DETAILED ACTION
The office action is a response to an application filed on November 25, 2024, wherein claims 33-55 are pending and ready for examination.
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 Objections
Claim 50 objected to because of the following informalities: The apparatus according to claim 17, instead it should be “The apparatus according to claim 49,” Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 51 objected to because of the following informalities: ...control information to the the user equipment,,, “the” is repeated. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 33, 34, 40-42, 44, 45, 47, 49, and 50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin et al. (Jin hereafter) (US 20200313838 A1) in view of Kumar et al. (Kumar hereafter) (US 20230171659 A1).
.
Regarding claim 33 Jin teaches, An apparatus comprising at least one processor (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-42) and at least one memory (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-30), said at least one memory stored with computer program code thereon, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (Jin; [0319-0321]), cause the apparatus at least to:
establish a connection to a cell (NR CN is a device that is in charge of various control functions in addition to a mobility management function associated with a UE, and may be connected to a plurality of base stations. Also, the next generation mobile communication system may interoperate with a legacy LTE system) using a first radio access technology(eNB 1c-30 corresponds to an evolved nodeB (eNB) of a legacy LTE system.) and a second radio access technology (NR NB 1c-10, Fig. 1C) (Jin; [0088] Referring to FIG. 1C, the NR NB 1c-10 corresponds to an evolved nodeB (eNB) of a legacy LTE system. The NR gNB is connected to the NR UE 1c-15 via a wireless channel and may provide a better service than a service from a legacy eNodeB... The NR CN 1c-05 performs a function of supporting mobility, configuring a bearer, configuring a quality of service (QoS), and the like. The NR CN is a device that is in charge of various control functions in addition to a mobility management function associated with a UE, and may be connected to a plurality of base stations. Also, the next generation mobile communication system may interoperate with a legacy LTE system, and an NR CN is connected to an MME 1c-25 via a network interface. The MME may be connected to an eNB 1c-30 which is a legacy base station. [0091]);
camp on a first cell The initial access procedure may be performed when a UE misses a network, and camps on a cell) using at least the first radio access technology in an idle mode of radio resource control (RRC) protocol of the first radio access technology (The initial access procedure may be performed when a UE in the idle state) (Zhu; [0130] The initial access procedure may be performed in the process in which a UE camps on a cell for the first time when the UE is powered on. The initial access procedure may be performed when a public land mobile network (PLMN) is changed. The initial access procedure may be performed when a UE misses a network, and camps on a cell again. The initial access procedure may be performed when a UE in the idle state moves and camps on a cell in an area where the UE moves to. );
identify, in response to receiving signaling information from the first cell (gNB 1fb-10 may broadcast an MIB and SIB1 associated with a corresponding cell), said first cell as a dynamic spectrum sharing cell (applies DSS,), wherein spectrum sharing provides support for a second cell (associated with a corresponding cell) supporting the second radio access technology (a cell that supports uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting and applies DSS) and said signaling information comprises information for establishing a connection to the second cell (indicating supporting of uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting, in the SIB1 to “true”, and may perform broadcasting) (Jin; [0203-0205] [0205] In operation 1fb-15, a gNB 1fb-10 may broadcast an MIB and SIB1 associated with a corresponding cell. If the corresponding cell corresponds to a TDD band, and is a cell that supports uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting and applies DSS, the gNB may set the cellBarred field of the MIB to “barred”, may set an indicator, indicating supporting of uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting, in the SIB1 to “true”, and may perform broadcasting);
Jin fails to explicitly teach, transmit a random access preamble to the first cell, said random access preamble indicating a request to be redirected to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology;
receive a random access preamble response from the first cell ;
redirect, based on the random access preamble response, to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology; and
carry out signaling for transition the apparatus into a connected mode of the radio resource control (RRC) protocol of the second radio access technology
However, in the same field of endeavor Kumar teaches, transmit a random access preamble to the first cell, said random access preamble indicating a request to be redirected to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology (Kumar; [0065] At action 402 the first BS 405a
transmits, and the UE 415 receives, system information indicating cell reselection priorities. In some aspects, action 402 includes transmitting a master information block (MIB) and/or a system information block (SIB) message indicating the reselection priorities. [0065] the UE 415 may be configured to evaluate a neighboring cell with a higher priority than the connected cell to determine if the higher-priority neighboring cell meets the signal energy and/or quality criteria for reselection. the UE 415 may establish a connection with the higher priority cell and camp on that cell. [0066] At action 404, the UE 415 and the first BS 405a are in a RRC connected mode. The first BS 405a corresponds to a first cell. Accordingly, the UE 415 and the first BS 405a may communicate in a first frequency band. In RRC_CONNECTED, the UE 415 is connected to the core network associated with the first BS 405a. Further, the RRC context is established and the parameters involved with communications between the UE 415 and the network are known to the UE 415 and the first BS 405a. [0069] At action 410, the UE 415 performs a cell reselection procedure using the cell reselection priorities indicated in the system information received in action 402 );
receive a random access preamble response from the first cell (Kumar: [0027] the BS may transmit dedicated signaling, such as a connection release message, that includes empty mobility control information and/or cell reselection priority information. For example, in LTE, the BS may transmit a RRCConnectionRelease message including idleModeMobilityControlInfo information element (IE). The idleModeMobilityControlInfo IE may typically indicate cell reselection priorities for each of one or more candidate neighboring cells. In NR, the BS may transmit a CellReselectionPriorities IE indicating the cell reselection priorities for each of one or more candidate neighboring cells) (See fig. 3);
redirect, based on the random access preamble response (UE 115 can perform a random access procedure), to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology (to establish a connection with the BS 105.); (Kumar; [0044] the UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. For the random access procedure, the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response (e.g., contention resolution message).); and .
carry out signaling for transition the apparatus into a connected mode of the radio resource control (RRC) protocol of the second radio access technology (Kumar; [0070] At action 414, the UE 415 performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status or mode with the second cell via the second BS 405b)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 44 Jin teaches, An apparatus comprising at least one processor (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-42) and at least one memory (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-30), said at least one memory stored with computer program code thereon, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (Jin; [0319-0321]), cause the apparatus at least to:
provide a first cell being a dynamic spectrum sharing cell supporting at least a first radio access technology (cell that supports uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting and applies DSS), (Jin; [0203-0205] [0205] In operation 1fb-15, a gNB 1fb-10 may broadcast an MIB and SIB1 associated with a corresponding cell. If the corresponding cell corresponds to a TDD band, and is a cell that supports uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting and applies DSS, the gNB may set the cellBarred field of the MIB to “barred”, may set an indicator, indicating supporting of uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting, in the SIB1 to “true”, and may perform broadcasting), wherein at least one random access preamble indicating a request (random access request) to be redirected to a second cell supporting at least a second radio access technology is stored in the apparatus (UE transmits the UE capability, including a capability associated with uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting) (Jin; [0245] The uplink transmission may include at least one of a random access request, an RRC control message, and a data transmission. In operation 1ga-30, the UE transfers a UE capability in response to a request from the corresponding base station. The UE transmits the UE capability, including a capability associated with uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting in a TDD band);
Jin fails to explicitly teach, transmit signaling information to at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology, wherein said signaling information comprises information for establishing a connection to the second cell;
receive a random access preamble from at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology, said random access preamble indicating a request for the user equipment to be redirected to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology;
transmit an indication to the second cell to transition to an active state; and
transmit a random access preamble response to the user equipment via the first radio access technology, wherein the random access preamble response comprises signaling for re-directing the user equipment to camp on a second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology.
However, in the same field of endeavor Kumar teaches, transmit signaling information to at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology, wherein said signaling information comprises information for establishing a connection to the second cell (Kumar; [0026] If a cell with a higher priority than the currently camped cell satisfies signal power and/or signal quality thresholds, the UE may reselect that cell by initiating a connection protocol, such as a random access channel (RACH) procedure);
receive a random access preamble from at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology (Kumar: [0027] the BS may transmit dedicated signaling, such as a connection release message, that includes empty mobility control information and/or cell reselection priority information. For example, in LTE, the BS may transmit a RRCConnectionRelease message including idleModeMobilityControlInfo information element (IE). The idleModeMobilityControlInfo IE may typically indicate cell reselection priorities for each of one or more candidate neighboring cells. In NR, the BS may transmit a CellReselectionPriorities IE indicating the cell reselection priorities for each of one or more candidate neighboring cells) (See fig. 3), said random access preamble indicating a request for the user equipment (BS 105 may respond with a random access response) to be redirected to the second cell (the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 ) supporting at least the second radio access technology (BS 105 may respond with a connection response) (Kumar; [0044] the UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. For the random access procedure, the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response (e.g., contention resolution message));
transmit an indication to the second cell to transition to an active state (Kumar; [0070] At action 414, the UE 415 performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status or mode with the second cell via the second BS 405b); and
transmit a random access preamble response to the user equipment via the first radio access technology (Kumar; [0054] At step 340, the UE 215a performs a random access procedure with the BS 205a. For example, the UE 215a may exchange a random access preamble, a random access response, a RRC connection request, and a RRC connection response with the BS 205a), wherein the random access preamble response comprises signaling for re-directing the user equipment to camp on a second cell (the UE 215a may identify neighboring cells) supporting at least the second radio access technology(reselect to camp on an NR cell) (Kumar; [0049-0061] [0055] the random access procedure and establishing a RRC connection with the network, the UE 215a initiates a network attachment procedure with the network. For example, the BS 205a may coordinate with the core network components to identify, authenticate, and authorize the UE 215 for sending and/or receiving data in the network and assign the UE 215a with a group of TAs [0056] When the RSRP or the RSRQ from the serving cell 210a falls below a certain threshold, the UE 215a may monitor or evaluate receive signal power or quality from neighboring cells (e.g., the cells 210b and 210c) to search for a better cell for camping. In an example, the UE 215a may identify neighboring cells based on system information received from a previous cell search, or a previously camped cell, and/or monitoring from the current serving cell 210a...[0058] the SIB5 includes RAT, frequency carrier, frequency band, and/or beam information associated with an inter-RAT neighboring cell and/or corresponding criteria for cell reselection. An example of an inter-RAT cell reselection may include a UE camped on an NR cell and reselecting to camp on an LTE cell or camping. Alternatively, a UE camped on an LTE cell may reselect to camp on an NR cell. [0061] [0061] The UE 215 may autonomously make the cell camping decision based on cell reselection criteria based on system information received from the serving cell BS 205a) (See fig. 3. ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 49 Jin teaches, An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-42) and at least one memory (Jin; fig. 1K, 1k-30), said at least one memory stored with computer program code thereon, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor (Jin; [0319-0321]), cause the apparatus at least to:
provide a second cell being a dynamic spectrum sharing cell supporting at least a second radio access technology (a procedure for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) between LTE and NR in a predetermined TDD band), wherein at least one random access preamble (RRC setup request message in operation 1fb-35) for said apparatus in a first cell providing a dynamic spectrum sharing cell supporting (procedure for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS)) at least a first radio access technology (between LTE and NR) indicates a request for a user equipment to be redirected (In this instance, the UE performs uplink transmission by applying 7.5 kHz frequency shifting) ( Jin; [0203] FIG. 1FB, a procedure for supporting dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) between LTE and NR in a predetermined TDD band, in addition to an N41 band, may be needed. The procedure may be performed with reference to an existing procedure performed in FDD, that is, a procedure that identifies whether uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting is supported based on SIB1,);
configure the apparatus to operate in an inactive state (RRC IDLE state) (Jin; [0292] In operation 1gc-05, a UE may receive an MIB from a base station. In the operation, the UE may be in an RRC IDLE state, and may perform cell selection and cell reselection for searching for a cell to camp on);
Jin fails to explicitly teach, receive an indication from the first cell to transition to an active state, said indication being triggered by a random access preamble received by the first cell from at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology, said random access preamble indicating a request for the user equipment to be redirected to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology; and
However, in the same field of endeavor Kumar teaches, receive an indication from the first cell to transition to an active state (Kumar; [0070] At action 414, the UE 415 performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status or mode with the second cell via the second BS 405b), said indication being triggered by a random access preamble received by the first cell from at least one user equipment via the first radio access technology (Kumar; [0054] At step 340, the UE 215a performs a random access procedure with the BS 205a. For example, the UE 215a may exchange a random access preamble, a random access response, a RRC connection request, and a RRC connection response with the BS 205a), said random access preamble indicating a request for the user equipment to be redirected to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology (the UE 215a may identify neighboring cells) supporting at least the second radio access technology(reselect to camp on an NR cell) (Kumar; [0049-0061] [0055] the random access procedure and establishing a RRC connection with the network, the UE 215a initiates a network attachment procedure with the network. For example, the BS 205a may coordinate with the core network components to identify, authenticate, and authorize the UE 215 for sending and/or receiving data in the network and assign the UE 215a with a group of TAs [0056] When the RSRP or the RSRQ from the serving cell 210a falls below a certain threshold, the UE 215a may monitor or evaluate receive signal power or quality from neighboring cells (e.g., the cells 210b and 210c) to search for a better cell for camping. In an example, the UE 215a may identify neighboring cells based on system information received from a previous cell search, or a previously camped cell, and/or monitoring from the current serving cell 210a...[0058] the SIB5 includes RAT, frequency carrier, frequency band, and/or beam information associated with an inter-RAT neighboring cell and/or corresponding criteria for cell reselection. An example of an inter-RAT cell reselection may include a UE camped on an NR cell and reselecting to camp on an LTE cell or camping. Alternatively, a UE camped on an LTE cell may reselect to camp on an NR cell. [0061] [0061] The UE 215 may autonomously make the cell camping decision based on cell reselection criteria based on system information received from the serving cell BS 205a) (See fig. 3. ) ; and
carry out signaling for transition the user equipment into a connected mode (performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status) of the radio resource control (RRC) protocol of the second radio access technology (with the second cell) (Kumar; [0070] At action 414, the UE 415 performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status or mode with the second cell via the second BS 405b).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 34, 45, 50 Jin-Kumar teaches, The claim 33, 44, and 49
Jin fails to explicitly teach, wherein the random access preamble is a random access preamble dedicated to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology.
Kumar further teaches, wherein the random access preamble is a random access preamble dedicated to the second cell supporting the second radio access technology (Kumar; [0070] At action 414, the UE 415 performs a connection protocol to establish a RRC Connection status or mode with the second cell via the second BS 405b. For example, the UE 415 may transmit a RACH preamble (message 1), receive a random access response message (message 2), transmit a connection request (message 3), and receive a connection response (message 4)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 40 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin further teaches, wherein said signaling information comprises information on service-based usage of the random access preambles associated with the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology (Jin; [0245] the UE accesses the corresponding cell and performs a connection procedure in operation 1ga-20. Particularly, the embodiment focuses on an operation of accessing a TDD band. In operation 1ga-25, the UE applies 7.5 kHz frequency shifting to uplink transmission in the corresponding cell, and may perform transmission. The uplink transmission may include at least one of a random access request, an RRC control message, and a data transmission. In operation 1ga-30, the UE transfers a UE capability in response to a request from the corresponding base station. The UE transmits the UE capability, including a capability associated with uplink 7.5 kHz frequency shifting in a TDD band.).
Regarding claim 41 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin fails to explicitly teach, wherein said signaling information comprises information on service-based usage of the random access preambles associated with the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology, the apparatus further being caused to select a preamble from the first or the second radio access technology based on a type of service that is being initiated
Kumar further teaches, wherein said signaling information comprises information on service-based usage of the random access preambles associated with the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology, the apparatus further being caused to select a preamble from the first or the second radio access technology based on a type of service that is being initiated (Kumar; [0055] At step 350, after completing the random access procedure and establishing a RRC connection with the network, the UE 215a initiates a network attachment procedure with the network. For example, the BS 205a may coordinate with the core network components to identify, authenticate, and authorize the UE 215 for sending and/or receiving data in the network and assign the UE 215a with a group of TAs).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 42 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin fails to explicitly teach, wherein the random access preamble response comprises timing advance information and downlink timing received from the first cell using the first radio access technology, the apparatus further being caused to employ the timing advance information and the downlink timing of the first cell using the first radio access technology to synchronize downlink and uplink of the second cell using the second radio access technology
Kumar further teaches, wherein the random access preamble response comprises timing advance information and downlink timing received from the first cell using the first radio access technology, the apparatus further being caused to employ the timing advance information and the downlink timing of the first cell using the first radio access technology to synchronize downlink and uplink of the second cell using the second radio access technology (Kumar;[0042] the network 100 may be an NR network deployed over a licensed spectrum. The BSs 105 can transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in the network 100 to facilitate synchronization. [0043] The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and/or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 may receive RMSI and/or OSI. The RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, [0046] The BS 105 may coordinate with various network entities or fifth generation core (5GC) entities).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 47 Jin-Kumar teaches, The claim and 44,
Jin fails to explicitly teach, wherein said signaling information comprises information on service-based usage of the random access preambles associated with the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology,
Kumar further teaches, wherein said signaling information comprises information on service-based usage of the random access preambles associated with the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology, (Kumar; [0055] At step 350, after completing the random access procedure and establishing a RRC connection with the network, the UE 215a initiates a network attachment procedure with the network).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Regarding claim 47 Jin-Kumar teaches,The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin further teaches, further being caused to transmit downlink broadcast and control information to the user equipment in the active state (Jin; [0139] The UE may obtain CORESET information related to remaining minimum system information (RMSI) from the PBCH. The UE may decode the CORESET related to the RMSI, based on the obtained information... the RRC state of the UE may be changed to an RRC_CONNECTED state.).
Claim 35 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 33 above, and further in view of Zhu et al. (Zhu hereafter) (US 20200008069 A1).
Regarding claim 35 Jin-Kumar teaches, The claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to perform downlink coarse time and frequency tracking for the second cell based on signals of the first cell
Zhu teaches, further being caused to perform downlink coarse time and frequency tracking for the second cell based on signals of the first cell (Zhu; [0019] EN-DC UE 110 may use wireless channels 190 and 192 to access E-UTRAN 120 and 5G NR RAN 130, respectively. According to implementations described herein, 4G UE 105 and/or EN-DC UE 110 may support carrier aggregation of more than one carrier frequency band for uplink and/or downlink transmissions.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to provide communications to/from EN-DC UE 110 using dual-connectivity (Zhu; [0020]).
Claim 36 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 33 above, and further in view of Dai et al. (Dai hereafter) (US 20240284553 A1).
Regarding claim 36 Jin-Kumar teaches The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to transition from the connected mode to the idle mode;
perform measurements for the second cell
Kumar further teaches, further being caused to transition from the connected mode to the idle mode (Kumar; [0067] At action 406, the BS 405 transmits, and the UE 415 receives, a connection release message including empty cell reselection priority IE. In one example, action 406 includes receiving a RRCConnectionRelease message. The UE may be configured to enter an idle mode in response to receiving the connection release message);
perform measurements for the second cell (Kumar; [0060] The UE 215 may start to search for another cell for camping when the measured received signal power and/or the received signal quality from the currently camped cell 210a falls below a certain threshold); and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kumar in order to perform initial cell selection and cell reselection (Kumar; [0048]).
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, responsive to detecting that the second cell is out of coverage, re-direct the connection to the first cell
However, in the same field of endeavor Dai teaches, responsive to detecting that the second cell is out of coverage, re-direct the connection to the first cell (Dai; [0106] disconnecting from a first radio access technology (RAT) service, independent of signaling from the first RAT service, after sensing that the UE has entered a coverage hole, using a connection to a second RAT
service while in the coverage hole in association with disconnecting from the first RAT service disconnecting from the second RAT service, independent of signaling from the second RAT
service, after sensing that the UE has exited the coverage hole and before expiration of a radio link failure (RLF) timer for the second RAT service; and reconnecting to the first RAT service before expiration of an RLF timer for the first RAT service.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Dai in order to using a connection to a second RAT service (Dai; [0106]).
Claims 37-39 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 33 above, and further in view of Ren et al. (Ren hereafter) (US 20250142436 A1).
Regarding claim 37 Jin-Kumar teaches The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to perform inter-radio access technology measurements among a plurality of cells supporting at least the first and the second radio access technology;
detect a need for a handover;
responsive to detecting that a target cell of the handover supporting the second radio access technology is in an inactive state, re-direct the connection to a dynamic spectrum sharing cell corresponding to said target cell and using said measurements on the first radio access technology
However, in the same field of endeavor Ren teaches, further being caused to perform inter-radio access technology measurements among a plurality of cells supporting at least the first and the second radio access technology (Ren; [0013] The UE may support communication according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs). The UE may operate in various modes, for example, an idle mode or a connected mode. If operating in the connected mode, the one or more base stations may manage mobility procedures for the UE based on cell measurement reports received from the UE.);
detect a need for a handover (Ren; [0061] The base station 105 associated with the cell 110 upon which the UE 115 is camped may transmit information about neighbor cells 110 in a system information block (e.g., SIB24). If the UE 115 is camped on a cell 110 of the first RAT type in an idle status, the UE 115 may relay to the candidate cells 110 indicated in SIB24 to perform an IRAT selection procedure to the higher priority level RAT type. If the UE 115 is in the connected state, the UE 115 relays to cells 110 configured by the network (e.g., the base station105
associated with the cell 110 upon which the UE 115 is camped) for connected measurements, and then the UE 115 performs an IRAT handover procedure to another cell 110); and
responsive to detecting that a target cell of the handover supporting the second radio access technology is in an inactive state, re-direct the connection to a dynamic spectrum sharing cell corresponding to said target cell and using said measurements on the first radio access technology (Ren; [0063] the UE 115 may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell 110 of the second, higher priority level, RAT based on determining that a measured signal strength associated with the target cell 110 exceeds a threshold (e.g., an RSRP above a threshold). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, a UE 115 may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell 110 of the second, higher priority level, RAT based on determining that a measured RSRP and SINR for the target cell are both above a threshold).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Ren in order to trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT (Ren; [0062]).
Regarding claim 38 Jin-Kumar teaches The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to, responsive to identifying said cell as a dynamic spectrum sharing cell, display a first indication on a display of the apparatus, said first indication indicating that a connection to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology is available
Ren further teaches, further being caused to, responsive to identifying said cell as a dynamic spectrum sharing cell, display a first indication on a display of the apparatus, said first indication indicating that a connection to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology is available (Ren; [0064] the UE 115 may maintain a database of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE 115 may trigger the UE initiated measurements based on the database of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE 115 detects that the UE 115 is within a physical proximity of a candidate cell stored in the database). In some cases, the UE 115 may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells via performing a BPLMN search. If the UE 115 determines that the network has not configured the UE 115 to perform measurements on the higher priority level cells indicated via the BPLMN search, the UE 115 may trigger the measurements on the higher priority level cells indicated via the BPLMN search.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Ren in order to trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT (Ren; [0062]).
Regarding claim 39 Jin-Kumar teaches The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to, responsive to entering the second cell in a connected mode, display a second indication on the display of the apparatus, said second indication indicating that a connection to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology has been established.
Ren further teaches, further being caused to, responsive to entering the second cell in a connected mode, display a second indication on the display of the apparatus, said second indication indicating that a connection to the second cell supporting at least the second radio access technology has been established (Ren; [0071] the UE 115-a may make the determination to trigger the UE initiated measurements 220 if the base station 105-a does not configure the UE 115-a to perform measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c within a threshold period of time after indicating the candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c in a system information block (e.g., SIB24). In some cases, the UE 115-a may maintain a database 210 in memory 230 of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE 115-a may trigger the measurements based on the database 210 of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE 115-a detects that the UE 115-a is within a physical proximity of a candidate neighbor cell stored in the database). See fig. 2 (110-b and 110-c)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Ren in order to trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT (Ren; [0062]).
Claims 43 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 33 above, and further in view of Yang et al (Yang009 hereafter) (US 20160338009 A1).
Regarding claim 43 Jin-Kumar teaches The apparatus according to claim 33,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, the apparatus being caused to obtain non-essential system information after redirecting to the second cell using the second radio access technology.
However, in the same field of endeavor Yang009 teaches, the apparatus being caused to obtain non-essential system information after redirecting to the second cell using the second radio access technology (Yang009; [0036] A user equipment (UE) may receive a circuit-switched (CS) page from a first base station of a first radio access technology (RAT) or initiate a circuit-switched call to the first base station. For example, a circuit-switched fallback capable UE may be paged for a mobile-terminated (MT) voice call while on the first RAT (e.g., long term evolution (LTE)) or may initiate a mobile-originated (MO) circuit-switched voice call while the user equipment is in LTE connected or idle mode. In response to the page, the UE is redirected to a second RAT (e.g., third generation (3G)/second generation (2G)) to set up the circuit-switched voice call. For example, to set up the circuit-switched voice call on the second RAT, the UE may receive a connection release message from a base station of the first RAT).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Yang009 in order to initiate or receive a voice call (Yang009; [0034]).
Claims 46 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 44 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (Lee hereafter) (US 20100067498 A1).
Regarding claim 46 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 44,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to include in the random access preamble response (RAR) message one or more of the following:
- information for re-directing the user equipment to the second cell
- information for re-directing the user equipment to the second cell
- assistance information on uplink timing information to the second cell for the user equipment;
- assistance information on downlink timing;
- information on aperiodic or periodic signal for fine tuning of a frequency/time of the second cell; - information on a beam of the second cell relative to a beam of the first cell;
- a grant for uplink transmission in the second cell.
However, in the same field of endeavor Lee teaches, information for re-directing the user equipment to the second cell (Lee; [0049] At this time, if re-direction information is included in the response information message, the UE transfers to another system or another frequency band depending on the re-direction information to select a cell again and retry random access.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Lee in order to redirect uplink access (Lee; [0012]).
Claims 48 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 44 above, and further in view of Yang et al. (Yang963 hereafter) (US 20150009963 A1).
Regarding claim 48 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 44,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to configure the user equipment to perform inter-radio access technology measurements for an intra-radio access technology handover of a target dynamic spectrum sharing cell in which the second radio access technology is inactive.
However, in the same field of endeavor Yang963 teaches, further being caused to configure the user equipment to perform inter-radio access technology measurements for an intra-radio access technology handover of a target dynamic spectrum sharing cell in which the second radio access technology is inactive (Yang963; [0032] The UE may send a serving cell a measurement report indicating results of the IRAT measurement performed by the UE. The serving cell may then trigger a handover of the UE to a new cell in the other RAT based on the measurement report. The triggering may be based on a comparison between measurements of the different RATs...[0034] The UE could not send an IRAT measurement report to trigger IRAT handover to GSM when the signal strength of the GSM neighbor cells was below the target RAT threshold. Thus, the call finally dropped).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Yang963 in order to perform operations of adjusting an absolute inter radio access technology (IRAT) handover threshold (Yang963; [0008]).
Claims 52 and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar as applied to claim 49 above, and further in view of Jin et al. (Jin062 hereafter) (US 20210144062 A1).
Regarding claim 52 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero; and
configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer
However, in the same field of endeavor Jin062 teaches, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero (Jin062; [0218-0219] UE switches to the initial access DL BWP to perform RRC connection re-establishment procedure [0219] After successful completion of RRC connection reestablishment procedure, UE starts BWP timer ); and
configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer (Jin 062; [0220] BWP timer handling upon RRC state transition between INACTIVE and CONNECTED [0221] UE stops all BWP timers together when INACTIVE STATE transition is instructed).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jin062 in order to define timer operations associated with BWP selection (Jino62; [0205]).
Regarding claim 54 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero
Jin062 teaches, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero (Jin062; [0218-0219] UE switches to the initial access DL BWP to perform RRC connection re-establishment procedure [0219] After successful completion of RRC connection reestablishment procedure, UE starts BWP timer ); and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jin062 in order to define timer operations associated with BWP selection (Jin062; [0205]).
Claims 53 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar-Jin062 as applied to claim 49 above, and further in view of Jang et al. (Jang hereafter) (US 20220279595 A1).
Regarding claim 53 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero;
configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer, and
cease to transmit downlink broadcast and control information to the user equipment in the active state
Jin062 further teaches, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero (Jin062; [0218-0219] UE switches to the initial access DL BWP to perform RRC connection re-establishment procedure [0219] After successful completion of RRC connection reestablishment procedure, UE starts BWP timer ); and
configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer (Jin 062; [0220] BWP timer handling upon RRC state transition between INACTIVE and CONNECTED [0221] UE stops all BWP timers together when INACTIVE STATE transition is instructed.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jin062 in order to define timer operations associated with BWP selection (Jin062; [0205]).
Jin-Kumar-Jin062 fails to explicitly teach, cease to transmit downlink broadcast and control information to the user equipment in the active state
Jang teaches, cease to transmit downlink broadcast and control information to the user equipment in the active state (Jang; [0097] If the UE in the idle mode state is to switch to the connected mode state, the UE receives synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) blocks 321, 323, 325, and 327 transmitted by the eNB).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar-Jin062 to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jang in order to access the network (Jang; [0034]).
Claims 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar-Jin062 as applied to claim 49 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (Chen194 hereafter) (US 20180317194 A1).
Regarding claim 54 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero;
Jin062 further teaches, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero (Jin062; [0218-0219] UE switches to the initial access DL BWP to perform RRC connection re-establishment procedure [0219] After successful completion of RRC connection reestablishment procedure, UE starts BWP timer);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jin062 in order to define timer operations associated with BWP selection (Jin062; [0205]).
Jin-Kumar-Jin062 fails to explicitly teach, configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer and inform a core network of the transition to the inactive state
Chen194 teaches, configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer and inform a core network of the transition to the inactive state (Chen194; [0037] FIG. 5 is a message flow diagram illustrating a scenario in which the UE changes state from CM-IDLE state to CM-CONNECTED, RRC-Active state (steps 1 to 4); then to CM-CONNECTED, RRC-Inactive state (steps 5 to 8); and then to CM-IDLE state (steps 9 to step 10)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar-Jin062 to include the above recited limitations as taught by Chen194 in order to start a proper NAS level timer (Chen194; [0070]).
Claims 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin-Kumar-Jin062 as applied to claim 49 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (Kim hereafter) (US 20240080936 A1).
Regarding claim 55 Jin-Kumar teaches, The apparatus according to claim 49,
Jin-Kumar fails to explicitly teach, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero;
configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer and inform other cells using the second radio access technology about the transition to the inactive state.
Jin062 teaches, further being caused to initiate a timer when the number of the user equipment in the connected mode of the RRC protocol is zero (Jin062; [0218-0219] UE switches to the initial access DL BWP to perform RRC connection re-establishment procedure [0219] After successful completion of RRC connection reestablishment procedure, UE starts BWP timer ); and
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar to include the above recited limitations as taught by Jin062 in order to define timer operations associated with BWP selection (Jin062; [0205]).
Jin-Kumar-Jin062 fails to explicitly teach, configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer, and inform other cells using the second radio access technology about the transition to the inactive state
However, in the same field of endeavor Kim teaches, configure the apparatus to transition to an inactive state upon expiry of the timer, and inform other cells using the second radio access technology about the transition to the inactive state (Kim; [0055] In the wireless connection state, user equipment (UE) context is maintained in a base station and a UE, and radio access network (RAN) based paging may be supported.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to create the invention of Jin-Kumar-Jin062 to include the above recited limitations as taught by Kim in order to perform cell selection (Kim; [0021]).
Conclusion
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/W. T/ Examiner, Art Unit 2416
/NOEL R BEHARRY/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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