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 .
This office action is in response to Applicant’s preliminary amendment filed on 03/25/2024.
Claims 1-12 are currently pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 2 does not end with a period marking.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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 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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, and 6-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by He et al. (US 2022/0322308 A1; hereafter HE).
With respect to claim 1, HE discloses an apparatus (115 in FIG. 1; 115-a in FIG. 3; 115-b in FIG. 4), comprising:
at least one processor (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8); and
at least one memory (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8) comprising computer program code (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8),
the at least one memory and computer program code (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8) configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving, from a network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3), a first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4);
performing measurements (paragraph [0088]) on a set of beams, comprising a first plurality of beams, based on the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4);
determining that a subset of the beams comprising a second plurality of beams meets a condition (410, 415, 470, 475 of FIG. 4); and
sending a report to the network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3) based on the determination that the subset of the beams (paragraph [0088]) meets the condition (410, 415, 470, 475 of FIG. 4), wherein the report is configured to trigger a reconfiguration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) of the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 3, HE further discloses 3. (Original) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and computer
program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving the reconfiguration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) of the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) from the network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3); and
performing the reconfiguration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 4, HE further discloses 4. (Original) The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory and computer
program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
detecting a change in radio conditions after the reconfiguration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4); and
sending a measurement gap fallback request to the network element (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 6, HE further discloses 6. (Original) The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the measurement gap fallback request is
configured to trigger fallback to the first measurement gap configuration or another measurement gap configuration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 7, HE discloses an apparatus (115 in FIG. 1; 115-a in FIG. 3; 115-b in FIG. 4), comprising:
at least one processor (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8); and
at least one memory (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8) comprising computer program code (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8),
the at least one memory and computer program code configured (840, 830, 835, 820 of FIG. 8), with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving, from a network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3), a first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) and a measurement report condition to detect a measurement gap change (410, 415, 470, 475 of FIG. 4);
performing measurements on a set of beams (paragraph [0088]), comprising a first plurality of beams, based on the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4);
determining, using the measurement report condition, that a change of measurement gap is needed (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4);
sending a first report of the measurements (paragraph [0088]) to the network element, indicating a change of the measurement gap (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415,470, 475 in FIG. 4); and
receiving a reconfiguration message from the network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3) with a new measurement gap based on the report (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 8, HE further discloses 8. (Original) The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the reconfiguration message further
identifies a condition regarding measurements (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 9, HE further discloses 9. (Original) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory and computer
program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
performing further measurements based on the new measurement gap (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4);
determining that the condition is met (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4); and
sending a second report to the network element (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3) including the further measurements (paragraph [0088]) and an indication that the condition is met (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 10, HE further discloses 10. (Original) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and computer
program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving a further reconfiguration message (410, 415, 470, 475 of FIG. 4) based on the second report, wherein the further reconfiguration message indicates usage of the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4); and
performing subsequent measurements (paragraph [0088]) based on the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) responsive to the further reconfiguration message (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 11, HE discloses an apparatus (105-b, 105-c in FIG. 4; 105-a in FIG. 3), comprising:
at least one processor (1240, 1230, 1235, 1220 of FIG. 12); and
at least one memory (1240, 1230, 1235, 1220 of FIG. 12) comprising computer program code (1240, 1230, 1235, 1220 of FIG. 12),
the at least one memory and computer program code configured (1240, 1230, 1235, 1220 of FIG. 12), with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
sending, to a user equipment (115 in FIG. 1; 115-a in FIG. 3; 115-b in FIG. 4), a first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4), wherein the user equipment is configured to perform measurements on a set of beams (paragraph [0088]), comprising a first plurality of beams, based on the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4);
receiving a report indicating that a subset of the beams (paragraph [0088]) comprising a second plurality of beams meets a condition (410, 470, 475 of FIG. 4); and
triggering a reconfiguration of the first measurement gap configuration for the user equipment (115 in FIG. 1; 115-a in FIG. 3; 115-b in FIG. 4) based on the report (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4).
With respect to claim 12, HE further discloses 12. (Original) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one memory and computer
program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform:
receiving a notification of a change in radio conditions from the user equipment (115 in FIG. 1; 115-a in FIG. 3; 115-b in FIG. 4) after the reconfiguration, wherein the notification comprises a measurement gap fallback request to the network element (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415, 470, 475 in FIG. 4); and
triggering a further reconfiguration (320-b of FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4) of the measurement to the first measurement gap configuration (320-a in FIG. 3; 410, 415 in FIG. 4).
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 2 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HE in view of HWANG et al. (US 2019/0364452 A1; hereafter HWANG).
With respect to claim 2, HE does not disclose the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the condition comprises the reference signal received power of the second plurality of beams being lower than a predetermined threshold
HWANG discloses wherein the condition comprises the reference signal received power of the second plurality of beams being lower than a predetermined threshold (FIG. 3; FIG. 12; paragraphs [0160], [0161], [0162], [0163], [0164], [0165], [0166], and [0167])
HWANG teaches the benefit of increased reliability by checking the RSRP levels with measuring wireless cells (paragraph [0005]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the RSRP checking as taught by HWANG in the apparatus of HE to produce an expected result.
With respect to claim 5, HE does not disclose the apparatus of claim 4, wherein the detecting the change in radio conditions comprises detecting that the reference signal received power of the second plurality of beams are lower than a predetermined threshold.
HWANG discloses wherein the detecting the change in radio conditions comprises detecting that the reference signal received power of the second plurality of beams are lower than a predetermined threshold (FIG. 3; FIG. 12; paragraphs [0160], [0161], [0162], [0163], [0164], [0165], [0166], and [0167]).
HWANG teaches the benefit of increased reliability by checking the RSRP levels with measuring wireless cells (paragraph [0005]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the RSRP checking as taught by HWANG in the apparatus of HE to produce an expected result.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Brian T O'Connor whose telephone number is (571)270-1081. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri Flex 10am-6:30pm.
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/BRIAN T O CONNOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465 March 31, 2026