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 § 112
1. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
2. Claims 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The preamble of independent claim 14 is directed at a terminal comprising components such as processor; however, the body of the claim is entirely directed to a series of steps (i.e., method). Therefore, for the claim to be directed at an apparatus, the body of the claim must be tied to a hardware component (such as said processor). For example, rewriting the processor (as recited in the preamble) in the body of the claim.
There, independent claim 14 and the respective dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-9, 14, 15, and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tao (US PG Pub. No. 2026/0222056).
As per claim 1:
Tao teaches a method of a terminal (see paragraph [0012], teaches a UE method for performing inter-frequency measurements), comprising:
obtaining information on a dedicated service area of a non-terrestrial base station from the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4));
receiving neighboring cell information from the non-terrestrial base station (see Figure 5, paragraph [0064], base station of the NTN cell 125 broadcasts information relevant to the inter-frequency measurement in SIB4, which contains information the UEs require to conduct the inter-frequency measurement on the carrier frequency b. The broadcast information includes AFRC value of the carrier frequency b, an SSB measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), the cell reselection priority of the carrier frequency b, and a neighbor cell list listing the physical cell identities of the neighboring TN cells using carrier frequency b, please see paragraph [0064]);
identifying a measurement target neighboring cell based on the neighboring cell
information (paragraph [0065] disclose if the carrier frequency is a TN frequency, the UE may need to obtain from the neighbor cell list or from a separate TN coverage information list, the TN coverage information (e.g., TN Area Info as illustrated in figure 5) of carrier frequency b. The UE may then determine whether (and how) to conduct measurement on carrier frequency b, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of any TN cell coverage, see paragraph [0065]);
and determining whether to initiate cell measurement on the measurement target
neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area (see paragraph [0065], the UE also can determine whether (and how) to conduct measurements on a specific TN cell listed in the neighbor cell list, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of that TN cell).
As per claim 2:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the information on the dedicated service area comprises:
receiving a system information block (SIB) including the information on the dedicated service area of the non-terrestrial base station from the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4));
and obtaining the information on the dedicated service area of the non-terrestrial base station from the SIB (see paragraph [0065], the UE then can determine whether (and how) to conduct measurement on carrier frequency b, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of any TN cell coverage).
As per claim 4:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 1, further comprising: when the neighboring cell information includes neighboring cell type information, obtaining cell type information of the measurement target neighboring cell from the neighboring cell type information (see paragraph [0072], the UE 102 receives 704, in the NTN cell 124, a first system information message including a reference location and a list of the pair {TN frequency, TNAreaBitmap}, where the list in the pair can be conveyed in the list of the frequency configurations in SIB4), wherein when the obtained cell type information of the measurement target neighboring cell indicates a terrestrial cell, the determining of whether to initiate cell measurement on the measurement target neighboring cell is performed based on the information on the dedicated service area (see paragraph [0075], the UE 102 determines which area it is in by comparing its GNSS coordinate with the latitude and longitude of the reference location, and determines 708 the area it falls within is denoted by a value “1” (i.e., TN cell exists) in the TNAreaBitmap. Since the area the UE 102 falls within has the TN cell deployed, the UE searches 742 for the TN cells on the TN frequency and then may detect the TN cell).
As per claim 5:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to initiate cell measurement on the measurement target neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area (see paragraph [0065], the UE also can determine whether (and how) to conduct measurements on a specific TN cell listed in the neighbor cell list, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of that TN cell) comprises:
identifying a location of the terminal (see paragraph [0080], upon receiving the RRC release message the UE 102 remains in the idle state and then determines whether the UE 102 is within the coverage of at least one TN cell based on the UE location and detailed TN coverage. Thus, it is evident that the UE 102 can identify its location);
determining whether the terminal is within the dedicated service area based on the
identified location (see paragraph [0080], the UE 102 is within the cell coverage of the TN cell);
and in response to determining that the terminal is within the dedicated service area, not initiating cell measurement on the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0065], to allow a UE to forego the measurement on carrier frequency b when the UE is not in the vicinity of any TN cells, and thus save power and time, the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the TN coverage information in the system information).
As per claim 6:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the determining of whether to initiate cell measurement on the measurement target neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area comprises:
identifying a location of the terminal (see paragraph [0075], the UE 102 determines which area it is in by comparing its GNSS coordinate with the latitude and longitude of the reference location, and determines the area it falls within is denoted by value “1” (i.e., TN cell exists) in the TNAreaBitmap);
determining whether the terminal is within the dedicated service area based on the
identified location (see paragraph [0075], since the area the UE 102 falls within has the TN cell deployed, the UE 102 searches 742 for the TN cells on the TN frequency. Note: Information regarding TN cells associated with TN frequency is obtained from BS 104 first system information message including a reference location and a list of the pair {TN frequency, TNAreaBitmap}. Thus, the determined location of UE (i.e., within vicinity of TN cell(s)) is determined based on the obtained system information);
in response to determining that the terminal is outside the dedicated service area,
identifying information on a service area of the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0075], since the area the UE 102 falls within has the TN cell deployed, the UE searches for the TN cells on the TN frequency and then may detect the TN cell);
and determining whether to initiate cell measurement based on the location of the terminal and the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0075], once the UE 102 detects the TN cell 127, the UE 102 needs to perform 744 the necessary and regular measurement on the TN cell 127, if the cell reselection criteria are fulfilled for the TN cell 127).
As per claim 7:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the identifying of the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell comprises:
receiving a system information block (SIB) including the information on the service
area of the measurement target neighboring cell from the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0072], the UE receives in the NTN cell 123, a first system information message including a reference location and a list of the pair {TN frequency, TNAreaBitmap}, where the list of the pair {TN frequency, TNAreaBitmap} can be conveyed in the list of the frequency configurations in SIB4);
and identifying the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell from the SIB (see paragraph [0073], in response to the first system information message, the UE 102 applies the following actions/steps, for each of the TN frequencies listed in the first system information message. That is, the UE 102 divides the NTN cells into regions/areas and determines which TN cell to perform measurement based on the TNAreaBitmap as disclosed in paragraphs [0074] and [0075] respectively).
As per claim 8:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the identifying of the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell comprises:
searching for information on the measurement target neighboring cell from the
neighboring cell information (see paragraph [0075], since the area the UE falls within has the TN cell deployed, the UE searches for the TN cells on the TN frequency);
and identifying the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell from the information on the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0075], the UE may then detect the TN cell. Once the UE detects the TN cell, the UE needs to perform the necessary and regular measurement on TN cell 127 for the cell reselection evaluation procedure).
As per claim 9:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 6, wherein the determining of whether to initiate cell measurement based on the location of the terminal and the information on the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell comprises:
determining whether the terminal is within the service area of the measurement target neighboring cell based on the location of the terminal (see paragraph [0075], the UE 102 determines which area it is in by comparing its GNSS coordinate with the latitude and longitude of the reference location, and determines the area it falls within is denoted by value “1” (i.e., TN cell exists) in the TNAreaBitmap);
and in response to determining that the terminal is within the service area of the
measurement target neighboring cell, initiating cell measurement on the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0075], since the area the UE 102 falls within has the TN cell deployed, the UE searches for the TN cells on the TN frequency and then may detect the TN cell. Once the UE 102 detects the TN cell 127, the UE 102 needs to perform 744 the necessary and regular measurement on the TN cell 127, if the cell reselection criteria are fulfilled for the TN cell 127, see paragraph [0075]).
As per claim 14:
Tao teaches a terminal (see Figure 1, UE 102) comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor causes the terminal to perform (see paragraph [0052], UE 102 is equipped with a processor 152 to process data that the UE 102 will transmit in the uplink direction or process data received by the UE 102 in the downlink direction):
obtaining information on a dedicated service area of a non-terrestrial base station from the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4));
receiving neighboring cell information from the non-terrestrial base station (see Figure 5, paragraph [0064], base station of the NTN cell 125 broadcasts information relevant to the inter-frequency measurement in SIB4, which contains information the UEs require to conduct the inter-frequency measurement on the carrier frequency b. The broadcast information includes AFRC value of the carrier frequency b, an SSB measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), the cell reselection priority of the carrier frequency b, and a neighbor cell list listing the physical cell identities of the neighboring TN cells using carrier frequency b, please see paragraph [0064]);
identifying a measurement target neighboring cell based on the neighboring cell
information (paragraph [0065] disclose if the carrier frequency is a TN frequency, the UE may need to obtain from the neighbor cell list or from a separate TN coverage information list, the TN coverage information (e.g., TN Area Info as illustrated in figure 5) of carrier frequency b. The UE may then determine whether (and how) to conduct measurement on carrier frequency b, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of any TN cell coverage, see paragraph [0065]);
and determining whether to initiate cell measurement on the measurement target
neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area (see paragraph [0065], the UE also can determine whether (and how) to conduct measurements on a specific TN cell listed in the neighbor cell list, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of that TN cell).
As per claim 15:
Tao teaches the terminal according to claim 14, wherein in the obtaining of the information on the dedicated service area, the at least one processor causes the terminal to perform:
receiving a system information block (SIB) including the information on the dedicated service area of the non-terrestrial base station from the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4));
and obtaining the information on the dedicated service area of the non-terrestrial base station from the SIB (see paragraph [0065], the UE then can determine whether (and how) to conduct measurement on carrier frequency b, based on whether the UE is within or in the vicinity of any TN cell coverage).
Claim 17 is rejected in the same scope as claim 4.
Claim 18 is rejected in the same scope as claim 5.
Claim 19 is rejected in the same scope as claim 6.
Claim 20 is rejected in the same scope as claim 9.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claim(s) 10-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tao in view of Bansal (US PG Pub. No. 2026/0230887).
As per claim 10:
Tao teaches a method of a non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0013], teaches a method performed by a base station associated with an NTN cell, for configuring inter-frequency measurements at a UE operating in the NTN cell), comprising:
transmitting information on a dedicated service area of the non-terrestrial base station to a terminal (see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4));
transmitting neighboring cell information on neighboring cells to the terminal (see Figure 5, paragraph [0064], base station of the NTN cell 125 broadcasts information relevant to the inter-frequency measurement in SIB4, which contains information the UEs require to conduct the inter-frequency measurement on the carrier frequency b. The broadcast information includes AFRC value of the carrier frequency b, an SSB measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), the cell reselection priority of the carrier frequency b, and a neighbor cell list listing the physical cell identities of the neighboring TN cells using carrier frequency b, please see paragraph [0064]).
Tao does not clearly teach and receiving, from the terminal, a measurement result of measurement on a measurement target neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area and the neighboring cell information.
Bansal teaches and receiving, from the terminal, a measurement result of measurement on a measurement target neighboring cell based on the information on the dedicated service area and the neighboring cell information (see paragraph [0090], in response to receiving the logged measurement type parameter 506, the UE 502 may determine which of the cells associated with the MDT reporting, such as a list of cells in an area configuration or area scope parameter of the logged measurement configuration 502, correspond to the selected type of cells 504. The UE 402 may then provide an MDT report via UE information report messages 426, 432 for only NTN cells 189, while if the selected type of cells 504 corresponds to the TN cells).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the reporting of information related to NTN or TN cells based on the received configuration (as disclosed in Bansal) into Tao as a way of enabling the UE to refrain from performing MDT measurements of unselected types of cells, resulting in an efficiently reduced MDT report (please see paragraph [0090] of Bansal). Therefore, sending a report this way may result in the UE experiencing less drainage or power consumption due to reduced MDT measurement scope (please see paragraph [0090] of Bansal).
As per claim 11:
Tao in view of Bansal teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the non-terrestrial base station transmits the information on the dedicated service area to the terminal through a system information block (SIB) (Tao, see paragraph [0065], the base station of the NTN cell 125 can provide the UE with TN coverage information in the System Information (SI). Said TN coverage information is the TN Area Info (as shown in figure 5 and paragraph [0065] for each TN cell in the neighbor cell list in SIB4)).
As per claim 12:
Tao in view of Bansal teaches the method according to claim 11, wherein the information on the dedicated service area includes at least one of information on a center location of the dedicated service area (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), information on a radius of the dedicated service area (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), or information on a threshold altitude of the dedicated service area (Tao, see paragraph [0075], UE 102 determines which area it is in by comparing its GNSS coordinate with the latitude and longitude of the reference location and determines the area it falls within is denoted by “1” (i.e., TN cell exists) in the TNAreaBitmap).
As per claim 13:
Tao in view of Bansal teaches the method according to claim 10, wherein the neighboring cell information includes at least one of identification information of each of the neighboring cells (Tao, see Figure 5, neighbor cell list for each carrier frequency), non-terrestrial cell indication information for each of the neighboring cells (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), terrestrial cell indication information for each of the neighboring cells (Tao, see Figure 5, neighbor cell list for each carrier frequency), available area information for each of the neighboring cells (Tao, see paragraph [0072], the first system information message including a reference location and a list of the pair {TN frequency, TNAreaBitmap}), frequency information for each of the neighboring cells (Tao, see Figure 5, SIB4 comprise of carrierFreq b to carrierFreq n, each comprising a neighbor cell list), operator information for each of the neighboring cells (Note: Limitation(s) is/are recited in alternate form and thus not addressed by the prior art(s) of record), or priority information for each of the neighboring cells (Tao, see Figure 5, each carrier frequency associated with reselection priority).
7. Claim(s) 3 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tao in view of Shrestha (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0362692).
As per claim 3:
Tao teaches the method according to claim 1 wherein the neighboring cell information includes identification information of neighboring cells and priority information of the neighboring cells, and the identifying of the measurement target neighboring cell comprises:
identifying a priority of a frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station;
comparing the priority of the frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station with
priorities of the neighboring cells indicated by the neighboring cell information;
and identifying a neighboring cell using a frequency having a higher priority than the frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station as the measurement target neighboring cell.
Shrestha teaches wherein the neighboring cell information includes identification information of neighboring cells and priority information of the neighboring cells, and the identifying of the measurement target neighboring cell comprises:
identifying a priority of a frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station (see paragraph [0089], during the RRC idle/inactive mode, measurements of frequencies associated with TN cells may be prioritized in relation to measurements of frequencies associated with NTN cells. Thus, it is evident that NTN cells have lower priority than TN cells);
comparing the priority of the frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station with
priorities of the neighboring cells indicated by the neighboring cell information (as explained earlier, in paragraph [0089], during the RRC idle/inactive mode, measurements of frequencies associated with TN cells may be prioritized in relation to measurements of frequencies associated with NTN cells. Paragraphs [0097], [0098], disclose the UE 702 receiving information from network entity via an SIB indicating frequencies associated with TN cells, priority of the respective frequencies and frequencies associated with NTN cells);
and identifying a neighboring cell using a frequency having a higher priority than the frequency used by the non-terrestrial base station as the measurement target neighboring cell (see paragraph [0102], disclosing frequencies associated with TN cells have highest priority value while frequencies associated with NTN cells do not. Thus, it is evident that TN cells are identified first based on the associated frequency when performing measurements).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to incorporate the association of frequencies with priority (in terms of location of UE) to TN cells (as disclosed in Shrestha) into Tao as a way of reducing unnecessary searching of TN cells, thereby reducing power consumption at the UE (please see paragraph [0094] of Shrestha).
Claim 16 is rejected in the same scope as claim 3.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRINCE AKWASI MENSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-7183. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm.
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PRINCE AKWASI. MENSAH
Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/PRINCE A MENSAH/ Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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