRX mode. Note that the M*DRX configured by the second cell may be same as that of a first cell or different. The UE follows the configuration of the second cell after the cell reselection. [0126] the time period may be based at least in part on a predefined minimum duration. As an example, the time period may be 5 minutes, or the eDRX cycle length if eDRX is configured and the eDRX cycle length is longer than 5 minutes.” For example, the minimum duration may comprise a time length for the UE to perform an RRM measurement to meet an accuracy requirement. The minimum duration may be based on the time that the UE requires to obtain an RRM measurement (e.g., RSRP) to achieve the accuracy requirement. In this way, the UE may have more flexibility to save power. For another example, the minimum duration may comprise a time length corresponding to the UE being identified as a low mobility UE. Based on the RRM measurement of the second cell, the UE may be identified as a low-mobility UE and the relaxed RRM measurement may be applied.); or
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches performing relaxed RRM measurements within each PTW once every M DRX cycles, where M represents a configurable number of DRX cycles over which the RRM measurement is relaxed and the timing of the relaxed RRM measurement is based on the PTW, including the end of the PTW in eDRX mode, which can be seen as, in response to the RRM measurement relaxation being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of a relaxed measurement cycle or a relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient and a length of the PTW, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle is not greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0069] Within each PTW, the UE may perform only a single RRM measurement every M DRX cycles. There may be a WUS configuration that enables synchronization for at least a value of duration or M DRX cycles (M>1). The number M of the DRX cycles over which the RRM measurement will be relaxed may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. For example, the maximum number of consecutive DRX cycles during which the UE may use the WUS for synchronization and skipping serving cell measurements may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. [0125] For example, the time period may be based on an indication received from a base station via the broadcast system information. The time period may be calculated based on configuration parameters for the relaxed RRM measurement received from a base station via a broadcast system information. The base station may explicitly or implicitly indicate the time period for the UE to keep regular RRM measurement before go back to the relaxed RRM measurement. For example, the base station may define M*DRX cycles for the UE to perform regular RRM measurement until the time for the next relaxed RRM measurement or the time for several relaxed RRM measurement duration. Alternatively, the UE may keep regular RRM measurement until the next timing for the relaxed RRM measurement within the PTW, or the end of the PTW, if in eDRX mode. Note that the M*DRX configured by the second cell may be same as that of a first cell or different. The UE follows the configuration of the second cell after the cell reselection. [0143] As shown in FIG. 18C, when N>M, the UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmission at N*DRX cycle, in order to reduce the latency of waiting for the next WUS timing in the second cell if the WUS is enabled in the second cell as well. The time period before the UE may go back to the WUS mode may be X=(N−M.sub.0)*DRX cycles, (or X=max(2, N−M.sub.0))*DRX), where M.sub.0 refers to the RRM measurement at which the UE reselects to the second cell. M.sub.0*DRX is the time between the previous RRM measurement relative to the last WUS detection time.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
In regards to claim 2, 17 and 23, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
the RRM measurement configuration comprises at least one of (Hwa, fig. 1E-1I, [0124]-[0177]: [0132} Relaxed RRM measurement with respect to the inter-frequency with same or lower priority may be performed when at least one condition from among conditions below is fulfilled.):
RRM measurement configuration for a serving cell, wherein the RRM measurement configuration for the serving cell comprises at least a measurement cycle, and the measurement cycle is configured for measurement of the serving cell (Hwa, fig. 1B, 1E-1I, fig. 2H, [0079]-[0110], [0124]-[0177], [0179]-[0199], [0222]-[0227], [0345]-[0374]: [0104] With respect to an intra-frequency, when a QoS (i.e., Srxlev or Squal) of a serving cell is equal to or lower than a particular threshold Sintrasearch (s-IntraSearchP and s-IntraSearchQ), the UE may perform channel measurement on other cells of the intra-frequency. s-IntraSearchP is a Reference Signals Received Power (RSRP)-based threshold, and s-IntraSearchQ is a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)-based threshold. When an RSRP of a measured serving cell is greater than the threshold s-IntraSearchP and an RSRQ thereof is greater than the threshold s-IntraSearchQ, the UE may not perform intra-frequency measurement.);
wherein the detection cycle is configured to identify and evaluate the neighbor cell (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2I, [0108]-[0178], [0243]-[0245], [0345]-[0381]: [0354] They may have one of indicators below as connection Failure types: RLF, handover failure, and conditional handover failure. In a case of the conditional handover failure, whether it is initially-performed conditional handover, or conditional handover failure due to a failure in RLF/HOF/CHOF [0355] the number of failures occurred while a failure report is being recorded [0356] an absolute time when each failure event occurs, and in an additional embodiment, in a case of handover, [0357] as information of a target cell performed a failure event, PCI and ARFCN information or CGI information of the target cell is available when handover and conditional handover are performed. If conditional handover is performed, CHO candidate id information (or conditional reconfiguration id) for each tried target cell that performed conditional handover is additionally available. In a case of RLF, the cell information may correspond to information of a source cell in which the RLF occurred. [0358] Depending on whether the report is transmitted in CHO procedure or in normal RRE procedure, failedCellId is set differently (CHO candidate id for the former and CGI for the later). [0359] CHO related context if trial is the first CHO (measID associated to configured CHO execution condition for that selected target cell));
the measurement cycle is configured to measure the neighbor cell (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, [0108]-[0178]: [0137] In operation 1e-25, when the UE 1e-05 determines to perform relaxed RRM measurement, the UE 1e-05 performs a relaxed RRM measurement operation (operation 1e-30). That is, in order to reduce UE power consumption, the UE 1e-05 may apply a longer measurement period to neighboring cells or may decrease the number of cells or frequencies to be measured.); and
the evaluation cycle is configured to evaluate the neighbor cell according to a measurement result measured in the measurement cycle (Hwa, fig. 1C-1I, fig. 2H-2J, [0108]-[0178], [0243]-[0245], [0345]-[0383]: [0383] The UE receives handover configuration information (cell information, performance condition, and configuration information by target cell) from a source cell, and starts to evaluate a condition of handover. When the condition is fulfilled at a certain point of time, and thus, the UE performs conditional handover to a particular target cell, a conditional handover failure detection timer may start. Afterward, if conditional handover fails and the conditional handover failure detection timer expires, the UE may regard the conditional handover as a failure, may write and store a failure report on a first failure and may perform cell selection. As a result of performing the cell selection, when a selected cell is a candidate cell for conditional handover which is already identified, the UE may perform conditional handover to the corresponding cell. When the UE performs conditional handover to the corresponding cell, the UE may start a conditional handover failure detection timer. If the performed conditional handover fails and the conditional handover failure detection timer expires, the UE may regard the conditional handover as a second failure, and may write and store a failure report on the second failure. Afterward, the UE may perform RRC connection re-establishment and may indicate existence of a failure report in a re-establishment complete message. When a target cell receives the indication indicating the existence of the failure report and then transmits a message indicating the failure report to the UE, the UE may transmit the failure report to the BS. In this case, the BS may include, in a DL RRC message, an indication indicating that only one most-recent report from among two failure reports is requested or stored two reports are requested. Upon reception of this information, the UE may transmit only the most-recent report or transmit the stored two reports to the BS. However, this is merely an example, and without an indication from a network, the UE may always transmit a most-recent report or may always transmit both stored two reports when connection success is RRE.).
In regards to claim 3, 18 and 24, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
wherein the processor is further configured to (Hwa, fig. 1K, [0225]-[0230]: See above for paragraph [0230].):
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises: enlarging with the relaxation coefficient, any cycle comprised in the RRM measurement configuration before relaxation according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW, to obtain a relaxed cycle, wherein the relaxation coefficient is any positive integer greater than 1.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches that the UE performs a single RRM measurement once every M DRX cycles, where M is an integer value, which can be seen as, wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0142] FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate the step of detecting the DRX cycle directly until the next WUS timing 1720 in further detail. The WUS mode may comprise a single WUS for N multiple DRX cycles, and the eDRX mode may comprise a relaxed RRM measurement mode having a single RRM measurement for every M DRX cycles, where M is a number of cycles for the relaxed RRM measurement. As shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, the time period X before the UE will go back to the WUS mode may be X=N*DRX cycles when N≤M. The UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmitted at the N DRX cycle. The time period may correspond to N DRX cycles.):
enlarging with the relaxation coefficient, any cycle comprised in the RRM measurement configuration before relaxation according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW, to obtain a relaxed cycle, wherein the relaxation coefficient is any positive integer greater than 1 (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0067] In a DRX mode, a UE may use a DRX cycle 2106, as illustrated in FIG. 21A. A DRX cycle may include a Paging Occasion (PO) 2102 followed by a sleep portion 2104 during which the UE enters a sleep mode, or reduced power mode in which the UE reduces power consumption by shutting down a radio frequency (RF) function without detecting communication from the base station. At the end of the DRX cycle, the UE may wake up for the next PO. In an eDRX mode, the UE may employ an eDRX cycle 2108 in which the UE remains in the sleep mode for multiple DRX cycles 2106, as illustrated in FIG. 21B. The UE may listen for paging during POs 2102 within a paging transmission window (PTW) 2112, and if no paging is received, the UE may enter an extended sleep 2110 during which the UE does not wake up for multiple POs. [0122] At 1402, the UE enters a relaxed RRM measurement mode with a first cell, wherein the relaxed RRM measurement comprises a single RRM measurement for more than one DRX cycle. For example, in the relaxed RRM measurement mode, the UE may perform only a single measurement for multiple cycles, e.g., once every M DRX cycles. M corresponds to an integer value.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
In regards to claim 4, 19 and 25, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
wherein the processor is further configured to perform at least one of (Hwa, fig. 1K, [0225]-[0230]: See above for paragraph [0230].):
in response to the RRM measurement relaxation being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed detection cycle for the neighbor cell according to the relaxation coefficient (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0109] Referring to FIG. 1C, the UE always performs inter-freq/RAT measurement on a frequency or a RAT with high priority, regardless of measurement signal power with respect to a serving cell. When the measurement signal power with respect to the serving cell is lower than SintraSearch 1c-25, the UE performs intra-freq measurement. When the measurement signal power with respect to the serving cell is lower than SnonintraSearch 1c-30, the UE performs inter-freq/RAT measurement on a frequency with priority equal to or lower than a frequency of a current serving cell. The reason UE-measurement is stepwise triggered is to reduce power consumption of the UE due to measurement of neighboring cells. [0137] In operation 1e-25, when the UE 1e-05 determines to perform relaxed RRM measurement, the UE 1e-05 performs a relaxed RRM measurement operation (operation 1e-30). That is, in order to reduce UE power consumption, the UE 1e-05 may apply a longer measurement period to neighboring cells or may decrease the number of cells or frequencies to be measured..
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises at least one of: in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining a relaxed measurement cycle for a serving cell according to the relaxation coefficient, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed measurement cycle for the serving cell is allowed to be greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW; in response to the RRM measurement relaxation being limited to the PTW, determining a relaxed measurement cycle for a serving cell according to a relaxation coefficient and a length of the PTW, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed measurement cycle for the serving cell is not greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches that during eDRX the UE performs RRM measurements once every M DRC cycles while paging is monitored only during paging transmission window, so the measurement interval spans multiple DRX cycles beyond a single PTW, which can be seen as, wherein determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises at least one of (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0142] FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate the step of detecting the DRX cycle directly until the next WUS timing 1720 in further detail. The WUS mode may comprise a single WUS for N multiple DRX cycles, and the eDRX mode may comprise a relaxed RRM measurement mode having a single RRM measurement for every M DRX cycles, where M is a number of cycles for the relaxed RRM measurement. As shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, the time period X before the UE will go back to the WUS mode may be X=N*DRX cycles when N≤M. The UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmitted at the N DRX cycle. The time period may correspond to N DRX cycles.):
in response to the RRM measurement relaxation being limited to the PTW, determining a relaxed measurement cycle for a serving cell according to the relaxation coefficient and the length of the PTW, wherein a number of DRX cycles comprised in the relaxed measurement cycle for the serving cell is not greater than a number of DRX cycles comprised in one PTW (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0069] Within each PTW, the UE may perform only a single RRM measurement every M DRX cycles. There may be a WUS configuration that enables synchronization for at least a value of duration or M DRX cycles (M>1). The number M of the DRX cycles over which the RRM measurement will be relaxed may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. For example, the maximum number of consecutive DRX cycles during which the UE may use the WUS for synchronization and skipping serving cell measurements may be fixed, configurable, or dependent on the DRX cycle. [0125] For example, the time period may be based on an indication received from a base station via the broadcast system information. The time period may be calculated based on configuration parameters for the relaxed RRM measurement received from a base station via a broadcast system information. The base station may explicitly or implicitly indicate the time period for the UE to keep regular RRM measurement before go back to the relaxed RRM measurement. For example, the base station may define M*DRX cycles for the UE to perform regular RRM measurement until the time for the next relaxed RRM measurement or the time for several relaxed RRM measurement duration. Alternatively, the UE may keep regular RRM measurement until the next timing for the relaxed RRM measurement within the PTW, or the end of the PTW, if in eDRX mode. Note that the M*DRX configured by the second cell may be same as that of a first cell or different. The UE follows the configuration of the second cell after the cell reselection. [0143] As shown in FIG. 18C, when N>M, the UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmission at N*DRX cycle, in order to reduce the latency of waiting for the next WUS timing in the second cell if the WUS is enabled in the second cell as well. The time period before the UE may go back to the WUS mode may be X=(N−M.sub.0)*DRX cycles, (or X=max(2, N−M.sub.0))*DRX), where M.sub.0 refers to the RRM measurement at which the UE reselects to the second cell. M.sub.0*DRX is the time between the previous RRM measurement relative to the last WUS detection time.);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
In regards to claim 5, 20 and 26, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
wherein the processor is further configured to (Hwa, fig. 1K, [0225]-[0230]: See above for paragraph [0230].):
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach wherein in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of the relaxed detection cycle, the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to the relaxation coefficient comprises: in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed detection cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient of the detection cycle for the neighbor cell; in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed measurement cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient of the measurement cycle for the neighbor cell.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches that the base station configures separate relaxed timing periods for different neighbor-cell RRM operations (detection, measurement, and evaluation) using configured DRX-cycle values, which can be seen as, wherein in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining at least one of the relaxed detection cycle, the relaxed measurement cycle or the relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to the relaxation coefficient comprises (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: [0125] For example, the time period may be based on an indication received from a base station via the broadcast system information. The time period may be calculated based on configuration parameters for the relaxed RRM measurement received from a base station via a broadcast system information. The base station may explicitly or implicitly indicate the time period for the UE to keep regular RRM measurement before go back to the relaxed RRM measurement. For example, the base station may define M*DRX cycles for the UE to perform regular RRM measurement until the time for the next relaxed RRM measurement or the time for several relaxed RRM measurement duration. Alternatively, the UE may keep regular RRM measurement until the next timing for the relaxed RRM measurement within the PTW, or the end of the PTW, if in eDRX mode. Note that the M*DRX configured by the second cell may be same as that of a first cell or different. The UE follows the configuration of the second cell after the cell reselection.):
in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed detection cycle for the neighbor cell according to the relaxation coefficient of a detection cycle for the neighbor cell (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: See above for paragraph [0143].);
in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed measurement cycle for the neighbor cell according to the relaxation coefficient of the measurement cycle for the neighbor cell (Liu, fig. 6, fig. 9, fig. 18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0038]-[0095], [0096]-[0117], [0118]-[0142], [0143]-[0152]: See above for paragraph [0125].; or
in response to the RRM measurement relaxation not being limited to the PTW, determining the relaxed evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell according to a relaxation coefficient of the evaluation cycle for the neighbor cell;
wherein for the neighbor cell, any two among the relaxation coefficient of the detection cycle, the relaxation coefficient of the measurement cycle, and the relaxation coefficient of the evaluation cycle are independent of each other.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
In regards to claim 6, 21 and 27, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K)/A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Hwa, fig. 2A):
wherein the processor is further configured to (Hwa, fig. 1K, [0225]-[0230]: See above for paragraph [0230].):
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach determining whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle; wherein in response to the eDRX cycle of the UE having the PTW, determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises: in response to determining that the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle and the eDRX cycle of the UE has the PTW, determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches that when the UE is configured in an eDRX mode having a paging transmission window, the UE enters a relaxed RRM measurement mode, which can be seen as, determining whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle (Liu, fig.18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0045]-[0060], [0066]-[0068], [0069]-[0073], [0106]-[0112], [0120]-[0127], [0134]-[0143]: [0049] Referring again to FIG. 1, in certain aspects, the base station 180 may receive an indication from a CNE, for example, an MME, that a UE is in one of a DRX mode or an eDRX mode, and the base station 180 may comprise a WUS component 198 configured to configure a WUS mode for the UE 104 corresponding to the DRX mode or the eDRX mode. For example, the base station 180 may configure the WUS for DRX mode. For another example, the base station 180 may configure the WUS for eDRX mode. In some aspects, the UE 104 may comprise a WUS component 199a configured to receive the WUS configuration from the base station 180 for one of the DRX mode or the eDRX mode. In certain aspects, the UE may comprise an RRM component 199b. The UE 104 may enter a relaxed Radio RRM measurement with a first cell, where the relaxed RRM measurement comprises a single RRM measurement for more than one DRX cycle. When reselecting to a second cell that supports the relaxed RRM measurement, the UE 104 returns to a regular RRM measurement for a period of time, where the regular RRM measurement comprises one RRM measurement for each DRX cycle. In certain aspects, the UE may comprise a reselecting component 199c. The UE 104 may enter a DRX mode or an eDRX mode comprising a WUS mode with a first cell. When reselecting to a second cell that supports the WUS mode, the UE 104 returns to the DRX mode or the eDRX mode without the WUS mode for a period of time.);
wherein in response to the eDRX cycle of the UE having the PTW, determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW comprises (Liu, fig. 18A-18C, [0106]-[0112], [0120]-[0127], [0142]-[0143]: See above for paragraph [0142].):
in response to determining that the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle and the eDRX cycle of the UE has the PTW, determining the relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to the situation where the RRM measurement relaxation is limited to the PTW (Liu, fig. 18A-18C, [0050]-[0080], [0106]-[0112], [0120]-[0127], [0142]-[0143]: [0072] In contrast to DRX, the eDRX may be UE-specific for both NB-IoT UEs and eMTC UEs. The MME may determine the eDRX cycle to ensure the UE 504 can satisfy the paging response time requirements. The MME may notify the eDRX cycle configuration to the UE, e.g., via NAS signaling. The MME may also notify the eDRX cycle configuration, per UE, to the base station 502 via S1 interface. The PTW is the time window during which the UE 504 in eDRX mode searches for communication during the PO, as illustrated in FIG. 21. The PTW may also be UE-specific. The MME may set the PTW length. The MME may notify the PTW cycle configuration to the UE, e.g., via NAS signaling. The MME may indicate the selected PTW for the UE to the base station 502, e.g., via S1 interface.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
In regards to claim 7 and 22, Hwa and Liu teach a method (Hwa, see fig. 1A-1J)/ A user equipment (UE) (Hwa, see fig. 1K):
wherein the processor is further configured to perform at least one of (Hwa, fig. 1K, [0225]-[0230]: See above for paragraph [0230].):
Thus, Hwa does not explicitly teach wherein determining whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle comprises at least one of: determining, according to an agreement, whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle.
Similar to the system of Hwa, Liu teaches follows eDRX and PTW parameters provided by the network through signaling, and performs or skips RRM measurements based on those parameters, which can be seen as, wherein determining whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle comprises at least one of (Liu, fig.18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0045]-[0060], [0066]-[0068], [0069]-[0073], [0106]-[0112], [0120]-[0127], [0134]-[0143]: See above for paragraph [0049].):
determining, according to an agreement, whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle(Liu, fig.18A-18C, fig. 21A-21B, [0045]-[0060], [0066]-[0068], [0069]-[0073], [0106]-[0112], [0120]-[0127], [0134]-[0143]: [0142] FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate the step of detecting the DRX cycle directly until the next WUS timing 1720 in further detail. The WUS mode may comprise a single WUS for N multiple DRX cycles, and the eDRX mode may comprise a relaxed RRM measurement mode having a single RRM measurement for every M DRX cycles, where M is a number of cycles for the relaxed RRM measurement. As shown in FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, the time period X before the UE will go back to the WUS mode may be X=N*DRX cycles when N≤M. The UE may directly detect each DRX cycle until the next WUS transmitted at the N DRX cycle. The time period may correspond to N DRX cycles.); or
determining, according to a received configuration signaling, whether the RRM measurement is allowed to be relaxed when the UE has the eDRX cycle.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Hwa with Liu to reduce UE power consumption and improve communication reliability during DRX/eDRX operation (Liu, [0106]).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hviid et al. (US 20220361030 A1), the abstract discusses that there are provided measures for terminal uplink parameter based measurement relaxation change. Such measures exemplarily include, at a terminal in a radio resource management measurements relaxation mode having a reduced intensity of radio resource management measurements, receiving a first uplink control command indicative of a first uplink control parameter related to a radio connection of said terminal, and deciding on exiting said radio resource management measurements relaxation mode based on said first uplink control parameter. (See fig. 4).
Tan et al. (US 20220225182 A1), the abstract discusses a method and an apparatus for determining a measurement time, determining a camped cell, for configuring a neighboring cell list, and for determining other parameters. Determining measurement time may include receiving configuration information of an automatic neighbor relation (ANR) that includes a measurement configuration parameter, an ANR measurement duration or an ANR measurement timer. ANR measurement is performed based on the configuration information. When a first condition is satisfied, the ANR measurement is finished. The first condition includes an ANR measurement duration, an ANR measurement timer, or an ANR measurement result acquisition. (See fig. 6-9).
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/FRANCESCA LIMA SANTOS/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/John Pezzlo/
Primary Patent Examiner, AU 2465B
13 August 2026
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