DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to the claims filed on 08/11/2026.
Application No: 18/742,812
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed on 08/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are moot in view of the amended claim(s). Applicant has amended all independent claims that has changed the scope of the invention. Hence new ground of rejection(s) applied.
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 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 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 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21-22, 26-35 are rejected under 35 U. S. C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAMNJANOVIC et al. (US 20230063931 A1) in view of DasSoumya et al. (US 20170019820 A1).
Regarding claim 1, DAMNJANOVIC teaches a wireless communication method ([0015], e.g. Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a UE.), comprising:
transmitting, by a terminal device, second information to a source cell, wherein the second information is used to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition ([0011], e.g. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the base station to receive, from the UE, a message to initiate the conditional handover (i.e. second information) based at least in part on an execution condition (i.e. first information) being satisfied (i.e. transmitting, by a terminal device, second information to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover satisfied)), and
the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the target cell satisfies a condition for performing handover/measurement reporting ([0132], e.g. For example, in some aspects, multiple PCell and PSCell pairs, for a candidate base station, may satisfy an execution condition (for example, may be associated with measurement values that satisfy a threshold). The UE 120 may select a PCell and PSCell pair, from the set of PCell and PSCell pairs (for example, that satisfy or meet the execution condition) based at least in part on one or more measurements performed by the UE 120 (i.e. the first condition satisfies for performing handover/measurement reporting)), and
performing, by the terminal device, a handover from the source cell to the target cell, wherein the handover is a first handover ([0079], e.g. FIG. 5, The conditional handover procedure 500 may be performed by a UE 120, a source base station 505 (for example, a base station 110 or the source base station 405), and one or more candidate base stations 510, and 515. [0117] The UE 120 may transmit the measurement report in accordance with a reporting configuration. For example, as described elsewhere herein, the source base station 605 may configure the UE 120 to perform measurements and to transmit measurement reports (for example, periodically or based at least in part on detecting a reporting event) to the source base station 605 (i.e. performing, by the terminal device, a first handover from the source cell to the target cell), and
the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement or layer-3 measurement ([0044], e.g. The UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. Some aspects more specifically relate to providing execution conditions for a conditional handover procedure that are based at least in part on beam-based measurements or beam-level measurements (for example, rather than only cell-based measurements). “Beam-based measurement” may refer to a measurement of a signal that is performed using a given beam (for example, defined or indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state). For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement) (i.e. the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement)),
the first handover is triggered based on first information received by the terminal device, and the first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell ([0044], e.g. he UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. [0116] The UE 120 may use the measurement results (for example, measurement values, such as beam quality measurement values, beam signal strength measurement values, RSRP values, or RSRQ values) to evaluate the one or more conditional handover execution conditions (as part of the seventh operation 632 (i.e. first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell)).
DAMNJANOVIC teaches wireless communications and specifically, to techniques and apparatuses for mobility enhancements for conditional handovers. DAMNJANOVIC differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message; and the first information is carried in a MAC CE message.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, DasSoumya teaches wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message ( [0085], e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0085 ] In one particular example, the UE may measure and compare the respective RSRP and/or RSRQ of the cells. When one or more of the measured parameters or thresholds of a neighbor cell (e.g., target eNB) are better than that of the serving cell (e.g., a source eNB), the UE may determine that a potential handover condition exists (i.e. first handover condition satisfies). However, this potential handover condition may or may not trigger an actual handover. If the condition indicative of the potential handover exists (i.e. first handover condition exists), the method 1000 proceeds to block 1006; otherwise, the method proceeds to block 1008. At block 1006, the UE may transmit a DRX modification request to the first base station to configure the UE with a different DRX configuration (e.g., a second DRX configuration, i.e. a second message indicating to start a handover process) with a reduced DRX latency (e.g., a shorter DRX cycle) to increase a handover success rate during handover of the UE to the second base station (i.e. the Secondary DRX setup for a potential handover process indicates that the second information is carried in a MAC element indicating that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover condition exists)), and
the first information is carried in a MAC CE message ([0085] e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0090] The DRX assistance information 1116 may be included in an RRC message or a MAC CE. [0091] In response, the UE 1102 may utilize the DRX block 622 (see FIG. 6) to configure or reconfigure 1120 its DRX operation based on the received DRX parameters so as to reduce a DRX latency of the UE such that handover failure may be reduced (i.e. the DRX-CE setup for a low handover rate indicates that ordinary skills in the art can use MAC CE setup to transmit first information including handover condition exists message)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of DasSoumya within the method of DAMNJANOVIC. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques for discontinuous reception (DRX) in wireless communications. Further, the MAC sublayer provides multiplexing between logical and transport channels. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for allocating the various radio resources (e.g., resource blocks) in one cell among the UEs. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for HARQ operations. Further, the DRX configuration will be determined based on a tradeoff between power savings and DRX latency. In one aspect of the disclosure, the DRX parameters may be transmitted in a drx-config structure under the MAC-MainConfig Information Element (i.e. MAC CE (MAC Control Element) is a compact, MAC-layer signaling structure used to carry urgent, low-latency control commands between the UE and the network without going through slower higher-layer messages like RRC or NAS) (See DasSoumya [0001, 0040, 0046]).
Regarding claim 7, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 1. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein before the performing, by the terminal device, the handover from the source cell to the target cell, the method further comprises:
receiving, by the terminal device, handover configuration information transmitted by the source cell, wherein the handover configuration information comprises configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the target cell is one cell of the at least one candidate cell ([0008], e.g. cause the base station to transmit, to a UE, configuration information for a conditional handover, wherein the configuration information indicates one or more execution conditions and one or more SCG configurations associated with one or more candidate base stations. [0136] In some aspects, in a seventeenth operation 652, the UE 120 may transmit, and the source base station 605 or a candidate base station may receive, an indication of selected cells or an updated SCG configuration associated with the candidate base station. For example, when the UE 120 updates an SCG configuration or selects cells (for example, PCells, PSCells, or SCells) that are not explicitly configured in the configuration information, the UE 120 may inform the source base station 605 or the candidate base station (the candidate base station that is the target base station for the triggered conditional handover) of the decisions made by the UE 120 (for example, of the selected cells or the updated SCG configuration (i.e. receiving, by the terminal device, handover configuration from a source basestation)).
Regarding claim 8, DAMNJANOVIC teaches a network device, comprising
a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory ([0008], e.g. Some aspects described herein relate to a base station for wireless communication. The base station may include at least one processor and at least one memory, communicatively coupled with the at least one processor, that stores processor-readable code. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the base station to transmit, to a UE, configuration information for a conditional handover), to cause the network device at least to:
receive, by a source cell configured in the network device, second information transmitted by a terminal device, wherein the second information is used to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition ([0011], e.g. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the base station to receive, from the UE, a message to initiate the conditional handover (i.e. second information) based at least in part on an execution condition (i.e. first information) being satisfied (i.e. transmitting, by a terminal device, second information to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover satisfied)), and
the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the target cell satisfies a condition for performing handover/measurement reporting ([0079], e.g. FIG. 5, The conditional handover procedure 500 may be performed by a UE 120, a source base station 505 (for example, a base station 110 or the source base station 405), and one or more candidate base stations 510, and 515. [0117] The UE 120 may transmit the measurement report in accordance with a reporting configuration. For example, as described elsewhere herein, the source base station 605 may configure the UE 120 to perform measurements and to transmit measurement reports (for example, periodically or based at least in part on detecting a reporting event) to the source base station 605 (i.e. performing, by the terminal device, a first handover from the source cell to the target cell), and
transmit, by the source cell, a handover request to the target cell, wherein the handover request is used to perform a handover of the terminal device from the source cell to the target cell ([0011], e.g. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the base station to receive, from the UE, a message to initiate the conditional handover (i.e. second information) based at least in part on an execution condition (i.e. first information) being satisfied (i.e. transmitting, by a terminal device, second information to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover satisfied)), and
the handover is a first handover ([0079], e.g. FIG. 5, The conditional handover procedure 500 may be performed by a UE 120, a source base station 505 (for example, a base station 110 or the source base station 405), and one or more candidate base stations 510, and 515. [0117] The UE 120 may transmit the measurement report in accordance with a reporting configuration. For example, as described elsewhere herein, the source base station 605 may configure the UE 120 to perform measurements and to transmit measurement reports (for example, periodically or based at least in part on detecting a reporting event) to the source base station 605 (i.e. performing, by the terminal device, a first handover from the source cell to the target cell), and
the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement or layer-3 measurement ([0044], e.g. The UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. Some aspects more specifically relate to providing execution conditions for a conditional handover procedure that are based at least in part on beam-based measurements or beam-level measurements (for example, rather than only cell-based measurements). “Beam-based measurement” may refer to a measurement of a signal that is performed using a given beam (for example, defined or indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state). For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement) (i.e. the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement)),
the first handover is triggered based on first information received by the terminal device, and the first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell ([0044], e.g. he UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. [0116] The UE 120 may use the measurement results (for example, measurement values, such as beam quality measurement values, beam signal strength measurement values, RSRP values, or RSRQ values) to evaluate the one or more conditional handover execution conditions (as part of the seventh operation 632 (i.e. first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell)).
DAMNJANOVIC teaches wireless communications and specifically, to techniques and apparatuses for mobility enhancements for conditional handovers. DAMNJANOVIC differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message, and the first information is carried in a MAC CE message.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, DasSoumya teaches wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message ( [0085], e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0085 ] In one particular example, the UE may measure and compare the respective RSRP and/or RSRQ of the cells. When one or more of the measured parameters or thresholds of a neighbor cell (e.g., target eNB) are better than that of the serving cell (e.g., a source eNB), the UE may determine that a potential handover condition exists (i.e. first handover condition satisfies). However, this potential handover condition may or may not trigger an actual handover. If the condition indicative of the potential handover exists (i.e. first handover condition exists), the method 1000 proceeds to block 1006; otherwise, the method proceeds to block 1008. At block 1006, the UE may transmit a DRX modification request to the first base station to configure the UE with a different DRX configuration (e.g., a second DRX configuration, i.e. a second message indicating to start a handover process) with a reduced DRX latency (e.g., a shorter DRX cycle) to increase a handover success rate during handover of the UE to the second base station (i.e. the Secondary DRX setup for a potential handover process indicates that the second information is carried in a MAC element indicating that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover condition exists)), and
the first information is carried in a MAC CE message ([0085] e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0090] The DRX assistance information 1116 may be included in an RRC message or a MAC CE. [0091] In response, the UE 1102 may utilize the DRX block 622 (see FIG. 6) to configure or reconfigure 1120 its DRX operation based on the received DRX parameters so as to reduce a DRX latency of the UE such that handover failure may be reduced (i.e. the DRX-CE setup for a low handover rate indicates that ordinary skills in the art can use MAC CE setup to transmit first information including handover condition exists message)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of DasSoumya within the method of DAMNJANOVIC. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques for discontinuous reception (DRX) in wireless communications. Further, the MAC sublayer provides multiplexing between logical and transport channels. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for allocating the various radio resources (e.g., resource blocks) in one cell among the UEs. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for HARQ operations. Further, the DRX configuration will be determined based on a tradeoff between power savings and DRX latency. In one aspect of the disclosure, the DRX parameters may be transmitted in a drx-config structure under the MAC-MainConfig Information Element (i.e. MAC CE (MAC Control Element) is a compact, MAC-layer signaling structure used to carry urgent, low-latency control commands between the UE and the network without going through slower higher-layer messages like RRC or NAS) (See DasSoumya [0001, 0040, 0046]).
Regarding claim 14, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 8. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the source cell is distinguished from the target cell by using at least one of following:
different cell identifiers; different transmission-reception points (TRPs); different reference signal sets; different resources; different hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes; different protocol stacks; or different TCI states ([0086], e.g. Additionally, the UE 120 may rely on cell-based measurements for determining whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied. For example, the measurements used by the UE 120 for determining whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied may be based on a filtered measurement corresponding to a cell. … Therefore, using a cell-based measurement to determine whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied may result in a conditional handover procedure being triggered with a candidate base station that uses a beam to communicate with the UE that is associated with a poor signal quality or a poor signal strength (i.e. source cell is distinguished from the target cell by using different reference signal sets)).
Regarding claim 15, DAMNJANOVIC teaches a terminal device, comprising:
a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory ([0007], e.g. The UE may include at least one processor and at least one memory, communicatively coupled with the at least one processor, that stores processor-readable code. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the UE to receive, from a source base station, configuration information for a conditional handover), to cause the terminal device at least to:
transmit second information to a source cell, wherein the second information is used to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition ([0011], e.g. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the base station to receive, from the UE, a message to initiate the conditional handover (i.e. second information) based at least in part on an execution condition (i.e. first information) being satisfied (i.e. transmitting, by a terminal device, second information to indicate that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover satisfied)), and
the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the target cell satisfies a condition for performing handover/measurement reporting [0132], e.g. For example, in some aspects, multiple PCell and PSCell pairs, for a candidate base station, may satisfy an execution condition (for example, may be associated with measurement values that satisfy a threshold). The UE 120 may select a PCell and PSCell pair, from the set of PCell and PSCell pairs (for example, that satisfy or meet the execution condition) based at least in part on one or more measurements performed by the UE 120 (i.e. the first condition satisfies for performing handover/measurement reporting)), and
perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell, wherein the handover is a first handover ([0079], e.g. FIG. 5, The conditional handover procedure 500 may be performed by a UE 120, a source base station 505 (for example, a base station 110 or the source base station 405), and one or more candidate base stations 510, and 515. [0117] The UE 120 may transmit the measurement report in accordance with a reporting configuration. For example, as described elsewhere herein, the source base station 605 may configure the UE 120 to perform measurements and to transmit measurement reports (for example, periodically or based at least in part on detecting a reporting event) to the source base station 605 (i.e. performing, by the terminal device, a first handover from the source cell to the target cell), and
and the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement or layer-3 measurement ([0044], e.g. The UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. Some aspects more specifically relate to providing execution conditions for a conditional handover procedure that are based at least in part on beam-based measurements or beam-level measurements (for example, rather than only cell-based measurements). “Beam-based measurement” may refer to a measurement of a signal that is performed using a given beam (for example, defined or indicated by a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state). For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement) (i.e. the first handover is determined based on layer-1 measurement)),
the first handover is triggered based on first information received by the terminal device, and the first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell ([0044], e.g. he UE may determine whether a PSCell or an SCG of the candidate base station should be added as part of the triggered conditional handover procedure. [0116] The UE 120 may use the measurement results (for example, measurement values, such as beam quality measurement values, beam signal strength measurement values, RSRP values, or RSRQ values) to evaluate the one or more conditional handover execution conditions (as part of the seventh operation 632 (i.e. first information is used to indicate the terminal device to perform a handover from the source cell to the target cell)).
DAMNJANOVIC teaches wireless communications and specifically, to techniques and apparatuses for mobility enhancements for conditional handovers. DAMNJANOVIC differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message, and the first information is carried in a MAC CE message.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, DasSoumya teaches wherein
the second information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) message ( [0085], e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0085 ] In one particular example, the UE may measure and compare the respective RSRP and/or RSRQ of the cells. When one or more of the measured parameters or thresholds of a neighbor cell (e.g., target eNB) are better than that of the serving cell (e.g., a source eNB), the UE may determine that a potential handover condition exists (i.e. first handover condition satisfies). However, this potential handover condition may or may not trigger an actual handover. If the condition indicative of the potential handover exists (i.e. first handover condition exists), the method 1000 proceeds to block 1006; otherwise, the method proceeds to block 1008. At block 1006, the UE may transmit a DRX modification request to the first base station to configure the UE with a different DRX configuration (e.g., a second DRX configuration, i.e. a second message indicating to start a handover process) with a reduced DRX latency (e.g., a shorter DRX cycle) to increase a handover success rate during handover of the UE to the second base station (i.e. the Secondary DRX setup for a potential handover process indicates that the second information is carried in a MAC element indicating that a target cell satisfies a first condition of handover condition exists)), and
the first information is carried in a MAC CE message ([0085] e.g. In some aspects of the disclosure, the UE may request a change of DRX configuration by transmitting a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE), which may specify one of a number of predetermined DRX configurations that are known to the base station. [0090] The DRX assistance information 1116 may be included in an RRC message or a MAC CE. [0091] In response, the UE 1102 may utilize the DRX block 622 (see FIG. 6) to configure or reconfigure 1120 its DRX operation based on the received DRX parameters so as to reduce a DRX latency of the UE such that handover failure may be reduced (i.e. the DRX-CE setup for a low handover rate indicates that ordinary skills in the art can use MAC CE setup to transmit first information including handover condition exists message)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to implement the method of DasSoumya within the method of DAMNJANOVIC. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques for discontinuous reception (DRX) in wireless communications. Further, the MAC sublayer provides multiplexing between logical and transport channels. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for allocating the various radio resources (e.g., resource blocks) in one cell among the UEs. The MAC sublayer is also responsible for HARQ operations. Further, the DRX configuration will be determined based on a tradeoff between power savings and DRX latency. In one aspect of the disclosure, the DRX parameters may be transmitted in a drx-config structure under the MAC-MainConfig Information Element (i.e. MAC CE (MAC Control Element) is a compact, MAC-layer signaling structure used to carry urgent, low-latency control commands between the UE and the network without going through slower higher-layer messages like RRC or NAS) (See DasSoumya [0001, 0040, 0046]).
Regarding claim 21, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 7. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the handover configuration information further comprises the first condition corresponding to the at least one candidate cell, and the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the at least one candidate cell satisfies the condition for performing handover/measurement reporting ([0010], e.g. may be configured to cause the UE to receive, from a source base station, configuration information for a conditional handover, wherein the configuration information indicates an execution condition that is associated with primary cells (PCells) of one or more candidate base stations and at least one of SCGs of the one or more candidate base stations or primary secondary cell (PSCells) of the one or more candidate base stations. The processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, may be configured to cause the UE to transmit, to a candidate base station of the one or more candidate base stations, a message to initiate the conditional handover based at least in part on detecting that the execution condition has been satisfied (i.e. the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the at least one candidate cell satisfies the condition for performing handover)).
Regarding claim 22, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 7. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the handover configuration information is carried in a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration message ([0080], e.g. The RRC reconfiguration message may include a conditional handover configuration that indicates configurations for the candidate base stations 510, 515, indicates one or more criteria or execution conditions (for example, conditional thresholds) that trigger handover, among other examples. In a third operation 530, the UE 120 may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station 505, which may indicate that the UE 120 has applied the RRC reconfiguration (for example, the conditional handover configuration) (i.e. the handover configuration information is carried in a RRC reconfiguration message)).
Regarding claim 26, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 8. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first handover is determined based on the layer-1 measurement ([0044], e.g. For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement)), and
the first condition comprises at least one of following conditions:
at least one beam in a first beam set satisfies a first threshold; a block error rate BLER of the source cell exceeds a second threshold for N consecutive times, wherein N is a positive integer; a measurement value of at least one beam in a first beam set within a time T is less than/greater than a third threshold, wherein T > 0; a difference between a measurement value of the source cell and a measurement value of the target cell is greater than a fourth threshold; a measurement value of the source cell is less than a fifth threshold, and a measurement value of the target cell is greater than a sixth threshold; or a measurement value of the source cell is greater than a seventh threshold, and a measurement value of the target cell is less than an eighth threshold ([0104], e.g. As another example, the one or more execution conditions associated with the conditional handover procedure may include a second execution condition associated with a quantity of beams, associated with one or more candidate base stations, having beam quality measurements that satisfy a second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605. For example, an execution condition may be associated with a candidate base station (or multiple candidate base stations) being associated with at least N beams that have beam quality measurements (for example, RSRQ values) that satisfy the second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605 (i.e. at least one beam in a first beam set satisfies a first threshold for a handover)).
Regarding claim 27, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 26. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first beam set comprises at least one of following:
a synchronization signal block SSB; a channel state information-reference signal CSI-RS; or an uplink sounding reference signal SRS ([0086], e.g. Therefore, using a cell-based measurement to determine whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied may result in a conditional handover procedure being triggered with a candidate base station that uses a beam to communicate with the UE that is associated with a poor signal quality or a poor signal strength. For example, because measurements of different beams are not considered by the UE when determining whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied, the UE may experience poor channel conditions using a given beam associated with the candidate base station. [0103] The configuration information may indicate that the measurements of the SSBs or CSI-RSs are to be beam-based (or beam level) measurements (I.e. beam set comprising channel state information-reference signal CSI-RS)).
Regarding claim 28, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 8. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first handover is determined based on layer-3 measurement ([0044], e.g. For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement)), and
the first condition comprises an A3 measurement event or an A5 measurement event ([0081], e.g. the UE 120 may detect a conditional handover event for the first candidate base station 510. For example, the UE 120 may determine that the one or more criteria or execution conditions for triggering handover to the first candidate base station 510 are satisfied (for example, a measurement associated with a signal transmitted by the second candidate base station 515 may satisfy a threshold or may be greater than (by a threshold amount) a measurement associated with a signal transmitted by the source base station 505) (i.e. A3 - Neighbor becomes better than serving basestation measurement threshold as defined in the LTE standard)).
Regarding claim 29, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 8. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory to cause the network device further to:
transmit, by the source cell, handover configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the handover configuration information comprises configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the target cell is one cell of the at least one candidate cell ([0008], e.g. cause the base station to transmit, to a UE, configuration information for a conditional handover, wherein the configuration information indicates one or more execution conditions and one or more SCG configurations associated with one or more candidate base stations. [0136] In some aspects, in a seventeenth operation 652, the UE 120 may transmit, and the source base station 605 or a candidate base station may receive, an indication of selected cells or an updated SCG configuration associated with the candidate base station. For example, when the UE 120 updates an SCG configuration or selects cells (for example, PCells, PSCells, or SCells) that are not explicitly configured in the configuration information, the UE 120 may inform the source base station 605 or the candidate base station (the candidate base station that is the target base station for the triggered conditional handover) of the decisions made by the UE 120 (for example, of the selected cells or the updated SCG configuration (i.e. receiving, by the terminal device, handover configuration from a source basestation)).
Regarding claim 30, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 29. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the handover configuration information further comprises the first condition corresponding to the at least one candidate cell, and the first condition is that the terminal device determines whether the at least one candidate cell satisfies the condition for performing handover/measurement reporting ( [0132], e.g. For example, in some aspects, multiple PCell and PSCell pairs, for a candidate base station, may satisfy an execution condition (for example, may be associated with measurement values that satisfy a threshold). The UE 120 may select a PCell and PSCell pair, from the set of PCell and PSCell pairs (for example, that satisfy or meet the execution condition) based at least in part on one or more measurements performed by the UE 120 (i.e. the first condition satisfies for performing handover/measurement reporting)).
Regarding claim 31, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 29. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the handover configuration information is carried in a radio resource control RRC reconfiguration message [0080], e.g. The RRC reconfiguration message may include a conditional handover configuration that indicates configurations for the candidate base stations 510, 515, indicates one or more criteria or execution conditions (for example, conditional thresholds) that trigger handover, among other examples. In a third operation 530, the UE 120 may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station 505, which may indicate that the UE 120 has applied the RRC reconfiguration (for example, the conditional handover configuration) (i.e. the handover configuration information is carried in a RRC reconfiguration message)).
Regarding claim 32, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 15. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first handover is determined based on the layer-1 measurement ([0044], e.g. For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement)), and
the first condition comprises at least one of following conditions:
at least one beam in a first beam set satisfies a first threshold;
a block error rate BLER of the source cell exceeds a second threshold for N consecutive times, wherein N is a positive integer; a measurement value of at least one beam in a first beam set within a time T is less than/greater than a third threshold, wherein T > 0; a difference between a measurement value of the source cell and a measurement value of the target cell is greater than a fourth threshold; a measurement value of the source cell is less than a fifth threshold, and a measurement value of the target cell is greater than a sixth threshold; or a measurement value of the source cell is greater than a seventh threshold, and a measurement value of the target cell is less than an eighth threshold ([0104], e.g. As another example, the one or more execution conditions associated with the conditional handover procedure may include a second execution condition associated with a quantity of beams, associated with one or more candidate base stations, having beam quality measurements that satisfy a second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605. For example, an execution condition may be associated with a candidate base station (or multiple candidate base stations) being associated with at least N beams that have beam quality measurements (for example, RSRQ values) that satisfy the second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605 (i.e. at least one beam in a first beam set satisfies a first threshold for a handover)).
Regarding claim 33, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 32. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first beam set comprises at least one of following:
a synchronization signal block SSB; a channel state information-reference signal CSI-RS; or an uplink sounding reference signal SRS ([0086], e.g. Therefore, using a cell-based measurement to determine whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied may result in a conditional handover procedure being triggered with a candidate base station that uses a beam to communicate with the UE that is associated with a poor signal quality or a poor signal strength. For example, because measurements of different beams are not considered by the UE when determining whether an execution condition (for example, for triggering the conditional handover procedure) has been satisfied, the UE may experience poor channel conditions using a given beam associated with the candidate base station. [0103] The configuration information may indicate that the measurements of the SSBs or CSI-RSs are to be beam-based (or beam level) measurements (I.e. beam set comprising channel state information-reference signal CSI-RS)).
Regarding claim 34, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 15. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first handover is determined based on layer-3 measurement ([0044], e.g. For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement)), and
the first condition comprises an A3 measurement event or an AS measurement event ([0081], e.g. the UE 120 may detect a conditional handover event for the first candidate base station 510. For example, the UE 120 may determine that the one or more criteria or execution conditions for triggering handover to the first candidate base station 510 are satisfied (for example, a measurement associated with a signal transmitted by the second candidate base station 515 may satisfy a threshold or may be greater than (by a threshold amount) a measurement associated with a signal transmitted by the source base station 505) (i.e. A3 - Neighbor becomes better than serving basestation measurement threshold as defined in the LTE standard)).
Regarding claim 35, DAMNJANOVIC in view of DasSoumya teaches all the limitations of claim 15. DAMNJANOVIC further teaches wherein the first handover is determined based on the layer-1 measurement ([0044], e.g. For example, an execution condition associated with the conditional handover procedure may be based at least in part on Layer 1 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 1 filtering is applied to the measurement) or Layer 3 beam-based measurements (for example, where Layer 3 filtering is applied to the measurement)), and
the first condition comprises at least one of following conditions:
at least N beams in a beam set of the source cell are less than a first threshold, where N is a positive integer; or at least N beams in a beam set of the target cell are greater than a first threshold, where N is a positive integer ([0104], e.g. As another example, the one or more execution conditions associated with the conditional handover procedure may include a second execution condition associated with a quantity of beams, associated with one or more candidate base stations, having beam quality measurements that satisfy a second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605. For example, an execution condition may be associated with a candidate base station (or multiple candidate base stations) being associated with at least N beams that have beam quality measurements (for example, RSRQ values) that satisfy the second threshold or that are greater than the second beam quality measurement of the serving beam associated with the source base station 605 (i.e. at least one beam in a first beam set satisfies a first threshold for a handover)).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23, 24 and 25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable, if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims; and amending claim(s) to overcome any objection(s) and /or rejection(s) set forth in this Office action.
Prior Art Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent
to applicant’s disclosure.
SHARMA; Neha (US-20210329515-A1) - METHOD AND SYSTEM TO HANDLE HANDOVER PROCEDURE IN MULTI TRP SYSTEM.
KIM; Donggun (US-20220369171-A1) - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING HANDOVER PROCEDURE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.
Cui; Jie (US-12160783-B2) - Handover with PSCell based on trigger message.
Kumar; Rajeev (US-11778527-B2) - Reporting for conditional primary secondary cell addition or change.
Zhang; Yushu (US-12120571-B2) - User equipment-triggered lower layer-based handover.
WU, Yumin (WO-2018059299-A1) - METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR CELL HANDOVER, AND COMPUTER STORAGE MEDIUM.
ZHANG YUSHU (WO-2021159351-A1) - METHOD FOR LOW LAYER INTER-CELL MOBILITY MANAGEMENT.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MAHENDRA R PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
