Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This Office Action is in response to application filed on 07/19/2024. Claims 1-14, 16 were previously pending. Claims 11-14, 16 are rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 07/19/2024, 08/01/2025 and 12/23/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
4. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Method For Processing Information For User Equipment (UE), Involves Receiving First Command, Carrying SCG Deactivation Indication, And Recording Movement History Information Of UE On SCG Side.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
5. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
5.1. Claim 16 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because the computer readable storage medium does not exclude transitory embodiments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
6.1. 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.
6.2. Claim(s) 1-2, 8-9, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hori et al., (“Hori”, US 2024/0334530 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Hori teaches, A method for information processing, applied to a user equipment (UE), comprising (Hori, FIG.7, primary cel (PCell) , primary SCG cell (PSCell) , terminal device 100, [0166]: The PSCell is a cell used in the SCG for a random access procedure when the terminal device 100 performs reconfiguration with sync):
receiving a first command, the first command comprising a secondary cell group (SCG) reconfiguration with sync command and an SCG deactivation indication (Hori, FIG.9, [0188-190]: Reconfiguration with sync (“first command”) is a procedure in which the terminal device 100 changes the PCell and PSCell, and includes operations such as random access to the new (changed, target) PCell and PSCell, MAC reset, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data recovery); and
recording a mobility history information generated by the UE at SCG side (Hori, [0248-249]: recording the measurement report of the SCG by the terminal 100 in SCG deactivation processing).
Regarding Claim 2, Hori teaches, The method of claim 1, wherein the mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
a first mobility history information generated by the UE in a primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source SCG, the PSCell of the source SCG being a PSCell currently accessed by the UE (Hori, FIG.9, S1, [0188]: The terminal device (UE) 100 changes the current source PCell to the target PCell (S1).);
a second mobility history information generated by the UE in a PSCell of a target SCG, the PSCell of the target SCG being a PSCell carried in the first command; or
a third mobility history information generated by the UE in a time period from received the first command to received a second command, the second command carrying an SCG activation indication.
Regarding Claim 8, Hori teaches, A user equipment (UE), comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor (Hori, FIG.3, terminal device 100, storage 120, memory 130, radio communication circuit 140, [0084]: The terminal device 100 is a communication device, which includes a CPU 110, a storage 120, a memory 130, and a radio communication circuit 140), wherein
the memory is configured to store computer instructions (Hori, FIG.3, terminal-side program 122, [0085]: the storage 120 stores a terminal-side program 122);
the transceiver is configured to send and receive data under control of the processor (Hori, [0087]: The radio communication circuit 140 is a circuit that wirelessly connects to and communicates with the base station device); and
the processor is configured to read the computer instructions in the memory and perform the following steps (Hori, [0088]: The CPU 110 is a processor that loads a program stored in the storage 120 into the memory 130, executes the loaded program, constructs each unit):
receiving a first command, the first command comprising a secondary cell group (SCG) reconfiguration with sync command and an SCG deactivation indication (Hori, FIG.7, primary cel (PCell), primary SCG cell (PSCell) , terminal device 100, [0166]: The PSCell is a cell used in the SCG for a random access procedure when the terminal device 100 performs reconfiguration with sync; Hori, FIG.9, [0188-190]: Reconfiguration with sync (“first command”) is a procedure in which the terminal device 100 changes the PCell and PSCell, and includes operations such as random access to the new (changed, target) PCell and PSCell, MAC reset, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data recovery); and
recording a mobility history information generated by the UE at SCG side (Hori, [0248-249]: recording the measurement report of the SCG by the terminal 100 in SCG deactivation processing).
Regarding Claim 9, Hori teaches, The UE of claim 8, wherein the mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
a first mobility history information generated by the UE in a primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source SCG, the PSCell of the source SCG being a PSCell currently accessed by the UE (Hori, FIG.9, S1, [0188]: The terminal device (UE) 100 changes the current source PCell to the target PCell (S1));
a second mobility history information generated by the UE in a PSCell of a target SCG, the PSCell of the target SCG being a PSCell carried in the first command; or
a third mobility history information generated by the UE in a time period from received the first command to received a second command, the second command carrying an SCG activation indication.
Regarding Claim 16, Hori teaches, A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions, when executed by a processor, implement (Hori, FIG.3, terminal device 100, storage 120, memory 130, [0084]: The terminal device 100 is a communication device, which includes a CPU 110, a storage 120, a memory 130,[0088]: The CPU 110 is a processor that loads a program stored in the storage 120 into the memory 130, executes the loaded program, constructs each unit):
receiving a first command, the first command comprising a secondary cell group (SCG) reconfiguration with sync command and an SCG deactivation indication (Hori, FIG.7, primary cel (PCell), primary SCG cell (PSCell) , terminal device 100, [0166]: The PSCell is a cell used in the SCG for a random access procedure when the terminal device 100 performs reconfiguration with sync; Hori, FIG.9, [0188-190]: Reconfiguration with sync (“first command”) is a procedure in which the terminal device 100 changes the PCell and PSCell, and includes operations such as random access to the new (changed, target) PCell and PSCell, MAC reset, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data recovery); and
recording a mobility history information generated by a UE at SCG side (Hori, [0248-249]: recording the measurement report of the SCG by the terminal 100 in SCG deactivation processing).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
7.1. 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.
7.2. 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.
7.3. Claim(s) 3-7, 10-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Hori et al., (“Hori”, US 2024/0334530 A1) in view of Yan et al., (“Yan”, US 2024/0193014 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, Hori teaches, The method of claim 2, but not expressly teaches wherein the first mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to the UE activating an SCG;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to the UE accessing the PSCell of the target SCG;
indication information used to indicate that the UE has received the first command;
number of times the first command is received;
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command; each first command;
each time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to receiving each first command;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to receiving the first command for the first time;
a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
a time interval from receiving the first command for the first time to receiving the second command;
radio resource management (RRM) measurement result information; or
beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG (Yan, [0209, 212]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least c) previous PSCell ID, it used to indicate the source PSCell of the last PSCell change (source PSCell when the last RRC Reconfiguration message for PSCell/SN change was received);.
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 4, Hori-Yan teaches, The method of claim 3, wherein the first command is any of the following:
a PSCell change command, a PSCell addition command, a handover command, or a radio resource control (RRC) resume command (Hori, [0187]: Reconfiguration with sync (handover) (“first command”)).
Regarding Claim 5, Hori teaches, The method of claim 2, but not expressly teach wherein the second mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command, and a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the UE has not performed a random access channel (RACH) procedure to access the PSCell of the target SCG;
second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate whether the UE activates the PSCell of the target SCG or whether the UE performs the RACH procedure to access the PSCell of the target SCG before the UE receives a next SCG reconfiguration with sync command;
each time interval from receiving each first command to receiving the second command;
RRM measurement result information; or
beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command, and a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command (Yan, [0209, 213, 215]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least d) target PSCell ID where RACH or SN change procedure is stopped, f) time elapsed from receiving RRC message for SN or PSCell change to the second event (i.e. MCG failure) happens);
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 6, Hori teaches, The method of claim 2, but not expressly teach wherein the third mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG and an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG that are comprised in each first command;
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG comprised in the first command for the first time, and an identifier of the PSCel of the target SCG comprised in the second command;
a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
each time interval from receiving each first command to receiving the second command;
number of times the first command is received;
each first command;
RRM measurement result information; or
beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG and an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG that are comprised in each first command (Yan, [0209, 212]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least c) previous PSCell ID, it used to indicate the source PSCell of the last PSCell change (source PSCell when the last RRC Reconfiguration message for PSCell/SN change was received; [213, 215]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least d) target PSCell ID where RACH or SN change procedure is stopped, f) time elapsed from receiving RRC message for SN or PSCell change to the second event (i.e. MCG failure);
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 7, Hori teaches, The method of claim 1, but not expressly teaches wherein the method further comprises:
reporting the mobility history information on SCG side to a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN).
Yan teaches (Yan, [0208-209]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information; the RN may be the MN, or the SN).
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 10, Hori teaches, The UE of claim 9, but not expressly teaches wherein the first mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to the UE activating an SCG;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to the UE accessing the PSCell of the target SCG;
indication information used to indicate that the UE has received the first command;
number of times the first command is received;
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command;
each first command;
each time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to receiving each first command;
a time interval from the UE accessing the PSCell of the source SCG to receiving the first command for the first time; a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
a time interval from receiving the first command for the first time to receiving the second command;
radio resource management (RRM) measurement result information; or
beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG (Yan, [0209, 212]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least c) previous PSCell ID, it used to indicate the source PSCell of the last PSCell change (source PSCell when the last RRC Reconfiguration message for PSCell/SN change was received).
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 11, Hori-Yan teaches, The UE of claim 10, wherein the first command is any of the following: a PSCell change command, a PSCell addition command, a handover command, or a radio resource control (RRC) resume command (Hori, [0187]: Reconfiguration with sync (handover)(“first command”)).
Regarding Claim 12, Hori teaches, The UE of claim 9, but not expressly teaches wherein the second mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command, and a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the UE has not performed a random access channel (RACH) procedure to access the PSCell of the target SCG;
second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate whether the UE activates the PSCell of the target SCG or whether the UE performs the RACH procedure to access the PSCell of the target SCG before the UE receives a next SCG reconfiguration with sync command;
each time interval from receiving each first command to receiving the second command;
RRM measurement result information; or beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches
an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in each first command, and a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command (Yan, [0209, 213, 215]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least d) target PSCell ID where RACH or SN change procedure is stopped; f) time elapsed from receiving RRC message for SN or PSCell change to the second event (i.e. MCG failure) happens);
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 13, Hori teaches, The UE of claim 9, but not expressly teaches wherein the third mobility history information comprises at least one of the following:
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG and an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG that are comprised in each first command;
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG comprised in the first command for the first time, and an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG comprised in the second command;
a time interval between two adjacent receptions of the first command;
each time interval from receiving each first command to receiving the second command;
number of times the first command is received;
each first command;
RRM measurement result information; or
beam measurement result information.
Yan teaches
an identifier of the PSCell of the source SCG and an identifier of the PSCell of the target SCG that are comprised in each first command (Yan, [0209, 212]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least c) previous PSCell ID, it used to indicate the source PSCell of the last PSCell change (source PSCell when the last RRC Reconfiguration message for PSCell/SN change was received; [213, 215]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information at includes at least d) target PSCell ID where RACH or SN change procedure is stopped, f) time elapsed from receiving RRC message for SN or PSCell change to the second event (i.e. MCG failure);
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Regarding Claim 14, Hori teaches, The UE of claim 8, but not expressly teaches wherein the processor is further configured to:
report the mobility history information on SCG side to a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN) after recording the mobility history information generated by the UE at SCG side.
Yan teaches (Yan, [0208-209]: the UE transmits the event related information to the RN, report, the event related information; the RN may be the MN, or the SN).
Prior to the effective filing date of invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori. The suggestion/motivation of enabling transmitting the event related information to the re-establishment network node so as to allow the network to know the detailed failure experienced at a UE side in an efficient manner. Including the “reporting event of SCG by UE” of Yan into the invention of Hori was within the ordinary ability of one of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings of Yan.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
"Discussion on mobility history information in NR", 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #107b, R2-1912757 (resubmission of R2-1909741), Chongqing, China, 14th – 18th Oct 2019.
Jung et al., US_20240049332_A1_Method For Performing Event-based Logging By Terminal In Wireless Communication System, Involves Logging Serving Cell Identification (ID) Indicating Global Cell ID Of Cell That Terminal Most Recently Camped On, And Logging Measurement Result Of Suitable Cell That Terminal Most Recently Camped On.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should
be directed to CHHIAN (AMY) LING whose telephone number is (571)270-1074. The examiner can
normally be reached M-F 9-6 ET.
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BRIAN J GILLIS can be reached on (571) 272-7952. The fax phone number for the organization where
this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.L/Examiner, Art Unit 2446
/BRIAN J. GILLIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
Prosecution Insights