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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 7, and 13-14 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 04/24/2026 is sufficient to overcome the rejection of claims 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13-14 based upon prior art of record Suzuki et al (US 2019/0364586), hereinafter Suzuki.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The 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.
Claims 1, 7, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 2019/0364586), hereinafter Li, in further view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0360732), hereinafter Kim, and Tao et al. (US 2021/0377828), hereinafter Tao.
Regarding Claim 1, Li teaches: A method comprising: receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from a network, configuration information related to a configured uplink (UL) grant: “receiving the first UL grant, the second uplink grant UL grant, and the latency parameter of the logical channel for which the first UL grant is used from the base station” (Li ¶ 0016), selecting, by the UE, a logical channel to which the configured UL grant is applicable: “The UE determines, based on the latency parameter required by the service QoS from the eNB, that only a UL grant of a first TTI length from the eNB can be used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is higher than a preset threshold, or that a UL grant of a second TTI length from the eNB is used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is lower than a preset threshold” (Li ¶ 0092); performing, by the UE, a first data unit related to the selected logical channel via a first UL transmission according to the configured UL grant: See Li Fig. 6 below where the MAC PDU is sent via the corresponding UL grant.
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Li Fig. 6
Li does not teach: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant; and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information; and performing, by the UE, a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources: “The timeline 300 may also be based on a configuration by the base station 105 or the UE 115, and implemented by the UE 115 to promote high reliability and low latency wireless communications in a wireless communications system, among other benefits. In the example of FIG. 3, the UE 115 may receive data traffic 305 over a burst of transport blocks 310. The data traffic 305 may be semi-periodic or periodic. For example, there may be a periodicity 315 between two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310. The UE 115 may determine a power saving opportunity 320, based at least in part on the periodicity 315 between the two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310, to experience added power savings” (Kim ¶ 0104) and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant: “In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate to the UE to disable the monitoring of the PDCCH based on an enabled or a disabled retransmission timer” (Kim ¶ 0042); and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information: “In some examples, the message component 1010 may transmit an uplink transmission during the active portion while disabling monitoring of the PDCCH . . . In some cases, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate disabling the monitoring of the PDCCH based on determining whether a retransmission timer is enabled or disabled” (Kim ¶ 0141-0142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li with Kim for the purpose of saving power. According to Kim: “configuring the UEs to disable monitoring of the PDCCH during a temporal period may reduce power consumption by the UEs” (Kim ¶ 0058).
Kim does not teach: performing, by the UE, a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 1, Tao teaches: performing, by the UE, a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission: “if the UE is to transmit a new uplink transmission to the serving gNB and no HARQ process is available, the UE performs the UL transmission without any HARQ process, e.g., it does not keep the UL transmission in the HARQ buffer” (Tao ¶ 0276).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li and Kim with Tao for the purpose of saving power. According to Tao: “To reduce the battery consumption in the UE, a mechanism to minimize the time the UE spends monitoring the PDCCH is used, which is called the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) functionality” (Tao ¶ 0234).
Regarding Claim 7, Li teaches: A user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to perform operations: “Physical components of the terminal include physical components such as a processor 1420, a memory 1440, a transmitter 1430, a receiver 1410, and an antenna” (Li ¶ 0086) comprising: receiving, from a network, configuration information related to a configured uplink (UL): “receiving the first UL grant, the second uplink grant UL grant, and the latency parameter of the logical channel for which the first UL grant is used from the base station” (Li ¶ 0016), selecting, by the UE, a logical channel to which the configured UL grant is applicable: “The UE determines, based on the latency parameter required by the service QoS from the eNB, that only a UL grant of a first TTI length from the eNB can be used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is higher than a preset threshold, or that a UL grant of a second TTI length from the eNB is used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is lower than a preset threshold” (Li ¶ 0092); transmitting, by the UE, a first data unit related to the selected logical channel via a first UL transmission according to the configured UL grant: See Li Fig. 6 above where the MAC PDU is sent via the corresponding UL grant.
Li does not teach: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant; and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information; and performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 7, Kim teaches: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources: “The timeline 300 may also be based on a configuration by the base station 105 or the UE 115, and implemented by the UE 115 to promote high reliability and low latency wireless communications in a wireless communications system, among other benefits. In the example of FIG. 3, the UE 115 may receive data traffic 305 over a burst of transport blocks 310. The data traffic 305 may be semi-periodic or periodic. For example, there may be a periodicity 315 between two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310. The UE 115 may determine a power saving opportunity 320, based at least in part on the periodicity 315 between the two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310, to experience added power savings” (Kim ¶ 0104) and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant: “In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate to the UE to disable the monitoring of the PDCCH based on an enabled or a disabled retransmission timer” (Kim ¶ 0042); and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information: “In some examples, the message component 1010 may transmit an uplink transmission during the active portion while disabling monitoring of the PDCCH . . . In some cases, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate disabling the monitoring of the PDCCH based on determining whether a retransmission timer is enabled or disabled” (Kim ¶ 0141-0142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li with Kim for the purpose of saving power. According to Kim: “configuring the UEs to disable monitoring of the PDCCH during a temporal period may reduce power consumption by the UEs” (Kim ¶ 0058).
Kim does not teach: performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 7, Tao teaches: performing, by the UE, a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission: “if the UE is to transmit a new uplink transmission to the serving gNB and no HARQ process is available, the UE performs the UL transmission without any HARQ process, e.g., it does not keep the UL transmission in the HARQ buffer” (Tao ¶ 0276).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li and Kim with Tao for the purpose of saving power. According to Tao: “To reduce the battery consumption in the UE, a mechanism to minimize the time the UE spends monitoring the PDCCH is used, which is called the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) functionality” (Tao ¶ 0234).
Regarding Claim 13, Li teaches An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one computer memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to perform operations: “Physical components of the terminal include physical components such as a processor 1420, a memory 1440, a transmitter 1430, a receiver 1410, and an antenna” (Li ¶ 0086) comprising: receiving, from a network, configuration information related to a configured uplink (UL) grant: “receiving the first UL grant, the second uplink grant UL grant, and the latency parameter of the logical channel for which the first UL grant is used from the base station” (Li ¶ 0016), selecting, by the UE, a logical channel to which the configured UL grant is applicable: “The UE determines, based on the latency parameter required by the service QoS from the eNB, that only a UL grant of a first TTI length from the eNB can be used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is higher than a preset threshold, or that a UL grant of a second TTI length from the eNB is used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is lower than a preset threshold” (Li ¶ 0092); performing, by the UE, a first data unit related to the selected logical channel via a first UL transmission according to the configured UL grant: See Li Fig. 6 below where the MAC PDU is sent via the corresponding UL grant.
Li does not teach: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant; and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information; and performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources: “The timeline 300 may also be based on a configuration by the base station 105 or the UE 115, and implemented by the UE 115 to promote high reliability and low latency wireless communications in a wireless communications system, among other benefits. In the example of FIG. 3, the UE 115 may receive data traffic 305 over a burst of transport blocks 310. The data traffic 305 may be semi-periodic or periodic. For example, there may be a periodicity 315 between two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310. The UE 115 may determine a power saving opportunity 320, based at least in part on the periodicity 315 between the two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310, to experience added power savings” (Kim ¶ 0104) and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant: “In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate to the UE to disable the monitoring of the PDCCH based on an enabled or a disabled retransmission timer” (Kim ¶ 0042); and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information: “In some examples, the message component 1010 may transmit an uplink transmission during the active portion while disabling monitoring of the PDCCH . . . In some cases, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate disabling the monitoring of the PDCCH based on determining whether a retransmission timer is enabled or disabled” (Kim ¶ 0141-0142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li with Kim for the purpose of saving power. According to Kim: “configuring the UEs to disable monitoring of the PDCCH during a temporal period may reduce power consumption by the UEs” (Kim ¶ 0058).
Kim does not teach: performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 1, Tao teaches: performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission: “if the UE is to transmit a new uplink transmission to the serving gNB and no HARQ process is available, the UE performs the UL transmission without any HARQ process, e.g., it does not keep the UL transmission in the HARQ buffer” (Tao ¶ 0276).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li and Kim with Tao for the purpose of saving power. According to Tao: “To reduce the battery consumption in the UE, a mechanism to minimize the time the UE spends monitoring the PDCCH is used, which is called the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) functionality” (Tao ¶ 0234).
Regarding Claim 14, Li teaches: A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a user equipment (UE) to perform operations: “Physical components of the terminal include physical components such as a processor 1420, a memory 1440, a transmitter 1430, a receiver 1410, and an antenna” (Li ¶ 0086) comprising: selecting, by the UE, a logical channel to which the configured UL grant is applicable: “The UE determines, based on the latency parameter required by the service QoS from the eNB, that only a UL grant of a first TTI length from the eNB can be used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is higher than a preset threshold, or that a UL grant of a second TTI length from the eNB is used for a logical channel whose latency parameter is lower than a preset threshold” (Li ¶ 0092); performing, by the UE, a first data unit related to the selected logical channel via a first UL transmission according to the configured UL grant: See Li Fig. 6 below where the MAC PDU is sent via the corresponding UL grant.
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Li Fig. 6
Li does not teach: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant; and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information; and performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 14, Kim teaches: wherein the configuration information comprises first information related to periodic UL resources: “The timeline 300 may also be based on a configuration by the base station 105 or the UE 115, and implemented by the UE 115 to promote high reliability and low latency wireless communications in a wireless communications system, among other benefits. In the example of FIG. 3, the UE 115 may receive data traffic 305 over a burst of transport blocks 310. The data traffic 305 may be semi-periodic or periodic. For example, there may be a periodicity 315 between two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310. The UE 115 may determine a power saving opportunity 320, based at least in part on the periodicity 315 between the two consecutive bursts of transport blocks 310, to experience added power savings” (Kim ¶ 0104) and second information related to disable waking-up for monitoring a PDCCH for a UL retransmission related to the configured UL grant: “In some examples of the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate to the UE to disable the monitoring of the PDCCH based on an enabled or a disabled retransmission timer” (Kim ¶ 0042); and, wherein a timer related to the UL retransmission is not started after the first UL new transmission based on the second information: “In some examples, the message component 1010 may transmit an uplink transmission during the active portion while disabling monitoring of the PDCCH . . . In some cases, the one or more discontinuous PDCCH monitoring parameters indicate disabling the monitoring of the PDCCH based on determining whether a retransmission timer is enabled or disabled” (Kim ¶ 0141-0142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li with Kim for the purpose of saving power. According to Kim: “configuring the UEs to disable monitoring of the PDCCH during a temporal period may reduce power consumption by the UEs” (Kim ¶ 0058).
Kim does not teach: performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission.
Regarding Claim 14, Tao teaches: performing a second UL new transmission for a second data unit related to the selected logical channel according to the configured UL grant, without considering any UL retransmission: “if the UE is to transmit a new uplink transmission to the serving gNB and no HARQ process is available, the UE performs the UL transmission without any HARQ process, e.g., it does not keep the UL transmission in the HARQ buffer” (Tao ¶ 0276).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li and Kim with Tao for the purpose of saving power. According to Tao: “To reduce the battery consumption in the UE, a mechanism to minimize the time the UE spends monitoring the PDCCH is used, which is called the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) functionality” (Tao ¶ 0234).
Claims 4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li, Kim, and Tao as applied to claims 1 and 7 above, and further in view of Lu et al. (US 2022/0151015), hereinafter Lu.
Regarding Claim 4, Li, Kim, and Tao teach: The method of claim 1.
Li, Kim, and Tao do not teach: based on the first UL new transmission that is based on the second information, the UE is not allowed to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the retransmission.
Regarding Claim 4, Lu teaches: based on the first UL new transmission that is based on the second information, the UE is not allowed to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the retransmission: “The terminal configured with the DRX cycle only monitors the downlink control instruction in an active state, and turns off the receiver circuit in the remaining time and enters a dormant state . . . the network configures a DRX function for the terminal, so that the terminal discontinuously monitors a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to save power for the terminal” (Lu ¶ 0044 - 0045).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures Li, Kim, and Tao with Lu for the purpose of saving power. According to Lu: “A basic mechanism for DRX is to configure a DRX cycle for the terminal. The terminal configured with the DRX cycle only monitors the downlink control instruction in an active state, and turns off the receiver circuit in the remaining time and enters a dormant state, which can significantly reduce the power consumption: the longer the DRX cycle, the lower the power consumption” (Lu ¶ 0044).
Regarding Claim 10, Li teaches: The UE of claim 7.
Li, Kim, and Tao do not teach: based on the first UL new transmission that is based on the second information, the UE is not allowed to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the retransmission.
Regarding Claim 10, Lu teaches: based on the first UL new transmission that is based on the second information, the UE is not allowed to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the retransmission: “The terminal configured with the DRX cycle only monitors the downlink control instruction in an active state, and turns off the receiver circuit in the remaining time and enters a dormant state . . . the network configures a DRX function for the terminal, so that the terminal discontinuously monitors a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to save power for the terminal” (Lu ¶ 0044 - 0045).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the disclosures of Li and Suzuki with Lu for the purpose of saving power. According to Lu: “A basic mechanism for DRX is to configure a DRX cycle for the terminal. The terminal configured with the DRX cycle only monitors the downlink control instruction in an active state, and turns off the receiver circuit in the remaining time and enters a dormant state, which can significantly reduce the power consumption: the longer the DRX cycle, the lower the power consumption” (Lu ¶ 0044).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADLEY DAVIS LYTLE whose telephone number is (703)756-4593. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kwang bin Yao can be reached at 571-272-3182. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/B.D.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/BRADLEY D LYTLE JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2473
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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