DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim(s) 1-12 and in particular claims 1 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 12 recite, in part:
“wherein the first timing advance number is:
related to time period required for uplink and downlink switching; and determined based on the first parameter for timing advance”
With regard to the first timing advance number the specification as filed recites, in part:
[0477] “The first timing-advance-number is indicated by a timing-advance-information in layer3 control information (TARGET_TIMING_ADVNACE in RRC message) or by a timing-advance-information in layer2 control information (timing-advance-command in random-access-response)
[0754] Terminal determines the type of the reconfiguration based on presence of a first timing-advance-number information
[0757] If the first timing-advance-number information (TARGET_TIMING_ADVNACE) is not included in the RRC message, the terminal performs the first type reconfiguration.
[0758] If the first timing-advance-number information is included in the RRC message, the terminal performs the second type reconfiguration.
[0759] The first timing-advance-number is determined based on the timing-advance-command received in a layer2-control-information if the first type reconfiguration is applied.
[0760] The first timing-advance-number is determined based on the first timing-advance-number information if the second reconfiguration is applied.”
The specification does not recite:
“wherein the first timing advance number is:
related to time period required for uplink and downlink switching; and determined based on the first parameter for timing advance”
It is unclear how the Target_Timing_Advance relates to uplink and downlink switching when the specification states that the Target_timing_advance relates to uplink synchronization. Thus the claims are rejected.
Additionally the claims recite, in part:
“receiving by the terminal a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message for cell level mobility, wherein the RRC message comprises:
a first parameter for timing advance and a second parameter for timing advance; or
the first parameter for timing advance and no second parameter for timing advance;
determining by the terminal whether to perform a first type cell level mobility or a second type cell level mobility; and
performing by the terminal the first type of cell level mobility in a case that the RRC message comprises the second parameter for timing advance”.
The claims appear to contradict the specification.
The specification recites, in part:
“[0757] If the first timing-advance-number information (TARGET_TIMING_ADVNACE) is not included in the RRC message, the terminal performs the first type reconfiguration.
[0758] If the first timing-advance-number information is included in the RRC message, the terminal performs the second type reconfiguration.”
The first timing advance number is based on the first parameter for timing advance, and the claims state that a first parameter is sent in the RRC message whether the second parameter for timing advance is transmitted or not, see the above:
“a first parameter for timing advance and a second parameter for timing advance; or
The first parameter for timing advance and no second parameter for timing advance”
The specification states that when the first timing advance number is not included in the RRC message, the terminal performs the first type configuration. The claims are directed to the first type of cell level mobility, which is the “type of reconfiguration” as discussed in the specification. The specification states that the “first type of reconfiguration” is performed when the “first-timing-advance-number” is not included in the RRC message (e.g. the RRC Reconfiguration message), thus, how does the UE perform the first type of reconfiguration when the UE receives first-timing-advance-number which is derived from a first parameter for timing advance which is always sent to the UE based on the claim language, when the specification states that first type of reconfiguration (e.g. first type cell level mobility) when the UE receives the first parameter in each instance of the RRC message transmission from the network.
Additionally the specification at par.[0478] recites, in part:
“[0478] The second timing-advance-number is either explicitly indicated in RRC message (within SPECIAL_CELL_CONFIGURATION) or determined based on duplex mode (TDD or FDD) of the target special cell (if not explicitly indicated). The purpose of second timing-advance-number is to provide the time period for uplink and downlink switching in TDD. The purpose of second timing-advance-number is to provide the time period required for coexistence of NR and LTE. The second timing-advance-number is either 0 or 625 or 25600.”
As can be seen, it would appear that the second timing advance number is related to uplink/downlink switching and derived from a second parameter for timing advance, and not the first parameter for timing advance as claimed.
Thus there appears to be a number of deficiencies in the claims as it relates to the specification as filed such that the specification as filed does not satisfy the written description requirement, and thus, the claims are rejected for the reasons given above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kim et al. (US 2024/0147328 A1) “Cell Switching”
Ly et al. (US 2022/0014982 A1) “Random Access Chang (RACH)-Less Timing Advance Determination”
Wallentin et al. (WO 2024/2322804 A1) “Indicating LTM Candidate After Execution”
Orsino et al. (WO 2024/209344 A1) “Random Access Channel-Less Procedure for Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul”
Ofinno “An Introduction to Lower-Layer Triggered Mobility (LTM)” dated March 2023
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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