CTFR 17/653,417 CTFR 89156 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1-3, 5, 6, 16-18, 20, 21, 35-37, 40-44, and 47-52 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khirallah et al. (US 2023/0345532 A1) in view of Liu et al. (US 2023/0100121 A1), and further in view of Byun et al. (US 2022/0264447 A1) . Regarding claims 1 and 35: Khirallah et al. discloses a method for wireless communication at a central unit, a method for wireless communication at a distributed unit, a central unit for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code, a distributed unit for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 3; [0083]-[0086]) , is configured to cause the distributed unit to: transmit, to a central unit associated with the distributed unit ( See Fig. 6: a base station performs Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) communication with an item of user equipment (UE) via at least one cell. When the base station of the UE detects a failure associated with the LBT communication in at least one cell, the base station transmits a signaling message to another node (e.g., a central unit, a master node, a secondary node, or a core network node), the signaling message comprising information indicating that LBT failure has been detected. Thus, it would be reasonable to analyze that the signaling message transmitted within the gNB could be considered as a UE context message because the message is generated based on the LBT detection to communicate with the UE via a cell. See Khirallah’s Abstract and ¶ [0016] ), a configuration update including a request to change an activation status of a cell of the distributed unit ( See Fig. 6: the gNB-DU generates and transmits a formatted “Configuration Update” message to the gNB-CU. The Configuration Update message includes the detection of LBT failures on the DL. Based on the detected LBT failures, the gNB-DU includes the instruction (i.e., request to change) to delete the cells due to the LBT failures in the Configuration Update message. See ¶ [0098] ); wherein the configuration update includes an indication that the distributed unit to change the activation status ( See Fig. 6: the base station 5 (gNB-CU 5C/gNB-DU 5D) deactivates the affected cell(s)… The gNB-CU 5C may also instruct the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s). ¶ [0099] ), and receive, from the central unit, a configuration update acknowledgement based at least in part on transmitting the configuration update including the request to change the activation status of the cell of the distributed unit ( See Fig. 6: once the affected cells are deactivated due to the LBT failures, the gNB-CU transmitted an appropriate Configuration Update Acknowledgement Message to the gNB-DU. The Acknowledgement message further includes an instruction of the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s) instead of (or in addition to) the serving cell(s) with the reported LBT failures. See ¶ [0099] ); wherein the configuration update ACK message indicates that CU has activated the cell ( See Fig. 6: in step S3: the gNB-CU 5C for generating and sending an appropriate (gNB-DU) Configuration Update Acknowledge message to the gNB-DU 5D. The gNB-CU 5C may also instruct the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s) instead of (or in addition to) the serving cell(s)…¶ [0099]). PNG media_image1.png 624 945 media_image1.png Greyscale Khirallah doesn’t explicitly states the method wherein the distributed unit is in an energy saving mode and to change the activation status comprising a request to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode. However, Liu et al. discloses the method wherein the distributed unit is in an energy saving mode ( Liu : the fourth indication information is used to indicate energy saving state information of the IAB node. The IAB node includes an IAB-DU and an IAB-MT. Energy saving of the IAB node may be implemented in the following manner: The IAB-MT enters an inactive state, and the IAB-DU closes a cell served by the IAB-DU or a cell served by the IAB-DU enters a discontinuous transmission state, for example, a discontinuous transmission (DTX) state. ¶ [0248]-[0250] ), and wherein to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode ( See Fig. 13: The reason for the IAB-DU unit entering into a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) mode (i.e., changing the activation mode) is to save Energy or Power of the serving IAB node. In other words, the IAB node saves Energy due to entering into DTX mode because the served cell sends only common information such as a system broadcast, a paging message, and a long-period SSB, and does not perform data transmission. ¶ [0249]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide indication of power saving state when the cell is powered off taught by Liu et al. in the message taught by Khirallah not only to provide some beneficial effects include that an IAB node in an IAB network can obtain accurate configuration information but also ensure an improved operation of the IAB network. Liu: ¶ [0009]. Even though, Liu discloses the method of indicating of changing the activation state (i.e., entering DTX mode) to perform/indicate Energy Saving State (Liu: ¶ [0248-0249]), neither Khirallah nor Liu explicitly states requestting to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode, and wherein that the CU has stored a context of the cell. However, Byun further provides requesting to activate or deactivate (See Fig. 15: in step 1501, the CU may receive, from the DU, a first message including deactivation request (i.e., the request to change the activation state) for the DU just for the same reason of saving energy for DU unit as discussed by Liu. See Byun’s ¶ [0205] and Abstract ), wherein the CU has stored a context of the cell (See Fig. 16, at step 1602, when the IAB-donor-CU accepts the deactivation of the IAB-node 1, the IAB-donor-CU may maintain the context related to the IAB-node 1. The IAB-donor-CU may store the context (i.e., storing the context of the cell) related to the IAB-node 1 while the IAB-node 1 is deactivated. ¶ [0228]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving the request to change message for the activation state and the CU has stored a context of the cell as taught by Byun to have incorporated into the Khirallah’s system, so that it would provide that the power of IAB network could be used efficiently. In addition, the degradation of UE's experience by energy saving of the IAB-node could be avoided. Byun: ¶ [0268]. Regarding claims 16 and 42: Khirallah et al. discloses a method for wireless communication at a central unit, a method for wireless communication at a distributed unit, a central unit for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code, a distributed unit for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 3; [0083]-[0086]) , is configured to cause the distributed unit to: receive, to a distributed unit associated with the central unit, in a user equipment (UE) context message ( See Fig. 6: a base station performs Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) communication with an item of user equipment (UE) via at least one cell. When the base station of the UE detects a failure associated with the LBT communication in at least one cell, the base station transmits a signaling message to another node (e.g., a central unit, a master node, a secondary node, or a core network node), the signaling message comprising information indicating that LBT failure has been detected. Thus, it would be reasonable to analyze that the signaling message transmitted within the gNB could be considered as a UE context message because the message is generated based on the LBT detection to communicate with the UE via a cell. See Khirallah’s Abstract and ¶ [0016] ), a configuration update including a request to change an activation status of a cell of the distributed unit ( See Fig. 6: the gNB-DU generates and transmits a formatted “Configuration Update” message to the gNB-CU. The Configuration Update message includes the detection of LBT failures on the DL. Based on the detected LBT failures, the gNB-DU includes the instruction (i.e., request to change) to delete the cells due to the LBT failures in the Configuration Update message. See ¶ [0098] ); wherein the configuration update includes an indication that the distributed unit to change the activation status ( See Fig. 6: the base station 5 (gNB-CU 5C/gNB-DU 5D) deactivates the affected cell(s)… The gNB-CU 5C may also instruct the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s). ¶ [0099] ), and transmit, to the DU, a configuration update acknowledgement based at least in part on transmitting the configuration update including the request to change the activation status of the cell of the distributed unit ( See Fig. 6: once the affected cells are deactivated due to the LBT failures, the gNB-CU transmitted an appropriate Configuration Update Acknowledgement Message to the gNB-DU. The Acknowledgement message further includes an instruction of the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s) instead of (or in addition to) the serving cell(s) with the reported LBT failures. See ¶ [0099]), wherein the configuration update ACK message indicates that CU has activated the cell ( See Fig. 6: in step S3: the gNB-CU 5C for generating and sending an appropriate (gNB-DU) Configuration Update Acknowledge message to the gNB-DU 5D. The gNB-CU 5C may also instruct the gNB-DU 5D (and/or another gNB-DU 5D) to activate other cell(s) instead of (or in addition to) the serving cell(s)…¶ [0099]). Khirallah doesn’t explicitly states the method wherein the distributed unit is in an energy saving mode and to change the activation status comprising a request to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode. However, Liu et al. discloses the method wherein the distributed unit is in an energy saving mode ( Liu : the fourth indication information is used to indicate energy saving state information of the IAB node. The IAB node includes an IAB-DU and an IAB-MT. Energy saving of the IAB node may be implemented in the following manner: The IAB-MT enters an inactive state, and the IAB-DU closes a cell served by the IAB-DU or a cell served by the IAB-DU enters a discontinuous transmission state, for example, a discontinuous transmission (DTX) state. ¶ [0248]-[0250] ), and wherein to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode ( See Fig. 13: The reason for the IAB-DU unit entering into a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) mode (i.e., changing the activation mode) is to save Energy or Power of the serving IAB node. In other words, the IAB node saves Energy due to entering into DTX mode because the served cell sends only common information such as a system broadcast, a paging message, and a long-period SSB, and does not perform data transmission. ¶ [0249]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide indication of power saving state when the cell is powered off taught by Liu et al. in the message taught by Khirallah not only to provide some beneficial effects include that an IAB node in an IAB network can obtain accurate configuration information but also ensure an improved operation of the IAB network. Liu: ¶ [0009]. Even though, Liu discloses the method of indicating of changing the activation state (i.e., entering DTX mode) to perform/indicate Energy Saving State (Liu: ¶ [0248-0249]), neither Khirallah nor Liu explicitly states requestting to activate or deactivate the cell of the DU being in the energy saving mode, and wherein that the CU has stored a context of the cell. However, Byun further provides requesting to activate or deactivate (See Fig. 15: in step 1501, the CU may receive, from the DU, a first message including deactivation request (i.e., the request to change the activation state) for the DU just for the same reason of saving energy for DU unit as discussed by Liu. See Byun’s ¶ [0205] and Abstract ), wherein the CU has stored a context of the cell (See Fig. 16, at step 1602, when the IAB-donor-CU accepts the deactivation of the IAB-node 1, the IAB-donor-CU may maintain the context related to the IAB-node 1. The IAB-donor-CU may store the context (i.e., storing the context of the cell) related to the IAB-node 1 while the IAB-node 1 is deactivated. ¶ [0228]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide receiving the request to change message for the activation state and the CU has stored a context of the cell as taught by Byun to have incorporated into the Khirallah’s system, so that it would provide that the power of IAB network could be used efficiently. In addition, the degradation of UE's experience by energy saving of the IAB-node could be avoided. Byun: ¶ [0268]. Claims 2, 17, 36 and 43: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims above. Khirallah et al. discloses the configuration update acknowledgement includes a confirmation of the change to the activation status of the cell of the distributed unit ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]). Claims 3, 18, 37 and 44: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims above. Khirallah et al. discloses the change to the activation status is an activation of the cell of the distributed unit or a deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]). Claims 5, 20, 40 and 47: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims above. Khirallah et al. discloses the change to the activation status is a deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit, and wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured to cause the distributed unit to: receive, from the central unit, a request to reactivate the cell of the distributed unit (activate in addition to the serving cell(s) with the reported LBT failures (e.g. the cell(s) with downlink LBT failures reported during s2); Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]). Claims 6, 21, 41 and 48: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims above. Khirallah et al. discloses the request to reactivate the cell of the distributed unit occurs after the deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit without an intervening cell addition for the cell of the distributed unit (activate in addition to the serving cell(s) with the reported LBT failures (e.g. the cell(s) with downlink LBT failures reported during s2); Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 4, 19, 31, 33, 38, 39, 45 and 46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khirallah et al. US 2023/0345532 in view of Liu et al. US 2023/0100121 and further in view of Byun et al. US 2022/0264447 and Centonza et al. US 2023/0199481 . Claims 4, 19, 38 and 45: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims 1, 16, 35 and 42 above. Furthermore, Khirallah et al. discloses regarding claims 4, 19, 38 and 45, the change to the activation status is a deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]). Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. fail to teach, but Byun et al. discloses for example, when the gNB-CU accepts the deactivation of the gNB-DU 1, the gNB-CU may maintain the context related to the gNB-DU 1. The gNB-CU may store the context related to the gNB-DU 1 while the gNB-DU 1 is deactivated. The gNB-CU may use the maintained context related to the gNB-DU 1 to activate the gNB-DU 1 subsequently (Byun et al.; [0252]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the maintained context related to the DU in the system taught by Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. as taught by Byun et al. in order to activate the DU subsequently. Khirallah et al. fails to teach regarding claims 4, 19, 38 and 45, wherein a context of the cell is stored at the central unit based at least in part on the deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit. However, Centonza et al. discloses the gNB-CU will need to store (i.e. create) information about all the served cells signaled by the gNB-DU in order to be able to activate any of such cells at any point in time (Centonza et al.; [0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to store (i.e. create) information about the served cells signaled (e.g. s2; Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6) by the gNB-DU in the system of Khirallah et al., Liu et al. and Byun et al. as taught by Centonza et al. in order to be able to activate any of such cells at any point in time in the system. Claims 31, 33, 39 and 46: Khirallah et al., Liu et al., Byun et al., and Centonza et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims 4, 19, 38 and 45 above. Furthermore, Centonza et al. discloses configuration update acknowledgement comprises an indication that the context of the cell is stored at the central unit (Centonza et al.; [0066]). Regarding claim 49; Khirallah in view of Byun teaches the distributed unit wherein the processor-readable code, when executed by the at least one processor, is configured to cause the distributed unit to: reactivate the cell of the distributed unit in accordance with the request to reactivate the cell of the distributed unit (Byun: The gNB-CU may use the maintained context related to the gNB-DU 1 to activate the gNB-DU 1 subsequently. ¶ [0252]). Regarding claim 51; Khirallah teaches the method further comprising: reactivating the cell of the distributed unit in accordance with the request to reactivate the cell of the distributed unit. Regarding claim 52; Khirallah teaches the method further comprising: refraining from deleting a context of the cell of the distributed unit (Byun: The gNB-CU may use the maintained context related to the gNB-DU 1 to activate the gNB-DU 1 subsequently. ¶ [0252]) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 32 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khirallah et al. US 2023/0345532 in view of Liu et al. US 2023/0100121 and further in view of Centonza et al. US 2023/0199481 . Claims 32 and 34: Khirallah et al. and Liu et al. disclose the claimed invention as to claims 1 and 16 above. Furthermore, Khirallah et al. discloses regarding claims 32 and 34, the change to the activation status is an activation of the cell of the distributed unit ( Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6; [0097]-[0099]). Khirallah et al. fails to teach regarding claims 32 and 34, wherein the activation of the cell of the distributed unit is based at least in part on a context of the cell stored at the central unit. However, Centonza et al. discloses the gNB-CU will need to store (i.e. create) information about all the served cells signaled by the gNB-DU in order to be able to activate any of such cells at any point in time (Centonza et al.; [0036]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to store (i.e. create) information about the served cells signaled (e.g. s2; Khirallah et al.; Fig. 6) by the gNB-DU in the system of Khirallah et al., and Liu et al. as taught by Centonza et al. in order to be able to activate any of such cells at any point in time in the system . Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments submitted on 04/13/2026 with respect to claims 1-2, 5, 6, 16, 18, 20, 21, 35-37, 40-43, and 47-52 have been considered but they are not persuasive. Arguments: Applicant argues that the cited references, namely Khirallah et al. in view of Liu et al., and further in view of Byun et al. , fail to teach the amended limitation: “ wherein a context of the cell is stored at the central unit based on the deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit. ” Applicant’s argument has been fully considered but is not persuasive. Examiner respectfully disagrees. As set forth in the Office Action, Khirallah et al. teaches a distributed unit (DU) transmitting a Configuration Update message to a central unit (CU) requesting a change in activation status of one or more cells. Specifically, Khirallah teaches that upon detection of an LBT failure, the gNB-DU generates and transmits a Configuration Update message to the gNB-CU indicating the detected failure and requesting deletion (i.e., deactivation) of the affected cell(s). See Abstract, ¶ [0016], Fig. 6, and ¶ [0098]. Khirallah further teaches that the gNB-CU responds with a Configuration Update Acknowledge message and may instruct activation of other cells. See ¶ [0099]. Thus, Khirallah teaches communication between the DU and CU regarding activation and deactivation of cells. Further, Liu et al. teaches operation of a distributed unit in an energy-saving mode. In particular, Liu discloses that an IAB node includes an IAB-DU and an IAB-MT, and that energy-saving operation may be achieved by placing the IAB-MT into an inactive state and causing a cell served by the IAB-DU to enter a discontinuous transmission (DTX) state or otherwise be closed. See ¶¶ [0248]-[0250]. Liu further teaches activation and deactivation of cells as part of the energy-saving operation of the DU. See Fig. 13 and ¶ [0249]. Therefore, Liu teaches deactivation of cells associated with a DU for energy-saving purposes. Although Khirallah and Liu teach deactivation of cells and signaling between the DU and CU regarding activation status changes, neither reference explicitly discloses that the CU stores the context of the cell while the cell remains deactivated. However, Byun et al. expressly teaches this feature. Specifically, Byun teaches that a DU may transmit a deactivation request to a CU. See Fig. 15, Abstract, and ¶ [0205]. More importantly, Byun teaches that when the IAB-donor-CU accepts deactivation of an IAB node, the IAB-donor-CU maintains the context related to that node while the node remains deactivated. See Fig. 16 and ¶ [0228]. Byun expressly states that: “the IAB-donor-CU may maintain the context related to the IAB-node 1” and “may store the context related to the IAB-node 1 while the IAB-node 1 is deactivated.” ¶ [0228]. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have understood that maintaining and storing the context of a deactivated node or cell at the CU facilitates later reactivation without requiring complete re-establishment of configuration information. Accordingly, Byun expressly teaches the claimed limitation of storing the context at the CU based on deactivation of the cell. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Byun's context-retention technique into the cell activation/deactivation framework of Khirallah and Liu. Doing so would allow the CU to efficiently manage deactivated cells while preserving configuration information for future reactivation, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing service interruption. As expressly taught by Byun, such an approach allows power in the IAB network to be used more efficiently while avoiding degradation of UE experience caused by energy-saving operations. See Byun ¶ [0268]. Accordingly, the combination of Khirallah, Liu, and Byun teaches or at least renders obvious the amended limitation: “wherein a context of the cell is stored at the central unit based on the deactivation of the cell of the distributed unit.” Therefore, Applicant’s argument is not persuasive, and the rejection is maintained. Conclusion 07-40 AIA Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAI AUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-3507. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, Alt Fridays, 7:30 AM- 5:00 PM (EST). If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SAI AUNG/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 2 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 3 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 4 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 5 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 6 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 7 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 8 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 9 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 10 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 11 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 12 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 14 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 15 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 16 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 17/653,417 Page 17 Art Unit: 2416
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