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 .
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 1-20 are provisionally rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of copending Application No. 18218497. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because all the claimed limitations of the current application are anticipated by the claims of the copending application.
This is a provisional nonstatutory double patenting rejection because the patentably indistinct claims have not in fact been patented.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection, necessitated by Applicant’s amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 18 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by Gupta (2019/0327679).
As per claim 18, Gupta shows the use of user equipment (UE), comprising: outputting, for transmission, to a base station, an indication of a capability for wake up signal monitoring in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode while in a sleep state (e.g., paragraph 78); receiving, based on the indication, configuration information including a first frequency domain resource for WUS monitoring in the RRC connected mode while in the sleep state (e.g., paragraph 38), and further including a first switching gap value for a transition from the sleep state to an awake state (e.g., paragraphs 112 and 117); monitoring for a WUS while in the sleep state; while in the sleep state receiving the WUS using the first frequency domain resource and a first time domain based resource (e.g., paragraphs 73 and 89), wherein a main radio of the UE is configured to wake up to transmit and receive based on the WUS; transitioning from the sleep state to the awake state according to the switching gap value (e.g., paragraphs 112 and 117); and receiving a downlink (DL) transmission in the awake state (e.g., figures 10 and 11).
As per claim 19, Gupta shows the use of wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a trigger to enter the sleep state for WUS monitoring; entering the sleep state for WUS monitoring and suspending transmitting and receiving by the main radio of the UE based on the trigger (e.g., paragraph 117 and figures 10 and 11).
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-13 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta (2019/0327679) in view of Lee (EP 4236478).
As per claim 1, Gupta teaches the use of a method comprising: receiving an indication from a user equipment (UE) of a capability for wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode while in a sleep state (e.g., paragraph 78); configuring, based on the indication, configuration information to include a first frequency domain resource for WUS monitoring in the RRC connected mode while in the sleep state (e.g., paragraph 38); outputting, for transmission, to the UE, a WUS using the first frequency domain resource and a first time domain resource, wherein the WUS is to trigger the UE to transition from the WUS monitoring in the sleep state to operation of a main radio in the awake state according to the switching gap value (e.g., paragraphs 73 and 89); and outputting, for transmission, to the UE, a first downlink (DL) transmission (e.g., paragraph 86). Gupta does not specifically show generating … a switching gap value. However Lee, shows the use of generating … a switching gap value (e.g., figure 9 and paragraphs 277 and 286).
It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Lee because it would reduce unnecessary power consumption.
As per claim 2, Gupta shows the use of wherein the configuration information further includes: configuring the time domain resource for WUS monitoring, and a periodicity and offset for periodic WUS monitoring (e.g., paragraphs 38 and 117).
As per claim 3, Gupta shows the use of wherein the switching gap value is greater than or equal to a time gap needed by the UE between receiving the WUS and receiving the DL transmission (e.g., paragraphs 112 and 117).
As per claim 4, Gupta shows the use of wherein the configuration information further includes a first switching gap value based on a network load or a latency associated with data to be transmitted to, or received from, the UE (e.g., paragraph 117).
As per claim 6, Gupta shows the use of wherein the first switching gap value is defined with respect to a start of the WUS or an end of the WUS (e.g., paragraphs 112 and 117).
As per claim 7, Gupta shows the of wherein configuring the UE with the first frequency domain resource includes transmitting an indication of the first frequency domain resource using further comprising: outputting, for transmission radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) including an indication of the frequency domain resource (e.g., figures 4, 7A, 7B and paragraph 38).
As per claim 8, Gupta shows the use of further comprising: outputting, for transmission, an indication of a starting position, a center position, or an ending position of a fixed bandwidth in a frequency domain (e.g., paragraph 38 and figures 7A and 7B).
As per claim 9, Gupta shows the use of outputting, for transmission, to the UE, a trigger for the UE to transition from an awake state to the sleep state using downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., paragraph 147 and figures 7A and 7B), wherein an offset is from a last symbol used to transmit the DCI, and wherein a periodicity for monitoring for the WUS is based on the offset from the last symbol (e.g., paragraphs 117 and figures 7A, 7B, 10 and 11).
As per claim 10, Gupta shows the use of wherein the configuration information further includes a switching gap for a transition from an awake state to the sleep state, and wherein the first switching gap is greater than or equal to a time needed by the UE between receiving a trigger to enter the sleep state and entering the sleep state from the awake state (e.g., paragraph 117).
As per claim 11, Gupta shows the use of the configuration information further includes a UE identifier to be used for WUS monitoring (e.g., paragraph 85).
As per claim 12, Gupta shows the use of wherein the configuration method includes a plurality of sets of time or frequency domain resources for WUS monitoring, wherein the first frequency domain resource is in a first set of time or frequency domain resources of the plurality of sets; and selecting the set of time or frequency domain resources to transmit the WUS (e.g., paragraphs 37 and 43-44).
As per claim 13, Gupta shows the use an apparatus comprising: processing circuitry (e.g., abstract and paragraph 96) to receive an indication from a user equipment (UE) of a capability for wake-up signal (WUS) monitoring in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode while in a sleep state (e.g., paragraph 78); configuring, based on the indication, with a first WUS configuration including a first frequency domain resource for WUS monitoring in the RRC connected mode while in the sleep state (e.g., paragraph 38), the first frequency domain resource associated with one or more carriers; output, for transmission, to the UE, a WUS using the first frequency domain resource and a first time domain resource, wherein the WUS is to trigger the UE to transition from the WUS monitoring in the sleep state operation of a main radio in the awake state according to the switching gap value (e.g., paragraphs 37, 43-44, 73 and 89); and output, for transmission, to the UE, a first downlink (DL) transmission (e.g., paragraph 86) and interface circuitry, coupled with the processing circuitry, the interface circuitry to receive the indication, transmit the WUS, and transmit the DL transmission (e.g., figures 3, 8, 9 and abstract and paragraph 96). Gupta does not specifically show generate … a switching gap value. However Lee, shows the use of generating … a switching gap value (e.g., figure 9 and paragraphs 277 and 286).
It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Lee because it would reduce unnecessary power consumption.
As per claim 17, Gupta shows the use of wherein the WUS configuration is specific to the UE or is common to a plurality of UEs (e.g., paragraphs 112 and 117).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta (20190327679) in view of Lee (EP 4236478) and further in view of Zacharias (2022/0104229).
As per claim 5, Gupta shows the use of variable switching gaps (e.g. paragraph 112), but does not specifically show wherein the method further comprises: configuring the UE with a plurality of switching gap values including the first switching gap value, however Zacharias shows the use of configuring the UE with a plurality of switching gap values including the first switching gap value (e.g., paragraphs 44-46). It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Zacharias because it would efficiently maintain synchronization between the eNB and UE to improve power savings.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta (20190327679) in view of Zhou (2022/0303960).
As per claim 20, Gupta shows the use of wherein the configuration information further includes bands of a carrier that is to carry the WUS, wherein monitoring for the WUS is based on the band and frequency (e.g., abstract and paragraph 2), but does not specifically show the use of bandwidth, however Zhou does show the use of bandwidth (e.g. paragraphs 121-124). It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Zhou because it would improve power savings across multiple bandwidths.
Claim(s) 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gupta (20190327679) in view of Lee (EP 4236478) and further in view of Zhou (2022/0303960).
As per claim 14, Gupta does not show wherein the one or more carriers are predefined or are indicated as part of the first WUS configuration using a bitmap or a list of component carrier indexes, but Zhou does show the use of wherein the one or more carriers are predefined or are indicated as part of the first WUS configuration using a bitmap or a list of component carrier indexes (e.g., paragraph 283). It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Zhou because it would improve power savings.
As per claim 15, Gupta does not show wherein the one or more carriers include a component carrier (CC), a group of CCs that include a CC associated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or all CCs configured for the UE, however Zhou does show wherein the one or more carriers include a component carrier (CC), a group of CCs that include a CC associated with a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or all CCs configured for the UE (e.g., figure 10A). It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Zhou because it would improve power savings.
As per claim 16, Gupta does not show wherein the first WUS configuration is associated with at least one search space set associated with the one or more carriers, however Zhou does show the use of wherein the first WUS configuration is associated with at least one search space set associated with the one or more carriers (e.g., abstract). It would have obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Gupta to include the limitations of Zhou because it would improve power savings.
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.
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/JOHN A FOLLANSBEE/
Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2444