DETAILED ACTION
This office action response the amendment application on 03/09/2026.
Claims 1, 5-8, 21, 25-29, and 31-34 are presented for examination.
Notice of AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
This is in response to the amendments filed on March 09, 2026. Claims 1, and 21 have been amended. Claims 31-34 have been newly added. Claims 2-4, 9-20, 22-24, and 30 have been withdrawn from consideration. Claims 1-15 and 21-23 are pending and have been considered below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 21 have been carefully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant’s amendments.
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 of this title, 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, 5, 7-8, 21, 25-26, 28-29, and 31-34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0229092 A1), (“D1”, hereinafter), in view of Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0199654), herein after “D2”, also an international application (WO 2020037319 A1), filing number 08/19/2019.
As per Claim 1, D1 discloses a method for processing a wake-up signal (WUS), performed by a user equipment (UE) ([see, [0085-0086], the UE monitors the corresponding WUS]), comprising:
determining a valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0068, 0083-0085], and Fig. 3, determine the monitoring result of the WUS, that the WUS is used to wake up the UE in the DRX sleep mode to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration]);
in response to a monitoring time (monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration) of the WUS overlapping at least partially with a receiving time of a paging message ([see, [0068], [0149]- [0152], wherein the WUS is used to wake up the UE in the DRX sleep mode to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration, the RB for the WUS transmission to the PDCCH or the PDSCH, all the UEs in the cell, including the UE being in the RRC connected mode should receive the configuration information of the WUS for paging to determine whether the received PDCCH/PDSCH has a resource overlapping with the WUS for paging]), or the monitoring time overlapping at least partially with a switching period of uplink and downlink switching,
resulting that the WUS is missed by the UE ([see, [0092, 0147-0149], wherein the WUS for paging, WUS transmission may also be used for scheduling of other physical channels. When the RB of the PDCCH/PDSCH overlaps with the RB used for WUS transmission, result the UE should discard the received signal on the WUS RE]);
obtaining a monitoring result that the WUS is considered to be detected, in response to the valid monitoring strategy being a first strategy (i.e., UE wakes up completely to monitor for subsequent downlink control signals (e.g., PDCCH)) ([see, [0018-0020, 0054], wherein receive configuration information for the power saving operation, the power saving signal includes a wake-up signal (WUS), monitor a first PDCCH based on the configuration information, the UE needs to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration]); or,
obtaining the monitoring result that the WUS is not considered to be detected ([see, [0054], the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH during the Opportunity-for-DRX]), in response to the valid monitoring strategy being a second strategy (i.e., UE assumes no data is coming and stays in a low-power sleep state, skipping the next full paging cycle).
D1 doesn’t appear explicitly disclose: determining …valid monitoring strategy.
However, D2, discloses determining …valid (i.e., [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS) monitoring strategy ([see, [0189-0190], wherein Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS, determine the set or subset of PDCCH monitoring occasions to which ESS applies and/or to determine the validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for an energy saving signal (ESS).
In view of the above, having the system of D1 and then given the well-established teaching of D2, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the system of D1 as taught by D2. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide monitor for an energy saving signal (ESS) while the WTRU is a sleep results improve power efficiency and effectiveness of these communication protocols (D2, [0002]).
As per Claim 21, D1 discloses a user equipment (UE) ([see, [0333], and Fig. 21, a UE]),
comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory ([see, [0333], a processor; and a memory disclosed]) and an executable program that is stored on the memory and can be run by the processor, wherein, the processor is configured to:
determine a valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0068, 0083-0085], and Fig. 3, determine the monitoring result of the WUS, that the WUS is used to wake up the UE in the DRX sleep mode to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration]);
if the flag bit has a second value, the valid monitoring strategy is the second strategy ([see, [0234-0235], the flag bit indication value is “0”, the UE should continue monitoring the PDCCH, and when the indication value is “1”, the UE should stop the drx-onDurationTimer and/or the drx-InactivityTimer, and then stop monitoring the PDCCH]),
in response to a monitoring time (monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration) of a wake-up signal (WUS) overlapping at least partially with a receiving time of a paging message ([see, [0068], [0149]- [0152], wherein the WUS is used to wake up the UE in the DRX sleep mode to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration, the RB for the WUS transmission to the PDCCH or the PDSCH, all the UEs in the cell, including the UE being in the RRC connected mode should receive the configuration information of the WUS for paging to determine whether the received PDCCH/PDSCH has a resource overlapping with the WUS for paging]), or the monitoring time overlapping at least partially with a switching period of uplink and downlink switching,
resulting that the WUS is missed by the UE ([see, [0092, 0147-0149], wherein the WUS for paging, WUS transmission may also be used for scheduling of other physical channels. When the RB of the PDCCH/PDSCH overlaps with the RB used for WUS transmission, result the UE should discard the received signal on the WUS RE]);
obtain a monitoring result that the WUS is considered to be detected, in response to the valid monitoring strategy being a first strategy (i.e., UE wakes up completely to monitor for subsequent downlink control signals (e.g., PDCCH)) ([see, [0018-0020, 0054], wherein receive configuration information for the power saving operation, the power saving signal includes a wake-up signal (WUS), monitor a first PDCCH based on the configuration information, the UE needs to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration]); or
obtain the monitoring result that the WUS is not considered to be detected ([see, [0054], the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH during the Opportunity-for-DRX]), in response to the valid monitoring strategy being a second strategy (i.e., UE assumes no data is coming and stays in a low-power sleep state, skipping the next full paging cycle).
D1 doesn’t appear explicitly disclose: determining … valid monitoring strategy.
However, D2, discloses determining…valid (i.e., [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS) monitoring strategy ([see, [0189-0190], wherein Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS, determine the set or subset of PDCCH monitoring occasions to which ESS applies and/or to determine the validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for an energy saving signal (ESS).
In view of the above, having the system of D1 and then given the well-established teaching of D2, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the system of D1 as taught by D2. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide monitor for an energy saving signal (ESS) while the WTRU is a sleep results improve power efficiency and effectiveness of these communication protocols (D2, [0002]).
As per Claim 25, D1 and D2 disclose the UE of claim 21, and D1 further discloses wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following:
obtaining the monitoring result that the WUS is considered to be detected ([see, [0054], the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH during the Opportunity-for-DRX]), according to the monitoring strategy, in response to the monitoring time of the WUS overlapping at least partially with the receiving time of the paging message ([see, [0068], [0149]- [0152], wherein the WUS is used to wake up the UE in the DRX sleep mode to monitor the PDCCH during the On-Duration, the RB for the WUS transmission to the PDCCH or the PDSCH, all the UEs in the cell, including the UE being in the RRC connected mode should receive the configuration information of the WUS for paging to determine whether the received PDCCH/PDSCH has a resource overlapping with the WUS for paging]);
obtaining the monitoring result that the WUS is considered to be detected, according to the monitoring strategy, in response to a user equipment (UE) being in an RRC connected state and the monitoring time of the WUS overlapping with the switching period of the uplink and downlink switching of the UE ([see, [0085-0090], and Fig. 3-4, wherein the WUS in the RRC connected mode, the UE monitors the corresponding WUS every two DRX cycles once, and determines whether to start the drx-onDurationTimer and start monitoring the PDCCH at the starting position of the On-Duration of the two consecutive DRX cycles based on the monitoring result of the WUS]).
As per Claims 5, 26, D1 further discloses further comprising:
monitoring downlink control information (DCI) at one or more monitoring occasions of the DCI associated with the WUS ([see, [0009-0012, 0120], wherein monitoring a first PDCCH based on the configuration information; receiving a power saving signal based on the first PDCCH, such as WUS for C-DRX, WUS for paging, the power saving signal is received based on a Downlink Control Information (DCI)]), in response to the monitoring result being that the WUS is considered to be detected ([see, [0120-0122], monitoring the PDCCH result being that the power saving signals, such as WUS for C-DRX, WUS for paging to be detected]).
As per Claims 7, 28, D1 further discloses further comprising: not monitoring DCI at one or more monitoring occasions of the DCI associated with the WUS, in response to the monitoring result being that the WUS is not considered to be detected ([see, [0228], the UE decodes the indication value of the power saving signaling field contained in the UE-specific DCI, and performs a corresponding power saving operation at a predefined time after receiving the DCI, for example, stops the monitoring of the PDCCH and enters the Opportunity-for-DRX, or skips the monitoring of the PDCCH within a preconfigured time window]).
As per Claims 8, 29, D1 further discloses wherein not monitoring DCI at one or more monitoring occasions of the DCI associated with the WUS ([see, [0114-0116, 0160], and Fig. 8, 12]), in response to the monitoring result being that the WUS is not considered to be detected, comprises at least one of the following:
not monitoring a data DCI transmitted on PDCCH (skip monitoring of the PDCCH) by a UE in a radio resource control (RRC) connected state, during an ON duration within one or more DRX cycles associated with the WUS ([see, [0114-0116, 0160], and Fig. 8, 12, wherein PDCCH sleeping signal (PDCCH SS) for indicating the UE being in the RRC connected mode to skip the monitoring of the PDCCH, onDurationTimer and/or the drx-InactivityTimer, that is, stop monitoring the PDCCH and enter the Opportunity-for-DRX]);
wherein, the data DCI can be used to schedule resources for data transmission;
not monitoring a paging DCI at one or more POs associated with the WUS, wherein the paging DCI can be used to schedule transmission resources for the paging message([see, [0228], the UE decodes the indication value of the power saving signaling field contained in the UE-specific DCI, and performs a corresponding power saving operation at a predefined time after receiving the DCI, for example, stops the monitoring of the PDCCH and enters the Opportunity-for-DRX, or skips the monitoring of the PDCCH within a preconfigured time window]).
As per Claims 31, 33, D1 further discloses wherein the indication information consists of one bit that constitutes a flag bit indicating the valid monitoring strategy, if the flag bit has a first value, the valid monitoring strategy is the first strategy; if the flag bit has a second value, the valid monitoring strategy is the second strategy ([see, [0234-0235], the flag bit indication value is “0”, the UE should continue monitoring the PDCCH, and when the indication value is “1”, the UE should stop the drx-onDurationTimer and/or the drx-InactivityTimer, and then stop monitoring the PDCCH]).
D1 appears to be silent to the instant claim, however D2 further discloses wherein determining the valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0187-0188], validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS]) comprises:
determining the valid monitoring (i.e., [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS) strategy according to indication information sent by a base station based ([see, [0188-0190], Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion or a set or type of PDCCH monitoring occasions for ESS may be configured (e.g., by a gNB)]); and
wherein the indication information is used to notify the UE of the valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0138], and Fig. 7, wherein monitoring for an ESS and assessing the associated signal strength, when the signal strength 710 of the ESS is higher 712a than a threshold 712 and the ESS is a WUS or indicates to wake-up or monitor PDCCH, the WTRU may wake up, continue to be awake, and/or monitor PDCCH in the associated search spaces]).
In view of the above, having the system of D1 and then given the well-established teaching of D2, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the system of D1 as taught by D2. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide monitor for an energy saving signal (ESS) while the WTRU is a sleep results improve power efficiency and effectiveness of these communication protocols (D2, [0002]).
As per Claims 32, 34, D1 appears to be silent to the instant claim, however D2 further discloses wherein determining the valid monitoring strategy(i.e., [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS) comprises one of:
determining the valid monitoring strategy based on a correspondence between the valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS may be used to determine the set or subset of PDCCH monitoring occasions associated with an ESS or to which the ESS applies. If a PDCCH monitoring occasion is invalid for an ESS, the ESS may not apply for the PDCCH monitoring occasion]) and a type of the UE ([see, [0216], one type of ESS may be transmitted using PDCCH]);
determining the valid monitoring strategy based on a correspondence between the valid monitoring strategy ([see, [0188] Validity of a PDCCH monitoring occasion for ESS may be used to determine the set or subset of PDCCH monitoring occasions associated with an ESS or to which the ESS applies. If a PDCCH monitoring occasion is invalid for an ESS, the ESS may not apply for the PDCCH monitoring occasion]) and a UE group where the UE is located ([see, [0196], one or more-time locations may be used as candidate ESS resources and a WTRU may blindly detect the ESS resources]); determining the valid monitoring strategy based on a correspondence between the valid monitoring strategy and a serving cell where the UE is located.
In view of the above, having the system of D1 and then given the well-established teaching of D2, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the system of D1 as taught by D2. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide monitor for an energy saving signal (ESS) while the WTRU is a sleep results improve power efficiency and effectiveness of these communication protocols (D2, [0002]).
Claims 6 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over D1, in view of D2, and further in view of IYER et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20220039009 A1), (“D3”, hereinafter).
As per Claims 6, 27, D1 doesn’t appear explicitly disclose: wherein monitoring the downlink control information (DCI) at one or more monitoring occasions of the DCI associated with the WUS, comprises at least one of the following:
monitoring a paging DCI at one or more paging occasions (POs) associated with the WUS,
wherein the paging DCI can be used to schedule transmission resources for the paging message;
monitoring a data DCI transmitted on PDCCH for scheduling data transmission by a UE in an RRC connected state, during an ON duration within one or more discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles associated with the WUS, wherein the data DCI can be used to schedule transmission resources for data.
However, D3 discloses wherein monitoring the downlink control information (DCI) at one or more monitoring occasions of the DCI associated with the WUS ([see, [0117], wherein the UE may perform cell measurements and monitor for the paging DCI]), comprises at least one of the following:
monitoring a paging DCI at one or more paging occasions (POs) associated with the WUS ([see, [0117], Monitoring for the paging DCI in the paging occasions is also a factor in UE power consumption in the IDLE state]),
wherein the paging DCI can be used to schedule transmission resources for the paging message ([see, [0042, 0044], paging DCI may be used to reduce the false paging alarm (as transmission resources)]);
monitoring a data DCI transmitted on PDCCH for scheduling data transmission by a UE in an RRC connected state, during an ON duration within one or more discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles associated with the WUS, wherein the data DCI can be used to schedule transmission resources for data.
In view of the above, having the system of D1 and then given the well-established teaching of D3, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to modify the system of D1 as taught by D3. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide Monitoring for the paging DCI in the paging occasions results improve power utilization at the UE (D3, [0003]).
Conclusion
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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).
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/BERHANU D BELETE/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/WUTCHUNG CHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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