DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1-19 and 30 have been examined and are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/26/2024 and 10/13/2025 have been found to be in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Specification
5. The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
6. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
7. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
a) Claim 12, dependent upon claim 11 which is further dependent upon claim 1, does not further narrow the respective base claim. Claim 1 lists alternative language in which one or more of the alternating language may or not be selected for prosecution. Examiner respectfully suggests amending either claim 1 or claim 12 to positively recite the limitations that clearly sets forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
8. 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.
9. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
10. Claims 1-19 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication 2023/0284145 A1 to Da Silva et al. (hereinafter “Da Silva”).
Regarding Claim 1, Da Silva discloses a method performed by a wireless device in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving a link monitoring configuration for measurements of a cell group (Da Silva: Figure 6 with at least [0231-0232] – a wireless device receives a radio link monitoring (RLM) configuration; see also [0006], [0011-0022] which describe RLM, and configurations associated with RLM, to be for the purpose of measuring downlink signals at a wireless device; a resource in which measurements occur may be one or more a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). See also [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG). Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling.), wherein the link monitoring configuration includes (i) a first index of a first radio resource (Da Silva: [0013-0016] – the RLM configuration(s) may include one or more of an SSB index or CSI-RS index, both corresponding to a resource index.), (ii) a first purpose related to the first radio resource for an activated state (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In [0080], [0118], [0140], Da Silva describes both activated state and deactivated state of a cell group and the ability to transition between the two, based on an RLM configuration, which the Examiner interprets as receiving an RLM configuration comprising information for identifying an activated or deactivate state of a cell group.), and (iii) a second purpose related to the first radio resource for a deactivated state (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.);
determining a state of the cell group among the activated state and the deactivated state (Da Silva: [0080], [0116-0122] – corresponds to determining a state (mode of peration) of a cell group.);
determining a specific purpose for the first radio resource among the first purpose and the second purpose based on the state of the cell group (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.); and
performing link monitoring for the first radio resource based on the specific purpose, wherein the second purpose includes one of (i) Radio Link Failure (RLF) detection, (ii) Beam Failure (BF) detection, (iii) both the RLF detection and the BF detection (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.), and (iv) neither the RLF detection nor BF detection (alternative or dispositive limitation).
Regarding Claim 2, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the link monitoring configuration includes (i) a second index of a second radio resource, (ii) a first purpose related to the second radio resource for an activated state, and (iii) a second purpose related to the second radio resource for a deactivated state (Examiner’s Note: claim 2 recites similar features as claim 1, but is directed to a second set indexes/indices, radio resources, and purpose. Da Silva discloses that the resources may be SSB or reference signals (CSI, RS, CSI-RS) which necessarily include a first set for SSB and a second set for CSI(-RS). Therefore, Da Silva discloses a first set for a first index and associated first radio resource, and a second set for a second index and associated second resource, wherein both would have one or more purposes for an activated state and a deactivated state. The paragraphs cited include: Figure 6 with at least [0231-0232] – a wireless device receives a radio link monitoring (RLM) configuration; see also [0006], [0011-0022] which describe RLM, and configurations associated with RLM, to be for the purpose of measuring downlink signals at a wireless device; a resource in which measurements occur may be one or more a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). See also [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG). Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling. [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.).
Regarding Claim 3, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the second purpose related to the first radio resource is different from the second purpose related to the second radio resource (Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling. [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. Since the purposes in each RLM configuration may be different, and the RLM configuration are defined per BWP, the first purpose and the second purpose may also be different.).
Regarding Claim 4, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the link monitoring configuration includes information on multiple radio resources (Da Silva: [0011-0012] – this is known that radio resource management (RRM), comprising RLM, includes a plurality of radio resources (SSB, CSI-RS, etc.).).
Regarding Claim 5, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first purpose includes at least one of (i) RLF detection, (ii) BF detection, and (iii) both the RLF detection and the BF detection (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.).
Regarding Claim 6, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the first radio resource includes a reference signal or a synchronization signal block (SSB) (Da Silva: Figure 6 with at least [0231-0232] – a wireless device receives a radio link monitoring (RLM) configuration; see also [0006], [0011-0022] which describe RLM, and configurations associated with RLM, to be for the purpose of measuring downlink signals at a wireless device; a resource in which measurements occur may be one or more a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). See also [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG). Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling.).
Regarding Claim 7, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the cell group is a secondary cell group (SCG) or a master cell group (MCG) (Da Silva: [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG).).
Regarding Claim 8, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, receiving a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration including a deactivation command for the cell group (Da Silva: [0013-0014], [0116-0118] – UE receives RRC reconfiguration to transition between states normal->power saving, power-saving->normal, equivalent to transitions between activated state and deactivated state, or vice-versa.).
Regarding Claim 9, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, establishing an RRC Connection on a primary cell (PCell) for the cell group (Da Silva: [0006], [0051], [0108] – the UE is configured with at least a PCell according to RRC technical specification (TS) 38.331, which necessarily includes an RRC_CONNECTED state.).
Regarding Claim 10, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, activating the cell group (Da Silva: [0080], [0106], [0118], [0242-0243] – the cell group is activated.); and
performing data transmission via the cell group (Da Silva: [0067-0070] – data transmission occurs in the cell group.).
Regarding Claim 11, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the state of the cell group is determined as a deactivated state (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In [0080], [0118], [0140], Da Silva describes both activated state and deactivated state of a cell group and the ability to transition between the two, based on an RLM configuration, which the Examiner interprets as receiving an RLM configuration comprising information for identifying an activated or deactivate state of a cell group.), and wherein the specific purpose for the first radio resource is determined as the second purpose (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.).
Regarding Claim 12, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises, skipping the link monitoring for the first radio resource based on the second purpose being “neither” (Interpreted as including alternative language from the base claim, and therefore not required to be disclosed by the prior art of record. Please see above. Da Silva discloses RLM based on a TCI state and not performing link monitoring with a purpose of beam failure detection, radio link failure detection, or both.).
Regarding Claim 13, Da Silva discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is in communication with at least one of a user equipment, a network, or an autonomous vehicle other than the wireless device (Da Silva: Figure 4).
Claims 14-19, directed to an apparatus embodiment of claims 1-6, recite similar features as claims 1-6 and are therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claims 1-6. Please see above rejections of claims 1-6. Da Silva discloses the apparatus in at least Figure 5 with [0218-0230] – comprising at least a transceiver, processor, and memory.
Regarding Claim 30, Da Silva discloses a base station in a wireless communication system comprising:
a transceiver;
a memory; and
a processor operatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory (Da Silva: Figure 8 with [0246-0250] – corresponds to a network device comprising at least a transceiver, processor, and memory.), and configured to:
control the transceiver to transmit, to a wireless device, a link monitoring configuration for measurements of a cell group (Da Silva: Figure 6 with at least [0231-0232] – a wireless device receives a radio link monitoring (RLM) configuration from a network (device); see also [0006], [0011-0022] which describe RLM, and configurations associated with RLM, to be for the purpose of measuring downlink signals at a wireless device; a resource in which measurements occur may be one or more a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). See also [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG). Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling.), wherein the link monitoring configuration includes (i) a first index of a first radio resource (Da Silva: [0013-0016] – the RLM configuration(s) may include one or more of an SSB index or CSI-RS index, both corresponding to a resource index.), (ii) a first purpose related to the first radio resource for an activated state (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In [0080], [0118], [0140], Da Silva describes both activated state and deactivated state of a cell group and the ability to transition between the two, based on an RLM configuration, which the Examiner interprets as receiving an RLM configuration comprising information for identifying an activated or deactivate state of a cell group.), and (iii) a second purpose related to the first radio resource for a deactivated state (Da Silva: [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.), and wherein the second purpose includes one of (i) Radio Link Failure (RLF) detection, (ii) Beam Failure (BF) detection, (iii) both the RLF detection and the BF detection, and (iv) neither the RLF detection nor BF detection (Examiner’s Note: claim 2 recites similar features as claim 1, but is directed to a second set indexes/indices, radio resources, and purpose. Da Silva discloses that the resources may be SSB or reference signals (CSI, RS, CSI-RS) which necessarily include a first set for SSB and a second set for CSI(-RS). Therefore, Da Silva discloses a first set for a first index and associated first radio resource, and a second set for a second index and associated second resource, wherein both would have one or more purposes for an activated state and a deactivated state. The paragraphs cited include: Figure 6 with at least [0231-0232] – a wireless device receives a radio link monitoring (RLM) configuration; see also [0006], [0011-0022] which describe RLM, and configurations associated with RLM, to be for the purpose of measuring downlink signals at a wireless device; a resource in which measurements occur may be one or more a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). See also [0071-0073], [0077-0080] – the wireless device, configured for dual connectivity, may receive RLM configurations for one or more different cell groups including a master cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG). Examiner notes RLM configurations are provided in RadioLinkMonitoringConfig signaling. [0015-0016] – as described in the RadioLinkMonitoringConfig information element, provided for each bandwidth part and for either the SSB or reference signal corresponding to a radio resource, each radio resource configuration includes a purpose for beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both. In addition to [0080], [0118], and [0142-0156], multiple “purposes” are identified for both activated and deactivated states (these states also include definitions provided in [0106], as well as “a mode of operation”) which include beamFailure, rlf (radio link failure), or both.).
Conclusion
11. Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
12. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure (See PTO - 892).
13. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV whose telephone number is (571)270-7163. The examiner can normally be reached M, T, R, F 5:00 AM-5:00 PM, W 5:00 AM-3:00 PM (EDT).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Thier can be reached at (571) 272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BENJAMIN H. ELLIOTT IV
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474 February 20, 2026