DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1 and 7-9 have been examined and are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 10/10/2024 and 5/21/2026 have been found to be in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
5. The drawings were received on 10/10/2024. These drawings are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication 2023/0328715 A1 to Agiwal (hereinafter “Agiwal”).
Regarding Claim 1, Agiwal discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
in case the UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of measurement of a cell group and the measurement of the cell group is not stopped (Agiwal: [0203-0208] – UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements of a cell group. Measurements are continued if the relaxation state has changed.), transmitting a UEAssistanceInformation message to provide the relaxation state of the measurement of the cell group (Claim limitation is interpreted to correspond to a dispositive or conditional limitation, since the terms “if”, “when”, and “in case of” suggest an action that follows is not required to be disclosed by the prior art of record. However, Zhao discloses in [0203-0208] – the UE sends a UEAssistanceInformation to provide said relaxation state.).
Regarding Claim 7, Agiwal discloses a user equipment (UE) (Agiwal: Figure 9 with [0024]), comprising:
a processor (Agiwal: Figure 9, element 920) configured to:
in case the UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of measurement of a cell group and the measurement of the cell group is not stopped (Agiwal: [0203-0208] – UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements of a cell group. Measurements are continued if the relaxation state has changed.), transmit a UEAssistanceInformation message to provide the relaxation state of the measurement of the cell group (Claim limitation is interpreted to correspond to a dispositive or conditional limitation, since the terms “if”, “when”, and “in case of” suggest an action that follows is not required to be disclosed by the prior art of record. However, Zhao discloses in [0203-0208] – the UE sends a UEAssistanceInformation to provide said relaxation state.).
Regarding Claim 8, Agiwal discloses the UE according to claim 7, wherein the measurement is Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) measurement (Agiwal: [0203-0208] – UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements of a cell group. Measurements are continued if the relaxation state has changed.).
Regarding Claim 9, Agiwal discloses the UE according to claim 7, wherein the measurement is Beam Failure Detection (BFD) measurement (Agiwal: [0209-0213] - UE is configured to provide a relaxation state of beam failure detection (BFD) measurements of a cell group. Measurements are continued if the relaxation state has changed.).
Conclusion
9. Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV whose telephone number is (571)270-7163. The examiner can normally be reached M, T, R, F 5:00 AM-5:00 PM, W 5:00 AM-3:00 PM (EDT).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Thier can be reached at (571) 272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
BENJAMIN H. ELLIOTT IV
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474 July 24, 2026
Prosecution Insights