Detailed Action
The office action is in response to the communication filed on 03/05/2026.
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 .
Claims Status
Claim 12 has been cancelled.
Claims 1-11 and 13-20 are pending in this application.
Prior Art Made of Record
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Babaei et al. (Publication No. US 2021/0307108), the prior art discloses a process wherein a next generation Node B configures a user equipment with multiple groups including multiple serving cells for which physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping is allowed and wherein the next generation Node B triggers physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping for one of the multiple groups including multiple serving cells at the user equipment; see figure 5 & ¶ 193.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 9-11, 17, and 19 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections-35 U.S.C. § 112
Regarding claim 1-20, were rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter of the invention. However, Applicant’s arguments with respect to 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) rejection have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) is hereby withdrawn.
Claim Rejections-35 U.S.C. § 103
Regarding claim 1, Applicant remarks indicate that the cited portion of the prior art, individually or in combination, fails to discloses the features in claim 1. In specific, Applicant indicates that the features reciting “ after receiving the response to the scheduling request from the network device, skipping, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring on the first serving cell set corresponding to the network device according to the monitoring indication message, or, maintaining, by the terminal device, not skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the target serving cell. ” are not disclosed by the prior art. Examiner agrees, based on the remarks, that the amendments to claim 1 overcome the prior art rejection. However, a new ground of rejection necessitated by the claim amendments is set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 13-15, and 20 is are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (Publication No. US 2025/0234291, hereinafter referred as Huang) in view of Murray et al. (Publication No. US 2022/0191793, hereinafter referred as Murray) and further in view of Cai et al. (Publication No. US 2021/0360528, hereinafter referred as Cai).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Huang discloses a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring method, comprising:
sending, by a terminal device, a scheduling request to a network device (A user equipment (UE) transmit a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS); see figure 15 numeral 703.);
acquiring, by the terminal device, a monitoring indication message sent by the network device, wherein the monitoring indication message is used to indicate to skip PDCCH monitoring on a cell corresponding to the network device (The UE receives a first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates to the UE to skip monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a first time window; see figure 15 numeral 701 & ¶ 185.); and
determining, by the terminal device according to acquired configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring the cell, in a case where the terminal device does not receive a response to the scheduling request from the network device (The UE monitor a PDCCH in a predetermined time period after a slot of the SR, wherein the predetermined time period is in the first time window, the UE skips monitoring the PDDCH from a start location of the first time window to a start location of the predetermine time period, wherein the predetermined time period is configured be the base station; see figure 15 numeral 704-705 & ¶ 189. Therefore, it is interpreted that the UE determine no to skip the monitoring of the PDCCH after the start location of the predetermined time period in order to receive the response to the SR.)
Huang fails to disclose that after receiving the response to the scheduling request from the network device, skipping, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring on the first serving cell set corresponding to the network device according to the monitoring indication message, or maintaining, by the terminal device, not skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the target serving cell. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses after initiating the SR procedure, the UE may ignore the PDCCH skipping command and upon completion of the SR procedure (e.g. receiving the uplink grant) enable PDCCH skipping; see ¶¶ 199-200. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability with the override mechanism in order to enable the transmission of UL signal.
Huang fails to disclose that the cell belongs to a first serving cell set, and wherein the cell is a target cell. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 13, Huang fails to disclose that in a case where carrier aggregation is supported, the first serving cell set comprises at least one of the following: a primary cell, and one or more secondary cells. Huang fails to disclose that the cell belongs to a first serving cell set, and wherein the cell is a target cell. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 15, Huang discloses: a second processor, and a second transceiver connected to the second processor, wherein: the second transceiver is configured to (It is inherent that the network device includes one or more processor, couple to the transceiver, in order to communicate with the terminal device.):
send configuration information to a terminal device ((The base station send first indication information; see figure 15 numeral 701/702.);
acquire a scheduling request sent by the terminal device according to the configuration information (A user equipment (UE) transmit a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS); see figure 15 numeral 703.); and
send a monitoring indication message to the terminal device, wherein the monitoring indication message is used to indicate to skip PDCCH monitoring on a first serving cell set corresponding to the network device (The UE receives the first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates to the UE to skip monitoring a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in a first time window; see figure 15 numeral 701 & ¶ 185.); and
the second processor is configured to: determine the configuration information; wherein the configuration information is used to indicate the terminal device to determine not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on an entity indicated by the monitoring indication message according to the configuration information, in a case where no response to the scheduling request from the network device is received (The UE monitor a PDCCH in a predetermined time period after a slot of the SR, wherein the predetermined time period is in the first time window, the UE skips monitoring the PDDCH from a start location of the first time window to a start location of the predetermine time period, wherein the predetermined time period is configured be the base station; see figure 15 numeral 704-705 & ¶ 189. Therefore, it is interpreted that the UE determine no to skip the monitoring of the PDCCH after the start location of the predetermined time period in order to receive the response to the SR.).
Huang fails to disclose that after receiving the response to the scheduling request from the network device, skipping, by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring on the first serving cell set corresponding to the network device according to the monitoring indication message, or maintaining, by the terminal device, not skipping the PDCCH monitoring on the target serving cell. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses after initiating the SR procedure, the UE may ignore the PDCCH skipping command and upon completion of the SR procedure (e.g. receiving the uplink grant) enable PDCCH skipping; see ¶¶ 199-200. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability with the override mechanism in order to enable the transmission of UL signal.
Huang fails to disclose that the cell belongs to a first serving cell set, and wherein the cell is a target cell. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 20 , Huang fails to disclose that in a case where carrier aggregation is supported, the first serving cell set comprises at least one of the following: a primary cell, and one or more secondary cells. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Claims 2 and 16 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang, Murray, Cai, and further in view of Lin et al. (Publication No. US 2020/0396684, hereinafter referred as Lin).
Regarding claims 2 and 16, Huang fails to disclose that the configuration information comprises first configuration information, and the first configuration information is used to configure an uplink resource for transmitting the scheduling request in a case where a target uplink logical channel corresponding to the terminal device triggers the scheduling request or beam failure recovery. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a UE can transmit a scheduling request (SR) within the associated DRX ON duration(s) when the UE receives (or does not receive) a power saving signal/channel, wherein the power saving signal indicate skipping PDCCH monitoring, wherein the UE can transmit a positive SR in PUCCH [uplink] resources that the UE is configured for SR transmission; see ¶ 201. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with PUCCH resources in order to override the indication for skipping PDCCH monitoring; see ¶ 202.
Claims 3-4, 8, and 18 are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang, Murray, Cai, and Lin and further in view of Babaei et al. (Publication No. US 2021/0307108, hereinafter referred as Babaei).
Regarding claim 3 , Huang fails to disclose that when the configuration information comprises only the first configuration information and the terminal device does not receive the response to the scheduling request from the network device, the determining, by the terminal device according to the configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on the target serving cell in the first serving cell set indicated by the monitoring indication message comprises, determining, by the terminal device according to the first configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on the entity indicated by the monitoring indication message. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses that if the UE received the DCI-based indication [configuration] for PDCCH skipping after the UE has sent the SR and the SR is pending [does not receive response], the UE may keep the PDCCH monitoring during the period indicated [monitoring indication] by the DCI; see ¶ 192. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with mechanism to disregard the indication for PDCCH skipping in order to avoid losing the response to the scheduling request.
Huang fails to that the entity comprises all serving cells in the first serving cell set. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 4 , Huang fails to disclose that the configuration information further comprises second configuration information, and the second configuration information is used to configure a logical channel restriction of the uplink logical channel, wherein when the configuration information comprises the second configuration information and no response to the scheduling request from the serving cell is received, the determining, by the terminal device according to the configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on the entity indicated by the monitoring indication message comprises: determining, by the terminal device according to the second configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on a serving cell corresponding to the logical channel restriction in the first serving cell set indicated by the monitoring indication message. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses that if the UE received the DCI-based indication [configuration] for PDCCH skipping after the UE has sent the SR and the SR is pending [does not receive response], the UE may keep the PDCCH monitoring during the period indicated [monitoring indication] by the DCI; see ¶ 192. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with mechanism to disregard the indication for PDCCH skipping in order to avoid losing the response to the scheduling request.
Huang fails to that the entity comprises the target serving cell in the first serving cell set. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 8, Huang fails to disclose that the configuration information further comprises third configuration information, and the third configuration information is used to configure the uplink logical channel to allow ignoring skipping of the PDCCH monitoring or to configure the uplink logical channel to not allow ignoring the skipping of the PDCCH monitoring, wherein when the configuration information comprises the third configuration information and the terminal device does not receive the response to the scheduling request from the network device, the determining, by the terminal device according to the configuration information, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on the entity indicated by the monitoring indication message comprises: determining, by the terminal device, to skip the PDCCH monitoring on the entity, in a case where the third configuration information is used to configure the uplink logical channel to not allow ignoring the skipping of the PDCCH monitoring. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses that if the UE received the DCI-based indication [configuration] for PDCCH skipping after the UE has sent the SR and the SR is pending [does not receive response], the UE may keep the PDCCH monitoring during the period indicated [monitoring indication] by the DCI; see ¶ 192. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with mechanism to disregard the indication for PDCCH skipping in order to avoid losing the response to the scheduling request.
Huang fails to that the entity comprises the target serving cell in the first serving cell set, and determining, by the terminal device, not to skip the PDCCH monitoring on all serving cells in the first serving cell set, in a case where the third configuration information is used to configure the uplink logical channel to allow ignoring the skipping of the PDCCH monitoring. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, the terminal device may be simultaneously connected to a plurality of server cells such as a primary cell (primary cell, PCell) and a secondary cell (secondary cell, SCell); see ¶ 3. Furthermore, the terminal may receive an indication information indicating not to monitor the PDCCH on the first serving cell and/or the at least one second serving cell [target cell]; see ¶ 14. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with skipping capability in order to improve the power efficiency of the SCell.
Regarding claim 18, Huang fails to disclose that the configuration information further comprises third configuration information, and the third configuration information is used to configure the uplink logical channel to allow ignoring skipping of the PDCCH monitoring or to configure the uplink logical channel to not allow ignoring the skipping of the PDCCH monitoring. However, in analogous art, Cai discloses that if the UE received the DCI-based indication [configuration] for PDCCH skipping after the UE has sent the SR and the SR is pending [does not receive response], the UE may keep the PDCCH monitoring during the period indicated [monitoring indication] by the DCI; see ¶ 192. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Huang with mechanism to disregard the indication for PDCCH skipping in order to avoid losing the response to the scheduling request.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HECTOR REYES whose telephone number is (571)270-0239. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Bates can be reached on (571) 272-3980. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/H.R/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KEVIN T BATES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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