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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 and §103
Applicant's arguments filed 03/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicants generally allege that the combination of Chen et al. (US 2025/0184891 A1), in view of Shubhi et al. (US 2024/0235787 A1) and further in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #109-e, “Final Moderator Summary on XR Specific Power Savings Techniques”, R1-2205412, dated May 9th-20th, 2022, do not disclose:
“receive, from a network entity, information to configure the UE to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) wherein the information configures the UE to monitor:
in a search space set group of a set of one or more search space set groups,
in a reduced monitoring state,
on a selected set of one or more special cells, and
at a start of a discontinuous reception (DRX) onDuration”
The office respectfully disagrees with the applicants assertion, and in particular the combination of references, when combined, their teachings render obvious each and every limitation of the claims.
With regard to Chen, generally describes modifying PDCCH monitoring in order to conserve power. The relevant disclosure of Shubhi teaches similar methods, wherein Shubhi also describes PDCCH monitoring on a search space set group on one or more search space set groups, fig.1 describes the SSSG switching which is configured via RRC_Signaling and signaled via DCI signaling, SSSG-switching field, thus, the UE is configured to switch between a one or more search space set groups and can monitor a SSSG in a one or more SSSG, par.[0006 – 0007].
The disclosure of Shubhi teaches that the UE can monitor the SSSG in a reduced monitoring state, for example Shubhi describes power savings by exploiting the SSSG- switching. As discussed above, the switching is indicated via DCI, also, by allowing for power savings when utilizing a particular SSSG, the UE is able to perform PDCCH monitoring in a monitoring setting by altering or rather sparsely performing monitoring as compared to another SSSG. Applicant alleges that the configuration of the SSSG does not disclose “receive from a network entity information to configure the UE to monitor a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)”, however, it is noted that the Search Spaces are configured for PDCCH monitoring. By allocating particular Search Spaces, or Search Space Sets, or Groups of Search Space Sets, the UE does not have to monitor the entire control channel bandwidth which reduces UE power consumption and improves the UE ability to identify a PDCCH assigned to the UE. This is discussed in Shubhi and a technique well-known in the art.
Additionally, the disclosure of Shubhi and Chen describe the PDCCH monitoring at a start of a DRX onDuration. This is a feature common in the art wherein the purpose of DRX is to reduce power consumption and improve PDCCH monitoring capability, thus when the UE enters the onDuration of the DRX period, the UE will monitor for PDCCH such that the UE can acquire its downlink assignment, uplink resource, etc.. It is noted that DRX configurations, in particular are signaled by the network in physical layer signaling or higher layer signaling, and is substantially disclosed in both Chen and Shubhi.
The disclosure of 3GPP teaches that the DCI can be used for indicating cells (e.g. a set of special cells) wherein PDCCH monitoring adaptation is performed. For example, Vivo on pg.57 and CATT describe the use of DCI to indicate cell (e.g. special cells) wherein PDCCH monitoring adaptation is performed. This, adaptation corresponds with improved power savings at the UE. As can be seen, the combination of references explicitly disclose the amended claims, such that the rejection of the claims are sustained.
The Applicants remarks regarding Zhang are moot as the combination of disclosure above teach the claim 6.
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 (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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 17, 20, and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 2025/0184891 A1), in view of Shubhi et al. (US 2024/0235787 A1) and further in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #109-e, “Final Moderator Summary on XR Specific Power Savings Techniques”, R1-2205412, dated May 9th-20th, 2022.
Regarding claims 17 and 29, Chen discloses:
a network entity (fig.1 depicts a network node such as a base station) for wireless communication (fig.1 depicts a wireless communications network) , comprising:
a one or more memories (fig.3 element 59 depicts a memory); and
one or more processors (fig.3 element 57 depicts a processor/controller), coupled to the memory (fig.3 element 59 connected over a bus to element 57), configured to:
determine a start offset and a length of a discontinuous reception (DRX) on duration (Par.[0063] which recites, in part, “using second control signalling a starting subframe of the active portion of the discontinuous reception cycle.”. par.[0064] which recites, in part, “The second control signalling (e.g. MAC/PHY/DCI signalling) may identify the starting subframe of the active portion by including at PDCCH at least one of: information identifying a start offset relative to a starting subframe of the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle; information identifying an adjustment value to be applied to a current start offset;………. information identifying a discontinuous reception configuration to be applied in the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle; information identifying a length of the active portion applicable in the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle”. That is, the base station transmits a dynamic DRX on duration and the start offset secondary to an RRC message which configures basic parameters for DRX. The network sends and configures the parameters transmitted to the station) based at least in part on one or more traffic arrival statistics (par.[0062] which recites, in part, “the DRX configuration used by a UE 3 may be adapted dynamically to suit a wide range of services, such as XR data.”); and
wirelessly, transmit, to a user equipment (UE) (fig.1 depicts a user equipment), a dynamic indication of the start offset and the length of the DRX on duration (par.[0064] which teaches that second indication information comprising the dynamic start offset information and duration sent from the network).
While the disclosure of Chen substantially discloses the claimed invention, it may not disclose:
wirelessly, transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), information to configure the UE to monitor, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for a message scheduling an initial transmission in a burst of transmissions, wherein the information configures the UE to monitor:
in a search space set group of a set of one or more search space set groups,
in a reduced monitoring state,
at a start of the DRX onDuration.
In an analogous art, the disclosure Shubhi teaches:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE) (fig.3 depicts a plurality of user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network), information to configure the UE to monitor (par.[0016] describes the different granularity for PDCCH monitoring based on the Search Space Set Group (SSSG) the UE is configured with. That is, the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH using a configured SSSG which it can monitor PDCCH in an active period based on a configured granularity associated with the SSSG, par.[0221] describes the RRC message along with the parameter SearchSpaceGroupList-r16 which is used to configure the UE with the SSSG), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (see the discussion with regard to PDCCH above. The SSSG is used for monitoring PDCCH at a particular granularity, when the UE is in the active period for DRX) for a message scheduling an initial transmission in a burst of transmissions (par.[0003] describes monitoring the PDCCH for a data burst), wherein the information configures the UE to monitor:
in a search space set group (par.[0016] describes the different granularity for PDCCH monitoring based on the Search Space Set Group (SSSG) the UE is configured with. That is, the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH using a configured SSSG which it can monitor PDCCH in an active period based on a configured granularity associated with the SSSG, par.[0221] describes the RRC message along with the parameter SearchSpaceGroupList-r16 which is used to configure the UE with the SSSG) out of one or more search space set groups (fig.1 depicts multiple search space set groups, and wherein the UE may configured with a multiple search space set groups, par.[0006 – 0007] which describes SSSG switching)
in a reduced monitoring state (as discussed above with reference to par.[0003 and 0016] the UE switches based on the DCI which schedules the data burst from sparse monitoring to a more frequent monitoring)
at start of a discontinuous reception (DRX) onDuration (par.[0218 – 0219] describes the DRX active time, and PDCCH monitoring during the DRX active time period, which comprises the DRX onDuration),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings Chen for configuring a DRX with the disclosure of Shubhi concerning PDCCH monitoring. The motivation/suggestion would have been to improve power savings by modifying the granularity wherein which the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH, such that the UE may not need to necessarily monitor PDCCH in every PDCCH occasion improving UE power savings.
While the disclosure(s) of Chen and Shubhi teaches receiving a dynamic DRX configuration and monitoring for PDCCH in a SSSG, they may not disclose:
monitoring on a selected set of one or more special cells.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
monitoring on a selected set of one or more special cells (R1-2205412 pg.57 wherein the DCI indicates the monitoring adaption for multiple cells, the cells being indicated in the DCI being the special cells as claimed, also pg.63 element 3.2.3 Single DCI Indicating Monitoring Adaption for Multiple Cells. The cells being a set selected via DCI signaling).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen for DRX adaptation as for bursty traffic, with the disclosure of 3GPP which addresses the DRX for bursty traffic. The motivation/suggestion would have been that to improve capacity and power savings at the UE by modifying current DRX configuration to support XR or bursty type frame transmission in cellular networks such that a UE may receive its frame burst but also have a means for power reduction.
Regarding claim 20, the disclosure of Chen teaches:
wherein the dynamic indication of the start offset and the length of the DRX on duration is included in a physical layer signal or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) transmitted before the start of the DRX on duration (par.[0066] describes transmitting a dynamic indication via PDCCH (i.e. DCI) or via MAC-CE dynamically).
Claim(s) 1, 4-6, 8-10, 26, and 31, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen as applied to claim 17 above, in view of Shuhbi as applied to claim 17 above, and further in view of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #109-e, “Final Moderator Summary on XR Specific Power Savings Techniques”, R1-2205412, dated May 9th-20th, 2022.
Regarding claims 1 and 26, Chen discloses:
a user equipment (UE) (fig.1 depicts a plurality of wireless user equipments) for wireless communication (fig.1 depicts a wireless communications network, element 1), comprising:
a memory (fig.2 depicts a memory, element 39); and
one or more processors (fig.2 depicts processor (e.g. controller), element 37), coupled to the memory (fig.2 depicts the processor and controller coupled to one another via a bus), configured to:
wirelessly, receive, from a network entity (fig.1 depicts a RAN node element 5), a dynamic indication of a start offset and a length of a discontinuous reception (DRX) on duration (par.[0062] which recites, in part, “the DRX configuration used by a UE 3 may be adapted dynamically to suit a wide range of services, such as XR data”. Par.[0063] which recites, in part, “using second control signalling a starting subframe of the active portion of the discontinuous reception cycle.”. par.[0064] which recites, in part, “The second control signalling (e.g. MAC/PHY/DCI signalling) may identify the starting subframe of the active portion by including at PDCCH at least one of: information identifying a start offset relative to a starting subframe of the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle; information identifying an adjustment value to be applied to a current start offset;………. information identifying a discontinuous reception configuration to be applied in the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle; information identifying a length of the active portion applicable in the current iteration of the discontinuous reception cycle”);
monitor, in accordance with the information, during the DRX on duration, a physical downlink control (PDCCH) for a message (par.[0083] describes the UE monitoring PDCCH for potential scheduling) scheduling an initial transmission (par.[0083] describes the PDCCH indication a scheduled transmission or potentially scheduling a transmission).
While the disclosure of Chen substantially discloses the claimed invention, it may not disclose:
wirelessly, receive, from a network entity, information to configure the UE to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), wherein the information configures the UE to monitor:
in a search space set group of a set of one or more search space set groups
in a reduced monitoring state
at start of a discontinuous reception (DRX) onDuration; and
monitor, in the search space set group in accordance with the information, the PDCCH for a message scheduling an initial transmission in a burst of transmission, wherein the PDCCH is monitored in a reduced monitoring state at the start of the DRX onDuration
In an analogous art, the disclosure Shubhi teaches:
wirelessly, receive, from a network entity (fig.3 depicts a plurality of user equipment (UE) in a wireless communications network in wireless communication with a network entity), information to configure the UE to monitor (par.[0016] describes the different granularity for PDCCH monitoring based on the Search Space Set Group (SSSG) the UE is configured with. That is, the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH using a configured SSSG which it can monitor PDCCH in an active period based on a configured granularity associated with the SSSG, par.[0221] describes the RRC message along with the parameter SearchSpaceGroupList-r16 which is used to configure the UE with the SSSG) a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (par.[0016] describes the monitoring of the PDCCH)
in a search space set group (par.[0016] describes the different granularity for PDCCH monitoring based on the Search Space Set Group (SSSG) the UE is configured with. That is, the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH using a configured SSSG which it can monitor PDCCH in an active period based on a configured granularity associated with the SSSG, par.[0221] describes the RRC message along with the parameter SearchSpaceGroupList-r16 which is used to configure the UE with the SSSG) out of one or more search space set groups (fig.1 depicts multiple search space set groups, and wherein the UE may configured with a multiple search space set groups, par.[0006 – 0007] which describes SSSG switching)
at start of a discontinuous reception (DRX) onDuration (par.[0218 – 0219] describes the DRX active time, and PDCCH monitoring during the DRX active time period, which comprises the DRX onDuration),
in a reduced monitoring state (as discussed above with reference to par.[0003 and 0016] the UE switches based on the DCI which schedules the data burst from sparse monitoring to a more frequent monitoring); and
monitor, in the search space set group in accordance with the information, the PDCCH (as discussed above the UE is configured with a one or more SSSG which it uses to monitor for PDCCH in the active time of a configured DRX period) for a message scheduling an initial transmission in a burst of transmission (par.[0003] which recites, in part, “Once the data burst comes in, the UE can then turn back to monitoring the PDCCH in every slot.”. That is, the UE is configured for an initial transmission in a data burst and switches to a more frequent monitoring SSSG, see e.g. par.[0016] which recites, in part, “The UE monitors PDCCH according to the first SSSG when there is no data burst and switch to SSSG1 when the data burst comes. The UE then can switch back to SSSG0 when the data burst ends.”. As can be seen the UE is scheduled with the initial transmission of a data burst, par.[0130] “For example, a wireless device indicated by a scheduling DCI to switch from SSSG0 to SSSG1”. ….. the UE can switch to a more frequent monitoring SSSG which corresponds with the data burst), wherein the PDCCH is monitored in a reduced monitoring state at the start of the DRX onDuration (as discussed above with reference to par.[0003 and 0016] the UE switches based on the DCI which schedules the data burst from sparse monitoring to a more frequent monitoring).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings Chen for configuring a DRX with the disclosure of Shubhi concerning PDCCH monitoring. The motivation/suggestion would have been to improve power savings by modifying the granularity wherein which the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH, such that the UE may not need to necessarily monitor PDCCH in every PDCCH occasion improving UE power savings.
While the disclosure(s) of Chen and Shubhi teaches receiving a dynamic DRX configuration and monitoring for PDCCH in a SSSG, they may not disclose:
monitoring on a selected set of one or more special cells, and
stop monitoring of the PDCCH after a final transmission in the burst of transmissions.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
monitoring on a selected set of one or more special cells (R1-2205412 pg.57 wherein the DCI indicates the monitoring adaption for multiple cells, the cells being indicated in the DCI being the special cells as claimed, also pg.63 element 3.2.3 Single DCI Indicating Monitoring Adaption for Multiple Cells. The cells being a set selected via DCI signaling)
stop monitoring of the PDCCH after a final transmission in the burst of transmissions (pg. 22 – 23 ZTE Adjustment of CDRX on-Duration conditioned on data reception, describes the early switching to DRX off based on data reception. CATT describes an PDCCH Monitoring (PM) adaptation indicator, wherein after the traffic activity, the UE may receive PDCCH with DL assignment and an explicit indication to stop PM monitoring for a duration, pg.57).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen for DRX adaptation as for bursty traffic, with the disclosure of 3GPP which addresses the DRX for bursty traffic. The motivation/suggestion would have been that to improve capacity and power savings at the UE by modifying current DRX configuration to support XR or bursty type frame transmission in cellular networks such that a UE may receive its frame burst but also have a means for power reduction.
Regarding claim 4, the disclosure of Chen teaches:
wherein the dynamic indication of the start offset and the length of the DRX on duration is included in a physical layer signal or a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) transmitted before the start of the DRX on duration (par.[0066] describes transmitting a dynamic indication via PDCCH (i.e. DCI) or via MAC-CE dynamically).
Regarding claim 5, the disclosure of Shubhi teaches:
wherein the search space set group comprises, a power-optimized search space set group (par.[0016] which recites, in part, “Exploiting the SSSG-switching for UE power-saving can be done, for example, by configuring the first SSSG (e.g., SSSG0) to have sparse PDCCH monitoring occasions (MOs) and the second SSSG (e.g., SSSG1) to have dense PDCCH MOs.”).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Chen, Shubhi, and Zhang, disclose:
wherein the one or more processors, to monitor the PDCCH (Shubhi: describes the monitoring of PDCCH on search space set groups, par.[0007]), are configured to monitor (Shubhi: par.[0007] describes the PDCCH monitoring), in the reduced monitoring state (Shubhi: par.[0016] which recites, in part, “Exploiting the SSSG-switching for UE power-saving can be done, for example, by configuring the first SSSG (e.g., SSSG0) to have sparse PDCCH monitoring occasions (MOs) and the second SSSG (e.g., SSSG1) to have dense PDCCH MOs.”), the PDCCH only on a selected set of one or more special cells (R1-2205412 pg.57 wherein the DCI indicates the monitoring adaption for multiple cells, the cells being indicated in the DCI being the special cells as claimed, also pg.63 element 3.2.3 Single DCI Indicating Monitoring Adaption for Multiple Cells. The cells being a set selected via DCI signaling).
Regarding claim 8, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
wherein one or more semi-persistent scheduling occasions prior to arrival of an initial transport block in the burst of transmissions are deactivated or not monitored (pg.51 Apple describes during DRX off, skipping SPS occasions. That is, prior to the arrival of an initial TB, during the DRX-on the UE may not monitor the SPS).
Regarding claim 9, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
detect, while monitoring the PDCCH in the reduced monitoring state, an event to trigger an exit from the reduced monitoring state; and monitor each cell on which the PDCCH is configured and switching to a high-throughput search space set group based at least in part on the event (Vivo: pages 18-19 as discussed above).
Regarding claim 10, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
wherein the event includes receiving an initial transmission of a new transport block included in the burst of transmissions (pg.23 Implicit SSSG switching based on data reception, pg.97 and 98 SSSG switching per TRP and SSSG switch based on data reception).
Regarding claim 31, the disclosure of 3GPP teaches:
wherein the selected set of one or more special cells comprise a primary cell or a primary secondary cell (pg.57 describes the use of Non-scheduling for PDCCH monitoring adaption, and PDCCH monitoring for multiple cells, the multiple cells being the special cells, as discussed in Vivo. CATT describes the PDCCH monitoring adaption utilizing the DCI for a PCell. Additionally, it would be apparent to one of skill in the art that PScell could use DCI signaling for performing monitoring adaption as well. The SSSG allows for monitoring adaption based on DCI signaling).
Claim(s) 2-3, and 27-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP as applied to claims 1 and 26 and , in view of Xu et al. (US 2024/0323997 A1).
Regarding claims 2 and 27, Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP provide a mechanism for dynamically modifying the DRX start offset and duration in view of a burst of transmission but may not disclose:
wherein the start offset of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on an expected start time and a maximum jitter for the burst of transmissions.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Xu teaches:
wherein the start offset of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on an expected start time and a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0007] describes a service frame as a burst of service packets. Par.[0009] describes the offset as being determined by the service frame and jitter of the service frame, par.[0162 – 0163]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP for DRX configuration with the disclosure of Xu for calculation of the start offset. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce transmission/reception delays and improve power performance.
Regarding claims 3 and 28, Xu discloses:
wherein the length of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0095] describes the problem with traditional DRX when applied to XR service, wherein the static OnDuration is too long, based upon the traffic arrival statistics. Par.[0172 – 0174] which describes the onDuration being configured based on the range or maximum of delay jitter).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP as applied to claims 1 and 26 and , in view of Reial et al. (US 2022/0248447 A1).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP teach sparse PDCCH monitoring as discussed in the rejection of the independent claims above, but may not disclose:
monitor the PDCCH, are configured to monitor, in the reduced monitoring state, the PDCCH only on one or more carriers in a selected frequency range.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Reial teaches:
monitor the PDCCH, are configured to monitor, in the reduced monitoring state, the PDCCH only on one or more carriers in a selected frequency range (par.[0009] which recites, in part, “a sparse search space, SS, configuration of the WD to monitor a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, in a sparse SS in a first bandwidth part, BWP, determine a dense SS configuration of the WD to monitor the PDCCH in a dense SS in a second BWP, and select one of the determined sparse SS configuration and the determined dense SS configuration.”. The BWP being a one or more carriers in a selected frequency range).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP with the disclosure of Reial. The motivation/suggestion would have been to limit the search time, and depth needed for the UE to identify its PDCCH, also by providing a sparse PDCCH location, the UE may reduce power consumption during PDCCH monitoring improving UE power.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP as applied to claims 1 and 26 and , in view of Hu et al. (WO 2022/205346 A1).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, and in particular 3GPP describes SSSG switching based on new data, but may not explicitly disclose:
wherein the event includes triggering a scheduling request to perform an initial uplink transmission of a new transport block included in the burst of transmissions.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Hu teaches:
wherein the event includes triggering a scheduling request to perform an initial uplink transmission of a new transport block included in the burst of transmissions (Abstract: describes the transmission of a SR and then switching to a more dense SSSG).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP for DRX adaptation for burst transmissions, with the disclosure of Hu, for SSSG switching. The motivation/suggestion would have been that the UE has data to transmit on the uplink and needs to receive a PDCCH with UL grant in order to do so, thus, by monitoring a denser PDCCH SSSG, the UE would be able to quickly obtain an UL grant for uplink transmission.
Claim(s) 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP as applied to claim 17, in view of Maleki et al. (US 2022/0132417 A1).
Regarding claim 12, the disclosure of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP teaches a dynamic DRX indication, and transmitting a burst of transmissions during the DRX active time (see rejection of claim 17 above), but may not explicitly disclose:
receive, during a DRX active time, an indication from an application that a protocol data unit (PDU) to be transmitted is the final transmission in the burst of transmissions; and transmit, to the network entity, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring based at least in part on the indication..
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Maleki teaches:
receive, during a DRX active time, an indication from an application that a protocol data unit (PDU) to be transmitted is the final transmission in the burst of transmissions; and transmit, to the network entity, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring based at least in part on the indication. (fig.3 element par.[0074]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, which describe dynamic DRX with the disclosure of Maleki for fast dormancy. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a mechanism to prevent the UE from unnecessarily monitoring a control channel and expending power to do so.
Regarding claim 13, the disclosure of Martin teaches:
wherein the early termination indication is included in a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), uplink control information, or a buffer status report (par.[0073] describes the UE assistance information sent as control information and can be sent on the shared channel, control channel, or via layer-2 signaling such as MAC_CE).
Regarding claim 14, the disclosure of Martin teaches:
transmit, to the UE, information to terminate the DRX active time prior to the DRX inactivity timer expiring based at least in part on the early termination indication (fig.6 element 230 which describes the network sending a control message to the UE for modifying the operations of the UE).
Claim(s) 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, 3GPP, and Maleki as applied to claim 12, in view of Jheng et al. (US 2014/0220981 A1).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP describe method for monitoring PDCCH while saving power at the UE when transmissions from the network are sent as bursts with jitter, the disclosure of Maleki teaches a method of signaling a release request to the network prior to the end of an inactivity timer to save power, but they may not disclose:
starting a timer based at least in part on transmitting the early termination indication; and
terminate the DRX active time based at least in part on the timer expiring with receiving a downlink assignment for new data.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Jheng teaches:
starting a timer based at least in part on transmitting the early termination indication (fig.7 teaches a connection release to the network, the connection release indicating an end of a PS data session, and starting a timer, par.[0035]); and
terminate the DRX active time based at least in part on the timer expiring with receiving a downlink assignment for new data (fig.7 element 714 which describes the local release and par.[0035]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP for DRX power savings, with the disclosure of Maleki for connection release for saving power, with the additional disclosure of Jheng which teaches that the release has a timer associated therewith. The motivation/suggestion would have been that the core each of these disclosure is a means for reducing power consumption at the UE, with the advent of the response timer as discussed in Jheng, the UE may wait a duration for a response from the network and then enter into a dormant state to save power without waiting an unidentifiable amount of time for a response from the network. As can be seen, by providing a configured waiting period for a response of the network the UE can save power.
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Chen, Shubhi, 3GPP, Maleki, and Jheng disclose:
start a timer based at least in part on transmitting the early termination indication (Jheng: fig.7 as discussed above); and
restart the DRX inactivity timer based at least in part on receiving a downlink assignment for new data prior to the timer expiring (Chen: par.[0086] describes a DRX inactivity timer, with extended wake-up time when receiving a PDCCH, wherein it is well known that when a downlink control information or data is received while the inactivity timer is running that the inactivity timer will restart. That is, the office is invoking official notice that a UE with a DRX inactivity timer would restart the inactivity timer when receiving new data assignment in the downlink).
Claim(s) 18-19, and 30, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Shubhi, as applied to claim 17, in view of Xu et al. (US 2024/0323997 A1).
Regarding claims 18, Chen and Shubhi, discloses receiving configuration information on an offset to the start of a DRX, but does not disclose:
wherein the start offset of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on an expected start time and a maximum jitter for a/the burst of transmissions.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Xu teaches:
wherein the start offset of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on an expected start time and a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0007] describes a service frame as a burst of service packets. Par.[0009] describes the offset as being determined by the service frame and jitter of the service frame, par.[0162 – 0163]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen and Shubhi, for DRX configuration with the disclosure of Xu for calculation of the start offset. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce transmission/reception delays and improve power performance.
Regarding claims 19, Xu discloses:
wherein the length of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0095] describes the problem with traditional DRX when applied to XR service, wherein the static OnDuration is too long, based upon the traffic arrival statistics. Par.[0172 – 0174] which describes the onDuration being configured based on the range or maximum of delay jitter).
Regarding claim 30, Xu discloses:
wherein the start offset of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on an expected start time and a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0007] describes a service frame as a burst of service packets. Par.[0009] describes the offset as being determined by the service frame and jitter of the service frame, par.[0162 – 0163]); and
wherein the length of the DRX on duration is based at least in part on a maximum jitter for a burst of transmissions (par.[0095] describes the problem with traditional DRX when applied to XR service, wherein the static OnDuration is too long, based upon the traffic arrival statistics. Par.[0172 – 0174] which describes the onDuration being configured based on the range or maximum of delay jitter).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, as applied to claim 17, in view of Zhang et al. (US 2017/0359849 A1).
Regarding claim 21, the disclosure of Chen teaches a dynamic DRX indication but may not explicitly disclose:
wherein the information configures the UE to monitor at the start of the DRX onDuration, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the message only on a selected set of one or more special cells.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Zhang teaches:
wherein the information configures the UE to monitor at the start of the DRX onDuration, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the message only on a selected set of one or more special cells (par.[0088] describes a eNB forwarding to the UE during the start of the OnDuration an indication of whether they should receive a burst transmission on the cell. Some UE’s would stay turn off, and some would stay on during the duration of the DRX-On period in order to receive the burst. Additionally, par.[0071-0074]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, for DRX modification with the disclosure of Zhang for providing a scheduling indication. The motivation/suggestion would have been to allow the UEs which were not receiving the transmission burst to save power, while clearly providing a dynamic DRX indication to the UEs which are to receive the transmission burst, ultimately improving the power savings at the UE.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, as applied to claim 17, in view of Li et al. (US 2021/0289441 A1).
Regarding claim 22, the disclosure of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, describe:
Wherein the information configures the UE to monitor, at the start of the DRX onDuration a Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the message (see rejection of claim 17 above with regard to PDCCH monitoring), but does not disclose:
PDCCH monitoring only on one or more carriers in a selected frequency range.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Kuang teaches:
PDCCH monitoring only on one or more carriers in a selected frequency range (par.[0063] and fig.8 which describes the PDCCH monitoring in SSS sets which correspond to particular frequency ranges).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, with the disclosure of Li. The motivation/suggestion would have been reduce the monitoring complexity at the UE when performing PDCCH monitoring and also reducing the power burden at the UE.
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, as applied to claim 17, in view of Goel et al. (US 2021/0337481 A1).
Regarding claim 23, the disclosure of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, teaches a dynamic DRX indication, and transmitting a burst of transmissions during the DRX active time (see rejection of claim 17 above), but may not explicitly disclose:
and receive, from the UE, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Goel teaches:
and receive, from the UE, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring (par.[0005] describes fast dormancy wherein the UE may forward to the network an end indication by transmitting a release request, which when received by the network would send the UE to the dormant mode).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, which describe dynamic DRX with the disclosure of Goel for fast dormancy. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a mechanism to prevent the UE from unnecessarily monitoring a control channel and expending power to do so.
Claim(s) 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, as applied to claim 17, in view of Maleki et al. (US 2022/0132417 A1).
Regarding claim 23, the disclosure of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, teaches a dynamic DRX indication, and transmitting a burst of transmissions during the DRX active time (see rejection of claim 17 above), but may not explicitly disclose:
and receive, from the UE, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Maleki teaches:
and receive, from the UE, an early termination indication to terminate the DRX active time prior to a DRX inactivity timer expiring (fig.3 and par.[0074]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Chen, Shubhi, and 3GPP, which describe dynamic DRX with the disclosure of Maleki for fast dormancy. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a mechanism to prevent the UE from unnecessarily monitoring a control channel and expending power to do so.
Regarding claim 24, the disclosure of Maleki teaches:
wherein the early termination indication is included in a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), uplink control information, or a buffer status report (fig.3 par.[0074]).
Regarding claim 25, the disclosure of Maleki teaches:
transmit, to the UE, information to terminate the DRX active time prior to the DRX inactivity timer expiring based at least in part on the early termination indication (fig.6 element 230).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Liao et al. (US 2023/0018093 A1) “Methods for Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Monitoring Adaptation in 5G New Radio (NR)”
Pradas et al. (US 2025/0056654 A1) “Discontinuous Reception Operation of a Wireless Communication Device”
Sun et al. (US 2024/0430908 A1) “Semi-persistent Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)”
Huang et al. (US 2014/0064134 A1) “Adaptive Fast Dormancy Controller”
Martin et al. (GB 2506839 A) “Management of Dormancy Timer in Wireless Communications”
Kuo (US 2009/0176502 A1) “Method of Receiving Signaling and Related Communciation Device”
Golitschek Edler von Elbwart (US 2022/0311588 A1) “Performing Actions Based on a Group Switching Flag”
Kuang et al. (US 2021/0258962 A1) “Wideband Operation in an Unlicensed Spectrum with Plural Separate Frequency Ranges”
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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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