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 .
The amendment filed on 02/11/2026 has been acknowledged.
Amendment Summary
Claims 1 and 11 are amended.
Claims 3-5 and 13-15 are canceled.
Response to Arguments/Amendment
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims # 1, 2, 6-12 and 16-20 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the combination of the references and Examiner Official Notice being used for the current rejection of the above claim.
Applicant has amended the independent claims 1 and 11. The corresponding OA examination reflect the new amended claims submitted herein. The arguments regarding previous claim submittal are moot since the amended claim has modified the scope of the previous claim. The amended claims are examined below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Maleki (US 2022/353809 A1) in view of Bae (US 2021/314126 A1).
Regrading Claim 1, 11
Maleki disclose a method performed by a user equipment (UE) (Fig.6(UE)) for a power saving operation (See [Abstract]; The plurality of possible sleep modes correspond to varying degrees of reduced energy consumption by the wireless device reduced energy consumption),
the method comprising:
receiving a radio resource control (RRC) configuration (See [0020]; received RRC configuration) from a base station (BS) (See [0020]; configuration received from base station), the RRC configuration configuring a list comprising a plurality of candidate time durations (See [0020]; the DRX parameters, i.e., the DRX cycle length, the onDuration, and the inactivity timer length, ... skip monitoring PDCCH for the next X slots are configured for the UE via Radio Resource Control (RRC)) in units of slots (See [0024]; [0027]; [0024] inactivity timer: Generally, limits the number of consecutive PDCCH-subframe(s)/slots during which the UE remains "awake”) for skipping physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring (See [0027]; skip, of the PDCCH for certain subframes or slots, or during a certain time duration, might be done dynamically, where the network signals the UE that it may skip monitoring PDCCH for the next X slots),
wherein each of the plurality of time durations corresponds to a different number of the slots (See [0027]; skip, of the PDCCH for certain subframes or slots, or during a certain time duration might be done dynamically, where the network signals the UE that it may skip monitoring PDCCH for the next X slots, the number of slots varies depending on the network configuration)).
beginning monitoring a PDCCH on a plurality of PDCCH monitoring occasions (See Fig.1; [0020];[0027]; monitor PDCCH on configured occasions);
skipping monitoring the PDCCH on one or more of the plurality of PDCCH monitoring occasions (See [0027]; PDCCH skipping refers to a technique whereby the network indicates to the UE that it may omit monitoring, i.e., skip, of the PDCCH for certain subframes or slots, or during a certain time duration) within the first time duration after receiving the indicator).
But Maleki fails to explicitly recite
Receiving, from the BS, an indicator on the PDCCH via downlink control information (DCI), the indicator comprising an identifier (ID) for selecting a first time duration from the plurality of candidate time durations;
However in an analogous art,
Bae teaches about a DCI configuration for PDCCH monitoring for one or more time durations selected from the plurality of time durations, indicate a PDCCH monitoring skip period in a slot or symbol level, indicate an ID for a search space
configuration through different field of DCI (See [0018-0019]; [0325-0330]; A base station may configure/indicate a PDCCH monitoring skip period in a slot or symbol level through DCI transmitted to a UE.)
Maleki and Bae are analogous art because they all pertain to UE configuration associate with PDCH monitoring. Maleki teaches about PDDCH monitoring after receiving RRC configuration from base station. Bae teaches about a DCI configuration for PDCCH monitoring for one or more time durations, indicate a PDCCH monitoring skip period in a slot or symbol level, indicate an ID for a search space
configuration through different field of DCI. Maleki could use Bae features for specific PDDCH monitoring scheduling, identified through DCI configuration and PDDCH skipping for power saving features. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing of the application to combine Maleki and Bae as to obtain an efficient power staving mode UE.
Regarding Claim 2, 12
Maleki and Bae teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 11 and Maleki further teaches
resuming monitoring the PDCCH on the plurality of PDCCH monitoring occasions after the first time duration is over (See [0027]; The skipping PDDCH monitoring is for specific duration such as UE may skip monitoring PDCCH for the next X slots, since the network does not expect to schedule the UE during that interval).
Regarding Claim 6, 16
Maleki and Bae teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 11 and Bae further teaches
wherein the plurality of PDCCH monitoring occasions are determined according to a search space configured by the BS (See [0327-0331]; search space is used to detect occasions).
Regarding Claim 7, 17
Maleki and Bae teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 11 and Bae further teaches
wherein the DCI comprises a DCI format 1_0 (See Table 10; [0337]).
Claim(s) 8-10 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Maleki (US 2022/353809 A1) in view of Bae (US 2021/314126 A1) further in view of Lin (US 2020/0029315 A1).
Regarding Claim 8, 18
Maleki and Bae teach all the features with respect to claim 1, 11
But Bae and Maleki fail to explicitly
wherein the DCI further indicates a UE group.
However in analogous art,
Lin teaches about
a DCI that indicates a UE group (See [0257]).
Maleki, Bae and Lin are analogous art because they all pertain to UE configuration associate with PDCH monitoring. Maleki teaches about PDDCH monitoring after receiving RRC configuration from base station. Bae teaches about a DCI configuration for PDCCH monitoring for one or more time durations. Lin teaches about a DCI that indicates a UE group. Maleki and Bae could use Lin features for configuring group UE instead of specific UE . Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill at the time of the filing of the application to combine Maleki, Lin and Bae as to obtain an efficient power staving mode UE.
Regarding Claim 9, 19
Maleki, Bae and Li teach all the features with respect to claim 8, 18 and Lin further teaches
wherein the UE group is formed based on at least one of a UE identifier (ID) (See [0085]; For a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH or a PUSCH to a single UE, the RNTI can be a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) and serves as a UE identifier) or UE assistance information.
Regarding Claim 10, 20
Maleki, Bae and Li teach all the features with respect to claim 8, 18 and Lin further teaches
wherein the UE belongs to the UE group (See [0085]; the RNTI can be a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) and serves as a UE identifier for all UE receiving the DCI configuration).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any 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 GARY LAFONTANT whose telephone number is (571)272-3037. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00AM -5:00PM.
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/GARY LAFONTANT/Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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