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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 9, 12-13, 15-17, 20-22, 24, 26, 33-36 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-4, 6, 8, 9, 11-13, 15-18, 28, 29 of copending Application No. 18858205 (hereinafter A18858205). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following.
For claim 1, A18858205 discloses a method for determining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, performed by a network device (claim 1, “A method for determining a parameter of a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, performed by a network device”), the method comprising:
sending configuration information, wherein the configuration information is configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to user equipment (UE) of at least one antenna structure (claim 11, “sending configuration information, wherein the configuration information indicates the bias parameter corresponding to the configuration-related information of the first-type UE”, claim 1 “…; determining a bias parameter of an RSRP threshold of a first-type user equipment (UE) according to configuration-related information of the first-type UE, wherein the first-type UE is a UE of which an antenna structure is reduced with respect to a second-type UE”);
wherein RSRP thresholds corresponding to UEs of different antenna structures in a same frequency range (FR) are different (“claim 1 … determining a bias parameter of an RSRP threshold of a first-type user equipment (UE) according to configuration-related information of the first-type UE, wherein the first-type UE is a UE of which an antenna structure is reduced with respect to a second-type UE” and claim 2 “… the first-type UE includes one of: a UE of which a number of receiving antennas is smaller than a number of receiving antennas of the second-type UE in a first frequency range; …”).
Claim 16 is reject in a similar fashion since it is a claim of the corresponding method performed by UE (instead of network device in claim 1) and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 33 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 34 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 35 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
Claim 36 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
Dependent claims are rejected because each of them can be rejected in a similar fashion as the corresponding independent claim.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 9, 12-13, 15-17, 20-22, 24, 26, 33-36 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 5-9, 11-15, 17-29 of copending Application No. 18855072 (hereinafter A18855072). Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because of the following.
For claim 1, A18855072 discloses a method for determining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold, performed by a network device (claim 1, “A threshold determination method … determining a parameter threshold of the UE …” and claim 2 “The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter threshold comprises a reference signal receiving power (RSRP) threshold.”), the method comprising:
sending configuration information, wherein the configuration information is configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to user equipment (UE) of at least one antenna structure (claims 1-3, such as claim 2 “The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter threshold comprises a reference signal receiving power (RSRP) threshold.” and claim 3 “wherein an antenna configuration of the UE is either a first antenna configuration or a second antenna configuration, ….”; suggesting that both antenna configurations may use same frequency range FR1);
wherein RSRP thresholds corresponding to UEs of different antenna structures in a same frequency range (FR) are different (claims 1-3, such as claim 3 “wherein an antenna configuration of the UE is either a first antenna configuration or a second antenna configuration, and wherein in response to an operating frequency range supported by the UE being 5G frequency range 1 (FR1), a number of antennas corresponding to the first antenna configuration is less than a number of antennas corresponding to the second antenna configuration; ….”; suggesting that both antenna configurations may use same frequency range FR1).
Claim 16 is reject in a similar fashion since it is a claim of the corresponding method performed by UE (instead of network device in claim 1) and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 33 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 34 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 35 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
Claim 36 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
Dependent claims are rejected because each of them can be rejected in a similar fashion as the corresponding independent claim.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4-6, 9, 12-13, 15-17, 20-22, 24, 26, 33-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over R4-2201859 (3GPP R4-2201859, NPL dated 7/13/25, 8 pages) in view of R1-2109084 (3GPP R1-2109084, NPL dated 10/16/24, 3 pages).
For claim 1, R4-2201859 discloses a method for determining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold (FIGs. 1 and 2 and associated text, such as p4, 2nd para “… RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. …”), performed by a network device, the method comprising:
sending configuration information, wherein the configuration information is configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to user equipment (UE) of at least one structure (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… According to current procedures RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.”);
wherein RSRP thresholds corresponding to UEs of different structures in a same frequency range (FR) are different (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.” and p1, Observation # 1 “… legacy NR handover requirements which indicate with 2RX capablity, regardless of which FR group is involved. …”).
R4-2201859 does not specifically state, but R1-2109084 that the “structure” in the claim is a “antenna structure” (Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. The antenna gain will be lost with reduced number of Rx branches. For RedCap UEs, the results of RSRP measurement on SSB will degrade compared to that of legacy NR UEs. …”). R1-2109084 also teaches that threshold for different antenna structures are in a same frequency range (FR) (p3, Proposal 2, 1st para “For other measurement related procedure, currently network configures measurement related thresholds for legacy UEs assuming they are equipped with a minimum of 2 or 4 Rx antenna ports for specific frequency bands. For RedCap UEs with reduced Rx branches number, minimum number Rx antenna ports is reduced to 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports.”). OOSA would have been motivated to apply the teaching of R1-2109084 above to the UE structures by R4-2201859 to yield a predictable result of determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to OOSA before the effective filing date of the application to combine R4-2201859 and R1-2109084 for the benefit of determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures (p3, Proposal 2 of R1-2109084).
For claim 16, R4-2201859 discloses a method for determining a reference signal received power (RSRP) threshold (FIGs. 1 and 2 and associated text, such as p4, 2nd para “… RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. …”), performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving configuration information, wherein the configuration information is configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to UE of at least one antenna structure (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… According to current procedures RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.”);
wherein RSRP thresholds corresponding to UEs of different structures in a same frequency range (FR) are different (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.” and p1, Observation # 1 “… legacy NR handover requirements which indicate with 2RX capablity, regardless of which FR group is involved. …”); and
determining the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE based on the configuration information and structure of the UE (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.” and p1, Observation # 1 “… legacy NR handover requirements which indicate with 2RX capablity, regardless of which FR group is involved. …”).
R4-2201859 does not specifically state, but R1-2109084 that the “structure” in the claim is a “antenna structure” (Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. The antenna gain will be lost with reduced number of Rx branches. For RedCap UEs, the results of RSRP measurement on SSB will degrade compared to that of legacy NR UEs. …”). R1-2109084 also teaches that threshold for different antenna structures are in a same frequency range (FR) (p3, Proposal 2, 1st para “For other measurement related procedure, currently network configures measurement related thresholds for legacy UEs assuming they are equipped with a minimum of 2 or 4 Rx antenna ports for specific frequency bands. For RedCap UEs with reduced Rx branches number, minimum number Rx antenna ports is reduced to 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports.”). OOSA would have been motivated to apply the teaching of R1-2109084 above to the UE structures by R4-2201859 to yield a predictable result of determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to OOSA before the effective filing date of the application to combine R4-2201859 and R1-2109084 for the benefit of determining measurement related thresholds for UEs with different antenna structures (p3, Proposal 2 of R1-2109084).
Claim 33 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 34 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 1.
Claim 35 is rejected because it is a generic communication device that performs the method of claim 16 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
Claim 36 is rejected because it a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer executable instructions that performs the method of claim 1 and has the same subject matter as claim 16.
As to claim 2, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 1, R4-2201859 further discloses: at least one of:
the configuration information being configured to indicate the one or more parameters RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to the UE of the at least one antenna structure in at least one FR (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… According to current procedures RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.”); or
the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters comprising at least one of: an RSRP threshold; or an offset threshold (FIG. 2 shows RSRP threshold for 1Rx UE and RSRP threshold for 2Rx UE, each of them may be consider as an offset threshold to SS-RSRP);
wherein the method further comprises: obtaining the offset threshold based on a wireless communication protocol; or presetting the offset threshold (FIG. 2 shows RSRP threshold for 1Rx UE and RSRP threshold for 2Rx UE, each of them may be consider as an offset threshold to SS-RSRP).
As to claims 4 and 20, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claims 1 and 16, further discloses: wherein the configuration information is configured to indicate at least one of:
an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE with at least two receiving antennas in a first FR is a first RSRP threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …”);
an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE with one receiving antenna in the first FR is a second RSRP threshold and/or an offset threshold corresponding to the UE with one receiving antenna in the first FR is a first offset threshold; wherein the second RSRP threshold is smaller than the first RSRP threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 2 shows RSRP threshold for 2Rx UE is smaller than RSRP threshold for 1Rx UE);
an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE with an antenna structure of a first predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna in a second FR is a third RSRP threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” and R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2 shows 3 RSRP thresholds); or
an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE with an antenna structure of a second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna in the second FR is a fourth RSRP threshold and/or an offset threshold corresponding to the UE with the antenna structure of the second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna in the second FR is a second offset threshold; wherein the first predetermined number is greater than the second predetermined number, and the third RSRP threshold is greater than the fourth RSRP threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold).
As to claims 5 and 21, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claims 1 and 16, R4-2201859 further discloses: wherein determining the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE based on the configuration information and the antenna structure of the UE comprises:
determining an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE based on the configuration information and the antenna structure of the UE (p4, the para above Figure 2 “… According to current procedures RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.”); or
determining an offset threshold increased for the UE based on the configuration information and the antenna structure of the UE (FIG. 1 or 2).
As to claims 6 and 22, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claims 5 and 21, further discloses: wherein determining the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE based on the antenna structure of the UE comprises at least one of:
determining an RSRP threshold of the UE based on the antenna structure of a number of receiving antennas supported by the UE (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2 and R1-2109084 Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. The antenna gain will be lost with reduced number of Rx branches. …”), comprising:
in response to an antenna structure of at least two receiving antennas supported by the UE in a first FR, determining the RSRP threshold of the UE as a first RSRP threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2); or
in response to an antenna structure of one receiving antenna supported by the UE in the first FR, determining the RSRP threshold of the UE as a second RSRP threshold (R4-2201859: p4, the para above Figure 2 “… For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold); otherwise the UE selects 4-step RA. … may need two different RSRP thresholds that are derived and configured by gNB based on 1 Rx- and 2 Rx measurement accuracy performance as illustrated in Figure 2.” and p1, Observation # 1 “… legacy NR handover requirements which indicate with 2RX capablity, regardless of which FR group is involved. …”);
wherein the first RSRP threshold is greater than the second RSRP threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2); or
determining an RSRP threshold of the UE based on the antenna structure of a number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2), comprising:
in response to an antenna structure of a first predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE in a second FR, determining the RSRP threshold of the UE as a third RSRP threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2); or
in response to an antenna structure of a second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE in the second FR, determining the RSRP threshold of the UE as a fourth RSRP threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold);
wherein the first predetermined number is greater than the second predetermined number, and the third RSRP threshold is greater than the fourth RSRP threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold).
As to claim 9, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 5, further discloses:
9. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE based on the antenna structure of the UE comprises at least one of:
determining an offset threshold of the UE based on the antenna structure of a number of receiving antennas supported by the UE (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2 in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”), comprising:
in response to an antenna structure of one receiving antenna supported by the UE in a first FR, determining the offset threshold of the UE as a first offset threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”); or
determining an offset threshold of the UE based on the antenna structure of a number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”), comprising:
in response to an antenna structure of a second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE in a second FR, determining the offset threshold of the UE as a second offset threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”).
As to claim 12, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 4, further discloses:
wherein, the first FR comprises FR1; and/or the second FR comprises FR2 (R1-2109084: p1, the last “Agreement”, 1st bullet “A RedCap UE type from RAN1 point of view supports a maximum bandwidth of 20MHz for FR1 and 100MHz for FR2”).
As to claim 13, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 2, R4-2201859 further discloses: wherein the RSRP threshold comprises at least one of:
an RSRP threshold of a synchronization signal block (SSB) rsrp-ThresholdSSB, configured for a UE to determine whether to allow to select a physical random access channel (PRACH) resource corresponding to a SSB with an RSRP greater than the rsrp-ThresholdSSB to perform operations (p4, 2nd para “According to current procedures RSRP-based thresholds are used in various requirements such as RA. For instance, in current RA requirements, when both 4-step RA and 2-step RA are configured then the UE selects 2-step RA if the RSRP of the reference SSB is above RSRP threshold (msgA-RSRP-Threshold)”, p3, Section 2.2, subsection “RA for HD-FDD UE”, 1st para “… both RA types are configured. Since resynchronization is UE implementation specific, for instance what type of RS (SSB or TRS), the number of RS, and when it should receive those varies with the implementation. Therefore RAN4 should clarify that the UE is not expected to perform PRACH transmission in a cell if the UE cannot receive at least one SSB during the last Tp period before the PRACH transmission occasion, where exact value of Tp can be further discussed, e.g. Tp=160 ms, corresponding to the largest SSB periodicity.”);
an RSRP threshold of a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, configured for the UE to determine whether to allow to select a CSI-RS with an RSRP greater than the rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS to perform operations (p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.”);
an RSRP threshold of a SSB during random access msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, configured for the UE to determine whether to allow to select a PRACH resource of MsgA corresponding to a SSB with an RSRP greater than the msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB to perform operations (p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.”);
a random access RSRP threshold msgA-RSRP-Threshold, configured for the UE to determine whether to select a 2-step random access type to perform random access and/or whether to allow to select a random access channel (RACH) resource with an RSRP greater than the msgA-RSRP-Threshold to perform random access (p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.”); or
an RSRP threshold for beam failure recovery rsrp-ThresholdBFR, configured for the UE to determine whether to allow to select a RACH resource with an RSRP greater than the rsrp-ThresholdBFR to perform random access during beam failure recovery (p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.”).
As to claim 15, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 1, R4-2201859 further discloses: wherein the configuration information is further configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to UE with a predetermined power level; wherein the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to the UE with the predetermined power level comprise at least one of a fourth RSRP threshold or a second offset threshold (FIG. 1 or in view of p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.” in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold).
As to claim 17, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 16, further discloses: at least one of:
determining whether the UE is allowed to access a cell and/or performs beam recovery-related operations based on the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE;
the configuration information being configured to indicate the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to the UE of the at least one antenna structure in at least one FR (R1-2109084: p1, the last “Agreement”, 1st bullet “A RedCap UE type from RAN1 point of view supports a maximum bandwidth of 20MHz for FR1 and 100MHz for FR2”); or
the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters comprising at least one of: an RSRP threshold; or an offset threshold (R4-2201859: FIG. 1 or 2).
As to claim 24, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 21, R4-2201859 further discloses: wherein determining the offset threshold increased for the UE based on the configuration information and the antenna structure of the UE comprises at least one of:
in response to an antenna structure of one receiving antenna supported by the UE in a first FR, determining that the offset threshold increased for the UE is a first offset threshold (suggested by FIG. 1 or 2 in view of the parent claim); or
in response to an antenna structure of a second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE in a second FR, determining that the offset threshold increased for the UE is a second offset threshold (suggested by FIG. 1 or 2 in view of the parent claim).
As to claim 26, R4-2201859 in view of R1-2109084 discloses claim 16, R4-2201859 further discloses:
wherein the configuration information is at least configured to indicate one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to UE with a predetermined power level (FIG. 1 or 2 and the associated text, such as p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.”);
wherein the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters corresponding to the UE with the predetermined power level comprise at least one of a fourth RSRP threshold or a second offset threshold (R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold);
wherein the method further comprises at least one of:
determining the one or more RSRP threshold-related parameters of the UE based on the configuration information and the antenna structure of the UE, comprising:
in response to an antenna structure of a second predetermined number of antenna elements for each receiving antenna of the UE in a second FR, determining that the UE is at the predetermined power level; and
based on the predetermined power level and the configuration information, determining that an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE is the fourth RSRP threshold and/or an offset threshold increased for the UE is the second offset threshold (FIG. 1 or in view of p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.” in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold); or
in response to a current power level of the UE being the predetermined power level, determining that an RSRP threshold corresponding to the UE is the fourth RSRP threshold and/or an offset threshold increased for the UE is the second offset threshold (FIG. 1 or in view of p4, the para under FIG. 2, “Following list of RSRP based thresholds are used in legacy NR requirements and need new thresholds based on 1 Rx measurement performance: rsrp-ThresholdSSB, rsrp-ThresholdCSI-RS, msgA-RSRP-ThresholdSSB, msgA-RSRP-Threshold.” in view of R1-2109084: Section 2.2, 3rd para “For the RedCap UEs, the minimum number of Rx branches supported is 1 for frequency bands where a legacy NR UE is required to be equipped with a minimum of 4 or 2 Rx antenna ports. …” in view of p3, last para, “The RedCap UE may support 1 Rx or 2 Rx or different number of Rx depending on the operating band …”, which suggests different numbers of Rx/Antennas and associated thresholds, including fourth threshold).
Conclusion
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/JIANYE WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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