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 Objections
Claims 36, 45 and 53 objected to because of the following informalities: Acronym “CU” should be spelled out on the first instance of the independent claims. Claim 42 objected to because “the wireless communications Network (500)” should not have the number 500 in parenthesis. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 36, 37, 40-43, 45, 47, 50, 52, 53, 55 and 58 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu et al. (US 2023/0262557, hereinafter “Zhu”) in view of Wu et al. (US 2023/0403617, hereinafter “Wu”).
For claim 36, Zhu discloses A method, performed by a donor radio access node, for assisting in inter-donor- CU handovers and for setting up a connection between a mobile radio access node and a target serving donor radio access node in a wireless communications network (Referring to FIG. 4, the present disclosure describes an embodiment of a method 400 for recovering a recovery integrated access backhaul-node (IAB-node) for new radio (NR) from an initial IAB-donor-central unit (CU) to a new IAB-donor-CU. The method 400 may include a portion or all of the following steps: step 410: retrieving, by the new IAB-donor-CU from the initial IAB-donor-CU, context information; and step 420: configuring, by the new IAB-donor-CU, a connection with the recovery IAB-node; see Zhu par. 0069; Referring to FIG. 18, the present disclosure describes an embodiment of a method 1800 for configuring at least one descendant device of a recovery integrated access backhaul-node (IAB-node) from an initial IAB-donor-central unit (CU) to a new IAB-donor-CU; see Zhu par. 0259), the method comprises:
transmitting one or more conditional configurations for the connection to the mobile radio access node (step 1810: sending, by the initial IAB-donor-CU to the new IAB-donor-CU, a handover request message for requesting a handover procedure to at least one descendant device, wherein the at least one descendant device performs a conditional handover (CHO) to the new IAB-donor-CU based on the RRC message and a trigger condition; and step 1820: sending, by the at least one descendant device to the new IAB-donor-CU, a response to a RRC message, indicating that a RRC connection of the at least one descendant device has been handover to the new IAB-donor-CU; see Zhu par. 0259), wherein the one or more conditional configurations include respective conditional configuration commands for the connection (the trigger condition comprises a condition of when a first timer expires, wherein the first timer starts upon receiving the RRC message. In another implementation, the trigger condition comprises a condition of receiving a second indication from a parent IAB-node; and the second indication indicates at least one of the following: that the parent IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU has recovered or migrated to a new IAB-donor-CU, or that the parent IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU will migrate or recover to a new IAB-donor-CU. In another implementation, the at least one descendant device receives a second information from a NG-RAN node, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following information elements (IEs): a conditional configuration, an identify identifying the conditional configuration, an execution condition to be fulfilled in order to trigger an execution of a conditional configuration, or a first timer; see Zhu par. 0260-0262).
Zhu does not explicitly disclose wherein each conditional configuration command is to be applied when a corresponding condition for application is satisfied. Wu discloses wherein each conditional configuration command is to be applied when a corresponding condition for application is satisfied (the T-IAB-donor 108B operates as a candidate IAB-donor (C-IAB-donor). In response, the C-IAB-donor 108B generates the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 as a CHO command. After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 in the Handover Request Acknowledge message 708, the S-IAB-donor 108A can generate a conditional configuration (e.g., CondReconfigToAddMode-r16 IE), which includes the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 and at least one condition for executing the RRC reconfiguration message for IAB-node 104. Then, the S-IAB-donor 108A transmits 730 the RRC container message including the conditional configuration to the IAB-node 104. When the IAB-node 104 receives the conditional configuration, the IAB-node 104 does not connect to the C-IAB-donor unless and until the IAB-node 104 detects that the corresponding condition (s) is satisfied. If the IAB-node 104 determines that the condition is satisfied, the IAB-node 104 connects to the C-IAB-donor 108B, such that the C-IAB-donor 108B becomes the T-IAB-donor 108B for the IAB-node 104; see Wu par. 0124). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Wu's arrangement in Zhu's invention so that data communication can continue between the UEs and the source and target donors without holding data packets of the UEs too long at the target donor to violate QoS requirements and thus, long data interruption caused by the inter-donor migration of an IAB-node the can be avoided (see Wu par. 0114).
For claim 37, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein:
each conditional configuration for the connection comprises information necessary for the mobile radio access node to set up the connection to the target serving donor radio access node (the second indication may indicate the IAB node/UE to execute the conditional configuration. The second indication may be included in a SIB, or a BAP control PDU, or a MAC CE... upon receiving the third indication, the child device of the first IAB-node executes at least one of the following: any one of the stored or received conditional configurations, or any one of the conditional configurations whose execution condition/trigger is upon receiving a third indication; see Zhu par. 0269-0275); and
the information necessary for the mobile radio access node to set up the connection to the target serving donor radio access node comprises one or more of the following:
at least one of the following addresses of the target serving donor radio access node: Transport Network Layer (TNL), and Internet Protocol (IP);
configuration needed to set up a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection to the target serving donor radio access node;
configuration for setting up a secure IP tunnel between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node;
a list of cells to be served by a distributed unit of the mobile radio access node under the target serving donor radio access node together with system information for every cell comprised in the list of cells, the system information is owned by the distributed unit of the mobile radio access node; and
one or more Backhaul Adaptation Protocol (BAP) addresses of the mobile radio access node (the recovery IAB-MT context comprises at least one of the following: a NG-CUE associated signaling reference, a signaling transport network layer (TNL) association address at a source NG-C side, UE security capabilities, access stratum (AS) security information, a UE aggregate maximum bit rate, a protocol data unit (PDU) session resources to be setup list, a radio resource control (RRC) context, a backhaul adaption protocol (BAP) address, at least one internet protocol (IP) address of the IAB-MT, a gNB-DU F1 AP ID, or an identity of a serving IAB node. Optionally, the NG-C UE associated signaling reference may include an AMF UE NGAP ID. In another implementation, the recovery IAB-DU context comprises at least one of the following: a F1 interface context indicating application level data needed for the IAB-DU and an IAB-donor-CU to correctly interoperate on the Fl interface, a F1 AP UE context in the IAB-DU for each UE of the IAB-DU, a BAP address of the IAB-DU, or at least one IP address of the IAB-DU. In another implementation, the configuring, by the new IAB-donor-CU, the connection with the recovery IAB node comprises at least one of the following: switching a F 1-C connection to use a new TNL address of the recovery IAB-node and a new TNL address of the new IAB-donor CU; establishing a SCTP connection to use the new TNL address of the recovery IAB-node and the new TNL address of the new IAB-donor-CU; establishing a F1 interface context between the new !AB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; re-establishing a F1 interface context between the new !AB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; see Zhu par. 0071-0073, 0086, 0098, 0113).
For claim 40, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein the donor radio access node is a donor Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node and the mobile radio access node is a mobile IAB node (the at least one descendant device comprises at least one of the following: a UE or a IAB-mobile terminal (MT); the second information comprises a RRC signaling; the execution condition comprises a trigger to a handover procedure; and the conditional configuration in the second information comprises a RRC Reconfiguration message. In another implementation, the execution condition comprises at least one of the following triggering events: upon receiving a second indication from parent IAB-node, or upon the first timer expires. In another implementation, the second indication indicates at least one of the following events: that a upstream or parent IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU has recovered or migrated to the new IAB-donor CU, that a parent or upstream IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU is going to migrate or recover to the new IAB donor-CU, or that the at least one descendant device is to execute the conditional configuration; see Zhu par. 0262-0263).
For claim 41, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein the method is performed by a central unit (CU) of the donor radio access node, and the connection is between a distributed unit (DU) of the mobile radio access node and a CU of the target serving donor radio access node (updating a F1 interface context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; establishing a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one served UE of the recovery IAB-node; re-establishing a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one UE of the recovery IAB-node; or updating a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one UE of the recovery IAB-node; see Zhu par. 0073).
For claim 42, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 41, wherein:
the wireless communications network (500) is a New Radio (NR) network (The present disclosure describes methods and devices for enhancing integrated access backhaul (IAB) for new radio (NR); see Zhou par. 0049 and Fig. 1A-C);
the mobile radio access node is a mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node (the context information comprises at least one of the following: a recovery IAB mobile terminal (IAB-MT) context; a recovery IAB-node distributed unit (IAB-DU) context; a context of at least one descendant IAB-node from the initial IAB-donor; or a context of at least one descendant user equipment (UE) from the initial IAB-donor; see Zhou par. 0070, 0260, 0262);
the target serving donor radio access node is an IAB-donor gNB (The IAB-donors and IAB-nodes may be wireless network base stations including a NG radio access network (NG-RAN) base station, which may include a nodeB (NB, e.g., a gNB) in a mobile telecommunications context; see Zhou par. 0051, 0220, 0228 and Fig. 1A-C); and
the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node is an F1 connection between the DU of the mobile IAB node and the CU of the IAB-donor gNB (updating a F1 interface context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; establishing a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one served UE of the recovery IAB-node; re-establishing a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one UE of the recovery IAB-node; or updating a F1AP UE context between the new IAB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU for at least one child IAB-node or at least one UE of the recovery IAB-node; see Zhu par. 0073).
For claim 43, Zhou discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein the method is performed by one of the following: the target serving donor radio access node, or the source serving donor radio access node (In one implementation, in response to a handover scenario, the new IAB-donor-CU comprises a target NG RAN node and the initial IAB-donor-CU comprises a source NG-RAN node; in response to a dual connectivity scenario, the new IAB-donor-CU comprises a M-NG-RAN node and the initial IAB-donor-CU comprises a S-NG-RAN node; and in response to a UE context retrieval scenario, the new IAB-donor-CU comprises a new NG-RAN node and the initial IAB-donor-CU comprises an old NG-RAN node; see Zhou par. 0220, 0228).
For claims 45 and 53, Zhu discloses A method, performed by a mobile radio access node, for inter-donor-CU handovers and setting up a connection between the mobile radio access node and a target serving donor radio access node in a wireless communications network (Referring to FIG. 18, the present disclosure describes an embodiment of a method 1800 for configuring at least one descendant device of a recovery integrated access backhaul-node (IAB-node) from an initial IAB-donor-central unit (CU) to a new IAB-donor-CU; see Zhu par. 0259 and Fig. 18), the method comprising:
receiving, from a donor radio access node, one or more conditional configurations for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node (step 1810: sending, by the initial IAB-donor-CU to the new IAB-donor-CU, a handover request message for requesting a handover procedure to at least one descendant device, wherein the at least one descendant device performs a conditional handover (CHO) to the new IAB-donor-CU based on the RRC message and a trigger condition; and step 1820: sending, by the at least one descendant device to the new IAB-donor-CU, a response to a RRC message, indicating that a RRC connection of the at least one descendant device has been handover to the new IAB-donor-CU; see Zhu par. 0259), wherein the one or more conditional configurations include respective conditional configuration commands for the connection (the trigger condition comprises a condition of when a first timer expires, wherein the first timer starts upon receiving the RRC message. In another implementation, the trigger condition comprises a condition of receiving a second indication from a parent IAB-node; and the second indication indicates at least one of the following: that the parent IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU has recovered or migrated to a new IAB-donor-CU, or that the parent IAB-node, IAB-MT, or IAB-DU will migrate or recover to a new IAB-donor-CU. In another implementation, the at least one descendant device receives a second information from a NG-RAN node, wherein the second information comprises at least one of the following information elements (IEs): a conditional configuration, an identify identifying the conditional configuration, an execution condition to be fulfilled in order to trigger an execution of a conditional configuration, or a first timer; see Zhu par. 0260-0262),
Zhu does not explicitly disclose wherein each conditional configuration command is to be applied when a corresponding condition for application is satisfied. Wu discloses wherein each conditional configuration command is to be applied when a corresponding condition for application is satisfied (the T-IAB-donor 108B operates as a candidate IAB-donor (C-IAB-donor). In response, the C-IAB-donor 108B generates the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 as a CHO command. After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 in the Handover Request Acknowledge message 708, the S-IAB-donor 108A can generate a conditional configuration (e.g., CondReconfigToAddMode-r16 IE), which includes the RRC reconfiguration message for the IAB-node 104 and at least one condition for executing the RRC reconfiguration message for IAB-node 104. Then, the S-IAB-donor 108A transmits 730 the RRC container message including the conditional configuration to the IAB-node 104. When the IAB-node 104 receives the conditional configuration, the IAB-node 104 does not connect to the C-IAB-donor unless and until the IAB-node 104 detects that the corresponding condition (s) is satisfied. If the IAB-node 104 determines that the condition is satisfied, the IAB-node 104 connects to the C-IAB-donor 108B, such that the C-IAB-donor 108B becomes the T-IAB-donor 108B for the IAB-node 104; see Wu par. 0124).
Zhu does not explicitly disclose selecting one of the conditional configurations whose corresponding condition for application is satisfied; and establishing the connection to the target serving donor radio access node based on the selected conditional configuration.
Wu discloses selecting one of the conditional configurations whose corresponding condition for application is satisfied; and establishing the connection to the target serving donor radio access node based on the selected conditional configuration (the condition may be satisfied if one or more measurement results obtained by the IAB-node 104 (when performing measurements on the C-PCell 128B) exceed a threshold that is configured by the S-IAB-donor 108A, or above a pre-determined or pre-configured first threshold, and/or if one or more measurement results obtained by the IAB-node 104 (when performing measurements on the PCell 128A) is below a threshold that is configured by the S-IAB-donor 108A, which can be a pre-determined or pre-configured second threshold. In other implementations, the condition can be that a signal strength/quality, as measured by the IAB-node 104 on the C-PCell 128B is exceeds a signal strength/quality, as measured by the UE 102 on the PCell 128A, by at least some threshold value (e.g., at least some offset). The threshold can be configured by the S-IAB-donor 108A, or can be a pre-determined or pre-configured offset, for example. In yet other implementations, the condition can be that a failure (e.g., radio link failure) occurs. If the IAB-node 104 determines that condition is satisfied, the UE 102 may perform 732 the random access procedure with the C-IAB-donor 108B to connect to the C-IAB-donor 108B. After the IAB-node 104 successfully completes the random access procedure, the C-IAB-donor 108B becomes a T-IAB-donor for the IAB-node 104, and the C-PCell (e.g., cell 128B) becomes a PCell for the UE 102. In response to the RRC reconfiguration message (i.e., the CHO command) 730, the IAB-node 104 transmits 734 the RRC reconfiguration complete message during or after the random access procedure as described for event 534; see Wu par. 0125-0126).
It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Wu's arrangement in Zhu's invention so that data communication can continue between the UEs and the source and target donors without holding data packets of the UEs too long at the target donor to violate QoS requirements and thus, long data interruption caused by the inter-donor migration of an IAB-node the can be avoided (see Wu par. 0114).
Specifically for claim 53, Zhu discloses A mobile radio access node configured for inter-donor-CU handovers and for setting up a connection between the mobile radio access node and a target serving donor radio access node in a wireless communications network (The present disclosure describes several embodiments of methods and devices for enhancing integrated access backhaul (IAB) for new radio (NR), which may be implemented, partly or totally, on one or more wireless network base station and/or one or more user equipment described above in FIGS. 2 and 3. IAB-node is made of two parts: IAB-MT and IAB-DU. In the present disclosure, an IAB-donor-CU may be called as a NG-RAN node, and an IAB-DU may be called as a gNB-DU; see Zhu par. 0068), wherein the mobile radio access node comprises:
one or more processors; and
memory storing computer program code executable by the one or more processors, wherein execution of the computer program code configures the mobile radio access node to: (FIG. 2 shows an exemplary wireless communication base station 200. The wireless communication base station 200 may be an exemplary implementation of at least one of the IAB-donors (130 and 135) and/or the IAB-nodes (152, 154, 156, and 158) in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The base station 200 may include radio transmitting/receiving (Tx/Rx) circuitry 208 to transmit/receive communication with one or more UEs, and/or one or more other base stations. The base station may also include network interface circuitry 209 to communicate the base station with other base stations and/or a core network, e.g., optical or wireline interconnects, Ethernet, and/or other data transmission mediums/protocols. The base station 200 may optionally include an input/output (I/O) interface 206 to communicate with an operator or the like. The base station may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor(s) 221 and/or memory 222. Memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured for the one or more of the processors 124 to perform the functions of the base station; see Zhu par. 0063-0064, 0068 and Fig. 2)
For claims 47 and 55, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 45, further comprising selecting a new parent access node, wherein selecting one of the conditional configurations is further based on the selected new parent access node (a recovery IAB-node 551 changes from its initial parent IAB-node 553 to a new parent IAB-node 557, where the new parent IAB-node is served by a new !AB-donor-CU 560 being different than an initial IAB-donor-CU 556 serving the initial parent IAB-node 553. In one implementation, the initial parent IAB-node 553 may connect to an initial IAB-donor-DU 555 via one or more intermediate hop IAB node on the initial path 554. In another implementation, the new parent IAB-node 557 may connect to an new IAB donor-DU 559 via one or more intermediate hop IAB-node on the new path 558. In another implementation, the recovery IAB-node may connect to one or more descendent IAB-node or UE, for example an UE 551; see Zhu par. 0075).
For claims 50 and 58, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 45, further comprising establishing one or more of the following to the target serving donor radio access node, based on the selected conditional configuration (the second indication may indicate the IAB node/UE to execute the conditional configuration. The second indication may be included in a SIB, or a BAP control PDU, or a MAC CE... upon receiving the third indication, the child device of the first IAB-node executes at least one of the following: any one of the stored or received conditional configurations, or any one of the conditional configurations whose execution condition/trigger is upon receiving a third indication; see Zhu par. 0269-0275): a secure Internet Protocol (IP) tunnel, and a Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) connection (the recovery IAB-MT context comprises at least one of the following: a NG-CUE associated signaling reference, a signaling transport network layer (TNL) association address at a source NG-C side, UE security capabilities, access stratum (AS) security information, a UE aggregate maximum bit rate, a protocol data unit (PDU) session resources to be setup list, a radio resource control (RRC) context, a backhaul adaption protocol (BAP) address, at least one internet protocol (IP) address of the IAB-MT, a gNB-DU F1 AP ID, or an identity of a serving IAB node. Optionally, the NG-C UE associated signaling reference may include an AMF UE NGAP ID. In another implementation, the recovery IAB-DU context comprises at least one of the following: a F1 interface context indicating application level data needed for the IAB-DU and an IAB-donor-CU to correctly interoperate on the Fl interface, a F1 AP UE context in the IAB-DU for each UE of the IAB-DU, a BAP address of the IAB-DU, or at least one IP address of the IAB-DU. In another implementation, the configuring, by the new IAB-donor-CU, the connection with the recovery IAB node comprises at least one of the following: switching a F 1-C connection to use a new TNL address of the recovery IAB-node and a new TNL address of the new IAB-donor CU; establishing a SCTP connection to use the new TNL address of the recovery IAB-node and the new TNL address of the new IAB-donor-CU; establishing a F1 interface context between the new !AB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; re-establishing a F1 interface context between the new !AB-donor-CU and the recovery IAB-DU; see Zhu par. 0071-0073, 0086, 0098, 0113).
For claim 52, Zhu discloses A donor radio access node configured for assisting in inter-donor-CU handovers and for setting up a connection between a mobile radio access node and a target serving donor radio access node in a wireless communications network (The present disclosure describes several embodiments of methods and devices for enhancing integrated access backhaul (IAB) for new radio (NR), which may be implemented, partly or totally, on one or more wireless network base station and/or one or more user equipment described above in FIGS. 2 and 3. IAB-node is made of two parts: IAB-MT and IAB-DU. In the present disclosure, an IAB-donor-CU may be called as a NG-RAN node, and an IAB-DU may be called as a gNB-DU; see Zhu par. 0068), wherein the donor radio access node comprises:
one or more processors; and
memory storing computer program code executable by the one or more processors, wherein execution of the computer program code configures the donor radio access node to perform the method of claim 36 (FIG. 2 shows an exemplary wireless communication base station 200. The wireless communication base station 200 may be an exemplary implementation of at least one of the IAB-donors (130 and 135) and/or the IAB-nodes (152, 154, 156, and 158) in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The base station 200 may include radio transmitting/receiving (Tx/Rx) circuitry 208 to transmit/receive communication with one or more UEs, and/or one or more other base stations. The base station may also include network interface circuitry 209 to communicate the base station with other base stations and/or a core network, e.g., optical or wireline interconnects, Ethernet, and/or other data transmission mediums/protocols. The base station 200 may optionally include an input/output (I/O) interface 206 to communicate with an operator or the like. The base station may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor(s) 221 and/or memory 222. Memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured for the one or more of the processors 124 to perform the functions of the base station; see Zhu par. 0063-0064, 0068 and Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 38, 44, 48, 51, 56 and 59 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu and Wu, and further in view of “Ishii” (US 2023/0164658).
For claim 38, the combination of Zhu and Wu does not explicitly disclose The method according to claim 36, wherein the one or more conditional configurations are transmitted to the mobile radio access node via signaling on a second connection between the mobile radio access node and a source serving donor radio access node. Ishii discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein the one or more conditional configurations are transmitted to the mobile radio access node via signaling on a second connection between the mobile radio access node and a source serving donor radio access node (a wireless terminal that communicates with an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor via an IAB node. In an example embodiment and mode the wireless terminal comprises receptacle and processor circuitry. The receiver circuitry is configured to receive: node serving cell information indicating one or more cells served by the IAB node; a reconfiguration message comprising a conditional reconfiguration, the conditional reconfiguration further comprising at least one identity of a target candidate cell, and; a backhaul (BH) radio link condition indication. The processor circuitry is configured, upon receiving the BH radio link condition indication, to determine whether to trigger a conditional handover configured by the conditional reconfiguration based on the node serving cell information. Methods of operating such wireless terminals are also provided. In another of its example aspects the technology disclosed herein concerns an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node which communicates over at least two radio interfaces including a first interface and a second interface. The first interface is configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with an IAB donor, the second interface is configured to serve one or more cells to communicate with a wireless terminal; see Ishii par. 0101-0102). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Ishii's arrangement in Zhu's invention to improve basic function of a radio access network, e.g., methods and procedures to deal with problematic conditions on a backhaul link, such as radio link failure (RLF), for example, and avoiding routing loop problems when performing a cell selection procedure, e.g., after a radio link failure (RLF) (see Ishii par. 0354).
For claim 44, The combination of Zhu and Wu does not explicitly disclose The method according to claim 36, further comprising, in response to transmitting the one or more conditional configurations, receiving from the mobile radio access node a configuration activation for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node. Ishii discloses The method according to claim 36, further comprising, in response to transmitting the one or more conditional configurations (In some configurations or implementations, a child node (UE/IAB-node) may be configured with a conditional handover (CHO) configuration, e.g., a conditional reconfiguration, comprising one or more candidate target cells, also sometimes called "target candidate cells" or "candidate target SpCells" (Special Cells). Such candidate target cells may be served by the same current parent IAB-node of the child node. For example, in FIG. 56, a parent IAB-node, e.g., IAB node 24A, serves Cell A1, A2 and A3, and child node 30 is currently camping on Cell A1. In the scenario of FIG. 56 child node 30 has been configured by Donor 22-1 with an RRCReconfiguration message 300 that facilitates conditional handover, CHO. The RRCReconfiguration message 300 indicates that Cell A2 and Cell A3 are the candidate target cells for a conditional handover; see Ishii par. 0304), receiving from the mobile radio access node a configuration activation for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node (following the RRC connection establishment procedure, the DU of IAB-node 1 and IAB donor may proceed with F 1 setup procedure using the Fl-AP* protocol, which may activate one or more cells served by the DU of IAB-node I-thereby allowing other IAB nodes and/or UEs to camp on the cell. In this procedure, the Adaptation Layer for IAB-node 1 and IAB-donor may be configured and activated as well; see Ishii par. 0131). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Ishii's arrangement in Zhu's invention to improve basic function of a radio access network, e.g., methods and procedures to deal with problematic conditions on a backhaul link, such as radio link failure (RLF), for example, and avoiding routing loop problems when performing a cell selection procedure, e.g., after a radio link failure (RLF) (see Ishii par. 0354).
For claims 48 and 56, the combination of Zhu and Wu does not explicitly disclose The method according to claim 45, further comprising, in response to receiving the one or more conditional configurations, transmitting to the donor radio access node a configuration activation for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node. Ishii discloses The method according to claim 45, further comprising, in response to receiving the one or more conditional configurations (In some configurations or implementations, a child node (UE/IAB-node) may be configured with a conditional handover (CHO) configuration, e.g., a conditional reconfiguration, comprising one or more candidate target cells, also sometimes called "target candidate cells" or "candidate target SpCells" (Special Cells). Such candidate target cells may be served by the same current parent IAB-node of the child node. For example, in FIG. 56, a parent IAB-node, e.g., IAB node 24A, serves Cell A1, A2 and A3, and child node 30 is currently camping on Cell A1. In the scenario of FIG. 56 child node 30 has been configured by Donor 22-1 with an RRCReconfiguration message 300 that facilitates conditional handover, CHO. The RRCReconfiguration message 300 indicates that Cell A2 and Cell A3 are the candidate target cells for a conditional handover; see Ishii par. 0304), transmitting to the donor radio access node a configuration activation for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node (following the RRC connection establishment procedure, the DU of IAB-node 1 and IAB donor may proceed with F 1 setup procedure using the Fl-AP* protocol, which may activate one or more cells served by the DU of IAB-node I-thereby allowing other IAB nodes and/or UEs to camp on the cell. In this procedure, the Adaptation Layer for IAB-node 1 and IAB-donor may be configured and activated as well; see Ishii par. 0131). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Ishii's arrangement in Zhu's invention to improve basic function of a radio access network, e.g., methods and procedures to deal with problematic conditions on a backhaul link, such as radio link failure (RLF), for example, and avoiding routing loop problems when performing a cell selection procedure, e.g., after a radio link failure (RLF) (see Ishii par. 0354).
For claims 51 and 59, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 45, wherein one of the following applies:
the one or more conditional configurations are received by a Central Unit (CU) of the mobile radio access node via radio resource control (RRC) signaling (an IAB-node/UE may receive a second information from a NG-RAN node, where the second information includes at least one of the following information elements: a conditional configuration, a identify identifying the conditional configuration, and an execution condition that needs to be fulfilled in order to trigger the execution of a conditional configuration, a first timer. In one implementation, the second information is a RRC signaling. In one implementation, the conditional configuration in the second information is a RRC Reconfiguration message; see Zhu par. 0267); or
The combination of Zhu and Wu does not explicitly disclose the one or more conditional configurations are received by a distributed unit (DU) of the mobile radio access node via a second connection between the mobile radio access node and a source serving donor radio access node. Ishii discloses the one or more conditional configurations are received by a distributed unit (DU) of the mobile radio access node via a second connection between the mobile radio access node and a source serving donor radio access node (a wireless terminal that communicates with an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) donor via an IAB node. In an example embodiment and mode the wireless terminal comprises receptacle and processor circuitry. The receiver circuitry is configured to receive: node serving cell information indicating one or more cells served by the IAB node; a reconfiguration message comprising a conditional reconfiguration, the conditional reconfiguration further comprising at least one identity of a target candidate cell, and; a backhaul (BH) radio link condition indication. The processor circuitry is configured, upon receiving the BH radio link condition indication, to determine whether to trigger a conditional handover configured by the conditional reconfiguration based on the node serving cell information. Methods of operating such wireless terminals are also provided. In another of its example aspects the technology disclosed herein concerns an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node which communicates over at least two radio interfaces including a first interface and a second interface. The first interface is configured to establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection with an IAB donor, the second interface is configured to serve one or more cells to communicate with a wireless terminal; see Ishii par. 0101-0102). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Ishii's arrangement in Zhu's invention to improve basic function of a radio access network, e.g., methods and procedures to deal with problematic conditions on a backhaul link, such as radio link failure (RLF), for example, and avoiding routing loop problems when performing a cell selection procedure, e.g., after a radio link failure (RLF) (see Ishii par. 0354).
Claim(s) 39, 46 and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhu and Wu, and further in view of “Hwang” (US 2024/0373492).
For claims 39, 46 and 54, Zhu discloses The method according to claim 36, wherein:
the one or more conditional configurations are transmitted to the mobile radio access node via radio resource control (RRC) signaling in a conditional reconfiguration information element (IE) of an RRCReconfiguration message (an IAB-node/UE may receive a second information from a NG-RAN node, where the second information includes at least one of the following information elements: a conditional configuration, a identify identifying the conditional configuration, and an execution condition that needs to be fulfilled in order to trigger the execution of a conditional configuration, a first timer. In one implementation, the second information is a RRC signaling. In one implementation, the conditional configuration in the second information is a RRC Reconfiguration message; see Zhu par. 0267); and
The combination of Zhu and Wu does not explicitly disclose the conditional reconfiguration IE comprises a conditional reconfiguration list for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node, wherein the list includes configurations of the connection for respective candidate target parent access nodes. Hwang discloses the conditional reconfiguration IE comprises a conditional reconfiguration list for the connection between the mobile radio access node and the target serving donor radio access node, wherein the list includes configurations of the connection for respective candidate target parent access nodes (In operation 1405-2, the RRCReconfiguration message mentioned in operation 1405-1 may include pieces of information needed for DU and BAP configuration after accessing an associated corresponding target cell, in addition to the condition information and configuration information. The information may be information made by the IAB donor CU (in the case of intra donor CU migration) or target IAB donor CU (in the case of inter donor CU migration), and may be associated with a conditional configuration id or a target cell id and may be signaled. For example, it may have the following hierarchy. RRCReconfiguration, ConditionalReconfiguration IE, condReconfig Id, Condition, RRCReconfig, DU/BAP config (in the form of an F1AP message provided in octet string, associated with condReconfig Id; see Hwang par. 0267). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Hwang's arrangement in Zhu's invention to reduce a delay time spent in requesting/obtaining IAB node configuration information after performing migration, and may reduce a communication delay time of an access UE (terminal) (see Hwang par. 0024).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 49 and 57 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: claims 49 and 57 would be allowable because the closest prior arts listed above either alone or in combination, fail to anticipate or render obvious, the claimed invention of “storing the received one or more conditional configurations in the mobile radio access node, wherein the stored selected conditional configuration is activated based on transmitting the configuration activation to the donor radio access node”, in combination with all other limitations in the claim(s) above as defined by applicant.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
-Cheng (US 2020/0077310);
-AKL et al. (US 2021/0345206);
-Huang et al. (US 2024/0031880.
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/CHAE S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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