DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicants’ submission filed on August 20, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
- Claims 1-5, 7-10, 14-22 and 24-36 are pending.
- Claims 1, 16-18 and 28-29 have been amended.
- Claims 35 and 36 have been added.
- Claims 1-5, 14-22, 26-29 and 34-36 are rejected.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-5, 14-22, 26-29 and 34-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chatterjee et al. (Pub. No. US 2024/0196413 A1; hereinafter Chatter) in view of Yiu (Pub. No. US 2019/0230550 A1) and, further in view of Kumagai et al. (WO 2023/079662 A1; hereinafter Kumagai).
Regarding 1 and 16, Chatter discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: indicate a UE capability to a network; (20240196413-See ¶0107, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively.) and a downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP), the configuration indicating that the DL BWP includes a cell-defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB), includes a non-CD-SSB (NCD-SSB), or that an SSB is absent, (See ¶0107, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively.) the DL BWP being based at least on one or more of a duplex mode type, a frequency range, a type of the DL BWP, or the UE capability. (See ¶0107, separate initial DL BWP configuration options (e.g., a separate iDL BWP A, B, C). The illustrated “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely.)
However, Chatter fails to disclose receive a configuration for a measurement object
Yiu disclose receive a configuration for a measurement object (20190230550-See ¶0037, The MOs can be configured using RRC signaling.) and the configuration for the measurement object. (See ¶0042, when BWP1 is active, the UE can perform a measurement using MO1; See ¶0043, the network configures two measurement objects on each BWP, the UE can measure both measurement objects; See ¶0035, configure one or more BWPs (e.g. DL BWP); interpreted the MO is configured for active DL BWP)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify to configure the UE to operate in the DL BWP associated with NCD-SSB to include configuration of the measurement object in measurement report. The motivation to combine is the measurement reports are essential for network to make informed decision regarding resource allocation, mobility and performance optimization.
However, Chatter in view of Yiu fails to disclose the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB share at least one of:a same primary synchronization signal sequence, a same secondary synchronization signal sequence, a physical cell identifier (PCI), a same number of SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same pattern of the SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same transmission power,a same periodicity of the SSB burst, a same quasi co-location (QCL) resource, a same numerology for one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs, or a same energy per resource element (EPRE) boosting ratio for the one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs.
Kumagai discloses the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB share at least one of:a same primary synchronization signal sequence, a same secondary synchronization signal sequence, a physical cell identifier (PCI), a same number of SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same pattern of the SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same transmission power,a same periodicity of the SSB burst, a same quasi co-location (QCL) resource, a same numerology for one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs, or a same energy per resource element (EPRE) boosting ratio for the one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs. (Page 9, when NCD-SSB and CD-SSB are transmitted, the information element ssb-PositionsInBurst or the information element ServingCellConfigCommon included in SIB1, the period, transmission power, SSB index, and QCL source are notified by NCD-SSB and CD-SSB may be the same)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Chatter in view of Yu to include CD-SSB and NCD-SSB have the same transmission power and QCL. The motivation to combine is when both SSB types are transmitted at the same power level, the gNB does not need to adjust power control parameters separately for each SSB. This reduces the complexity of RRC signaling and configuration, as the network can treat them uniformly in terms of power budgeting and beamforming control.
Regarding claims 2 and 19, Chatter discloses the UE has a reduced capability (See ¶0104, Reduced Capability (RedCap) NR User Equipment (UE)) and the configuration is for an initial DL BWP that includes one of the CD-SSB or the NCD-SSB (See ¶0107, separate initial DL BWP configuration options (e.g., a separate iDL BWP A, B, C). The illustrated “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely.) or the configuration is for the initial DL BWP that does not include the SSB of a serving cell.
Regarding claims 3 and 20, Chatter discloses the UE has a reduced capability(See ¶0104, Reduced Capability (RedCap) NR User Equipment (UE)) and the configuration is for a non-initial DL BWP that includes one of the CD-SSB or the NCD-SSB or the configuration is for the non-initial DL BWP that does not include the SSB of a serving cell. (See ¶0107, “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely. In such cases, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively.)
Regarding claims 4 and 21, Chatter discloses the UE is a higher capability UE (See ¶0159, the configuration of initial DL BWP provided via SIB1, may apply separately for non-RedCap) and the configuration is for an initial DL BWP that includes the CD-SSB or that includes the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB of a serving cell. (20240196413-See ¶0159, the configuration of initial DL BWP provided via SIB1, may apply separately for non-RedCap; See ¶0209, , the UE, provided with separate initial DL BWP (DL BWP #0A), may assume that the DMRS of the PDCCH in CORESET #0A and the DMRS of the PDSCH for the reception of one or more of Types 0/0A/1/2 PDCCH CSS sets or associated PDSCH are Quasi-Co-Located (QCL-ed) with the corresponding CD-SSB, where the mapping to the CD-SSB index is same as that for CORESET #0 or defined explicitly via SIB1 signaling.)
Regarding claims 5 and 22, Chatter discloses the UE is a higher capability UE (See ¶0159, the configuration of initial DL BWP provided via SIB1, may apply separately for non-RedCap) and the configuration is for a non-initial DL BWP for the UE in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state and includes at least one of the CD-SSB or the NCD-SSB or the configuration is for the non-initial DL BWP that does not include the SSB of a serving cell. (See ¶0107, “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely. In such cases, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively; See ¶106, The reception of SIB1 and SIBx (x>1) can be common non-RedCap UEs and limited to within CORESET #0 as defined by a Master Information Block (MIB).)
Regarding claims 14 and 34, Chatter fails to discloses the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the configuration for the measurement object and the DL BWP in system information or a radio resource control (RRC) message.
Yiu disclose receive the configuration for the measurement object and the DL BWP in system information or a radio resource control (RRC) message. (20190230550-See ¶0035, radio resource control (RRC) signaling can be used to configure one or more BWPs (e.g., both for DL BWP and UL BWP) for a serving cell, such as a primary cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell); each SS block frequency to be measured by the UE can be configured as an individual measurement object (i.e., one measurement object can correspond to a single SS block frequency))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify to configure the UE to operate in the DL BWP associated with NCD-SSB to include configuration of the measurement object in measurement report. The motivation to combine is the measurement reports are essential for network to make informed decision regarding resource allocation, mobility and performance optimization.
Regarding claim 15, Chatter discloses a transceiver coupled to the at least one processor. (See ¶0242, transceiver circuitry coupled to the processing circuitry)
Regarding 17 and 28, Chatter discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receive an indication of a user equipment (UE) capability of at least one UE; (20240196413-See ¶0107, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively.) and configure one or more downlink (DL) bandwidth parts (BWPs), See ¶0107, separate initial DL BWP configuration options (e.g., a separate iDL BWP A, B, C). The illustrated “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely.)
However, Chatter fails to disclose configure serving cell measurement
Yiu disclose configure serving cell measurement (See ¶0032, an MO can include a list of cells (and their frequencies of operation) on which measurements are to be performed; See ¶0035, each SS block frequency to be measured by the UE can be configured as an individual measurement object (i.e., one measurement object can correspond to a single SS block frequency). In one example, a cell defining SS block can be considered as a time reference of the serving cell, and for RRM serving cell measurements based on an SSB (irrespective of which BWP is activated); See ¶0037, The MOs can be configured using RRC signaling)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify to configure the UE to operate in the DL BWP associated with NCD-SSB to include configuration of the measurement object in measurement report. The motivation to combine is the measurement reports are essential for network to make informed decision regarding resource allocation, mobility and performance optimization.
However, Chatter in view of Yiu fails to disclose the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB share at least one of:a same primary synchronization signal sequence, a same secondary synchronization signal sequence, a physical cell identifier (PCI), a same number of SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same pattern of the SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same transmission power,a same periodicity of the SSB burst, a same quasi co-location (QCL) resource, a same numerology for one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs, or a same energy per resource element (EPRE) boosting ratio for the one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs.
Kumagai discloses the CD-SSB and the NCD-SSB share at least one of:a same primary synchronization signal sequence, a same secondary synchronization signal sequence, a physical cell identifier (PCI), a same number of SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same pattern of the SSBs transmitted in each SSB burst, a same transmission power,a same periodicity of the SSB burst, a same quasi co-location (QCL) resource, a same numerology for one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs, or a same energy per resource element (EPRE) boosting ratio for the one or multiple physical signals or physical channels of the SSBs. (Page 9, when NCD-SSB and CD-SSB are transmitted, the information element ssb-PositionsInBurst or the information element ServingCellConfigCommon included in SIB1, the period, transmission power, SSB index, and QCL source are notified by NCD-SSB and CD-SSB may be the same)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Chatter in view of Yu to include CD-SSB and NCD-SSB have the same transmission power and QCL. The motivation to combine is when both SSB types are transmitted at the same power level, the gNB does not need to adjust power control parameters separately for each SSB. This reduces the complexity of RRC signaling and configuration, as the network can treat them uniformly in terms of power budgeting and beamforming control.
Regarding claims 18 and 29, Chatter disclose based on one or more of the duplex mode type, the frequency range, the DL BWP type, or the UE capability, the configuration of each DL BWP (20240196413-See ¶0107, a UE that does not indicate support of operation without SSB in an RRC-configured DL BWP expects NCD-SSB in the “Active DL BWP X/Y” respectively.)
However, Chatter fails to disclose a measurement object for a serving cell includes a cell-defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB), includes a non-CD-SSB (NCD-SSB), or does not include an SSB of the serving cell.
Yiu discloses a measurement object for a serving cell includes a cell-defining synchronization signal block (CD-SSB), includes a non-CD-SSB (NCD-SSB), or does not include an SSB of the serving cell. (See ¶0034, a UE can determine which MO corresponds to a serving frequency (or a non-serving frequency) from a frequency location of a cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB) that is contained within a serving cell configuration.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify to configure the UE to operate in the DL BWP associated with NCD-SSB to include configuration of the measurement object in measurement report. The motivation to combine is the measurement reports are essential for network to make informed decision regarding resource allocation, mobility and performance optimization.
Regarding claim 26, Chatter discloses the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit the configuration for each DL BWP for a serving cell in system information or a radio resource control (RRC) message. (See ¶0107, separate initial DL BWP configuration options, in accordance with some aspects. More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates examples of separate initial DL BWP configuration options (e.g., a separate iDL BWP A, B, C). The illustrated “active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode” are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs)
Regarding claim 27, Chatter discloses comprising a transceiver coupled to at least one processor. (See ¶0228, Instructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a communications network 726 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 720 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols; Fig. 7 shows the network interface device is coupled to the processor via interlink)
Regarding claim 35, Chatter fails to disclose the configuration for the measurement object and the DL BWP arc based at least on one or more of a duplex mode type, a frequency range, a type of the DL BWP.
Yiu discloses the configuration for the measurement object and the DL BWP arc based at least on one or more of a duplex mode type, a frequency range, a type of the DL BWP. See ¶0042, when BWP1 is active, the UE can perform a measurement using MO1; See ¶0043, the network configures two measurement objects on each BWP, the UE can measure both measurement objects; See ¶0035, configure one or more BWPs (e.g. DL BWP); interpreted the MO is configured for active DL BWP)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify to configure the UE to operate in the DL BWP associated with NCD-SSB to include configuration of the measurement object in measurement report. The motivation to combine is the measurement reports are essential for network to make informed decision regarding resource allocation, mobility and performance optimization.
Regarding claim 36, Chatter discloses a configuration for each DL BWP is based on at least one or more of a duplex mode type, a frequency range, a DL BWP type, or a UE capability. (See 0107, separate initial DL BWP configuration options (e.g., a separate iDL BWP A, B, C). The illustrated "active DL BWP X/Y in connected mode" are examples of RRC-configured DL BWPs in a connected mode that may not include CD-SSB entirely.)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-10 and 24-25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lei et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0379848 A1)-See 0078, In a cell that allows RedCap UEs access, NCD-SSB sets can be transmitted at least in an RRC-configured DL BWP of a RedCap UE. A RedCap UE can support existing applicable mandatory features based on an SSB set using NCD-SSB (including NCD-SSB based measurements) as a mandatory feature in an RRC-configured DL BWP that does not include CD-SSB set. In this case, the NCD-SSB shares the same PCI as the CD-SSB set, the NCD-SSB has the same numerology as the CD-SSB set, and the NCD-SSB is ‘QCL’-ed with CD-SSB set when the NCD-SSB and CD-SSB set share the same SSB index. The periodicity of the NCD-SSB is no less than the periodicity of the CD-SSB set, which can be chosen from the range of {5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160} ms. However, in some cases, NCD-SSB is not supported independent of an associated CD-SSB set outside of a RedCap UE context.
Kim et al. (Pub. No. US 2026/0189958 A1)- [0133] Referring to FIG. 4, the SSB includes a PSS, an SSS and a PBCH. The SSB consists of four consecutive OFDM symbols, and the PSS, the PBCH, the SSS/PBCH or the PBCH is transmitted per OFDM symbol. Each of the PSS and the SSS consists of one OFDM symbol and 127 subcarriers, and the PBCH consists of 3 OFDM symbols and 576 subcarriers.
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/Tejis Daya/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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