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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In par [0006] correct “the apparatus is in the non- measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the non-measurement relaxation mode after the change” to “the apparatus is in the non- measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the measurement relaxation mode after the change”
In par [0048] correct “UE 110 may be in the non-measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the non-measurement relaxation mode after the change” to “UE 110 may be in the non-measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the measurement relaxation mode after the change” .
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: in lines 3-5 , the claim recites the limitation “the apparatus is in the non-measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the non-measurement relaxation mode after the change”. This limitation should be corrected to “the apparatus is in the non-measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the measurement relaxation mode after the change” to make sense and be consistent with the specification [0031] Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention. The claim recites “- report that the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus was changed to said another measurement relaxation status before transmitting the report about said another measurement relaxation status to the wireless network node”. The specification does not contain a description of “report before transmitting the report” to enable a person of skilled in the art to make use of the invention
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. The claim recites “- report that the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus was changed to said another measurement relaxation status before transmitting the report about said another measurement relaxation status to the wireless network node”. The specification does not point out what is meant by report before transmitting the report.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9, 12-14, 20-21, and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shi et al. (US 20240349105 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Shi et al. teach An apparatus ([0121] The communication device 80 may be a network device, may be a terminal device), comprising at least one processing core ([0122] The communication device 80 may include one or more processors 801 ) and at least one memory including computer program code ([0123] the communication device 80 may further include one or more memories 802, on which a computer program 804 may be stored), the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to:
- determine that a change of a measurement relaxation status of the apparatus to another measurement relaxation status is triggered ([0060] For the terminal device that is not in the relaxed measurement state, when it is found that the non-cell edge criterion is met and the timer is not running. Note: the trigger is interpreted as meeting the non-cell edge criterion);;
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status ([0003] when the UE is at low mobility and/or non-cell edge, it is considered that the UE is less likely to perform a cell reselection at this time, and the UE may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement to a certain extent, such as extending a measurement period or stopping measurement of the neighboring cell) before a measurement relaxation related event takes place ([0045] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device. Note: the measurement relaxation related event is interpreted as sending the indication ); and
- transmit, after changing the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status, a report about said another measurement relaxation status to a wireless network node using user equipment assistance information, said another measurement relaxation status indicating that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non-measurement relaxation mode, when a user equipment assistance information prohibit timer configured for measurement relaxation status reporting is not running ([0045] for the terminal device that is not in a relaxed measurement state for a target relaxed measurement criterion, in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 2, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement relaxation related event is transmission of the report about said another measurement relaxation status to the wireless network node ([0045] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device) or expiry of the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer .
Regarding claim 3, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is in the measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the non- measurement relaxation mode after the change, or the apparatus is in the non-measurement relaxation mode before the change and in the non-measurement relaxation mode after the change ([0003] when the UE is at low mobility and/or non-cell edge, it is considered that the UE is less likely to perform a cell reselection at this time, and the UE may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement , [0060] For the terminal device that is not in the relaxed measurement state, when it is found that the non-cell edge criterion is met and the timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 4, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus:
- determine whether the apparatus is allowed to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus based on a status of the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer and said another measurement relaxation status ([0045] for the terminal device that is not in a relaxed measurement state for a target relaxed measurement criterion, in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 5, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1-, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- means for determining whether to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus while the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is running ([0047] in case that the terminal device is not in a relaxed measurement state for a certain relaxed measurement criterion, the terminal device currently meets the relaxed measurement criterion at the same time, and the reporting prohibition timer is currently running (the reporting prohibition timer has been started and has not timed out), it is prohibited that the terminal device send the indication information that the relaxed measurement criterion is met to the network device).
Regarding claim 9, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
-determine to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus before the measurement relaxation related event takes place when the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer was not started when a measurement relaxation condition was met and reported ([0047] in case that the terminal device is not in a relaxed measurement state for a certain relaxed measurement criterion, the terminal device currently meets the relaxed measurement criterion at the same time, and the reporting prohibition timer is not currently started or has expired, the terminal device is allowed to send the indication information that the relaxed measurement criterion is met to the network device).
Regarding claim 12, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- receive a measurement relaxation configuration ([0033] The reporting prohibition timer may be a timer configured by the network device one for each relaxed measurement criterion).
Regarding claim 13, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 12,:
Wherein the measurement relaxation configuration indicates whether the apparatus is allowed to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus before transmitting the report about said another measurement relaxation status of the apparatus to the wireless network node and/or while the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is running ([0033] The reporting prohibition timer may be a timer configured by the network device one for each relaxed measurement criterion). .
Regarding claim 14, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim1, wherein the measurement relaxation status and said another measurement relaxation status comprise at least one of Radio Resource Management; (RRM) ([0027] the terminal device 102 may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement); Radio Link Monitoring; (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection,(BFD); measurement relaxation statuses.
Regarding claim 20, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is allowed to relax measurements in the measurement relaxation mode ([0003] the UE may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement to a certain extent, such as extending a measurement period or stopping measurement of the neighboring cell) and the apparatus is not allowed to relax measurements in the non-measurement relaxation mode ([0051] the relaxed measurement state is exited ).
Regarding claim 21, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- transmit a relaxation status report when a measurement relaxation condition is first met since receipt of the measurement relaxation configuration ([00456] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 26, Shi et al. teach A method, comprising:
- determine that a change of a measurement relaxation status of the apparatus to another measurement relaxation status is triggered ([0060] For the terminal device that is not in the relaxed measurement state, when it is found that the non-cell edge criterion is met and the timer is not running. Note: the trigger is interpreted as meeting the non-cell edge criterion);;
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status ([0003] when the UE is at low mobility and/or non-cell edge, it is considered that the UE is less likely to perform a cell reselection at this time, and the UE may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement to a certain extent, such as extending a measurement period or stopping measurement of the neighboring cell) before a measurement relaxation related event takes place ([0045] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device. Note: the measurement relaxation related event is interpreted as sending the indication ); and
- transmit, after changing the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status, a report about said another measurement relaxation status to a wireless network node using user equipment assistance information, said another measurement relaxation status indicating that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non-measurement relaxation mode, when a user equipment assistance information prohibit timer configured for measurement relaxation status reporting is not running ([0045] for the terminal device that is not in a relaxed measurement state for a target relaxed measurement criterion, in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 27, Shi et al. teach A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of computer readable instructions ([0123] the communication device 80 may further include one or more memories 802, on which a computer program 804 may be stored) that, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause an apparatus to at least to perform:
- determine that a change of a measurement relaxation status of the apparatus to another measurement relaxation status is triggered ([0060] For the terminal device that is not in the relaxed measurement state, when it is found that the non-cell edge criterion is met and the timer is not running. Note: the trigger is interpreted as meeting the non-cell edge criterion);;
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status ([0003] when the UE is at low mobility and/or non-cell edge, it is considered that the UE is less likely to perform a cell reselection at this time, and the UE may be allowed to perform RRM relaxed measurement to a certain extent, such as extending a measurement period or stopping measurement of the neighboring cell) before a measurement relaxation related event takes place ([0045] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device. Note: the measurement relaxation related event is interpreted as sending the indication ); and
- transmit, after changing the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status, a report about said another measurement relaxation status to a wireless network node using user equipment assistance information, said another measurement relaxation status indicating that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non-measurement relaxation mode, when a user equipment assistance information prohibit timer configured for measurement relaxation status reporting is not running ([0045] for the terminal device that is not in a relaxed measurement state for a target relaxed measurement criterion, in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. in view of Chen et al. (US 20230217276 A1).
Regarding claim 22, Shi et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, but do not explicitly teach wherein
the report indicates that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non- measurement relaxation mode of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) measurements, and/or the report indicates that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non- measurement relaxation mode of Beam Failure Detection (BFD) measurements.
In a similar endeavor, Chen et al. teach
the report indicates that the apparatus is in a measurement relaxation mode or a non- measurement relaxation mode of Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) measurements (Chen [0108] the relaxed measurements are radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements; and the measurement report comprises a SCG radio link failure (RLF) report),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Shi et al. by incorporating Chen et al.. to arrive at the invention
The motivation of doing so would have used relaxed measurements for a secondary cell radio link to conserve the UE power.
Regarding claim 23, the combination of Shi et al. and Chen et al. teaches An apparatus according to claim 22, wherein
the report further indicates that a measurement relaxation condition of Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements is met or not met (Shi [0045] indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Regarding claim 24, the combination of Shi et al. and Chen et al. teaches An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the report is transmitted when the measurement relaxation condition of Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements is met during a certain amount of time (Shi [0045] in response to finding that the terminal device meets the target relaxed measurement criterion and the reporting prohibition timer is not running, indication information that the target relaxed measurement criterion is met is sent to the network device).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-8, 11, and 25 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter .
Regarding claim 6, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1 but do not teach
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- determine to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus while the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is running; and
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status before the measurement relaxation related event takes place.
Regarding claim 7, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1 but do not teach
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- determine to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus before the measurement relaxation related event takes place when a measurement relaxation condition is not met while the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is running; and
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status before the measurement relaxation related event takes place.
Regarding claim 8, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1 but do not teach
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- determine to change the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus after the measurement relaxation related event has taken place when a measurement relaxation condition is met while the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is running; and
- change the measurement relaxation status to said another measurement relaxation status after the measurement relaxation related event has taken place.
Regarding claim 11, Si et al. teach An apparatus according to claim1, but do not teach
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus to:
- report how long ago before transmitting the report about said another measurement relaxation status of the apparatus to the wireless network node the measurement relaxation status of the apparatus was changed.
Regarding claim 25, Shi et al. teach An apparatus according to claim 1, but do not teach wherein
the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is common for Radio Resource Management (RRM), Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) based measurement relaxation status reporting, or
the user equipment assistance information prohibit timer is different between or specific for any one of Radio Resource Management (RRM), Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) and Beam Failure Detection (BFD) based measurement relaxation status reporting.
Conclusion
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/SAID M ELNOUBI/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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