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 .
Introduction
The claims 1-16 are pending in this application. This is a non-final office action in
This is a final office action in response to remarks filed on 9 July 2026. Claims 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, and 13-14 are amended. Claims 3-4, 7-8, 11-12, and 15-16 are canceled. Claims 17-24 are added. Claims 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, 13-14, and 17-24 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 8-9, filed 9 July 2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-16 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made incorporating newly discovered prior art Ramachandra et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0406801).
Examiner notes that applicant’s remarks are directed towards the applicability of the cited prior art to the amended claim language. Examiner relies upon newly discovered prior art Ramachandra et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0406801) to teach the amendments.
Claim Interpretation
The claims have been considered according to the latest Patent Eligibility Guidelines and are considered eligible.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, 13-14, and 17-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0143060), herein after Rama-1, in view of Ramachandra et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0406801), hereinafter referred to as Rama-2.
Regarding claim 1, Rama-1 disclosed a method performed by a base station in a wireless communication system (see Rama-1 Fig. 1: wireless communication network #10, network node #18; wireless device #12; [0166]: base station is an example of a network node | Fig. 6, [0075]: method from BS perspective), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) message (see Rama-1 [0057]: RRC signaling) including configuration information on at least one measurement to be performed by the terminal, the configuration information including information on a plurality of measurement objects and information on report configurations (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”; #510 “Performing measurements on the one or more report triggering measurement objects”; #530 “Performing measurements on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE; the UE receives the measurement configuration involving a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements; Fig. 11 #201, [0155]: “As shown in FIG. 11, the ue receives a measurement configuration involving a measurement logging triggering condition based on a first set of frequencies' measurements, a report triggering condition based on a second set of frequencies' measurements, and a measurement report contents related configuration based on a third set of frequencies' measurements (step 201).” | [0057]: “More particularly in this regard, FIG. 1 shows a network node 18 in the wireless communication network 10 which configures the wireless device 12 to perform measurement reporting. Towards this end, the network node 18 transmits signaling 20 to the wireless device 12, e.g., in the form of RRC signaling received while the wireless device 12 is in an RRC connected state. The signaling 20 indicates one or more so-called report triggering measurement objects 22 and one or more so-called report content measurement objects 24. The one or more report triggering measurement objects 22 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be evaluated by the wireless device 12 for determining whether to log or send a measurement report 16. The one or more report content measurement objects 24 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be reported by the measurement report 16.”; [0061]: “As shown in FIG. 2, the signaling 20 takes the form of a MeasIdToAddMod information element (IE), e.g., as included in an RRC message. This measIdToAddMod IE includes a measObjectTriggerIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report triggering measurement objects 22. The measIdToAddMod IE also includes a separate measObjectContetIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report content measurement objects 24. By including separate lists for the report triggering measurement object(s) 22 and the report content measurement object(s) 24, rather than a single list of measurement objects, the measIdToAddMod IE allows configuration of at least one report content measurement object 24 that is different from each of the report triggering measurement object(s) 22.”; [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element); and
receiving, from the terminal, a measurement report including at least one measurement result based on the configuration information (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #540 “Generating the measurement report based on the results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects…”; #550 “…sending the measurement report, wherein the measurement report reports results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 6 #610 “Receiving the measurement report from the wireless device” | Fig. 10 #104, [0151]: UE sends measurement report | Fig. 11: #202, [0156]: “The ue as shown performs measurements based on the first (and third) set of frequencies (step 202).”; #203-#204, [0157]: “The ue identifies that the measurement logging triggering criterion based on the first set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 203). Based on this being met, the ue performs measurements based on the second (and third) set of frequencies (step 204)…”; #206-#207, [0158]: “The ue identifies that the measurement report triggering criterion based on second set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 206). Based on this, the ue sends the measurement report associated to the third set of frequencies' measurements (step 207).”),
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects includes information on a first measurement object among the plurality of measurement objects (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”), and
wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency (see Rama-2 combination below).
Rama-1 did not explicitly disclose “wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency”.
However in a related art, Rama-2 disclosed “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...The UE determines that a measurement report is to be transmitted (step 404)…The UE transmits a measurement report (e.g., to the first network node) that includes, in addition the performed measurements, information that indicates the frequency(ies) on which the UE has already performed measurements per the received measurement configuration and those that have higher priority than the measurement frequency(ies) that triggered the measurement report (step 406), e.g., responsive to determining that a measurement report is to be transmitted in step 404…” (see Rama-2 Fig. 4, [0093]).
Rama-2 also explained that the RRC specification version 16.6.0 is modified to perform the solution shown in Fig. 4 (see Rama-2 [0102]) and these changes are illustrated in the Table on pages 13-17, the MeasResults IE on pages 17-18, and the MeasResults field description on page 18 to clarify how the UE transfers measurement results from the UE to the network in the MeasurementReport message according to the measurement configuration (see Rama-2 [0104]). The IE MeasResults covers measured results for intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT mobility, and NR sidelink communication (see Rama-2 [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 2, Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed the method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from the terminal, capability information including information indicating whether the terminal supports a measurement (see Rama-1 Fig. 10, [0133]: “Step 100: The UE optionally signals its capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies”) based on a configured measurement sequence (see Rama-1 Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE based on the UE’s capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies; the measurement configuration includes a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements | [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element including separate lists of measurement objects within the SEQUENCE definitions), the measurement including at least one of intra/inter frequency measurements or intra/inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurements (see Rama-1 [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
Regarding claim 5, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 1 above. Examiner notes that claim 1 describes a method from the perspective of a base station interacting with a terminal whereas claim 5 describes a method from the perspective of a terminal interacting with a base station.
Rama-1 disclosed, as recited in claim 5: A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system (see Rama-1 Fig. 1: wireless communication network #10, network node #18; wireless device #12; [0166]: base station is an example of a network node | Fig. 5, [0072]: method from UE perspective; Fig. 10, [0132]: method is from UE perspective; Fig. 11, [0154]: method is from UE perspective), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message (see Rama-1 [0057]: RRC signaling) including configuration information on at least one measurement to be performed by the terminal, the configuration information including information on a plurality of measurement objects and information on report configurations (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”; #510 “Performing measurements on the one or more report triggering measurement objects”; #530 “Performing measurements on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE; the UE receives the measurement configuration involving a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements; Fig. 11 #201, [0155]: “As shown in FIG. 11, the ue receives a measurement configuration involving a measurement logging triggering condition based on a first set of frequencies' measurements, a report triggering condition based on a second set of frequencies' measurements, and a measurement report contents related configuration based on a third set of frequencies' measurements (step 201).” | [0057]: “More particularly in this regard, FIG. 1 shows a network node 18 in the wireless communication network 10 which configures the wireless device 12 to perform measurement reporting. Towards this end, the network node 18 transmits signaling 20 to the wireless device 12, e.g., in the form of RRC signaling received while the wireless device 12 is in an RRC connected state. The signaling 20 indicates one or more so-called report triggering measurement objects 22 and one or more so-called report content measurement objects 24. The one or more report triggering measurement objects 22 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be evaluated by the wireless device 12 for determining whether to log or send a measurement report 16. The one or more report content measurement objects 24 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be reported by the measurement report 16.”; [0061]: “As shown in FIG. 2, the signaling 20 takes the form of a MeasIdToAddMod information element (IE), e.g., as included in an RRC message. This measIdToAddMod IE includes a measObjectTriggerIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report triggering measurement objects 22. The measIdToAddMod IE also includes a separate measObjectContetIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report content measurement objects 24. By including separate lists for the report triggering measurement object(s) 22 and the report content measurement object(s) 24, rather than a single list of measurement objects, the measIdToAddMod IE allows configuration of at least one report content measurement object 24 that is different from each of the report triggering measurement object(s) 22.”; [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element); and
transmitting, to the base station, a measurement report including at least one measurement result based on the configuration information (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #540 “Generating the measurement report based on the results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects…”; #550 “…sending the measurement report, wherein the measurement report reports results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 6 #610 “Receiving the measurement report from the wireless device” | Fig. 10 #104, [0151]: UE sends measurement report | Fig. 11: #202, [0156]: “The ue as shown performs measurements based on the first (and third) set of frequencies (step 202).”; #203-#204, [0157]: “The ue identifies that the measurement logging triggering criterion based on the first set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 203). Based on this being met, the ue performs measurements based on the second (and third) set of frequencies (step 204)…”; #206-#207, [0158]: “The ue identifies that the measurement report triggering criterion based on second set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 206). Based on this, the ue sends the measurement report associated to the third set of frequencies' measurements (step 207).”),
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects includes information on a first measurement object among the plurality of measurement objects (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”), and
wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency (see Rama-2 combination below).
Rama-1 did not explicitly disclose “wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency”.
However in a related art, Rama-2 disclosed “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...The UE determines that a measurement report is to be transmitted (step 404)…The UE transmits a measurement report (e.g., to the first network node) that includes, in addition the performed measurements, information that indicates the frequency(ies) on which the UE has already performed measurements per the received measurement configuration and those that have higher priority than the measurement frequency(ies) that triggered the measurement report (step 406), e.g., responsive to determining that a measurement report is to be transmitted in step 404…” (see Rama-2 Fig. 4, [0093]).
Rama-2 also explained that the RRC specification version 16.6.0 is modified to perform the solution shown in Fig. 4 (see Rama-2 [0102]) and these changes are illustrated in the Table on pages 13-17, the MeasResults IE on pages 17-18, and the MeasResults field description on page 18 to clarify how the UE transfers measurement results from the UE to the network in the MeasurementReport message according to the measurement configuration (see Rama-2 [0104]). The IE MeasResults covers measured results for intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT mobility, and NR sidelink communication (see Rama-2 [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 6, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 2 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 6: The method of claim 5, further comprising:
transmitting, to the base station, capability information including information indicating whether the terminal supports a measurement (see Rama-1 Fig. 10, [0133]: “Step 100: The UE optionally signals its capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies”) based on a configured measurement sequence (see Rama-1 Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE based on the UE’s capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies; the measurement configuration includes a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements | [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element including separate lists of measurement objects within the SEQUENCE definitions), the measurement including at least one of intra/inter measurements or intra/inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurements (see Rama-1 [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
Regarding claim 9, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 1 above. Examiner notes that claim 1 describes a method from the perspective of a base station whereas claim 9 describes a base station performing a method.
Rama-1 disclosed, as recited in claim 9: A base station in a wireless communication system (see Rama-1 Fig. 1: wireless communication network #10, network node #18; wireless device #12; [0166]: base station is an example of a network node | Fig. 8, [0090]: network node hardware, the base station comprising:
a transceiver (see Rama-1 Fig. 8 #820 communication circuitry; Fig. 12 #1272 Transceiver circuitry); and
a controller (see Rama-1 Fig. 8 #810 processing circuitry; Fig. 12 #1270 processing circuitry) configured to:
control the transceiver to transmit, to a terminal, a radio resource control (RRC) message (see Rama-1 [0057]: RRC signaling) including configuration information on at least one measurement to be performed by the terminal, the configuration information including information on a plurality of measurement objects and information on report configurations (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”; #510 “Performing measurements on the one or more report triggering measurement objects”; #530 “Performing measurements on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE; the UE receives the measurement configuration involving a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements; Fig. 11 #201, [0155]: “As shown in FIG. 11, the ue receives a measurement configuration involving a measurement logging triggering condition based on a first set of frequencies' measurements, a report triggering condition based on a second set of frequencies' measurements, and a measurement report contents related configuration based on a third set of frequencies' measurements (step 201).” | [0057]: “More particularly in this regard, FIG. 1 shows a network node 18 in the wireless communication network 10 which configures the wireless device 12 to perform measurement reporting. Towards this end, the network node 18 transmits signaling 20 to the wireless device 12, e.g., in the form of RRC signaling received while the wireless device 12 is in an RRC connected state. The signaling 20 indicates one or more so-called report triggering measurement objects 22 and one or more so-called report content measurement objects 24. The one or more report triggering measurement objects 22 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be evaluated by the wireless device 12 for determining whether to log or send a measurement report 16. The one or more report content measurement objects 24 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be reported by the measurement report 16.”; [0061]: “As shown in FIG. 2, the signaling 20 takes the form of a MeasIdToAddMod information element (IE), e.g., as included in an RRC message. This measIdToAddMod IE includes a measObjectTriggerIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report triggering measurement objects 22. The measIdToAddMod IE also includes a separate measObjectContetIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report content measurement objects 24. By including separate lists for the report triggering measurement object(s) 22 and the report content measurement object(s) 24, rather than a single list of measurement objects, the measIdToAddMod IE allows configuration of at least one report content measurement object 24 that is different from each of the report triggering measurement object(s) 22.”; [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element), and
control the transceiver to receive, from the terminal, a measurement report including at least one measurement result based on the configuration information (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #540 “Generating the measurement report based on the results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects…”; #550 “…sending the measurement report, wherein the measurement report reports results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 6 #610 “Receiving the measurement report from the wireless device” | Fig. 10 #104, [0151]: UE sends measurement report | Fig. 11: #202, [0156]: “The ue as shown performs measurements based on the first (and third) set of frequencies (step 202).”; #203-#204, [0157]: “The ue identifies that the measurement logging triggering criterion based on the first set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 203). Based on this being met, the ue performs measurements based on the second (and third) set of frequencies (step 204)…”; #206-#207, [0158]: “The ue identifies that the measurement report triggering criterion based on second set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 206). Based on this, the ue sends the measurement report associated to the third set of frequencies' measurements (step 207).”),
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects includes information on a first measurement object among the plurality of measurement objects (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”), and
wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency (see Rama-2 combination below).
Rama-1 did not explicitly disclose “wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency”.
However in a related art, Rama-2 disclosed “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...The UE determines that a measurement report is to be transmitted (step 404)…The UE transmits a measurement report (e.g., to the first network node) that includes, in addition the performed measurements, information that indicates the frequency(ies) on which the UE has already performed measurements per the received measurement configuration and those that have higher priority than the measurement frequency(ies) that triggered the measurement report (step 406), e.g., responsive to determining that a measurement report is to be transmitted in step 404…” (see Rama-2 Fig. 4, [0093]).
Rama-2 also explained that the RRC specification version 16.6.0 is modified to perform the solution shown in Fig. 4 (see Rama-2 [0102]) and these changes are illustrated in the Table on pages 13-17, the MeasResults IE on pages 17-18, and the MeasResults field description on page 18 to clarify how the UE transfers measurement results from the UE to the network in the MeasurementReport message according to the measurement configuration (see Rama-2 [0104]). The IE MeasResults covers measured results for intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT mobility, and NR sidelink communication (see Rama-2 [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 10, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 2 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 10: The base station of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transceiver to receive, from the terminal, capability information including information indicating whether the terminal supports a measurement (see Rama-1 Fig. 10, [0133]: “Step 100: The UE optionally signals its capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies”) based on a configured measurement sequence (see Rama-1 Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE based on the UE’s capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies; the measurement configuration includes a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements | [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element including separate lists of measurement objects within the SEQUENCE definitions), the measurement including at least one of intra/inter frequency measurements or intra/inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurements (see Rama-1 [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
Regarding claim 13, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 5 above. Examiner notes that claim 5 describes a method from the perspective of a terminal whereas claim 13 describes a terminal performing a method.
Rama-1 disclosed, as recited in claim 13: A terminal in a wireless communication system (see Rama-1 Fig. 1: wireless communication network #10, network node #18; wireless device #12; [0166]: base station is an example of a network node | Fig. 7, [0089]: wireless device hardware), the terminal comprising:
a transceiver (see Rama-1 Fig. 7 #720 communication circuitry; Fig. 12 #1222 Transceiver Circuitry); and
a controller (see Rama-1 Fig. 7 #710 processing circuitry; Fig. 12 #1220 Processing Circuitry) configured to:
control the transceiver to receive, from a base station, a radio resource control (RRC) message (see Rama-1 [0057]: RRC signaling) including configuration information on at least one measurement to be performed by the terminal, the configuration information including information on a plurality of measurement objects and information on report configurations (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”; #510 “Performing measurements on the one or more report triggering measurement objects”; #530 “Performing measurements on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE; the UE receives the measurement configuration involving a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements; Fig. 11 #201, [0155]: “As shown in FIG. 11, the ue receives a measurement configuration involving a measurement logging triggering condition based on a first set of frequencies' measurements, a report triggering condition based on a second set of frequencies' measurements, and a measurement report contents related configuration based on a third set of frequencies' measurements (step 201).” | [0057]: “More particularly in this regard, FIG. 1 shows a network node 18 in the wireless communication network 10 which configures the wireless device 12 to perform measurement reporting. Towards this end, the network node 18 transmits signaling 20 to the wireless device 12, e.g., in the form of RRC signaling received while the wireless device 12 is in an RRC connected state. The signaling 20 indicates one or more so-called report triggering measurement objects 22 and one or more so-called report content measurement objects 24. The one or more report triggering measurement objects 22 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be evaluated by the wireless device 12 for determining whether to log or send a measurement report 16. The one or more report content measurement objects 24 are one or more objects of measurements whose results are to be reported by the measurement report 16.”; [0061]: “As shown in FIG. 2, the signaling 20 takes the form of a MeasIdToAddMod information element (IE), e.g., as included in an RRC message. This measIdToAddMod IE includes a measObjectTriggerIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report triggering measurement objects 22. The measIdToAddMod IE also includes a separate measObjectContetIdList IE that is a list of one or more identities which respectively identify the one or more report content measurement objects 24. By including separate lists for the report triggering measurement object(s) 22 and the report content measurement object(s) 24, rather than a single list of measurement objects, the measIdToAddMod IE allows configuration of at least one report content measurement object 24 that is different from each of the report triggering measurement object(s) 22.”; [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element), and
control the transceiver to transmit, to the base station, a measurement report including at least one measurement result based on the configuration information (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #540 “Generating the measurement report based on the results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects…”; #550 “…sending the measurement report, wherein the measurement report reports results of the measurements performed on the one or more report content measurement objects”; Fig. 6 #610 “Receiving the measurement report from the wireless device” | Fig. 10 #104, [0151]: UE sends measurement report | Fig. 11: #202, [0156]: “The ue as shown performs measurements based on the first (and third) set of frequencies (step 202).”; #203-#204, [0157]: “The ue identifies that the measurement logging triggering criterion based on the first set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 203). Based on this being met, the ue performs measurements based on the second (and third) set of frequencies (step 204)…”; #206-#207, [0158]: “The ue identifies that the measurement report triggering criterion based on second set of frequencies' measurements has been met (step 206). Based on this, the ue sends the measurement report associated to the third set of frequencies' measurements (step 207).”),
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects includes information on a first measurement object among the plurality of measurement objects (see Rama-1 Fig. 5 #500 “Receiving, from a network node in the wireless communication network, signaling that indicates one or more report triggering measurement objects and one or more report content measurement objects”), and
wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency (see Rama-2 combination below).
Rama-1 did not explicitly disclose “wherein the information on the first measurement object includes first information on a frequency associated with the first measurement object and second information on a value corresponding to the frequency, the value indicating a measurement sequence for a measurement of the frequency”.
However in a related art, Rama-2 disclosed “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...The UE determines that a measurement report is to be transmitted (step 404)…The UE transmits a measurement report (e.g., to the first network node) that includes, in addition the performed measurements, information that indicates the frequency(ies) on which the UE has already performed measurements per the received measurement configuration and those that have higher priority than the measurement frequency(ies) that triggered the measurement report (step 406), e.g., responsive to determining that a measurement report is to be transmitted in step 404…” (see Rama-2 Fig. 4, [0093]).
Rama-2 also explained that the RRC specification version 16.6.0 is modified to perform the solution shown in Fig. 4 (see Rama-2 [0102]) and these changes are illustrated in the Table on pages 13-17, the MeasResults IE on pages 17-18, and the MeasResults field description on page 18 to clarify how the UE transfers measurement results from the UE to the network in the MeasurementReport message according to the measurement configuration (see Rama-2 [0104]). The IE MeasResults covers measured results for intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT mobility, and NR sidelink communication (see Rama-2 [0106]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 14, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 2 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 14: The terminal of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transceiver to transmit, to the base station, capability information including information indicating whether the terminal supports a measurement (see Rama-1 Fig. 10, [0133]: “Step 100: The UE optionally signals its capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies”) based on a configured measurement sequence (see Rama-1 Fig. 10 #101, [0134]: network node transmits measurement configuration to UE based on the UE’s capabilities in measuring on a set of frequencies; the measurement configuration includes a triggering condition based on first set of frequencies’ measurements and a measurement report contents related configuration based on second set of frequencies’ measurements | [0137]: example of MeasIdToAddModList information element including separate lists of measurement objects within the SEQUENCE definitions), the measurement including at least one of intra/inter frequency measurements or intra/inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurements (see Rama-1 [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
Regarding claim 17, Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed the method of claim 1, wherein, in case that the value is configured as a first value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured firstly, and in case that the value is configured as a second value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured secondly (see Rama-2 Fig. 4 #400, [0093]: “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 18, Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed the method of claim 1,
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects further includes information on a second measurement object, and information on a value indicating a measurement sequence corresponding to the second measurement object is not configured (see Rama-2 Fig. 3, [0089]: UE receives a measurement configuration for performing measurements on multiple frequencies; [0094]: Fig. 3 is one example of Solution 1, whereas according to [0102]: Fig. 4 is a second example of Solution 1; Examiner notes that Fig. 4 specifies a measurement sequence for the measurement objects whereas Fig. 3 does not | Fig. 5, [0108]: Fig. 5 illustrates Solution 2 from the network side in which different actions are performed for different UEs depending on their capability regarding measurements and reports), and
wherein the plurality of measurement objects include a measurement object for new radio (NR) or a measurement object for evolved-universal mobile telecommunication systems terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) (see Rama-1 [0097]: “Consider some embodiments as applicable to mobility in RRC_CONNECTED in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR). An RRC_CONNECTED user equipment (UE) in LTE (also called EUTRA) can be configured by the network to perform measurements. Upon triggering measurement reports, the network may send a handover command to the UE (in LTE an RRConnectionReconfiguration with a field called mobilityControlInfo and in NR an RRCReconfiguration with a reconfigurationWithSync field). These reconfigurations are actually prepared by the target cell upon a request from the source node (over X2 interface in case of EUTRA-EPC or Xn interface in case of EUTRA-5GC or NR) and take into account the existing RRC configuration the UE has with the source cell (which are provided in the inter-node request)…”; [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 19, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 17 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 19: The method of claim 5, wherein, in case that the value is configured as a first value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured firstly, and in case that the value is configured as a second value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured secondly (see Rama-2 Fig. 4 #400, [0093]: “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 20, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 18 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 20: The method of claim 5,
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects further includes information on a second measurement object, and information on a value indicating a measurement sequence corresponding to the second measurement object is not configured (see Rama-2 Fig. 3, [0089]: UE receives a measurement configuration for performing measurements on multiple frequencies; [0094]: Fig. 3 is one example of Solution 1, whereas according to [0102]: Fig. 4 is a second example of Solution 1; Examiner notes that Fig. 4 specifies a measurement sequence for the measurement objects whereas Fig. 3 does not | Fig. 5, [0108]: Fig. 5 illustrates Solution 2 from the network side in which different actions are performed for different UEs depending on their capability regarding measurements and reports), and
wherein the plurality of measurement objects include a measurement object for new radio (NR) or a measurement object for evolved-universal mobile telecommunication systems terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) (see Rama-1 [0097]: “Consider some embodiments as applicable to mobility in RRC_CONNECTED in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR). An RRC_CONNECTED user equipment (UE) in LTE (also called EUTRA) can be configured by the network to perform measurements. Upon triggering measurement reports, the network may send a handover command to the UE (in LTE an RRConnectionReconfiguration with a field called mobilityControlInfo and in NR an RRCReconfiguration with a reconfigurationWithSync field). These reconfigurations are actually prepared by the target cell upon a request from the source node (over X2 interface in case of EUTRA-EPC or Xn interface in case of EUTRA-5GC or NR) and take into account the existing RRC configuration the UE has with the source cell (which are provided in the inter-node request)…”; [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 21, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 17 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 21: The base station of claim 9, wherein, in case that the value is configured as a first value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured firstly, and in case that the value is configured as a second value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured secondly (see Rama-2 Fig. 4 #400, [0093]: “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 22, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 18 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 22: The base station of claim 9,
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects further includes information on a second measurement object, and information on a value indicating a measurement sequence corresponding to the second measurement object is not configured (see Rama-2 Fig. 3, [0089]: UE receives a measurement configuration for performing measurements on multiple frequencies; [0094]: Fig. 3 is one example of Solution 1, whereas according to [0102]: Fig. 4 is a second example of Solution 1; Examiner notes that Fig. 4 specifies a measurement sequence for the measurement objects whereas Fig. 3 does not | Fig. 5, [0108]: Fig. 5 illustrates Solution 2 from the network side in which different actions are performed for different UEs depending on their capability regarding measurements and reports), and
wherein the plurality of measurement objects include a measurement object for new radio (NR) or a measurement object for evolved-universal mobile telecommunication systems terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) (see Rama-1 [0097]: “Consider some embodiments as applicable to mobility in RRC_CONNECTED in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR). An RRC_CONNECTED user equipment (UE) in LTE (also called EUTRA) can be configured by the network to perform measurements. Upon triggering measurement reports, the network may send a handover command to the UE (in LTE an RRConnectionReconfiguration with a field called mobilityControlInfo and in NR an RRCReconfiguration with a reconfigurationWithSync field). These reconfigurations are actually prepared by the target cell upon a request from the source node (over X2 interface in case of EUTRA-EPC or Xn interface in case of EUTRA-5GC or NR) and take into account the existing RRC configuration the UE has with the source cell (which are provided in the inter-node request)…”; [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 23, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 17 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 23: The terminal of claim 13, wherein, in case that the value is configured as a first value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured firstly, and in case that the value is configured as a second value, the second information indicates that the frequency is measured secondly (see Rama-2 Fig. 4 #400, [0093]: “…UE receives a measurement configuration from a first network node. The measurement configuration includes information that (a) configures the UE to perform measurements on two or more (i.e., multiple) frequencies and (b) indicates priorities of the two or more frequencies configured in the measurement configuration (i.e., for each frequency, indicates a priority of that frequency). The priority of a frequency may be an absolute priority or a relative priority (e.g., relative to the other frequencies configured by the measurement configuration). The UE performs measurements in accordance with the received measurement configuration (402)… In one embodiment, the UE performs measurements on the configured frequencies in chronological order in accordance with the indicate priorities of the frequencies...”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Regarding claim 24, the claim contains the limitations, substantially as claimed, as described in claim 18 above. Rama-1 in view of Rama-2 disclosed, as recited in claim 24: The terminal of claim 13,
wherein the information on the plurality of measurement objects further includes information on a second measurement object, and information on a value indicating a measurement sequence corresponding to the second measurement object is not configured (see Rama-2 Fig. 3, [0089]: UE receives a measurement configuration for performing measurements on multiple frequencies; [0094]: Fig. 3 is one example of Solution 1, whereas according to [0102]: Fig. 4 is a second example of Solution 1; Examiner notes that Fig. 4 specifies a measurement sequence for the measurement objects whereas Fig. 3 does not | Fig. 5, [0108]: Fig. 5 illustrates Solution 2 from the network side in which different actions are performed for different UEs depending on their capability regarding measurements and reports), and
wherein the plurality of measurement objects include a measurement object for new radio (NR) or a measurement object for evolved-universal mobile telecommunication systems terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) (see Rama-1 [0097]: “Consider some embodiments as applicable to mobility in RRC_CONNECTED in Long Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR). An RRC_CONNECTED user equipment (UE) in LTE (also called EUTRA) can be configured by the network to perform measurements. Upon triggering measurement reports, the network may send a handover command to the UE (in LTE an RRConnectionReconfiguration with a field called mobilityControlInfo and in NR an RRCReconfiguration with a reconfigurationWithSync field). These reconfigurations are actually prepared by the target cell upon a request from the source node (over X2 interface in case of EUTRA-EPC or Xn interface in case of EUTRA-5GC or NR) and take into account the existing RRC configuration the UE has with the source cell (which are provided in the inter-node request)…”; [0071]: “…In fact, in some embodiments, the network node 18 exploits embodiments herein to collect inter-frequency measurements in problematic regions of intra-frequency coverage, e.g., at the intra-frequency coverage edge and/or intra-frequency cell edge with high interference. This way, the network node 18 may receive inter-frequency measurements when a wireless device is in a bad coverage region, e.g., triggered by intra-frequency measurement events. Upon receiving the inter-frequency measurements, then, the network node 18 may perform a handover decision to another frequency.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rama-1 and Rama-2 to further clarify how measurements are configured, performed, and reported. Including Rama-2’s teachings regarding specifying a particular sequence of measurements for specific frequencies would improve network handover decisions and dual connectivity/carrier aggregation configuration (see Rama-2 [0052]) by configuring priorities for different frequencies and performing measurements per the configured priorities (see Rama-2 [0073]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sabouri-Sichani et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0187898): [0096]: multiple measurement objects and multiple frequencies | [0130]: RRCReconfiguration message includes a sorting quantity value for non-preferred frequencies; a default sorting operation of measurements may also be indicated in a control message
Wu et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 2023/0189203): [0126]: multiple sets of measurement configuration information such that each set of measurement configuration information includes frequency information and a priority corresponding to the frequency
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/ANGELA WIDHALM DE RODRIGUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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