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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 53, 54, 58, 61, 65, 68, 74, 76 and 77 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Damnjanovic et al. (US 2022/0182894) (hereafter Damnjanovic) (See IDS).
Regarding claims 53 and 76, Damnjanovic discloses a method for a user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) node comprising a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) ((see paragraph [0087] disclosing a user equipment, UE, denoted with element 115-a in Figure 4 communicating with a radio access network, RAN, node comprising a gNB-CU, denoted with element 405 in Figure 4 and that is considered a central unit, CU, and a first distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 410-a in Figure 4 and that is considered a distributed unit, DU, providing a source cell denoted with element 415-a in Figure 4 and that is considered a serving cell provided by the DU. Moreover paragraph [0087] discloses that the UE connects and communicates with the source cell provided by the first DU), the method comprising:
receiving, from the CU via the DU, a reconfiguration message that includes configurations associated with each of at least one candidate cell for layer l/layer-2 (L1/L2)-based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by the DU, wherein the candidate cells are provided by one or more neighbor Dus ((see paragraph [0089] disclosing that a disaggregated base station comprises a central unit, CU, denoted with element 505 in Figure 5, a first distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-a in Figure 5 and a second distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-b in Figure 5 where each DU supports multiple cells including a primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and a primary secondary cell, PSCell, denoted with element 520 in Figure 5. The UE communicates with the disaggregated base station via one or more multiple cells; paragraph [0090] disclosing that the central unit, CU, of the disaggregated base station transmits to the user equipment, UE, via the first distributed unit, DU, that is considered the DU providing the serving cell, radio resource control, RRC, signaling, that is considered a RRC message, for configuring the UE with a configured cell set for L 1/L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5. It should also be noted that paragraphs [0092]-[0094] disclose that the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility includes the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).);
storing the received configurations(see paragraph [0094] disclosing that once the UE receives the RRC signaling from the disaggregated base station, the UE can identify both the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility and the candidate cell set, thereby necessarily implying that the configurations associated with the candidate cell set have to be stored by the UE).;
receiving, from the DU, a lower layer signaling message including a command for the UE to change its serving cell to a first candidate cell, for which a configuration was received in the reconfiguration message (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).; and
performing an L1/L2 mobility procedure towards the first candidate cell and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the stored configuration associated with the first candidate cell. (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5. Therefore, the UE, after having switched from the source primary cell, PCell, to the target primary cell, PCell, communicates with the target primary cell, PCell, which is configured based on the configuration information included in the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility which, in turn, comprises the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility).
Regarding claim 54, Damnjanovic further discloses the method of claim 53, wherein the one or more neighbor DUs are associated with the CU and/or are part of the RAN node (see, Fig. 5, DU1 and DU2 are associated with CU-505).
Regarding claim 58, Damnjanovic further discloses the method of claim 53, wherein one or more of the following applies: the lower layer signaling is at a protocol layer lower than a radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer; and the lower layer signaling includes one of the following: medium access control (MAC) Control Element (CE), or physical (PHY) Downlink Control Information (DCI) (in particular paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message).
Regarding claim 61. (New) The method of claim 53, wherein:the first candidate cell is a primary cell (PCell) or a special cell (SpCell) of a cell group provided by a first neighbor DU; the configuration associated with the first candidate cell includes a configuration for the first candidate cell and configurations for one or more secondary cells (SCells) of the cell group; and communicating in the first candidate cell according to the stored configuration comprises operating in carrier aggregation with the first neighbor DU using the first candidate cell and the one or more candidate SCells. (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).;
Regarding claim 62, Damnjanovic further discloses the method of claim 53, further comprising sending to the CU an indication that the UE is capable of one or more of the following: L1/L2-based inter-cell mobility, and inter- DU L1/L2 based inter-cell mobility (see paragraph [0089] disclosing that a disaggregated base station comprises a central unit, CU, denoted with element 505 in Figure 5, a first distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-a in Figure 5 and a second distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-b in Figure 5 where each DU supports multiple cells including a primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and a primary secondary cell, PSCell, denoted with element 520 in Figure 5. The UE communicates with the disaggregated base station via one or more multiple cells; paragraph [0090] disclosing that the central unit, CU, of the disaggregated base station transmits to the user equipment, UE, via the first distributed unit, DU, that is considered the DU providing the serving cell, radio resource control, RRC, signaling, that is considered a RRC message, for configuring the UE with a configured cell set for L 1/L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5. It should also be noted that paragraphs [0092]-[0094] disclose that the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility includes the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).);
Regarding claim 65 and 77, Damnjanovic discloses a method for a central unit (CU) of a radio access network (RAN) node, the method comprising:
receiving, from a second distributed unit (DU) of the RAN node, configurations associated with each of at least one candidate cell for layer-1/layer-2 (L1/L2)- based inter-cell mobility by a user equipment (UE) from a serving cell provided by a first DU of the RAN node, wherein the at least one candidate cell is provided by the second DU (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L1/L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5); and
sending, to the first DU for transmission to the UE, a reconfiguration message that includes the configurations associated with the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU (see, Fig. 2 , the see, communication between CU, 215 to the DU, 220-a and 220-b, (see Figure 5 showing that both the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5, and the candidate cell set, denoted with element 535 in Figure 5, are provided by the second distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-b in Figure 5 and that is considered a neighbor DU, (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).).
Regarding claim 68, Damnjanovic further discloses the method of claim 65, wherein: the method further comprises sending, to the second DU, a request to configure the UE for L1/L2-based inter-cell mobility from a serving cell provided by a first DU to at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU; and the configurations are received in response to the request (see Figure 5 showing that both the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5, and the candidate cell set, denoted with element 535 in Figure 5, are provided by the second distributed unit, DU, denoted with element 510-b in Figure 5 and that is considered a neighbor DU, (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).
Regarding claim 74, Damnjanovic further discloses the method of claim 68, wherein: the method further comprises receiving from the UE an indication that the UE is capable of one or more of the following: L1/L2-based inter-cell mobility, and inter-DU L1/L2 based inter-cell mobility; and sending the request to configure the UE is based on the indication received from the UE. (see paragraph [0099] disclosing that the disaggregated base station comprising the gNB-CU and the first DU transmits to the UE a L 1 /L2 mobility signaling message, that is considered a lower layer signaling message, including a command for the UE to change its source primary cell, PCell, denoted with element 515 in Figure 5 and that is considered the serving cell generated by the first DU, to a target primary cell, PCell, that is considered a first candidate cell, which is a member of the configured cell set for L1/L2 mobility, and which is generated by the second DU. It should also be noted that paragraph [0099] discloses that the target PCell is a member of the configured cell set for L 1 /L2 mobility, denoted with element 525 in Figure 5 and including the candidate cell set for L1 /L2 mobility shown with element 535 in Figure 5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 55, 56, 59, 60, 67 and 70 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Damnjanovic in view of Ingale et al. (WO2018/174609) (hereafter Ingale) (see IDS) .
Regarding claim 55, Damnjanovic does not disclose the method of claim 53, wherein: a first one of the configurations includes a corresponding Channel State Information (CSI) measurement configuration in the reconfiguration message; and the method further comprises performing measurements on the candidate cell associated with the first configuration according to the corresponding CSI measurement configuration. In same field of endeavor, Ingale teaches in particular paragraph [0083] and step 312 in Figure 3 disclosing that the source cell, i.e. the source DU, informs a user equipment, UE, about the CSI-RS configuration of both source and target cell, i.e. the target DU so that the UE starts measuring the CSI-RS of the involved cells according to the received configuration in RRC message). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Ingale with the Damnjanovic, as a whole, so as to performing measurement on candidate cell based on CSI measurement, the motivation is to determine target cell based on the beam quality.
Regarding claim 56, the combined teachings further disclose the method of claim 55, wherein: the CSI measurement configuration includes a CSI reporting configuration; and performing the measurements includes reporting results of the measurements, performed according to CSI measurement configuration, to the DU according to the CSI reporting configuration. (Ingale, in particular paragraph [0083] and step 318 in Figure 3 disclosing that the UE transmits to the source cell, i.e. the source DU, a measurement report with the measurement results carried out on the CSI-RS of both source and target cell).
Regarding claim 59, the combined teachings further disclose the method of claim 53, wherein communicating in the first candidate cell according to the stored configuration includes one or more of the following: monitoring a control channel of the first candidate cell in a spatial direction corresponding to a Transmission Configuration Information (TCI) state configuration included in the stored configuration; and performing a contention-free or a contention-based random access (RA) procedure in the first candidate cell, according to a RA configuration included in the stored configuration ((in particular paragraph [0084] and steps 326, 328, 330 in Figure 3 disclosing that the UE performs a random access procedure with the target cell, i.e. the target DU).
regarding claim 60, the combined teachings further disclose the method of claim 53, wherein one or more of the following applies: the UE receives the reconfiguration message when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state with the RAN; and the UE receives the reconfiguration message in response to a radio resource control (RRC) Measurement Report sent by the UE. (in particular paragraph [0082] and steps 306 and 312 in Figure 3 disclosing that the UE transmits a measurement report to the serving cell, i.e. the serving DU, and in response receives the RRC message with the measurement configuration).
Regarding claim 67, the combined teachings further discloses the method of claim 65, wherein a first one of the configurations includes a corresponding Channel State Information (CSI) measurement configuration, which is included in the reconfiguration message (Ingale teaches in particular paragraph [0083] and step 312 in Figure 3 disclosing that the source cell, i.e. the source DU, informs a user equipment, UE, about the CSI-RS configuration of both source and target cell, i.e. the target DU so that the UE starts measuring the CSI-RS of the involved cells according to the received configuration in RRC message).
Regarding claim 70, the combined teachings further discloses the method of claim 68, further comprising receiving from the first DU a message that includes a radio resource control (RRC) Measurement Report sent by the UE, wherein: the request to configure the UE for L1/L2-based inter-cell mobility is sent in response to the message comprising the RRC Measurement Report; and the RRC Measurement Report includes one or more UE measurements of the at least one candidate cell provided by the second DU (Ingale, in particular paragraph [0083] and step 318 in Figure 3 disclosing that the UE transmits to the source cell, i.e. the source DU, a measurement report with the measurement results carried out on the CSI-RS of both source and target cell).
10. Claim(s) 57, 64, 66, 69 and 75 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Damnjanovic in view of "3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Architecture description (Release 17)", 3GPP DRAFT; 38401-H10, 23 June 2022, XP052202314. (hereafter 3GPP) (see IDS).
Regarding claim 57, Damjanovic does not disclose the method of claim 53, further comprising sending, to the CU via the DU, a reconfiguration complete message responsive to the reconfiguration message. However, in same field of endeavor, 3GPP teaches (in particular steps 9 and 10 of Figure 8.2.1.1-1 showing that the UE transmits a RRC Reconfiguration complete message to the gNB-DU via the target gNB-DU). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of 3GPP with the Damnjanovic, as a whole, so as to perform the RRC reconfiguration completion, the motivation is to perform UE handover.
Regarding claim 64, the combined teachings further discloses the method of claim 53, wherein: the at least one candidate cell include a plurality of candidate cells; and the reconfiguration message includes a plurality of RRC Reconfiguration messages associated respectively with the plurality of candidate cells (see, 3GPP, Fig. 8.2.3.2-1, step 12, RRC reconfiguration procedure is performed between the MeNB and migrating IAB-MT, see, Fig. 8.2.4-2 6. The first parent node IAB-DU forwards the received RRC Reconfiguration message to the dual-connecting IAB-MT.
Regarding claim 66, the combined teachings further disclose the method of claim 65, further comprising receiving, from the first DU, a reconfiguration complete message transmitted by the UE in response to the reconfiguration message (3GPP, steps 9 and 10 of Figure 8.2.1.1-1 showing that the UE transmits a RRC Reconfiguration complete message to the gNB-DU via the target gNB-DU).
Regarding claim 69, the combined teachings further wherein:
the request to configure the UE is, or is included in, a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message; the response to the request is, or is included in, a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message; and the reconfiguration message is sent to the first DU in one of the following: a DL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message, or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message (3GPP, page 27, The gNB-CU sends the INITIAL UE MESSAGE to the AMF. 8. The AMF sends the INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to the gNB-CU. 9. The gNB-CU sends the UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to establish the UE context in the gNB-DU. In this message, it may also encapsulate the SecurityModeCommand message. In case of NG-RAN sharing, the gNB-CU includes the serving PLMN ID (for SNPNs the serving SNPN ID). 10. The gNB-DU sends the SecurityModeCommand message to the UE. 11. The gNB-DU sends the UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the gNB-CU. 12. The UE responds with the SecurityModeComplete message. 13. The gNB-DU encapsulates the RRC message in the UL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message and sends it to the gNB-CU).
Regarding claim 75, the combined teachings further disclose the method of claim 65, wherein: the at least one candidate cell include a plurality of candidate cells; and the reconfiguration message includes a plurality of RRCReconfiguration messages associated respectively with the plurality of candidate cells ( in particular steps 9 and 10 of Figure 8.2.1.1-1 showing that the UE transmits a RRC Reconfiguration complete message to the gNB-DU via the target gNB-DU).
11. Claim(s) 63 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Damnjanovic in view of GU (US 2025/0280340) (hereafter Gu).
Regarding claim 63, Damnjanovic does not disclose the method of claim 53, wherein the reconfiguration message is an RRCReconfiguration message and is received after security is activated during the UE' s initial access to the DU. However, in same field of endeavor, Gu teaches in Fig. 3, the RRC reconfiguration , performed in step 15 and is received after security mode completion performs between the UE and DU entity as shown. [0129] 10. The DU entity sends a security mode command to the UE. [0131] 12. The UE sends security mode completion to the DU entity. [0134] 15. The DU entity sends an RRC reconfiguration request to the UE. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Gu with the Damnjanovic, as a whole so as to perform RRC reconfiguration between the UE and DU, to perform the intra-handover of the DU entity.
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claims 71-73 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.
Conclusion
13. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wang et al. (US 2026/0136244) discloses L1/L2 based mobility and inter-cell beam management.
Yuan et al. (US 2025/0317821) discloses L1 and L2 signaling of cell and/or beam changes.
Gundogan et al. (US 2025/0203467) discloses measurement in a communication system.
Chandrashekar et al. (US 2024/0334262) discloses handover and l1/l2 centric inter-cell change.
Da Silva et al. (US 2024/0224135) discloses L1/L2 centric mobility for cells.
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/DHAVAL V PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631
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