Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 17/885,172

NETWORK OPERATION TIME INTERVAL INDICATION

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Aug 10, 2022
Examiner
FOLLANSBEE, KEITH TRAN-DANH
Art Unit
2411
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Qualcomm Incorporated
OA Round
4 (Final)
63%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
81%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 63% of resolved cases
63%
Career Allowance Rate
55 granted / 87 resolved
+5.2% vs TC avg
Strong +18% interview lift
Without
With
+17.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
134
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
96.9%
+56.9% vs TC avg
§102
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§112
1.2%
-38.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 87 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
CTFR 17/885,172 CTFR 95789 DETAILED ACTION 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. Claims 1,3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30 have been amended. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-11, 13- 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo et al.(US20220279442) in view of Liang et al.( US20250386226) . Regarding claim 1, 25, Luo teaches An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors ([0342] “The communication apparatus may be a terminal. As shown in figure, the communication apparatus may include: a processor 701, a memory 702, a transceiver 703 and a bus interface 704”) ; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus ([0343] “The processor 701 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and usual processing, and the memory 702 may store data used by the processor 701 during operation execution”) to: receive radio resource control signaling indicating a plurality of network energy saving states and a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern of a plurality of network energy saving state patterns of a network entity (Fig. 3 “S301” [0172-173] “S301: the terminal receives the search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal sent by the base station… The search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal includes first configuration information and/or second configuration information, the first configuration information is search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal used when the terminal is in a short DRX cycle, and the second configuration information is search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal used when the terminal is in a long DRX cycle”) ; Luo does not explicitly teach receive radio resource control signaling, a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern and communicate one or more messages with the network entity in accordance with a first network energy saving state of the plurality of network energy saving states that is identified based at least in part on the activated network energy state pattern, the one or more messages being communicated based at least in part on a time period associated with the first network energy saving state, based at least in part on the radio resource control signaling indicating that the first network energy saving state is active, or both. Liang teaches receive radio resource control signaling ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern ([0192] “which is a simplified illustration of how time domain network energy saving may be implemented in the procedure of FIG. 5 , for each time domain pattern, the respective bitmap may, for example, use a bit set to ‘1’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is active and a bit set to ‘0’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is inactive (or vice versa). ”), and communicate one or more messages with the network entity in accordance with a first network energy saving state of the plurality of network energy saving states that is identified based at least in part on the activated network energy state pattern [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”), the one or more messages being communicated based at least in part on a time period associated with the first network energy saving state, based at least in part on the receive radio resource control signaling indicating that the first network energy saving state is active ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”), or both. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claims 14, 30, Luo teaches An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: one or more processors; one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors; and instructions stored in the one or more memories and executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to ([0336-0337] “As shown in figure, the communication apparatus may include: a processor 601, a memory 602, a transceiver 603 and a bus interface 604 …The processor 601 is responsible for managing a bus architecture and usual processing, and the memory 602 may store data used by the processor 601 during operation execution) : transmit, to a user equipment (UE), radio resource control signaling indicating a plurality of network energy saving states of the network entity and a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern of a plurality of network energy saving state patterns (Fig. 2 “S202”, [0109]-[0110] “The search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal includes at least one of first configuration information and second configuration information. The first configuration information is search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal used when a terminal is in a short DRX cycle, and the second configuration information is configuration information for a search space set for the power-saving signal used when the terminal is in a long DRX cycle .. S202: the base station sends the search space set configuration information for the power-saving signal to the terminal”) ; Luo does not explicitly teach transmit, to a user equipment (UE), radio resource control signaling, a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern, operate in a first network energy saving state of the plurality of network energy saving states that is identified based at least in part on the activated network energy state pattern, operation in the first network energy saving state being based at least in part on a time period being associated with the first network energy saving state, or based at least in part on a radio resource control message indicating that the first network energy saving state is active; and communicate, with the UE, one or more messages in accordance with the first network energy saving state. Liang teaches transmit, to a user equipment (UE), radio resource control signaling ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern ([0192] “which is a simplified illustration of how time domain network energy saving may be implemented in the procedure of FIG. 5 , for each time domain pattern, the respective bitmap may, for example, use a bit set to ‘1’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is active and a bit set to ‘0’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is inactive (or vice versa). ”), operate in a first network energy saving state of the plurality of network energy saving states that is identified based at least in part on the activated network energy state pattern, operation in the first network energy saving state being based at least in part on a time period being associated with the first network energy saving state, or based at least in part on a radio resource control message indicating that the first network energy saving state is active ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”) and communicate, with the UE, one or more messages in accordance with the first network energy saving state ([0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claims 2, 26 Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages with the network entity that is operating in the first network energy saving state based at least in part on a time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states indicating that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state. Liang teaches wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages with the network entity that is operating in the first network energy saving state based at least in part on a time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states indicating that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 3, 27, Luo teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling indicates the time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states ([0015] “In one embodiment, the first configuration information includes a first power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the first power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the short DRX cycle; and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) . Luo does not teach radio resource control signaling. Liang teaches radio resource control signaling ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, . It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 4, 28, Luo does teaches wherein: each time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern comprises one or more symbols, one or more slots, one or more frames, one or more seconds, one or more milliseconds, one or more time periods, or any combination thereof. Liang teaches wherein: each time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern comprises one or more symbols, one or more slots, one or more frames, one or more seconds, one or more milliseconds, one or more time periods, or any combination thereof ([0140] “The NES configuration may, for example, include information for joint adaptation of the frequency domain, spatial domain, power domain and/or time domain when NES is active, [0161] “Time Domain NES configuration information: Information identifying a periodicity and timing offset (e.g., a PeriodicityAndOffset IE) defining the start of a timing window during which NES will be activated (for at least some slots/symbols…and information identifying a timing offset (e.g., a respective Offset IE for each time domain pattern), for identifying specific slots (or symbols) of the timing ) . It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 5, 29, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein: a duration of a respective time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the time pattern. Liang teaches wherein: a duration of a respective time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the time pattern ([0123] “UE 3 comprises time domain configuration information that includes a configurable periodicity and offset defining a regularly (periodically) occurring window during which an energy saving NES mode is active. The time domain configuration in the exemplary communication system 1 also defines one or more time domain patterns that define specific timings (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during the NES window during which NES is active or inactive. The periodicity, offset and time domain pattern may be defined at any suitable level of timing granularity (which may change between releases and generations of communication technology). “) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 6, Luo teaches wherein the plurality of network energy saving states comprises at least one of a baseline operating state, a reduced energy consumption state ([0015] “and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) , a network support operation state, or a flexible operation state. Regarding claim 7, Luo teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling indicates one or more communication parameters associated with the first network energy saving state ( [0015] “the first configuration information includes a first power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the first power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the short DRX cycle; and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) , Luo does not explicitly teach radio resource control signaling and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages based at least in part on the one or more communication parameters that are associated with the first network energy saving state. Liang teaches radio resource control signaling ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages based at least in part on the one or more communication parameters that are associated with the first network energy saving state ([0220] “The information defining at least one NES BWP may define an effective NES BWP by specifying a start offset (e.g., an NESBWPoffset IE) which can be relative to the start position of the configured NES bandwidth) with the remaining parameters (e.g., configuring the length of the BWP, the CORESET, the CSI-RS etc.)”). It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 9, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein: the activated network energy state pattern is based at least in part on at least one of a network load, one or more capabilities of the UE, or one or more network energy saving parameters, or any combination thereof. Liang teaches wherein: the activated network energy state pattern is based at least in part on at least one of a network load, one or more capabilities of the UE, or one or more network energy saving parameters ([0059] “the at least one network energy saving configuration includes at least one time domain configuration, the at least one time domain configuration may defines at least one time period during which the at least one network energy saving configuration will be active.”) , or any combination thereof. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 10, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the radio resource control signaling which indicates that the first network energy saving state is active by indicating a change in one or more channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration parameters, a change in an indicated transmission power of the network entity, or a change in one or more dynamic grant configurations for the one or more messages, or any combination thereof. Liang teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling which indicates that the first network energy saving state is active by indicating a change in one or more channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reporting configuration parameters parameters ([0201] “For the purpose of CSI-Reporting, when CSI reporting is configured at the UE 3 by the base station 5 (at S 812 ), the UE 3 determines (at S 814 ), based on the time domain NES configuration, and the reporting configuration, instances of expected NZP-CSI-RS that occur during an NES timing duration (e.g., times during which NES operations are active). .”) , a change in an indicated transmission power of the network entity, or a change in one or more dynamic grant configurations for the one or more messages ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , or any combination thereof. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 11, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the radio resource control signaling that indicates that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state, wherein the first network energy saving state is a flexible network energy saving state or a default network energy saving state. Liang teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) that indicates that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state, wherein the first network energy saving state is a flexible network energy saving state or a default network energy saving state ([0122] “ providing flexible time domain energy saving in which both the UE 3 and base station 5 are able to identify the timings at which energy saving is active within the network”) . It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 13, Luo does not teach wherein: the radio resource control signaling indicates one or more communication parameters associated with the first network energy saving state, and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: modify one or more communication techniques performed by the UE to communicate the one or more messages with the network entity based at least in part on the first network energy saving state, the one or more communication techniques comprising at least one of one or more uplink skipping techniques, one or more scheduling request procedures, one or more beam failure detection and recovery techniques, or one or more random access channel procedures, or any combination thereof. Liang teaches wherein: the radio resource control signaling indicates one or more communication parameters associated with the first network energy saving state, and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: modify one or more communication techniques performed by the UE to communicate the one or more messages with the network entity based at least in part on the first network energy saving state ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , the one or more communication techniques comprising at least one of one or more uplink skipping techniques, one or more scheduling request procedures ([0226] “ or a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH, and for Type-1 or Type-2 configured grant (CG) PUSCH, it will be appreciated that both the active BWP in non-NES mode and the active NES BWP in NES mode may be pre-configured, and BWP switching to the default NES-BWP can be carried out (by auto-switching)”) one or more beam failure detection and recovery techniques, or one or more random access channel procedures, or any combination thereof. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 15, Luo does not teach wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages with the UE while operating in the first network energy saving state based at least in part on a time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states indicating that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state. Liang teaches wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages with the UE while operating in the first network energy saving state based at least in part on a time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states indicating that the network entity is operating in the first network energy saving state ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 16, Luo teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling indicates the time pattern associated with the plurality of network energy saving states ([0015] “In one embodiment, the first configuration information includes a first power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the first power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the short DRX cycle; and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) . Luo does not teach radio resource control signaling. Liang teaches radio resource control signaling ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 17, Luo teaches wherein: each time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern comprises one or more symbols, one or more slots, one or more frames, one or more seconds, one or more milliseconds, one or more time periods, or any combination thereof ([0126] “Taking an example that the slot serves as the unit, the start position of the monitoring occasion for the power-saving signal during the short DRX cycle may be determined according to the first monitoring occasion offset offset_1, and the start position of the monitoring occasion for the power-saving signal during the long DRX cycle may be determined according to the second monitoring occasion offset offset_2”) . Regarding claim 18, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein: a duration of a respective time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the time pattern. Liang teaches wherein: a duration of a respective time interval of a quantity of time intervals of the time pattern is based at least in part on a subcarrier spacing of the time pattern ([0060] “he at least one time domain configuration may include an indication of at least one of: at least one periodicity of the at least one time period; at least one offset representing a start time of the at least one time period; at least one granularity for the at least one time period; at least one duration of the at least one time period; at least one timer value for timing the at least one time period; or at least one time of day corresponding to the at least one time period. The at least one time domain configuration may include timing information indicating at least one part of the of the at least one time period during which network energy saving will be active or inactive. “) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 19, Luo teaches wherein: the plurality of network energy saving states comprise at least one of a baseline operating state, a reduced energy consumption state ([0015] “and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) , a network support operation state, or a flexible operation state. Regarding claim 20, Luo teaches wherein: the radio resource control signaling indicates one or more communication parameters associated with the first network energy saving state ( [0015] “the first configuration information includes a first power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the first power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the short DRX cycle; and the second configuration information includes a second power-saving signal monitoring pattern, and the second power-saving signal monitoring pattern is a power-saving signal monitoring pattern used when the terminal is in the long DRX cycle”) . Luo does not explicitly teach radio resource control signaling and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages in accordance with the first network energy saving state. Liang teaches radio resource control signaling and wherein the instructions to communicate the one or more messages are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: communicate the one or more messages in accordance with the first network energy saving state ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”, [0241-243] “Similarly, the UE 3 receives communications from the base station 5 using the selected beam configuration at S 1316 b … The NES operations continue until the NES configuration is deactivated (or updated) as indicated at S 1318 a and S 1318 b (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 5 ) …It will be appreciated that, in the uplink, a similar technique can be implemented for measurement, at the base station 5”) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 22, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein: the activated network energy state pattern is based at least in part on at least one of a network load, one or more capabilities of the UE, or one or more network energy saving parameters , or any combination thereof. Liang teaches wherein: the activated network energy state pattern is based at least in part on at least one of a network load, one or more capabilities of the UE, or one or more network energy saving parameters ( ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , or any combination thereof. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 23, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the radio resource control signaling that indicates that the network entity that is operating in the first network energy saving state that is a flexible network energy saving state or a default network energy saving state. Liang teaches wherein the radio resource control signaling that indicates that the network entity that is operating in the first network energy saving state that is a flexible network energy saving state or a default network energy saving state he base station 5 and UE 3 are mutually configured to support implementation of an NES mode in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain. As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled. It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption. Regarding claim 24, Luo does not explicitly teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: switching, by the network entity, between two or more of the plurality of network energy saving states over time. Liang teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processor to cause the apparatus to: switching, by the network entity, between two or more of the plurality of network energy saving states over time ([0123] “ The time domain configuration in the exemplary communication system 1 also defines one or more time domain patterns that define specific timings (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during the NES window during which NES is active or inactive. The periodicity, offset and time domain pattern may be defined at any suitable level of timing granularity (which may change between releases and generations of communication technology)) It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo to incorporate the teachings of Liang . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to reduce power consumption . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luo in view of Liang further in view of Lee et al. (US20240049130) . Regarding claim 12, Luo, Liang does not explicitly teach wherein the instructions are further executable by the one or more processors to cause the apparatus to: modify one or more transmission and reception parameters based at least in part on the first network energy saving state, the one or more transmission and reception parameters comprising at least one of one or more uplink power control parameters, one or more antenna rank parameters, or one or more modulation and coding scheme parameters, or any combination thereof, and wherein the one or more messages are communicated based at least in part on the one or more transmission and reception parameters. Lee teaches wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: modify one or more transmission and reception parameters based at least in part on the first network energy saving state, the one or more transmission and reception parameters comprising at least one of one or more uplink power control parameters, one or more antenna rank parameters ([0330] “The BS energy saving methods may be reclassified into three methods, i.e., 1. a BS energy saving method in a frequency domain which adjusts a size of a BWP according to traffic of a BS, 2. a BS energy saving method in a spatial domain which adaptively decreases the number of antenna ports, and 3. a BS energy saving method in a time domain which adjusts periodicity of CSI-RS, SSB, and DRX”) , or one or more modulation and coding scheme parameters, or any combination thereof, and wherein the one or more messages are communicated based at least in part on the one or more transmission and reception parameters ([0332] “In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, each operation of a method, performed by a BS, of indicating a BS energy saving mode to a UE for BS energy saving will be described”) . It would have been obvious for one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Luo, Liang to incorporate the teachings of Lee . One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to increase the efficiency of the system . Response to Arguments 07-37 AIA Applicant's arguments filed 03/03/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant’s Argument 1 Luo and Myung's indication of time duration patterns using DCI or MAC-CE, however, does not teach or suggest "receiving radio resource control signaling indicating a plurality of network energy saving states and a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern of a plurality of network energy saving state patterns of a network entity". Examiner’s Response 1 Examiner respectfully disagrees. See updated rejection Luo in view of Liang is relied upon to teach claim 1 features. Luo is relied upon to show control signaling indicating a plurality of network energy saving states in Fig 3 and [0173]. Luo does not specify using a bit or RRC. Newly added reference Liang shows these claimed limitations receive radio resource control signaling ([0116] “As described in more detail later, the base station 5 configures the NES mode (or updates the NES configuration) and notifies the UE 3 of the of the (updated) NES configuration by using appropriate signalling (e.g., RRC signalling) to signal information elements (IEs) to the UE 3 that define the various aspects of the NES configuration in the time, frequency, spatial, and/or power domain and thus preconfigure the NES mode at the UE 3 . An appropriate NES configuration is activated at the base station 5 appropriately when NES is enabled”) , a bit field including a bit value that indicates an activated network energy state pattern ([0192] “which is a simplified illustration of how time domain network energy saving may be implemented in the procedure of FIG. 5 , for each time domain pattern, the respective bitmap may, for example, use a bit set to ‘1’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is active and a bit set to ‘0’ to represent a time period (e.g., a slot, group of slots, or other time period) during which NES is inactive (or vice versa). ”) Conclusion 07-39 AIA 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 KEITH TRAN-DANH FOLLANSBEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3071. The examiner can normally be reached 10am -6 pm M-Th. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /K.T.F./Examiner, Art Unit 2411 /DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 2 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 3 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 4 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 5 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 6 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 7 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 8 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 9 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 10 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 11 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 12 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 13 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 14 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 15 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 16 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 17 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 18 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 19 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 20 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 21 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 22 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 23 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 24 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 25 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 26 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 27 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 28 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 29 Art Unit: 2411 Application/Control Number: 17/885,172 Page 30 Art Unit: 2411
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Apr 23, 2025
Response Filed
Jul 31, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Sep 29, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Oct 23, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Oct 31, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Dec 05, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 03, 2026
Response Filed
Jun 04, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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5-6
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81%
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3y 3m (~0m remaining)
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