DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to the claims filed on 09/24/2024.
Application No: 18/850,412.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Examiner has tried to contact applicant’s representative, however no response received.
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 76 is objected to because of the following informalities. Claim states that “ … to be prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of a secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node”.
In this limitation, “Dual connectivity User Equipment” limitation is missing. Without dual connectivity, invention cannot be implemented as per Specification ([0278, Fig. 9A (905)], e.g. As shown in step 905 of FIG. 9A there is preparing a conditional cell change in a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity, comprising: As shown in step 910 of FIG. 9A there is sending, by a master node of the cellular communication network. [0307, Fig. 9E (977)], e.g. by a master node of a cellular communication network serving a user equipment supporting dual connectivity ). The Dual connectivity concept is not clearly defined in the claim (Also see Dual connectivity similarity in the claims 66, 74, 75, 77 and 81). For examination purpose, Dual connectivity is presumed.
Appropriate correction is required in independent claims for further review.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 66-81 are 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.
Claim 66 (and similarly other independent claims 74, 75, 76,77 and 81) is generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. For example, claim 66 states that “ … a message comprising an indication of at least one primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node prepared or to be prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of a secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node”,
“… configuration of conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition for at least one of the prepared primary cells of a secondary cell group of the at least one second target secondary node for conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of the first target secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node”,
In the above two long narrative paragraphs, it is not clear what inventive steps are submitted for invention protection. It is recommended to divide long paragraph into small steps with commas and semicolons so that each paragraph clearly states invent seps and limitations.
Appropriate correction is required in all independent claims for further review and compact prosecution.
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 66-68, 73-78 and 81 are rejected under 35 U. S. C. 103 as being unpatentable over WuYumin et al. (US 20200396661 A1) in view of PURKAYASTHA et al. (US 20210352543 A1).
Regarding claim 66, WuYumin teaches a method ([0011], Fig. 9, Fig. 10, According to a second aspect, one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, applied to a network node, including: [0012] transmitting conditional SCG change information to a terminal device. [0013] wherein the conditional SCG change information is used by the terminal device to, according to the conditional SCG change information, evaluate whether one or more target cells of an SCG meet a condition corresponding to triggering target cell change, to obtain an evaluation result, and trigger a SCG target cell changing procedure according to the evaluation result), comprising:
preparing a conditional cell change in a cellular communication network ([0186], e.g. the condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by MN, and radio interface configuration information is transmitted to UE through MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 3 (i.e. preparing a conditional cell change)), comprising:
sending, by a master node of the cellular communication network, towards a first target secondary node a message comprising an indication of at least one primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node prepared or to be prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of a secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node ([0187], e.g. Step 301: the MN transmits conditional SCG addition request information to a target SN; where content included in this conditional SCG addition request information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG addition request information; the number of the target SN may be one or more (i.e. sending, by a master node a message comprising an indication of a conditional primary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell to a second target node)),
wherein the message enables, at the first target secondary node, configuration of conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition for at least one of the prepared primary cells of a secondary cell group of the at least one second target secondary node for conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of the first target secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node ([0196], e.g. The SCG target cell changing procedure may include one or more of the following: [0197] when the conditional SCG change information includes configuration information of one or more conditional change target cells, configuring according to the configuration information of an SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change; [0198] performing downlink synchronization with the SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change (i.e. the message enables configuration of conditional primary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell node to a second target node)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Regarding claim 67, WuYumin in view of PURKAYASTHA teaches all the limitations of claim 66. WuYumin further teaches wherein comprising:
receiving, from the first target secondary node, a message comprising an indication of at least one of the configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution conditions ([0354] a first transceiver module configured to transmit conditional SCG addition request information to a target secondary node, and receive conditional SCG addition feedback information transmitted by the target secondary node (i.e. receiving, from the first target secondary node, a message comprising an indication cell group change execution conditions)); and
sending, by the master node, towards the user equipment a message comprising an indication of at least one configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition ([0190], e.g. Step 305: the MN transmits conditional SCG change information (this information may be transmitted through an RRC connection reconfiguration message, i.e., radio interface configuration information) to UE; where content included in this conditional SCG change information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change information (i.e. sending, by the master node, towards the user equipment a message comprising cell group change execution condition)).
Regarding claim 68, WuYumin in view of PURKAYASTHA teaches all the limitations of claim 66. WuYumin further teaches wherein sending, by the first target secondary node, towards the user equipment a message comprising an indication of at least one configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition, wherein the first target secondary node can act as a source target secondary node ([0201], Fig. 3, e.g. Additionally, step 3092: after obtaining the evaluation result, the UE transmits a notification message to the source SN through the SCG; where the notification message is used to notify the source SN of related information of the SCG changed by the UE, so that the source SN deletes SCG related configuration information of the UE after receiving the notification message; where content included in the related information of the changed SCG may refer to the content included in the above related information of the SCG changed by the terminal device. [0202] Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN (i.e. towards the user equipment); where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information (i.e. sending, by the target secondary node, towards the user equipment (e.g. UE connected to the MN) a message comprising an indication of configured conditional primary cell group change execution condition )).
Regarding claim 73, WuYumin in view of PURKAYASTHA teaches all the limitations of claim 66. WuYumin further teaches wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the master node a message from the user equipment comprising an indication that the user equipment executes a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change towards a primary cell of a secondary cell group cell of the first target secondary node ([0200], Fig. 3, e.g. Additionally, step 3091: after obtaining the evaluation result, the UE transmits a notification message to the MN through MCG; where the notification message is used to notify the MN of related information of the SCG changed by the UE; where content included in the related information of the changed SCG may refer to the content included in the above related information of the SCG changed by the terminal device (i.e. receiving, by the master node a message from the user equipment comprising an indication that the user equipment executes a conditional primary cell change towards a primary cell of a secondary cell group cell of the first target secondary node)).
Regarding claim 74, WuYumin teaches a method ([0011], Fig. 9, Fig. 10, According to a second aspect, one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, applied to a network node, including: [0012] transmitting conditional SCG change information to a terminal device. [0013] wherein the conditional SCG change information is used by the terminal device to, according to the conditional SCG change information, evaluate whether one or more target cells of an SCG meet a condition corresponding to triggering target cell change, to obtain an evaluation result, and trigger a SCG target cell changing procedure according to the evaluation result. [0186] In the first example, the condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by MN, and radio interface configuration information is transmitted to UE through MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 3), comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment and served by a source secondary node first information for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change from a master node of a cellular communication network serving the user equipment ([0240] In the third example, a condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by a source SN, radio interface configuration information is transmitted to a UE through a MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 5 (i.e. receiving, by a user equipment a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change from a master node of a cellular communication network serving the user equipment)),
wherein the first information identifies a list of prepared primary cells of a secondary cell group of at least a target secondary node different from the source secondary node ([0186], e.g. the condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by MN, and radio interface configuration information is transmitted to UE through MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 3 (i.e. preparing a conditional cell change)), comprising:
by the user equipment, at least one of the prepared primary cells, receiving, by the user equipment second information for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution from the master node ([0201], e.g. step 3092: after obtaining the evaluation result, the UE transmits a notification message to the source SN through the SCG; where the notification message is used to notify the source SN of related information of the SCG changed by the UE, so that the source SN deletes SCG related configuration information of the UE after receiving the notification message; where content included in the related information of the changed SCG may refer to the content included in the above related information of the SCG changed by the terminal device. [0202] Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN; where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information (i.e. receiving, by the user equipment information for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution from the master node)),
wherein the second information indicates a prepared primary cell for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution to the user equipment, and executing, by the user equipment, the cell change towards the indicated prepared primary cell ([0202], e.g. Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN; where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information. [0203] Step 312: the MN transmits a release request message to the source SN, so that the source SN releases resources corresponding to the source SCG cell of the UE (I.e. wherein the information indicates a prepared primary cell group change execution to the user equipment, and executing, by the user equipment, the cell change towards the indicated prepared primary cell)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a user equipment supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a user equipment supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Regarding claim 75, WuYumin teaches an apparatus for a user equipment, comprising:
at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, where the at least one non-transitory memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor ([0435] Specifically, FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a hardware structure of a terminal device implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure. The terminal device 900 includes, … a display unit 906, a user input unit 907, an interface unit 908, a memory 909 (i.e. a non-transitory storage medium), a processor 910 (i.e. at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code executing in an apparatus for a UE)), to cause the apparatus to at least:
receive, by the user equipment served by a source secondary node first information for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change from a master node of a cellular communication network serving the user equipment ([0240] In the third example, a condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by a source SN, radio interface configuration information is transmitted to a UE through a MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 5 (i.e. receiving, by a user equipment a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change from a master node of a cellular communication network serving the user equipment)),
wherein the first information identifies a list of prepared primary cells of a secondary cell group of at least a target secondary node different from the source secondary node ([0186], e.g. the condition-based SCG maintenance process is triggered by MN, and radio interface configuration information is transmitted to UE through MN (MCG). Referring to FIG. 3 (i.e. preparing a conditional cell change)), configure:
by the user equipment, at least one of the prepared primary cells; receive by the user equipment second information for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution from the master node ([0201], e.g. step 3092: after obtaining the evaluation result, the UE transmits a notification message to the source SN through the SCG; where the notification message is used to notify the source SN of related information of the SCG changed by the UE, so that the source SN deletes SCG related configuration information of the UE after receiving the notification message; where content included in the related information of the changed SCG may refer to the content included in the above related information of the SCG changed by the terminal device. [0202] Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN; where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information (i.e. receiving, by the user equipment information for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution from the master node)),
wherein the second information indicates a prepared primary cell for a primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution to the user equipment ([0228], e.g. Additionally, step 4092: after obtaining the evaluation result, the UE transmits a notification message to the source SN through the SCG; where the notification message is used to notify the source SN of related information of the SCG changed by the UE, so that the source SN deletes SCG related configuration information of the UE after receiving the notification message (i.e. a secondary cell group change execution to the user equipment)); and
execute, by the user equipment, the cell change towards the indicated prepared primary cell ([0202], e.g. Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN; where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information. [0203] Step 312: the MN transmits a release request message to the source SN, so that the source SN releases resources corresponding to the source SCG cell of the UE (I.e. wherein the information indicates a prepared primary cell group change execution to the user equipment, and executing, by the user equipment, the cell change towards the indicated prepared primary cell)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a user equipment supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a user equipment supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Regarding claim 76, WuYumin teaches an apparatus for a master node of the cellular communication network, comprising:
at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, where the at least one non-transitory memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor ([0453] Specifically, FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The network node 110 includes: … a processor 115, and a memory 116. [0454] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network node 110 further includes a computer program stored in the memory 116 (i.e. a non-transitory storage medium) and executable on the processor 115. The computer program is executed by the processor 115 to implement the following steps: transmitting conditional SCG change information to a terminal device (i.e. at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code executing in an apparatus for a MN)), to cause the apparatus to at least:
send towards a first target secondary node a message comprising an indication of at least one primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node prepared or to be prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of a secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node ([0187], e.g. Step 301: the MN transmits conditional SCG addition request information to a target SN; where content included in this conditional SCG addition request information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG addition request information; the number of the target SN may be one or more (i.e. sending, by a master node a message comprising an indication of a conditional primary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell to a second target node)),
wherein the message enables, at the first target secondary node, configuration of conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition for at least one of the prepared primary cells of a secondary cell group of the at least one second target secondary node for conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell of a secondary cell group of a first target secondary node to a primary cell of a secondary cell group of at least a second target secondary node ([0196], e.g. The SCG target cell changing procedure may include one or more of the following: [0197] when the conditional SCG change information includes configuration information of one or more conditional change target cells, configuring according to the configuration information of an SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change; [0198] performing downlink synchronization with the SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change (i.e. the message enables configuration of conditional primary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell node to a second target node)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Regarding claim 77, WuYumin teaches a method, comprising:
preparing a conditional cell change in a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity, comprising:
receiving, by a first target secondary node of the cellular communication network, from a master node a message comprising an indication of at least one primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary secondary cell group cell of a secondary node to a primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node ([0354] a first transceiver module configured to transmit conditional SCG addition request information to a target secondary node, and receive conditional SCG addition feedback information transmitted by the target secondary node (i.e. receiving, from the first target secondary node, a message comprising an indication cell group change execution conditions)); and
wherein the message enables, at the first target secondary node, configuration of conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition for at least one of the prepared primary secondary cell group cells of the at least one second target secondary node for conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary secondary cell group cell of a first target secondary node to a primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node ([0091], e.g. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network node may be a master node or a source secondary node. [0092] Further, the network node is a master node. Before the step 201, the method further includes: [0093] transmitting conditional SCG addition request information to a target secondary node; [0094] receiving conditional SCG addition feedback information transmitted by the target secondary node. [0095] The conditional SCG addition feedback information is used by the master node to determine corresponding conditional SCG change information. [0120] where the conditional SCG change request information is used by the master node to determine the corresponding conditional SCG addition request information (i.e. the message enables, at the first target secondary node, configuration of conditional primary cell group change execution condition));
sending, towards the master node, a message comprising an indication of at least one of the configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution conditions ([0082], e.g. [0082] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, after the evaluation result is obtained, the terminal device may further transmit a notification message to the master node or the source secondary node. The notification message is used to notify the master node or the source secondary node of related information of the SCG changed by the terminal device (i.e. sending, towards the master node, a message comprising an indication of the configured conditional primary cell cell group change execution conditions)), and
wherein the sending causes an indication of at least one configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition to be sent towards the user equipment, or sending towards the user equipment, a message comprising an indication of at least one of the configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution conditions ([0190], e.g. Step 305: the MN transmits conditional SCG change information (this information may be transmitted through an RRC connection reconfiguration message, i.e., radio interface configuration information) to UE; where content included in this conditional SCG change information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change information (i.e. sending, by the master node, towards the user equipment a message comprising cell group change execution condition)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a cellular communication network supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Regarding claim 78, WuYumin in view of PURKAYASTHA teaches all the limitations of claim 77. WuYumin further teaches wherein sending towards the master node information comprising a set of updated execution condition and related measurement configuration for each of the prepared primary secondary cell group cells ([0095], e.g. The conditional SCG addition feedback information is used by the master node to determine corresponding conditional SCG change information. [0101] Optionally, the condition corresponding to triggering target cell addition includes one or more of the following: [0102] a measurement result of a target cell (such as a neighboring cell) reaching or exceeding a preset threshold; [0103] a measurement result of a serving cell (such as a current SCG cell) reaching or below a preset threshold; [0104] a difference between a measurement result of a serving cell (such as a current SCG cell) and a measurement result of a target cell (such as a neighboring cell) reaching or exceeding a preset threshold; [0105] a measurement result of a serving cell (such as a current SCG cell) reaching or below a first preset threshold, and a measurement result of a target cell (such as a neighboring cell) reaching or exceeding a second preset threshold (i.e. sending towards the master node information comprising a set of updated execution condition and related measurement configuration for each of the cell group cells including current cell, target cell and neighboring cells)).
Regarding claim 81, WuYumin teaches an apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code, where the at least one non-transitory memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor ([0022] one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network node, comprising: a memory (i.e. a non-transitory storage medium), a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor; wherein the computer program is executed by the processor to implement steps of the secondary cell group maintenance method applied to the network node. [0039] The network node may be a master node or a source secondary node (i.e. at least one non-transitory memory and the computer program code are configured)), to cause the apparatus to at least:
prepare a conditional cell change in a cellular communication network, comprising:
receiving, by a first target secondary node of the cellular communication network, from a master node a message comprising an indication of at least one primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node prepared for a conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary secondary cell group cell of a secondary node to a primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node ([0187], e.g. Step 301: the MN transmits conditional SCG addition request information to a target SN; where content included in this conditional SCG addition request information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG addition request information; the number of the target SN may be one or more (i.e. sending, by a master node a message comprising an indication of a conditional primary cell group change for a user equipment from a primary cell to a receiving second target node)),
wherein the message enables, at the first target secondary node, configuration of conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition for at least one of the prepared primary secondary cell group cells of the at least one second target secondary node for conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary secondary cell group cell of a first target secondary node to a primary secondary cell group cell of at least a second target secondary node ([0196], e.g. The SCG target cell changing procedure may include one or more of the following: [0197] when the conditional SCG change information includes configuration information of one or more conditional change target cells, configuring according to the configuration information of an SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change; [0198] performing downlink synchronization with the SCG target cell that meets the condition corresponding to triggering target cell change (i.e. the message enables configuration of conditional primary cell group change for the user equipment from a primary cell node to a second target node)).
sending, towards the master nide, a message comprising an indication of at least one of the configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution conditions, and wherein the sending causes an indication of at least one configured conditional primary cell of a secondary cell group change execution condition to be sent towards the user equipment ([0202], e.g. Step 311: after the target SN detects that the UE accesses the target cell, the target SN transmits conditional SCG change indication information to the MN; where content included in the conditional SCG change indication information may refer to the content included in the above conditional SCG change indication information. [0203] Step 312: the MN transmits a release request message to the source SN, so that the source SN releases resources corresponding to the source SCG cell of the UE (I.e. wherein the information indicates a prepared primary cell group change execution to the user equipment, and executing, by the user equipment, the cell change towards the indicated prepared primary cell)).
WuYumin provides a secondary cell group (SCG) maintenance method, a terminal device and a network node. However, WuYumin differs from the claimed invention in not specifically and clearly describing wherein
a cellule communication network supporting dual connectivity.
However, in the analogous field of endeavor, PURKAYASTHA teaches wherein a cellule communication network supporting dual connectivity ([0079], e.g. In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) aims to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. … These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Thus, DC enables a UE to simultaneously transmit and receive data on multiple component carriers from groups of cells via the MN and the SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the MN and includes a primary cell (Pcell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (Scells). Further, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of serving cells associated with the SN and includes a primary secondary cell (PScell) and optionally one or more Scells).
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 PURKAYASTHA within the method of WuYumin. The motivation to combine references is that the combined method provides techniques and apparatuses for signaling aspects of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) change procedure in multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) dual connectivity (DC). Further, multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipment to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. NR, which may also be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) (See PURKAYASTHA [0002, 0005]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 69-72 and 79-80 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 claims 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.
Wallentin; Pontus (US-20230217329-A1) - Conditional Reconfiguration based on Data Traffic.
Ozturk; Ozcan (US-20230262541-A1) - TECHNIQUES FOR CONFIGURING MULTIPLE SECONDARY CELL GROUPS.
Kumar; Rajeev (US-11778527-B2) - Reporting for conditional primary secondary cell addition or change.
Selvaganapathy; Srinivasan (US-11963061-B2) - Method and apparatus for signalling radio link failure.
KOSKINEN; Henri Markus (US-20240179606-A1) - CONDITIONAL CHANGE OF PRIMARY CELL OF SECONDARY CELL GROUP.
Ishii; Atsushi (US-12150003-B2) - Release of conditional primary secondary cell addition/modification configurations.
DENG, Yun (WO-2021057235-A1) - CELL CONDITION UPDATING METHOD, USER EQUIPMENT AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM.
LIU, XUANBING (WO-2022089565-A1) - SECONDARY CELL GROUP INFORMATION CONFIGURATION, ACQUISITON METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE.
DA SILVA ICARO LEONARDO (WO-2022154735-A1) - CO-EXISTENCE OF INTER-SN AND INTRA-SN CPC.
KIM HONGSUK (WO-2021091342-A1) - SCG FAILURE HANDLING WITH CONDITIONAL PSCELL CONFIGURATION.
Conclusion
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/MAHENDRA R PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
