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
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-8, 10-12, 14-18 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Da Silva et al. (US 2023/0292194).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Da Silva et al. disclose a method for configuring or reconfiguring a primary cell, applicable to a terminal (Figure 15, wireless device), the method and the terminal comprising:
a processor (Figure 15, processing circuitry QQ120);
a transceiver, connected to the processor (Figure 15, interface QQ114 connected to processing circuitry QQ120); and
a memory, configured to store one or more executable instruction of the processor (Figure 15 and paragraph 347, processing circuitry QQ120 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium QQ130 or in memory within processing circuitry QQ120 to provide the functionality; Paragraphs 349-350);
wherein the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions, is cause to perform (Paragraphs 347, 349, 350):
receiving a first message (Paragraphs 96-98, a method performed by a wireless terminal (also called a User Equipment—UE…The method comprises:…Receiving a message including:…i) a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)); and
configuring or reconfiguring the primary cell of the terminal from a first cell to a second cell based on the first message (Paragraph 102, The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN)).
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein the first message indicates at least one of: a situation where the terminal configures or reconfigures the primary cell from the first cell to the second cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN)); a situation where the terminal no longer configures the first cell as the primary cell; or a situation where the terminal configures the second cell as the primary cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN)).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein the first message comprises at least one of:
indication information indicating that the first cell is no longer configured as the primary cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN));
indication information indicating that the first cell is configured as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell;
indication information indicating that the second cell is configured as the primary cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN));
indication information for initiating reconfiguration of the primary cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN));
indication information of a feedback resource corresponding to the first message, wherein the feedback resource corresponding to the first message is configured to transmit feedback information corresponding to the first message;
determination information of a first time interval, wherein the determination information of the first time interval is configured to determine the first time interval, and the first time interval is configured to determine an effective time for configuring or reconfiguring the primary cell as the second cell; or
configuration information of the second cell (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN)).
Regarding claims 5 and 15, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein the first cell and the second cell are downlink cells (Paragraph 92, PCell downlink; Paragraphs 97-102, changing from Source PCell to target PCell); and the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions is caused to perform: configuring or reconfiguring the primary cell of the terminal from the first cell to the second cell based on the first message comprises: configuring or reconfiguring a downlink primary cell of the terminal from the first cell to the second cell based on the first message (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN), downlink configuration/reconfiguration is inherent).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein receiving the first message comprises at least one of and wherein the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions, is caused to perform at least one of:
receiving the first message over the first cell (Figure 12 and paragraph 213, In step 6, the source MN triggers the UE to perform handover and apply the new configuration. The MN sends to the UE an RRC Reconfiguration message (RRCReconfiguration*) including an MCG reconfiguration with sync (indicating the target PCell, associated to the target MN));
receiving the first message over the second cell; or
receiving the first message over a third cell, wherein the third cell is another downlink cell except the first cell and the second cell.
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein the first cell and the second cell are uplink cells (Paragraph 92, PCell uplink; Paragraphs 97-102, changing from Source PCell to target PCell); and the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions is caused to perform: configuring or reconfiguring the primary cell of the terminal from the first cell to the second cell based on the first message comprises: configuring or reconfiguring an uplink primary cell of the terminal from the first cell to the second cell based on the first message (Paragraphs 97-102, Receiving a message including:…a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)…The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN), uplink configuration/reconfiguration is inherent).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Da Silva et al. disclose wherein there is at least one of:
the first message is a system message;
the first message is a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) message;
the first message is a cell-common radio resource control (RRC) configuration message (Figure 12, Step 6, RRCConnectionReconfiguration);
the first message is a radio resource control (RRC) configuration message dedicated to the terminal (Figure 12, Step 6, RRCConnectionReconfiguration); or
the first message is a downlink control information (DCI) message.
Regarding claims 10 and 20, Da Silva et al. disclose a method for configuring or reconfiguring a primary cell, applicable to a network device (Figure 15, network node), the method and the network device comprising:
a processor (Figure 15, processing circuitry QQ170);
a transceiver, connected to the processor (Figure 15, interface QQ190 connected to processing circuitry QQ170); and
a memory, configured to store one or more executable instructions of the processor (Figure 15 and paragraph 334, processing circuitry QQ170 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium QQ180 or in memory within processing circuitry QQ170; Paragraphs 333, 336-337);
wherein the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions, is caused to perform (Paragraphs 333-334, 336-337):
sending a first message (Claims 52 and 66, network node sends message to the wireless device in a reconfiguration procedure, the reconfiguration procedure being a change of at least one other cell for the first cell group, a handover and a reconfiguration with sync of the first cell group; Paragraphs 96-98, a method performed by a wireless terminal (also called a User Equipment—UE…The method comprises:…Receiving a message including:…i) a reconfiguration with sync for the first cell group (e.g. reconfiguration with sync for the MCG, for a PCell change, handover, etc.)), wherein the first message indicates that a primary cell of a terminal is configured or reconfigured from a first cell to a second cell based (Paragraph 102, The reconfiguration with sync can correspond to a procedure wherein the UE receives a reconfigurationWithSync field or equivalent; and/or to a handover procedure where the PCell is changed from a Source PCell [first cell] to a target PCell [second cell] (with or without MN change i.e. wherein the target PCell is associated to the same MN as the source PCell or a different MN)).
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.
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 nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Da Silva et al. as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Kwak et al. (US 2023/0199585).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Da Silva et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Kwak et al.: wherein the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions, is further caused to perform at least one of: configuring the first cell as a deactivated cell; or configuring the first cell as a dormant cell (Kwak et al., Paragraph 89, A deactivation or dormancy of the first PCell (old PCell or previous PCell) may be indicated using a bit in the DCI associated with the second PCell, and the bit may be associated with a serving SCell to be switched to the second PCell; Figure 8, DCI from network node to UE having DPS field indicating PCell switch).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Da Silva et al. with the cited disclosure from Kwak et al. in order to further implement a PCell switching mechanism that provides an efficient use of component carriers for the network, resulting in energy saving by SCell dormancy when whole component carriers are not needed due to the network traffic load, and further potential power saving due to a reduced quantity of activated component carriers in UEs (Kwak et al., Paragraph 62).
Claim(s) 9 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Da Silva et al. as applied to claims 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 2014/0011519).
Regarding claims 9 and 19, Da Silva et al. disclose the claimed invention above but do not disclose the following limitations that are disclosed by Lee et al.: wherein the processor, when loading and executing the one or more executable instructions, is further caused to perform: reserving a context of the first cell during a configuration or reconfiguration process (Lee et al., Paragraph 58, After receiving the handover message, the UE attempts to access a carrier of the target cell (e.g. a carrier (also called a primary CC (PCC or PCell)) operating on a primary carrier frequency) through a random access procedure. Upon successful completion of the handover, the UE sends a message used to confirm handover. In the event of handover failure, the source eNB and the UE keep some context (e.g. cell (C)-RNTI) for some time to enable return of the UE to a cell of the source eNB. If the random access procedure towards the target cell is not successful within a certain time, i.e. if failure of handover to the target cell is detected, the UE attempts to re-establish an RRC connection with the source eNB or attempts to establish the RRC connection in another cell using an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Da Silva et al. with the cited disclosure from Lee et al. in order to account for the possibility of PCell reconfiguration/handover failure (Lee et al., Paragraph 58).
Conclusion
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/OTIS L THOMPSON, JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
July 9, 2026
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