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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 August 17, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Examiner acknowledges receipt of Applicant’s amendment filled 08/17/2026.
In the amendment, Applicant amended claims 1, 7 and 12.
In the amendment, Applicant canceled claims 6, 11, and 18.
Claims 1, 5, 7, 12, and 16-17 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Examiner has fully considered Applicant's arguments, filed on 8/17/2026.
Applicant’s arguments (page 6-7) with respect to 35 USC 103 rejection of claim 1, and 7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments (page 8) with respect to 35 USC 103 rejection of claim 6 (which has been rolled up to claim 1) has been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments (page 8-9) with respect to 35 USC103 rejection of claim 12 has been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
In 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 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 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 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, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ko et al. (US 20230337318 A1, hereinafter, Ko) in view of Chae et al. (US 20220225468 A1, hereinafter, Chae).
Regarding Claim 1, Ko discloses, a method of a transmitting user equipment (UE) (Fig. 11, UE), the method comprising:
receiving, from a base station, information indicating one Uu discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle candidate from among a plurality of Uu DRX cycle candidates (¶0193 recites,"...Alternatively, for example, although not shown in FIG. 11, the UE may receive the specific DRX cycle configuration from the base station/network. In this case, the base station/network may determine/select a specific DRX cycle configuration from among a plurality of candidate DRX cycle configurations, and the base station/network may transmit index/information related to the specific DRX cycle configuration to the UE.");
determining, as a Uu DRX cycle for a Uu link between the base station and the transmitting UE, the one Uu DRX cycle candidate indicated by the information (¶0193 also recites, "Referring to FIG. 11, in step S1110, the UE may determine/select a DRX cycle configuration for groupcast communication. For example, the UE may determine/select a specific DRX cycle configuration from among a plurality of candidate DRX cycle configurations. For example, the UE may determine/select a specific DRX cycle configuration from among a plurality of candidate DRX cycle configurations, based on various embodiments of the present disclosure...");
performing reception operation for the base station based on the Uu DRX cycle (¶0216 recites, Referring to FIG. 13, in step S1310, the first UE may configure a plurality of DRX cycles. For example, the first UE may receive information related to a plurality of DRX cycles from the base station. For example, the first UE may autonomously select/configure/determine a plurality of DRX cycles. For example, a plurality of DRX cycles may be predefined for the first UE.”); here the DRx cycle is the Uu DRx cycle; and
wherein the Uu DRX cycle is set for a Uu link between the base station and the transmitting UE, and the first SL DRX cycle is set for a side-link (SL) between the transmitting UE and the first receiving UE (¶0193 recites, "...Alternatively, for example, although not shown in FIG. 11, the UE may receive the specific DRX cycle configuration from the base station/network. In this case, the base station/network may determine/select a specific DRX cycle configuration from among a plurality of candidate DRX cycle configurations, and the base station/network may transmit index/information related to the specific DRX cycle configuration to the UE.", see also, ¶0204 recites, “In step S1220, the UE may transmit first SCI through a PSCCH. For example, the first SCI may include information for scheduling a PSSCH and/or second SCI." see also, ¶0205 recites, “In step S1230, the UE may transmit the second SCI through the PSSCH. Additionally, for example, the UE may transmit data (e.g., MAC PDU or TB) through the PSSCH. For example, the second SCI may include a group ID (e.g., destination ID) and information/index related to an SL DRX configuration...").
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Ko doesn’t explicitly disclose, receiving, from the base station, information on a mapping relationship between the Uu DRX cycle and one or more sidelink (SL) DRX cycles, the information on the mapping relationship including a first multiple and a second multiple with respect to the Uu DRX cycle;
transmitting, to a first receiving UE, first indication information indicating the first multiple selected from the first multiple and the second multiple included in the information on the mapping relationship;
performing first SL communication with the first receiving UE based on a first SL DRX cycle determined by applying the first multiple indicated by the first indication information to the Uu DRX cycle,
Chae in related art relates, receiving, from the base station, information on a mapping relationship between the Uu DRX cycle and one or more sidelink (SL) DRX cycles, the information on the mapping relationship including a first multiple and a second multiple with respect to the Uu DRX cycle (¶0256 recites, FIG. 29 illustrates a flow diagram of an example embodiment. A first wireless device from a base station, one or more messages indicating cellular discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters comprising a DRX cycle. The first wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle being a multiple or a divisor of the DRX cycle...", see also, ¶0257 recites, “In an example embodiment, a first wireless device from a base station, one or more messages indicating cellular discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters comprising a DRX cycle. The first wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle based on the DRX cycle..." See also, ¶0258 recites, “In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a multiple of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a divisor of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be determined by selecting a scalar value. In an example, a candidate of the scalar value is at least one of 0.125, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, or 8..."); Here, the first wireless device receives on or messages from the base station which helps to determine one or more SL DRX cycles that are multiple of a scalar value as mentioned above.
transmitting, to a first receiving UE, first indication information indicating the first multiple selected from the first multiple and the second multiple included in the information on the mapping relationship (¶0256 recites, "...The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle. Based on an example embodiment, a wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle to align the SL DRX pattern with a Uu DRX pattern as much as possible even though DRX cycles are different between the SL DRX pattern and the Uu DRX pattern. The power consumption of the wireless device may be reduced." See also, ¶0257 recites, "...The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle." See also, ¶0258 recites, "In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a multiple of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a divisor of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be determined by selecting a scalar value. In an example, a candidate of the scalar value is at least one of 0.125, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, or 8..");
performing first SL communication with the first receiving UE based on a first SL DRX cycle determined by applying the first multiple indicated by the first indication information to the Uu DRX cycle (¶0257 recites, “In an example embodiment, a first wireless device from a base station, one or more messages indicating cellular discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters comprising a DRX cycle. The first wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle based on the DRX cycle. The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle.” see also, ¶0258] “In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a multiple of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a divisor of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be determined by selecting a scalar value. In an example, a candidate of the scalar value is at least one of 0.125, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, or 8..."
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the idea of Ko with the idea that base station sends the transmitting device a set of rules (a mapping relationship) which provides specific scaling factors—a first multiple and a second multiple, etc. as disclosed by Chae. The rationale for using this is “a wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle to align the SL DRX pattern with a Uu DRX pattern as much as possible even though DRX cycles are different between the SL DRX pattern and the Uu DRX pattern. The power consumption of the wireless device may be reduced,” ¶0256).
Regarding Claim 5, Combination of Ko and Chae disclose the method according to claim 1.
Ko further discloses, comprising: transmitting, to a second receiving UE, second indication information based on the information on the mapping relationship (¶0196 recites, “For example, if the group header UE in the group selects the index/information related to the DRX cycle configuration to be used by group member UE(s), the group header UE may transmit/share the index related to the selected DRX cycle configuration to group member UE(s). In this case, the group header UE may transmit the index/information related to the selected DRX cycle configuration through SCI indicating a destination ID as a group ID, by using a specific DRX resource pool..."); and
performing second SL communication with the second receiving UE based on a second SL DRX cycle determined by the Uu DRX cycle and the second indication information (¶0201 recites, “In step S1120, the UE may perform groupcast communication based on the DRX cycle configuration for groupcast communication.”), Here the groupcast communication is the SL communication between one UE with “other UE”.
wherein the second SL DRX cycle is set independently of the first SL DRX cycle (¶0195 recites, "...For example, the index/information related to the DRX cycle configuration may be determined/selected/configured based on the number of UEs belonging to the group. Through this, independent or different DRX cycle configurations may be used between different groups or between UEs belonging to different groups.").
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Regarding claim 7 “Method of Rx”, is rejected under the same reasoning as claim 1 “method of Tx”, where Ko and Chae teach “Method of Rx”/ “method of Tx”.
Claims 12, 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. (US 20220361284 A1, hereinafter, Liu) in view of Ko, and further in view of Chae.
Regarding Claim 12, Liu discloses a method of a transmitting user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining a common discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle for broadcast communication based on a least common multiple between a first SL DRX cycle associated with a first receiving UE and a second SL DRX cycle associated with a second receiving UE (See FIG. 5., see also, ¶0330 recites, "... In other words, lengths of DRX cycles indicated by the first SL DRX configuration and any one or more candidate second SL DRX configurations are integer multiples of a length of a DRX cycle indicated by one of the first SL DRX configuration and any one or more candidate second SL DRX configurations; and/or a start location of a DRX cycle indicated by the first SL DRX configuration is aligned with a start location of a DRX cycle indicated by any one or more candidate second SL DRX configurations.", see also, ¶0339 recites, "For example, lengths of DRX cycles indicated by the second SL DRX configuration and the Uu DRX configuration determined by the fourth communication device are integer multiples of a length of a DRX cycle of one of the second SL DRX configuration and the Uu DRX configuration, and/or the start location of the DRX cycle indicated by the second SL DRX configuration is aligned with the start location of the DRX cycle indicated by the Uu DRX configuration.", see also ¶0340 recites, "The foregoing fifth embodiment may be used in a scenario in which a cast type of the SL connection is unicast, multicast, or broadcast. When the SL connection is a multicast or broadcast connection, an SL radio resource control connection is established between the first communication device and the second communication device...");
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transmitting configuration information of the common DRX cycle to the first receiving UE and the second receiving UE (¶0279 recites, "For example, as shown in FIG. 5, in N SL connections of the second communication device, a length of a DRX cycle of the n.sup.th SL connection is an integer multiple of a length of a DRX cycle of the m.sup.th SL connection. m and n are positive integers, and m and n are less than or equal to N...", see also, ¶0299 recites, “S302: The first communication device sends the SL DRX configuration to the second communication device.”);
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Liu doesn’t explicitly disclose, performing the broadcast communication with the first receiving UE and the second receiving UE on a sidelink (SL) based on the common DRX cycle;
transmitting, to the first receiving UE, first indication information indicating a first UE-specific DRX cycle for the first receiving UE; and transmitting, to the second receiving UE, second indication information indicating a second UE- specific DRX cycle for the second receiving UE,
wherein the first indication information is a first multiple with respect to the common DRX cycle, the first UE-specific DRX cycle is determined by applying the first multiple to the common DRX cycle, the second indication information is a second multiple with respect to the common DRX cycle, the second UE- specific DRX cycle is determined by applying the second multiple to the common DRX cycle, and each of the first multiple and the second multiple is a rational number.
Ko in related art relates, performing the broadcast communication with the first receiving UE and the second receiving UE on a sidelink (SL) based on the common DRX cycle (¶0237 recites, "For example, UEs that transmit and receive broadcast-related information may use a common DRX resource pool. For example, UEs may perform broadcast communication based on the common DRX resource pool. In the present disclosure, the information may include at least one of a PSCCH (e.g., control information), a PSSCH (e.g., control information and/or data), a PSFCH (e.g., feedback), a MAC PDU, a packet, a service, and/or a message.", see also, ¶0252 recites, "In step S1520, the TX UE and the RX UE may perform SL communication based on the DRX resource pool.", see also, ¶0196 recites, "...In this case, the group header UE may transmit the index/information related to the selected DRX cycle configuration through SCI indicating a destination ID as a group ID, by using a specific DRX resource pool. For example, the group header UE may transmit SCI including the destination ID (i.e., group ID) and the index/information related to the selected DRX cycle configuration, by using the specific DRX resource pool. Herein, for example, the specific DRX resource pool may be a DRX resource pool that is defined for such as transmission of broadcast data as an initial operation or a fallback operation and may be commonly used by all DRX UEs...");
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the idea of Liu and Chae with the idea where a transmitting UE performs broadcast communication with a first receiving UE and a second receiving UE by using a common Sidelink Discontinuous Reception (SL-DRX) cycle as disclosed by Ko. The rationale for using common (SL-DRX) cycle is to get active time coordination, and better sleep state efficiency that eventually helps synchronizing active and sleep periods.
Chae in related art relates, transmitting, to the first receiving UE, first indication information indicating a first UE-specific DRX cycle for the first receiving UE; and transmitting, to the second receiving UE, second indication information indicating a second UE- specific DRX cycle for the second receiving UE (¶0256 recites, "...The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle. Based on an example embodiment, a wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle to align the SL DRX pattern with a Uu DRX pattern as much as possible even though DRX cycles are different between the SL DRX pattern and the Uu DRX pattern. The power consumption of the wireless device may be reduced." See also, ¶0257 recites, "...The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle." See also, ¶0258 recites, "In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a multiple of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a divisor of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be determined by selecting a scalar value. In an example, a candidate of the scalar value is at least one of 0.125, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, or 8..");
wherein the first indication information is a first multiple with respect to the common DRX cycle, the first UE-specific DRX cycle is determined by applying the first multiple to the common DRX cycle, the second indication information is a second multiple with respect to the common DRX cycle, the second UE- specific DRX cycle is determined by applying the second multiple to the common DRX cycle, and each of the first multiple and the second multiple is a rational number (¶0264 recites, “According to an example embodiment, a first wireless device from a base station, one or more messages indicating cellular discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters comprising a DRX cycle. The first wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle being a multiple or a divisor of the DRX cycle. The first wireless device may transmit, to a second wireless device, SL DRX parameters indicating the SL DRX cycle.”, see also, ¶0266 recites, “In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a multiple of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be a divisor of the DRX cycle. In an example, the SL DRX cycle may be determined by selecting a scalar value. In an example, a candidate of the scalar value is at least one of 0.125, 0.25, 1, 2, 4, or 8...").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the idea of Liu and Ko with the idea that base station (gNB/eNB) configuring DRX parameters individually for multiple user devices in a wireless communication network as disclosed by Chae. The rationale for using this device-specific DRX cycles can be scaled to be either longer or shorter than the common cycle, allowing precise power-saving optimization for each individual device, i.e. "...a wireless device may determine a SL DRX cycle to align the SL DRX pattern with a Uu DRX pattern as much as possible even though DRX cycles are different between the SL DRX pattern and the Uu DRX pattern. The power consumption of the wireless device may be reduced."(¶0256).
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Regarding Claim 16, combination of Liu, Ko and Chae disclose the method according to claim 12.
Liu also discloses, wherein when the first UE-specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set for unicast communication, the first UE-specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set differently from each other (¶0036 recites, “According to the first aspect, any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, when the first communication device sends an SL DRX configuration to the second communication device, the first communication device may send the SL DRX configuration in a unicast, broadcast, or multicast manner.” , see also, ¶0038 recites, “According to the first aspect, any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the second aspect, in a possible example, the first communication device may further send identification information of the SL connection to the second communication device. The identification information of the SL connection may be carried in the SL DRX configuration or may be independent of the SL DRX configuration.”), and
Liu doesn’t explicitly disclose, when the first UE- specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set for groupcast communication, the first UE- specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set identically to each other.
Ko in related art relates, when the first UE- specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set for groupcast communication, the first UE- specific DRX cycle and the second UE-specific DRX cycle are set identically to each other (¶0190- ¶0191 recites, “Meanwhile, if DRX cycle configurations are different between UEs in a group in which groupcast communication is performed, a UE B may not receive data transmitted by a UE A during an active time period of the UE B. Accordingly, the DRX cycle need to be aligned between UEs in a group in which groupcast communication is performed. Based on various embodiments of the present disclosure, in case that UEs in a group for SL groupcast perform DRX operations, a method for aligning operations related to the DRX cycle of each UE and device(s) supporting the same are proposed such that SL communication between UEs can be smoothly performed. In the present disclosure, DRX may refer to SL DRX.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the idea of Liu and Chae with the idea that, when multiple UE-specific DRX cycles are configured for groupcast communication, they are set to be identical as disclosed by Ko. The rationale for setting the first and second UE-specific Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycles identically to each other provides significant power-saving efficiency and reduced alignment complexity.
Regarding Claim 17, combination of Liu, Ko and Chae disclose the method according to claim 12. Liu doesn’t explicitly disclose, wherein the common DRX cycle is set cell- specifically, resource pool (RP)-specifically, or cast type (CT)-specifically.
Ko in related art relates, wherein the common DRX cycle is set cell- specifically, resource pool (RP)-specifically, or cast type (CT)-specifically (¶0237-¶0238 recites, “For example, UEs that transmit and receive broadcast-related information may use a common DRX resource pool. For example, UEs may perform broadcast communication based on the common DRX resource pool. In the present disclosure, the information may include at least one of a PSCCH (e.g., control information), a PSSCH (e.g., control information and/or data), a PSFCH (e.g., feedback), a MAC PDU, a packet, a service, and/or a message. For example, UEs that transmit and receive groupcast-related information in a group may use a common DRX resource pool. For example, UEs belonging to a first group may perform groupcast communication based on a first DRX resource pool.”). Examiner interprets that one of the claimed features to be mapped, because of the presence of “or” in the limitation.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine the idea of Liu and Chae with the idea where common DRX cycle is set according to cell or resource pool (RP) or cast type (CT) as disclosed by ko. The primary advantage is ensuring that communicating devices wake up at the same time to avoid missing data, while tailoring power savings.
Conclusion
References cited but not used: Han et al. (US 20230292395 A1) can be used for independent claims 1, 7, and 12 in addition to the one used.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD AINUL HUDA whose telephone number is (703)756-1594. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 - 6:30 ET.
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/MUHAMMAD AINUL HUDA/Examiner, Art Unit 4126
/HASSAN A PHILLIPS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2467
