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 .
Status of Claims
This communication is in response to the application filed on 06/18/2026.
Claims 1-20 are pending in this application, with claims 1 and 16-20 being independent.
Attorney Information Request
For efficient and faster prosecution of the current application, please provide direct phone number and email address of an attorney filing a response to this office action.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In the published disclosure paragraph [0003], the phrase “SBB” should be corrected to ---SSB---
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2,6,8,10,12-13 and 16-17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, the claim recites “. . cell defining . .” which is unclear and not properly explained in the specifications
In claim 2, line 26, the limitation “cell measurement performance” is not properly tied to the base claim and is unclear to relate to the remaining limitations of the claim itself
In claim 2, line 24, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 6, line 3, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 8, line 13, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 8, line 24, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 8, line 34, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 10, line 5, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 12, line 15, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 12, line 17, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 13, line 3, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 13, line 4, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 13, line 6, the claim recites “..and/or..”. The examiner will interpret the limitation using “non selective option OR”
In claim 16, the claim recites “. . cell defining . .” which is unclear and not properly explained in the specifications
In claim 16, recite acronym(s) without setting forth what the acronyms stand for at first use
In claim 17, the claim recites “. . cell defining . .” which is unclear and not properly explained in the specifications
In claim 17, line 2, “. . the processor . .” should be “. . a processor . .”
In claim 17, line 1, “. . readable storage medium . .” should be “. . computer readable storage medium . .”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
Claims 1 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TANG (US 2022/0078688 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Tang”) in view of Ericsson (R2-2110773, hereinafter referred to as “Ericsson”).
Regarding claims 1 and 16-20, Tang discloses a cell selection or reselection method, comprising: obtaining, by a terminal (Tang Fig.1 A terminal), measurement performance of a first object (Tang Fig.3 Para[0118] The signal quality (i.e. performance) for a neighbor cell is measured using SSB by the terminal); and performing, by the terminal, a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object (Tang Fig.3 Para[0118-122) The terminal performs cell reselection based on the signal quality (i.e. object)), and the first BWP is a BWP comprising the CD-SSB (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), and the second BWP is a BWP comprising the NCD-SSB (Tang Fig.3 Para[0075] The SSB configuration information for the neighbor cell contains wideband carrier information (i.e. BWP)).
Tang does not explicitly disclose wherein the first object comprises any one of the following: a non-cell defining synchronization signal and PBCH block (NCD-SSB) of a second bandwidth part (BWP); and the NCD-SSB of the second BWP and a cell defining synchronization signal and PBCH block (CD-SSB) of a first BWP.
However, Ericsson from the same field of invention discloses wherein the first object comprises any one of the following: a non-cell defining synchronization signal and PBCH block (NCD-SSB) of a second bandwidth part (BWP) (Ericsson Section:2.1.1 The redcap UE used NCD-SSB for sync during initial DL BWP region); and the NCD-SSB of the second BWP and a cell defining synchronization signal and PBCH block (CD-SSB) of a first BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang to have the feature of “wherein the first object comprises a non-cell defining synchronization signal and PBCH block (NCD-SSB) of a second bandwidth part (BWP)” as taught by Ericsson. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB for redcap UEs (Ericsson Title).
Specifically for claims 16-20, Tang discloses the terminal that includes a processor (Tang Fig.7 Para[0184] A processor) and memory (Tang Fig.7 Para[0184] A memory).
Claims 2 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tang in view of Ericsson and further in view of HU et al. (US 2025/0048158 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Hu”).
Regarding claim 2, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object comprises: when the terminal receives network indication information or meets a first condition, performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object, wherein the network indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: performing the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP; performing the cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP and measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP; a criterion R for cell selection or reselection by the terminal based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP; a criterion S for cell selection or reselection by the terminal based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP; and meeting the first condition, wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: the terminal performs at least one of the following on a second BWP of a current cell: receiving system information SI, receiving a paging message, monitoring an advance indication signal, performing random access, or cell camping; an NCD-SSB is configured in a current cell; an NCD-SSB is configured in a neighboring cell; a random access related configuration is configured on a second BWP of a current cell and/or a neighboring cell; or an S-measure condition is met, wherein cell measurement performance is determined based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP, the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP can represent cell measurement performance, or the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP can replace the measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP.
However, Hu from a similar field of invention discloses wherein the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object comprises: when the terminal receives network indication information (Hu Fig.2 Para[0041-46] An offset indication from the base station) or meets a first condition (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object, wherein the network indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: performing the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP (Hu Fig.2 Para[0041-46] The terminal performs measurements using NCD-SSB); performing the cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP and measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a criterion R for cell selection or reselection by the terminal based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a criterion S for cell selection or reselection by the terminal based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); and meeting the first condition (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), wherein the first condition comprises at least one of the following: the terminal performs at least one of the following on a second BWP of a current cell: receiving system information SI (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), receiving a paging message (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), monitoring an advance indication signal (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), performing random access, or cell camping (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); an NCD-SSB is configured in a current cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); an NCD-SSB is configured in a neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); a random access related configuration is configured on a second BWP of a current cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) and/or a neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or an S-measure condition is met (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), wherein cell measurement performance is determined based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP (Hu Fig.2 Para[0041-46] The terminal performs measurements using NCD-SSB), the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP can represent cell measurement performance (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), or the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP can replace the measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “wherein the network indication information is used to indicate any one of the following: performing the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP; wherein cell measurement performance is determined based on the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP” as taught by Hu. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB to perform measurement for redcap UEs (Hu Para[0002]).
Regarding claim 13, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein a physical broadcast channel PBCH corresponding to the CD-SSB comprises relevant configuration information indicating reception of system information, and/or a transmission frequency location of the CD-SSB is at a frequency location corresponding to a synchronization signal raster sync raster; and/or a PBCH corresponding to the NCD-SSB does not comprise relevant configuration information indicating reception of system information, and/or a transmission frequency location of the NCD-SSB is not at a frequency location corresponding to a sync raster.
However, Hu from a similar field of invention discloses wherein a physical broadcast channel PBCH corresponding to the CD-SSB comprises relevant configuration information indicating reception of system information (Hu Fig.2 Para[0038] The CD-SSB is associated with RMSI), and/or a transmission frequency location of the CD-SSB is at a frequency location corresponding to a synchronization signal raster sync raster (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); and/or a PBCH corresponding to the NCD-SSB does not comprise relevant configuration information indicating reception of system information (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), and/or a transmission frequency location of the NCD-SSB is not at a frequency location corresponding to a sync raster (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “wherein a physical broadcast channel PBCH corresponding to the CD-SSB comprises relevant configuration information indicating reception of system information” as taught by Hu. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB to perform measurement for redcap UEs (Hu Para[0002]).
Regarding claim 14, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein before the obtaining measurement performance of a first object, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, relevant configuration information of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP from a network side device.
However, Hu from a similar field of invention discloses wherein before the obtaining measurement performance of a first object, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, relevant configuration information of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP from a network side device (Hu Fig.2 Para[0002,0046] The terminal receives NCD-SSB configuration from the base station for its frequency range (i.e. BWP)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “wherein before the obtaining measurement performance of a first object, the method further comprises: receiving, by the terminal, relevant configuration information of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP from a network side device” as taught by Hu. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB to perform measurement for redcap UEs (Hu Para[0002]).
Regarding claim 15, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein the obtaining measurement performance of a first object comprises: performing, by the terminal, measurement based on the relevant configuration information, to obtain the measurement performance of the first object.
However, Hu from a similar field of invention discloses wherein the obtaining measurement performance of a first object comprises: performing, by the terminal, measurement based on the relevant configuration information, to obtain the measurement performance of the first object (Hu Fig.2 Para[0002,0046] The terminal receives NCD-SSB configuration from the base station and performs measurements).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “wherein the obtaining measurement performance of a first object comprises: performing, by the terminal, measurement based on the relevant configuration information, to obtain the measurement performance of the first object” as taught by Hu. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB to perform measurement for redcap UEs (Hu Para[0002]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tang in view of Ericsson and further in view of ZHANG et al. (US 2023/0171722 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Zhang”).
Regarding claim 3, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein before the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object, the method further comprises: performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP.
However, Zhang from a similar field of invention discloses wherein before the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object, the method further comprises: performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP (Zhang Para[0118-119] A CD-SSB measurement for a frequency band is performed by the terminal for access (i.e. selection)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “wherein before the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object, the method further comprises: performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP” as taught by Zhang. The motivation would have been to provide use of NCD-SSB to improve utilization of an SSB (Zhang Para[0005]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tang in view of Ericsson and further in view of Sang et al. (US 2021/0176656 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Sang”).
Regarding claim 4, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object comprises at least one of the following: performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell, or measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell and measurement performance of an NCD-SSB of a second BWP of a current cell; or performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of an NCD-SSB of a second BWP of a current cell and measurement performance of a target SSB of a neighboring cell, wherein the target SSB comprises at least one of the following: the CD-SSB of the first BWP or the NCD-SSB of the second BWP.
However, Sang from a similar field of invention discloses wherein the performing a cell selection or reselection operation based on the measurement performance of the first object comprises at least one of the following: performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell (Sang Para[0302] A CD-SSB is used for neighbor cell measurements), or measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell and measurement performance of an NCD-SSB of a second BWP of a current cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of an NCD-SSB of a second BWP of a current cell and measurement performance of a target SSB of a neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim), wherein the target SSB comprises at least one of the following: the CD-SSB of the first BWP or the NCD-SSB of the second BWP (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “performing, by the terminal, the cell selection or reselection operation based on measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell” as taught by Sang. The motivation would have been to harmonize cell level decisions and reduce handover ping pong behavior (Sang Para[0296]).
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tang in view of Ericsson, Sang and further in view of MAAREF et al. (US 2024/0056925 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Maaref”).
Regarding claim 5, Tang in view of Ericsson and Sang discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson and Sang does not explicitly disclose reselecting, by the terminal, the neighboring cell when at least one of the following is met: the measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP of the neighboring cell is greater than a first preset threshold; or the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP of the current cell is less than a second preset threshold.
However, Maaref from a similar field of invention discloses reselecting, by the terminal, the neighboring cell when at least one of the following is met: the measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP of the neighboring cell is greater than a first preset threshold (Maaref Para[0113-116] A CD-SSB with RSRP larger by a predefined threshold is for the new TN BS); or the measurement performance of the NCD-SSB of the second BWP of the current cell is less than a second preset threshold (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang, Ericsson and Sang to have the feature of “the measurement performance of the CD-SSB of the first BWP of the neighboring cell is greater than a first preset threshold” as taught by Maaref. The motivation would have been to improve mobility measurements (Maaref Para[0002]).
Regarding claim 6, Tang in view of Ericsson, Sang and Maaref discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Sang further discloses wherein before the reselecting the neighboring cell, the method further comprises: performing, by the terminal, criterion S determining by using cell selection and/or reselection configuration information of the neighboring cell (Sang Para[0299] A criterion S is determined by the terminal).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang, Ericsson and Maaref to have the feature of “” as taught by Sang. The motivation would have been to harmonize cell level decisions and reduce handover ping pong behavior (Sang Para[0296]).
Regarding claim 7, Tang in view of Ericsson, Sang and Maaref discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Sang further discloses wherein the neighboring cell comprises at least one of the following: an inter-frequency neighboring cell with a high priority (Sang Para[0354] Inter-frequency priority based criterion for cell selection or reselection); an inter-frequency neighboring cell with a low priority (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); an inter-system neighboring cell with a high priority (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or an inter-system neighboring cell with a low priority (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang, Ericsson and Maaref to have the feature of “an inter-frequency neighboring cell with a high priority” as taught by Sang. The motivation would have been to harmonize cell level decisions and reduce handover ping pong behavior (Sang Para[0296]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Tang in view of Ericsson and further in view of Ma et al. (US 2024/0323832 Al, hereinafter referred to as “Ma”).
Regarding claim 12, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. Tang in view of Ericsson does not explicitly disclose wherein the method further comprises: when a second condition is met, performing, by the terminal, a fourth operation to perform cell selection or reselection, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: measurement performance of a current cell is less than or equal to a third preset threshold; a current cell does not meet an S-measure condition; no NCD-SSB is configured in some or all of neighboring cells; or some or all of neighboring cells do not support the NCD-SSB; and the fourth operation comprises at least one of the following: ranking cells based on measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of the current cell and measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell; reselecting a neighboring cell with a highest ranking; before reselecting the neighboring cell, performing criterion S determining by using cell selection and/or reselection configuration information of the neighboring cell; or before reselecting the neighboring cell, searching for the neighboring cell on the CD-SSB of the first BWP of the current cell and/or the neighboring cell.
However, Ma from a similar field of invention discloses wherein the method further comprises: when a second condition is met, performing, by the terminal, a fourth operation to perform cell selection or reselection, wherein the second condition comprises at least one of the following: measurement performance of a current cell is less than or equal to a third preset threshold (Ma Para[0037,0148-152] A RSRP of serving cell is less than a threshold); a current cell does not meet an S-measure condition (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); no NCD-SSB is configured in some or all of neighboring cells (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or some or all of neighboring cells do not support the NCD-SSB (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); and the fourth operation comprises at least one of the following: ranking cells based on measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of the current cell and measurement performance of a CD-SSB of a first BWP of a neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); reselecting a neighboring cell with a highest ranking (Ma Para[0037,0148-152] A high priority neighbor cell is selected); before reselecting the neighboring cell, performing criterion S determining by using cell selection (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) and/or reselection configuration information of the neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim); or before reselecting the neighboring cell, searching for the neighboring cell on the CD-SSB of the first BWP of the current cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim) and/or the neighboring cell (Not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify Tang and Ericsson to have the feature of “” as taught by Ma. The motivation would have been to provide capability to a terminal to select a cell to camp on(Ma Para[0004]).
Regarding claims 8-11, Tang in view of Ericsson discloses the method and the terminal as explained above for Claim 1. The claims 8-11 are not given patentable weight due to non-selective option in the claim 4 they depend on.
Although specific columns, figures, reference numerals, lines of the reference(s), etc. have been referred to, Applicant should consider the entire applied prior art reference(s).
Additional References
The following prior arts are made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
1. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0166583 to Murray (Paragraphs:182)
Conclusion
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Sudesh M. Patidar whose telephone number is (571)272-2768. The examiner can normally be reached M-F:: 10AM-6:30PM ET.
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/Sudesh M. Patidar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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