Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 4, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 1, and 9-10 have been amended. Claims 1-10 are subject to examination and have been examined.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on April 9, 2020. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the PCT/JP2020/016046 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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 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.
Claims 1, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US Patent Application Publication, 20230098973, hereinafter, “Yang”) in view of Ji (US Patent Application Publication, 20100208660, hereinafter, “Ji”).
Regarding claim 1, Yang teaches:
A wireless communication device comprising (Yang: [0146] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a sidelink data transmission device 400 …):
a memory (Yang: [0157] … a memory 404 including instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor 420 ... Fig. 15); and
processor circuitry coupled with the memory and configured to (Yang: [0157] … a memory 404 including instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor 420 ... Fig. 15):
determine an offset based on destination identification of a signal to be groupcast to a plurality of terminal devices including the wireless communication device from another wireless communication device, … the offset being used by determining a start of an active interval of DRX (discontinuous reception), the active interval being an interval during which signals can be received (Yang: [0113] ... In addition, the terminal A [i.e., claimed “another wireless communication device”] transmits the DRX parameters (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the entire group through multicast … [0115] ... When receiving a multicast message transmitted by the terminal A, the terminal C [i.e., claimed “wireless communication device”] applies the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) to the reception of the group 100 and reports the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the network device … [0111] … the group includes the terminal A and a terminal C that serving as the first terminal …); and
receive, from the other wireless communication device, the signal which is transmitted using the destination identification in the active interval, the active interval being set by using the offset (Yang: [0069] ... The first terminal uses the sidelink resources configured, based on the multicast DRX information and the sidelink identifier of the multicast group where the second terminal is in, by the network device as the sidelink resources for transmitting sidelink multicast data to the second terminal.).
Yang does not explicitly teach:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups,
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ji teaches:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups (Ji: [0086] FIG. 9 illustrates an identifier message used to assign a UE to a DRX group … [0087] ... Each UE is assigned a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) within the cell by the eNB during network entry by the UE. Referring to FIG. 9, the eNB may detect a C-RNTI in such a way that the first n1 bits of the C-RNTI identify the specific DRX group … [0088] For example, it is assumed that there are N DRX groups ... Both the eNB and the UE implicitly know the DRX group and the location of the information bit for the UE with a C-RNTI using Equation … [0089] In an exemplary implementation, when generating a C-RNTI for a UE, the eNB may pick the first n1 bits such that all the UEs will be equally distributed into the DRX groups … Fig. 9),
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different (Ji: [0079] Referring to FIG. 8, a single DRX Cycle 801 includes N number of DRX Start Offsets. That is, the UEs served by an eNB are divided into N number of groups wherein each group is assigned a different DRX Start Offset and each UE within the group uses the assigned DRX Start Offset. That is, each DRX group consists of a number of MSs that all use the same DRX Start Offset. Accordingly, all UEs served by the eNB do not awake at the same time. Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang to include the features as taught by Ji above in order to improve performance of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. (Ji, ¶ [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 9, Yang teaches:
A wireless communication device comprising (Yang: [0146] FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a sidelink data transmission device 400 …):
a memory; and
processor circuitry coupled with the memory and configured to (Yang: [0157] … a memory 404 including instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor 420 ... Fig. 15):
transmit a signal to be groupcast to a group including a plurality of terminal devices (Yang: [0113] ... In addition, the terminal A [i.e., claimed “another wireless communication device”] transmits the DRX parameters (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the entire group through multicast …); and
determine a transmission timing of the signal transmitted to be groupcast (Yang: [0113] ... In addition, the terminal A [i.e., claimed “another wireless communication device”] transmits the DRX parameters (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the entire group through multicast …),
the determining including
determining the transmission timing in an active interval of DRX (discontinuous reception), the active interval being an interval during which signals can be received by the plurality of terminal devices, … a start of the active interval being determined by using an offset which is determined by destination information of a signal to be groupcast (Yang: [0115] ... When receiving a multicast message transmitted by the terminal A, the terminal C [i.e., claimed “wireless communication device”] applies the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) to the reception of the group 100 and reports the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the network device … [0111] … the group includes the terminal A and a terminal C that serving as the first terminal …).
Yang does not explicitly teach:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups,
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ji teaches:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups (Ji: [0086] FIG. 9 illustrates an identifier message used to assign a UE to a DRX group … [0087] ... Each UE is assigned a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) within the cell by the eNB during network entry by the UE. Referring to FIG. 9, the eNB may detect a C-RNTI in such a way that the first n1 bits of the C-RNTI identify the specific DRX group … [0088] For example, it is assumed that there are N DRX groups ... Both the eNB and the UE implicitly know the DRX group and the location of the information bit for the UE with a C-RNTI using Equation … [0089] In an exemplary implementation, when generating a C-RNTI for a UE, the eNB may pick the first n1 bits such that all the UEs will be equally distributed into the DRX groups … Fig. 9),
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different (Ji: [0079] Referring to FIG. 8, a single DRX Cycle 801 includes N number of DRX Start Offsets. That is, the UEs served by an eNB are divided into N number of groups wherein each group is assigned a different DRX Start Offset and each UE within the group uses the assigned DRX Start Offset. That is, each DRX group consists of a number of MSs that all use the same DRX Start Offset. Accordingly, all UEs served by the eNB do not awake at the same time. Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang to include the features as taught by Ji above in order to improve performance of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. (Ji, ¶ [Abstract]).
Regarding claim 10, Yang teaches:
A wireless communication system comprising (Yang: [0032] The sidelink communication method according to embodiments of the disclosure can be applied to a sidelink communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 ... Fig. 1):
a first terminal device including first processor circuitry (Yang: [0032] ... As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a scenario where the sidelink communication is performed between sidelink terminals, the network device configures transmission parameters used to transmit data for the sidelink device 1. The sidelink communication device 1 serves as a data transmitting end, and the sidelink communication device 2 serves as a data receiving end ... Fig. 1); and
a second terminal device including second processor circuitry (Yang: [0032] ... As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a scenario where the sidelink communication is performed between sidelink terminals, the network device configures transmission parameters used to transmit data for the sidelink device 1. The sidelink communication device 1 serves as a data transmitting end, and the sidelink communication device 2 serves as a data receiving end ... Fig. 1),
the first processor circuitry being configured to (Yang: [0147] … a processing component 402 ... Fig. 15):
determine a transmission timing in an active interval of DRX (discontinuous reception), the active interval being an interval during which signals can be received by a plurality of terminal devices, a start of the active interval being determined by using an offset which is determined by destination information of a signal to be groupcast (Yang: [0115] ... When receiving a multicast message transmitted by the terminal A, the terminal C [i.e., claimed “wireless communication device”] applies the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) to the reception of the group 100 and reports the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the network device … [0111] … the group includes the terminal A and a terminal C that serving as the first terminal …), and
the second processor circuitry being configured to (Yang: [0147] … a processing component 402 ... Fig. 15):
determine an offset based on destination identification of a signal to be groupcast to the plurality of terminal devices including the wireless communication device from another wireless communication device, … the offset being used by determining a start of an active interval of DRX, the active interval being an interval during which signals can be received (Yang: [0113] ... In addition, the terminal A [i.e., claimed “another wireless communication device”] transmits the DRX parameters (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the entire group through multicast … [0115] ... When receiving a multicast message transmitted by the terminal A, the terminal C [i.e., claimed “wireless communication device”] applies the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) to the reception of the group 100 and reports the DRX configuration (i.e. the inactivity timer being 5 ms, the on-duration timer being 1 ms, the cycle being 10 ms, and the start offset being 5 ms) and the sidelink Layer 2 identifier, i.e. 100, of the group to the network device … [0111] … the group includes the terminal A and a terminal C that serving as the first terminal …); and
receive, from the other wireless communication device, the signal which is transmitted using the destination identification in the active interval, the active interval being set by using the offset (Yang: [0069] ... The first terminal uses the sidelink resources configured, based on the multicast DRX information and the sidelink identifier of the multicast group where the second terminal is in, by the network device as the sidelink resources for transmitting sidelink multicast data to the second terminal.).
Yang does not explicitly teach:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups,
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ji teaches:
… the destination identification indicating a group among one or more groups (Ji: [0086] FIG. 9 illustrates an identifier message used to assign a UE to a DRX group … [0087] ... Each UE is assigned a Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI) within the cell by the eNB during network entry by the UE. Referring to FIG. 9, the eNB may detect a C-RNTI in such a way that the first n1 bits of the C-RNTI identify the specific DRX group … [0088] For example, it is assumed that there are N DRX groups ... Both the eNB and the UE implicitly know the DRX group and the location of the information bit for the UE with a C-RNTI using Equation … [0089] In an exemplary implementation, when generating a C-RNTI for a UE, the eNB may pick the first n1 bits such that all the UEs will be equally distributed into the DRX groups … Fig. 9),
wherein
a first offset corresponding to a first group included in the one or more groups and a second offset corresponding to a second group included in the one or more groups are different (Ji: [0079] Referring to FIG. 8, a single DRX Cycle 801 includes N number of DRX Start Offsets. That is, the UEs served by an eNB are divided into N number of groups wherein each group is assigned a different DRX Start Offset and each UE within the group uses the assigned DRX Start Offset. That is, each DRX group consists of a number of MSs that all use the same DRX Start Offset. Accordingly, all UEs served by the eNB do not awake at the same time. Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang to include the features as taught by Ji above in order to improve performance of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. (Ji, ¶ [Abstract]).
Claims 2-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang-Ji in view of Freda et.al. (US Patent Application Publication, 20230063472, hereinafter, “Freda”).
Regarding claim 2, Yang-Ji discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Yang-Ji does not explicitly teach:
wherein, the processor circuitry is configured to judge whether a wireless resource is used by another device during the active interval corresponding to DRX parameters.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Freda teaches:
wherein, the processor circuitry is configured to judge whether a wireless resource is used by another device during the active interval corresponding to DRX parameters (Freda: [0348] A TX WTRU may send data in a slot within an active time (e.g., active slot) for the RX WTRU, wherein the active slot may be determined based on a destination ID (e.g., L1 or L2). [0349] a. A set of destination IDs and its associated DRX configuration may be (pre)-configured. [0350] b. Sensing for resource selection [i.e., judging] may be performed in active time, On-duration, or active slots …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang-Ji to include the features as taught by Freda above in order to lower battery consumption in mobile devices. (Freda, ¶ [0002]).
Regarding claim 3, Yang-Ji discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Yang-Ji does not explicitly teach:
wherein, the processor circuitry is configured to supply power to the wireless communication unit during the active interval corresponding to the offset, and judges whether a wireless resource is used by another device during the active interval corresponding to the offset.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Freda teaches:
wherein, the processor circuitry is configured to supply power to the wireless communication unit (Freda: [0002] ... The main purpose of DRX is to lower battery consumption when there is no uplink or downlink data to process by the mobile device. As such, the mobile device may enter a sleep mode where the RF interfaces [i.e., communication unit(s)] are in low power or off mode. When traffic relevant to the mobile unit is expected the mobile unit may power up to process messages.) during the active interval corresponding to the offset, and judges whether a wireless resource is used by another device during the active interval corresponding to the offset (Freda: [1151] … a TX WTRU may determine to request sensing results based on its own DRX configuration and/or the DRX configuration of a peer WTRU, such as, based on a criteria derived from: [1152] The value of any of its DRX configuration, such as the length of the on-duration, the DRX cycle, the offset of its active time (potentially with respect to the active time of a peer WTRU), etc. [1153] The amount of overlap between its DRX active time and/or the DRX active time of the peer WTRU(s) and/or of different peer WTRUs. [1154] The amount of overlap between its DRX active time and resources required for sensing needed to transmit in the peer WTRU's active time.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang-Ji to include the features as taught by Freda above in order to lower battery consumption in mobile devices. (Freda, ¶ [0002]).
Regarding claim 4, Yang-Ji discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Yang-Ji does not explicitly teach:
wherein, when groupcast is performed in a group set in accordance with a communication range corresponding to a communication service, the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval corresponding to a zone where the wireless communication device is located and the communication range.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Freda teaches:
wherein, when groupcast is performed in a group set in accordance with a communication range corresponding to a communication service, the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval (Freda: [0257] An RX WTRU may be configured with an activity behavior for each of the expected/configured DRX configurations. For example, the RX WTRU may be configured with any of the following for each expected/configured DRX configuration: … An on-duration, or number of, potentially consecutive, slots for which the WTRU monitors PSCCH and/or remains on an active RX pool …) corresponding to a zone where the wireless communication device is located and the communication range (Freda: [1076] … a WTRU may determine the pattern of slots or subset of slots in the DRX active time for which transmission is allowed based on its own location (e.g. determined by its geolocation, or a zone ID in which the WTRU finds itself)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang-Ji to include the features as taught by Freda above in order to lower battery consumption in mobile devices. (Freda, ¶ [0002]).
Regarding claim 5, Lin-Freda discloses on the features with respect to claim 4 as outlined above.
Freda further teaches:
wherein the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval composed of a plurality of consecutive slots (Freda: [0257] An RX WTRU may be configured with an activity behavior for each of the expected/configured DRX configurations. For example, the RX WTRU may be configured with any of the following for each expected/configured DRX configuration … [0259] An on-duration, or number of, potentially consecutive, slots for which the WTRU monitors PSCCH and/or remains on an active RX pool …) each corresponding to a zone (Freda: [1076] … a WTRU may determine the pattern of slots or subset of slots in the DRX active time for which transmission is allowed based on its own location (e.g. determined by its geolocation, or a zone ID in which the WTRU finds itself)).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Freda is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 4.
Regarding claim 6, Lin-Freda discloses on the features with respect to claim 5 as outlined above.
Freda further teaches:
wherein the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval including a slot (Freda: [0257] An RX WTRU may be configured with an activity behavior for each of the expected/configured DRX configurations. For example, the RX WTRU may be configured with any of the following for each expected/configured DRX configuration … [0259] An on-duration, or number of, potentially consecutive, slots for which the WTRU monitors PSCCH and/or remains on an active RX pool …) corresponding to a zone where the wireless communication device is located and a zone in the communication range of the wireless communication device (Freda: [1076] … a WTRU may determine the pattern of slots or subset of slots in the DRX active time for which transmission is allowed based on its own location (e.g. determined by its geolocation, or a zone ID in which the WTRU finds itself)).
The rationale and motivation for adding this teaching of Freda is the same as the rationale and motivation for Claim 4.
Regarding claim 7, Yang-Ji discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Yang-Ji does not explicitly teach:
wherein, processor circuitry is configured to determine the parameters relating an offset of an active interval in accordance with the identification information of the group to which the wireless communication device belongs.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Freda teaches:
wherein, processor circuitry is configured to determine the parameters relating an offset of an active interval in accordance with the identification information of the group to which an own device belongs (Freda: [0252] ... For example, a WTRU may receive a reception activity behavior for a specific L2 ID or group of L2 ID in System Information Block (SIB) or dedicated signaling …. For example, a WTRU may receive in PC5-RRC, a DRX configuration (e.g. an on-duration [i.e., active interval], DRX cycle, inactivity timer, etc.) and/or a set of pools to be used for different activity state, and associated with a … destination L2 ID. A WTRU may determine its active time from the activity behavior of at least one of the PC5-RRC connections at the WTRU and/or interested source/destination L2 IDs. …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang-Ji to include the features as taught by Freda above in order to lower battery consumption in mobile devices. (Freda, ¶ [0002]).
Regarding claim 8, Yang-Ji discloses on the features with respect to claim 1 as outlined above.
Yang-Ji does not explicitly teach:
wherein the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval in each of a plurality of discontinuous reception cycles, the active intervals being provided with offsets mutually different in the discontinuous reception cycles.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Freda teaches:
wherein the processor circuitry is configured to determine an active interval in each of a plurality of discontinuous reception cycles (Freda: [0252] … A WTRU may determine its active time from the activity behavior of at least one of the PC5-RRC connections at the WTRU and/or interested … destination L2 IDs ... A WTRU may maintain a separate activity behavior (e.g. set of timers, on-duration, active resource pool, etc.) for each … destination L2 ID [i.e., plurality of DRX cycles]. … [0254] ... In one example, a WTRU may receive a list of DRX configurations, and the applicable or allowed L2 ID(s) for each DRX configuration. In another example, a WTRU may receive a table/list of L2 IDs, and the corresponding DRX configuration (e.g. an index to the DRX configuration) to be applied to each …), the active intervals being provided with offsets mutually different in the discontinuous reception cycles (Freda: [0215] Different reception activity behavior may be performed for each different transmission type. Different reception activity behavior may consist of, for example: [0216] A different DRX cycle, cycle offset, on duration, DRX timers, etc, or any similar configuration; [0217] a. For example, a WTRU may maintain a DRX cycle, offset, inactivity timer, etc. for each transmission type …).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Yang-Ji to include the features as taught by Freda above in order to lower battery consumption in mobile devices. (Freda, ¶ [0002]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LIEM H NGUYEN whose telephone number is (408) 918-7636. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 8:30AM-5:00PM PT.
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/LIEM H. NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416