DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the application filed on 6/4/2024 in which claims 35-54 are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 35-38, 41, 43-46, 47 first limitation, 48, 50, and 52-54 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sui et al. (US20230072551A1).
As to claims 35, 45, and 54, Sui teaches an apparatus comprising at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to: ([0269]-[0282] describes a UE comprising a memory and processor with code for implementing the methods of the disclosure)
perform as a user equipment of a first type; ([0051] For example, the wireless device can be an NR_REDCAP UE. [0088] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a wireless device (e.g., NR_REDCAP UE), according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure [0135] Low-cost or low-complexity UE implementation is needed for 5G, e.g., for massive industrial sensors or wearables. NR REDCAP is intended for use cases that do not require a device to support full NR capability and IMT-2020 performance requirements.)
receive system information from a cell and determine, based on the system information, that the cell does not support user equipment of the first type, and ([0173] Based on receiving such indications, the network can subsequently communicate with the UE using configurations compatible with the capabilities indicated by the UE.These network configurations for the respective NR_REDCAP UE classes/types/categories can be broadcast in the system information (SI) of a cell, or can be pre-configured (e.g., specified in a 3GPP specification) such that they are known to both the network and UEs.)
determine, whether to camp on the cell or to not camp on the cell. ([0175] In various embodiments, the network can broadcast (e.g., via SI in a cell) the type(s) of services it can provide to UEs. In this way, certain NR_REDCAP UEs can identify whether a particular cell is suitable for the service it needs, before accessing the particular cell.)
As to claims 36, and 46, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the first type comprises a fifth generation, 5G, reduced capability user equipment, wherein the reduced capability user equipment has reduced capability with respect to user equipment not of the first type in regard to one or more of the following: a maximum bandwidth, a number of radio receivers, a number of downlink multiple input multiple output layers, a maximum supported modulation order and duplex operation capability. ([0165] UE battery life and/or cost is a concern for some IoT services (e.g., sensors), but higher data rate is needed for other IoT services (e.g., video surveillance and wearables). Meanwhile, other IoT services (e.g., eHealth related devices, medical monitoring devices, etc.) require a balance of battery life, data rate, and reliability. All of these services are expected to be provided by the NR_REDCAP UEs, and therefore, it is expected that there will be several different NR_REDCAP UE capabilities in terms of bandwidth, output power, latency, peak data rate, processing power, peak data rate, energy consumption, and antenna configuration. - [0172] In general, it is desirable to enable all NR_REDCAP UEs (e.g., including ones with smallest supported bandwidth) to perform initial access, while supporting the full capabilities of each UE as early as possible during initial access. At the same time, having many different initial access schemes corresponding to the many different NR_REDCAP UE classes would be burdensome on the network, as discussed above. However, if there is an early indication about UE capabilities, expected service, expected data rate, supported bandwidth/MIMO antennas, etc., the network can directly step-up to the full UE capabilities (e.g., a larger bandwidth or better MIMO schemes) for later messages during the initial access, even before the UE reports its UE ID (e.g., in Msg3 or Msg5). – [0181] At the beginning, the UE is assumed to use the minimum capabilities required for communication with the network via the cell (e.g., minimum bandwidth, minimum number of antennas, processing delay according to minimum processing capability, etc.) and the network can only assume a UE with such minimum capabilities)
As to claims 37 and 47 first limitation, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the user equipment complies with a bandwidth criterion which comprises either a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz within a frequency range of 600 - 6000 MHz, or a maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz within a frequency range of 26 - 47 GHz. ([0136] Similarly, in Rel-15, an NR UE is required to support 100 MHz carrier bandwidth in FR1 and 200 MHz carrier bandwidth in FR2. In general, FR1 refers not only to frequency bands below 6 GHz (as traditionally used by wireless communications) but also extensions to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 to 7125 MHz. Similarly, FR2 refers to Frequency Range 2 that includes millimeter-wave (mmW) frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. These mmW bands typically have more available bandwidth but shorter range compared to FR1. [0168] Therefore, for some NR REDCAP UEs, it may be possible to achieve an attractive cost reduction and/or energy saving by using a relatively small bandwidth compared to normal NR operation, e.g., around 10-20 MHz. Other NR_REDCAP UEs may have to use 20-50 MHz to support their required data rates. [0142] System should support all FR1/FR2 bands for FDD and TDD.)
As to claims 38 and 48, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine to camp on the cell using only a proper subset of a cell frequency range of the cell. ([0168] Therefore, for some NR REDCAP UEs, it may be possible to achieve an attractive cost reduction and/or energy saving by using a relatively small bandwidth compared to normal NR operation, e.g., around 10-20 MHz. Other NR_REDCAP UEs may have to use 20-50 MHz to support their required data rates. [0142] System should support all FR1/FR2 bands for FDD and TDD.)
As to claims 41 and 50, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the determining to camp on the cell only in case an initial bandwidth part, used in attaching to the cell, complies with the bandwidth criterion. ([0118] In this manner, a UE can be configured with a narrow BWP (e.g., 10 MHz) and a wide BWP (e.g., 100 MHz), each starting at a particular CRB, but only one BWP can be active for the UE at a given point in time. Within a BWP, PRBs are defined and numbered in the frequency domain from 0 to N.sub.BPW,i.sup.size−1 , where i is the index of the particular BWP for the carrier.)
As to claims 43 and 52, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the apparatus comprises one of: one and only one radio receiver; or two and only two radio receivers. ([0276] I n some exemplary embodiments, the radio transceiver 1140 includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that enable UE 1100 to communicate according to various protocols and/or methods proposed for standardization by 3GPP and/or other standards bodies.)
As to claims 44 and 53, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35, wherein at least one of: the apparatus is configured to search for other cells responsive to the determination to not camp on the cell; and the apparatus is configured to perform the determination whether to camp on the cell based at least in part on a frequency range and/or frequency band on which the cell operates. ([0231] For example, as explained in more detail above, the wireless device can receive SI in the further cell and determine, from the received SI, that the cell (e.g., a neighbor cell of the further cell) supports configurations that are suitable for wireless device random access. [0136] Similarly, in Rel-15, an NR UE is required to support 100 MHz carrier bandwidth in FR1 and 200 MHz carrier bandwidth in FR2. In general, FR1 refers not only to frequency bands below 6 GHz (as traditionally used by wireless communications) but also extensions to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 to 7125 MHz. Similarly, FR2 refers to Frequency Range 2 that includes millimeter-wave (mmW) frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. These mmW bands typically have more available bandwidth but shorter range compared to FR1. [0168] Therefore, for some NR REDCAP UEs, it may be possible to achieve an attractive cost reduction and/or energy saving by using a relatively small bandwidth compared to normal NR operation, e.g., around 10-20 MHz. Other NR_REDCAP UEs may have to use 20-50 MHz to support their required data rates. [0142] System should support all FR1/FR2 bands for FDD and TDD.))
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 39, 40, 42, 47 second limitation, 49, and 51is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sui in view of Fujitsu; “Camping restrictions of RedCap Ue;” as cited in the IDS filed on 6/4/2024.
As to claims 39, and 47 second limitation, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35,
But does not specifically teach:
wherein the apparatus is configured to determine to camp on the cell only in case a radio path criterion, applied to a radio path between the apparatus and a base station controlling the cell, is satisfied, the radio path criterion being stricter than a second radio path criterion applying to user equipment not of the first type.
However Sui teaches wherein the apparatus is configured to determine to camp on the cell only in case a radio path criterion, applied to a radio path between the apparatus and a base station controlling the cell, is satisfied, the radio path criterion being stricter than a second radio path criterion applying to user equipment not of the first type. (section 2 proposals 1-3 describe camping based on redcap capabilities of the network on a given frequency being restricted unlike normal UEs)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the redcap network of Sui with the restrictions of Fujitsu in order to provide RedCap Ue specific cell reselection priority without impacting normal UEs behavior.
As to claims 40 and 49, Sui in view Fujitsu teaches the apparatus according to claim 39, wherein at least one of: the radio path criterion is expressed in terms of reference signal received power and/or reference signal received quality; and the apparatus is configured to use an adjusted version of at least one cell selection and/or cell re-selection criterion of the cell. (Fujitsu under proposal 3 shows the priorities/ranking of the cell reselections based on RSRP and using a lower offset value for cells that prefer the Redcap operation making the cells rank higher for red cap UEs)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the redcap network of Sui with the restrictions of Fujitsu in order to provide RedCapUe specific cell reselection priority without impacting normal UEs behavior.
As to claims 42 and 51, Sui teaches the apparatus according to claim 35,
But does not specifically teach:
wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the determining whether to camp on the cell without taking into regard presence or absence, in the system information, of an inter-frequency reselection indication specific to user equipment of the first type.
However Fujitsu teaches wherein the apparatus is configured to perform the determining whether to camp on the cell without taking into regard presence or absence, in the system information, of an inter-frequency reselection indication specific to user equipment of the first type. (Fujitsu proposal 2: the Redcap UE excludes the cell not allowed for the Redcap operation from the candidates for measurements or cell reselection. Proposal 1 considers the SI with the indication where proposal 2 does not)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the redcap network of Sui with the restrictions of Fujitsu in order to provide RedCapUe specific cell reselection priority without impacting normal UEs behavior.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELTON S WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-9933. The examiner can normally be reached 8-4 Mon-Fri.
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/Elton Williams/Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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