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 .
Preliminary Amendment
The present Office Action is based upon the original patent application as modified by the preliminary amendment filed on June 4, 2024. Claims 4-21 are now pending in the present application.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of papers, which have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on June 4, 2024, July 8, 2024, and March 4, 2026 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application.
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 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 4 and 12-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by YANG et al. (hereinafter Yang) (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0080694 A1).
Regarding claims 4 and 21, Yang teaches and discloses a method by a terminal (UE, figures 2 and 14) and the terminal in a wireless communication system (network, figures 1-2), the terminal comprising: a transceiver (106, figure 2) configured to transmit and receive a signal, and a controller (102, figure 2) configured to control the transceiver to:
receive from a base station (base station, figures 2 and 14), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, wherein the RRC message comprises a first measurement gap configuration Information Element (IE) or a second measurement gap configuration IE ([0291]; Table 11; figure 12; [0313]; [0314]; [0315]; teaches the UE receives measurement configuration information, such as IE MeasGapConfig, from the base station via RRC; figure 14),
establish a gap based on the first measurement gap configuration IE or the second measurement gap configuration IE ([0111]; [0291]; Table 11, figure 12; teaches the UE sets up measurement gaps based on the IE MeasGapConfig specified in the measurement gap configuration), and
perform based on the gap: an uplink transmission operation on a specific set of serving cells; and a downlink reception operation on a specific set of measurement objects ([0220]; [0261]; [0311]; [0313]; [0314]; [0320]; figures 11, 12, and 14; teaches the UE performing uplink transmission on serving cells and downlink reception operation on measurement objects),
wherein, the specific set of serving cells are determined based on: a field that comprises the first measurement gap configuration IE in case that the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and a first parameter comprised in the second measurement gap configuration IE in case that the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE ([0220]; [0291]; Table 11, figure 12; teaches the serving cell is based on a field in the IE MeasGapConfig).
Regarding claim 12, Yang further teaches wherein, for the downlink reception based on the gap: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) based measurement for the specific set of measurement objects is performed during the gap; and the SSB based measurement for the specific set of measurement objects is not performed outside of the gap ([0223]; [0251]; Table 10; [0291]; Table 11; teaches the downlink reception based on SSB measurements for specific measurement objects).
Regarding claim 13, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects associated with the gap is determined based on the first parameter in case that the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE ([0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 14, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects associated with the gap is determined based on the field that comprises the first measurement gap configuration IE in case that the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE ([0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 15, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR1 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a first value ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR1 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 16, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a second value ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 17, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR1 and measurement objects on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a third value ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR1 and FR2 measurement determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 18, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR1 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a first field ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR1 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 19, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a second field ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 20, Yang further teaches wherein the specific set of measurement objects comprises measurement objects on FR1 and measurement objects on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a third field ([0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches measurement objects on FR1 and FR2 measurement determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
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 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 of this title, 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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANG et al. (hereinafter Yang) (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0080694 A1) in view of Huang et al. (hereinafter Huang) (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0223323 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Yang discloses the UE receives measurement configuration information, such as IE MeasGapConfig, from the base station via RRC and sets up measurement gaps based on the IE MeasGapConfig specified in the measurement gap configuration, but may not explicitly disclose wherein, for the uplink transmission based on the gap: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) is not transmitted during the gap on the specific set of the serving cells associated with the gap; and the SRS is transmitted outside of the gap on the set of the serving cells associated with the gap.
Nonetheless, in the same field of endeavor, Huang teaches and suggests wherein, for the uplink transmission based on the gap: Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) is not transmitted during the gap on the specific set of the serving cells associated with the gap; and the SRS is transmitted outside of the gap on the set of the serving cells associated with the gap ([0061]; [0086]; [0089]; claim 29; teaches the uplink transmission based on SRS transmitted outside the gap of the serving cells).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the uplink transmission based on SRS transmitted outside the gap of the serving cells as taught by Huang with the method for setting up measurement gaps based on the IE MeasGapConfig specified in the measurement gap configuration as disclosed by Yang for the purpose of improving measurement gap enhancements in new radio (NR) wireless systems, as suggested by Huang.
Regarding claim 6, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR1 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a first value ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR1 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 7, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a second value ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 8, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR1 and serving cells on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the second measurement gap configuration IE; and the first parameter indicates a third value ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR1 and FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 9, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR1 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a first field ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR1 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 10, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a second field ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Regarding claim 11, Yang, as modified by Huang, further teaches and suggests wherein the specific set of serving cells comprises serving cells on FR1 and serving cells on FR2 in case that: the gap is established based on the first measurement gap configuration IE; and the first measurement gap configuration IE is comprised in a third field ([0220]; [0281]; [0291]; Table 10; Table 11, figure 12; teaches serving cells on FR1 and FR2 determined based on the IE measurement gap configuration).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
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/Suk Jin Kang/
Examiner, Art Unit 2477
May 30, 2026
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