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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/12/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 02/24/2026 have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-6, 9, 11, 13-18, 21 and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claim 1 recites “wherein the one or more performance parameters comprises at least one of a measure of a Time to Content of the UE and a measured data packet transmission rate of the UE”. However, paragraph [0066] of applicant’s published specification discloses “A performance parameter related to data traffic performance of a UE connection may e.g. be a parameter related to throughput per UE connection, or e.g. a parameter related to a measure of Time To Content (TTC)”. In other words it discloses a parameter that is simply related to a measure of TTC, but not comprising a measure of a TTC. Nowhere in the disclosure does it disclose wherein the one or more performance parameters comprises a measure of a Time to Content of the UE as claimed. Accordingly, the amendment is not supported by the specification. Similar rejection applies to claim 13.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-6, 9, 11, 13-18, 21 and 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1 recites “for which the performance parameter exceeds a first threshold”. It is unclear as to which performance parameter it is being referred to as “one or more performance parameters” have been introduced earlier in the claim. It is unclear if it should be interpreted as “for which the one performance parameter exceeds a first threshold”, or as “for which a performance parameter from the one or more performance parameters exceeds a first threshold” or as “for which the one or more performance parameters exceeds a first threshold”, rendering the claim indefinite. Similar rejection applies to claims 2-3 and 13-15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 3-6, 9, 11, 13, 15-18 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over a first embodiment of Aydin et al. (US 2016/0255581 A1, hereinafter “Aydin”) in view of a second embodiment of Aydin (US 2016/0255581 A1).
As to claim 1:
Aydin’s first embodiment discloses a method performed by a first network node for controlling power consumption in a second network node in a wireless communications network (“the method 400 is implemented by a network element in the wireless network, such as a BS of the wireless network, a communications controller of the wireless network, or a higher layer network node of the wireless network, or at an operation center, such as a data center. Alternatively, the method 400 may be implemented in a distributed fashion. For example, BSs in the wireless network exchange information with each other, and perform the method 400 to determine whether any of the BSs is selected for switch-off”; [0039]-[0040] note: candidate BS (also a serving BS of UEs) selected for switch-off = second network node), the method comprising:
receiving, from the second network node or another network entity, one or more performance parameters related to data traffic performance of User Equipment, UE, connections (“receives or collects QoS requirement information about each of the UEs in the wireless network. The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off. In one embodiment, the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; see Figs. 1 and 4-5; [0039]-[0040]; note: QoS requirement(s) information = one or more performance parameters) served by the second network node (“UEs associated with (or served by) this BS (i.e., serving BS)”; [0038]; [0041]; [0052]) during a time interval (“The method 400 may be performed during some pre-defined time periods”; [0039]; [0067]), wherein the one or more performance parameters comprises at least one of a measure of a Time to Content of the UE and a measured data packet transmission rate of the UE (“the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; [0040]; [0037] note: uplink and/or downlink transmission rate = data packet transmission rate), wherein the second network node is operating in a first power consumption level out of multiple power consumption levels (“The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off”; [0040]; [0052]; [0032] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption);
determining a proportion of the UE connections for which the performance parameter [is satisfied] (“Examples of QoS requirement information of the UEs include downlink or uplink transmission rate requirements… BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters), based on the one or more performance parameters received from the second network node or another network entity (“receives or collects QoS requirement information about each of the UEs in the wireless network. The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off. In one embodiment, the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; see Figs. 1 and 4-5; [0039]-[0040]; note: QoS requirement(s) information = one or more performance parameters); and
deciding to switch from the first power consumption level to a second power consumption level out of the multiple power consumption levels based on the determined proportion (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040]; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption).
Aydin’s first embodiment does not explicitly disclose exceeds a first threshold.
However, a second embodiment of Aydin discloses a criteria is satisfied when a parameter exceeds a threshold or a parameter is below a threshold (“a network criteria is satisfied, e.g., when energy consumption efficiency drops below a threshold, or when the number of unloaded and/or underloaded BSs is greater than a threshold”; [0039]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Aydin’s second embodiment, of a criteria being satisfied when a parameter exceeds a threshold, into the first embodiment of Aydin as it would allow performance parameter that is satisfied to be performance parameter that exceeds a first threshold. Such combination would have been obvious as applying a known technique (i.e., using a threshold to determine a criteria is satisfied) to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement would yield predictable results. Such combination would have also been obvious to try as it is well known to use thresholds (i.e., either above or below a threshold) when determining if a criteria is satisfied.
As to claim 3:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein - the multiple power consumption levels (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption) comprises at least:
a low power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power below a second threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and
a high power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power above a third threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption),
- the first power consumption level is represented by the high power consumption level (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = first power consumption = high power consumption), and
-the deciding to switch from the first power consumption level to the second power consumption level comprises deciding to switch from the high power consumption level to the low power consumption level (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040]; [0052] note: off = low power consumption, on = first power consumption = high power consumption), when the determined proportion of UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold, is exceeding a fifth threshold (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters, where satisfied = exceeds the first threshold).
As to claim 4:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the low power consumption level activates in the second network node, any one out of: a cell-sleep, a MIMO sleep, a Massive MIMO sleep, or a booster carrier sleep (“Basically, a CSO approach switches off (or deactivates) one or more base stations based on a pre-defined criteria… a CSO method puts BSs in a sleep mode according to quality of service (QoS) and traffic load”; [0037]; [0080]).
As to claim 5:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the second power consumption level of the multiple power consumption levels comprises zero power consumption (“a BS may not be selected for switching off when the number or percentage of UEs identified as highly important is greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption).
As to claim 6:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the one or more performance parameters are aggregated in any one or more out of: a cell, a frequency band, sector of a cell, a network node site, a cluster of network node sites, a region, a geographical area (“see Figs. 9 and 10; [0005]; [0032]; [0040]; [0060]).
As to claim 9:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the first threshold depends on at least one of:- the time of day, and the region of the UE connections (“The method 400 may be performed during some pre-defined time periods”; [0039] “A CSO process may be performed only for the picocell BSs, and macro BSs are always active. Snapshot approach may be adopted, where a snapshot of the network is taken at a certain time to determine which BSs will be switched off”; [0067]).
As to claim 11:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform actions according to claim 1 (“The processor 1704 may be any component or collection of components adapted to perform computations and/or other processing related tasks, and the memory 1706 may be any component or collection of components adapted to store programming and/or instructions for execution by the processor 11804. In an embodiment, the memory 1706 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium”; see Fig. 17; [0077]-[0078]).
As to claim 13:
Aydin’s first embodiment discloses a first network node configured to control power consumption in a second network node in a wireless communications network (“the method 400 is implemented by a network element in the wireless network, such as a BS of the wireless network, a communications controller of the wireless network, or a higher layer network node of the wireless network, or at an operation center, such as a data center. Alternatively, the method 400 may be implemented in a distributed fashion. For example, BSs in the wireless network exchange information with each other, and perform the method 400 to determine whether any of the BSs is selected for switch-off”; Fig. 17; [0039]-[0040]; [0077]-[0078] note: candidate BS (also a serving BS of UEs) selected for switch-off = second network node), the first network node (element 1700 of Fig. 17) comprises:
a memory storing instructions (“the memory 1706 may be any component or collection of components adapted to store programming and/or instructions for execution by the processor 11804”; Fig. 17; [0077]); and
processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions (“the memory 1706 may be any component or collection of components adapted to store programming and/or instructions for execution by the processor 11804”; Fig. 17; [0077]) to cause the first network node (element 1700 of Fig. 17) to:
receive, from the second network node or another network entity, one or more performance parameters related to data traffic performance of User Equipment, UE, connections (“receives or collects QoS requirement information about each of the UEs in the wireless network. The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off. In one embodiment, the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; see Figs. 1 and 4-5; [0039]-[0040]; note: QoS requirement(s) information = one or more performance parameters) served by the second network node (“UEs associated with (or served by) this BS (i.e., serving BS)”; [0038]; [0041]; [0052]) during a time interval (“The method 400 may be performed during some pre-defined time periods”; [0039]; [0067]), wherein the one or more performance parameters comprises at least one of a measure of a Time to Content of the UE and a measured data packet transmission rate of the UE (“the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; [0040]; [0037] note: uplink and/or downlink transmission rate = data packet transmission rate), wherein the second network node is operating in a first power consumption level out of multiple consumption levels (“The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off”; [0040]; [0052]; [0032] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption);
determine a proportion of the UE connections for which the performance parameter [is satisfied] (“Examples of QoS requirement information of the UEs include downlink or uplink transmission rate requirements… BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters) based on the one or more performance parameters received from the second network node or another network entity (“receives or collects QoS requirement information about each of the UEs in the wireless network. The QoS requirement information may be used to determine whether a candidate BS is selected for switch-off. In one embodiment, the QoS requirement information of a UE includes an uplink transmission rate requirement and a downlink transmission rate requirement. The uplink and downlink transmission rate requirements, such as bit-rate thresholds, may be pre-defined in the UE, or determined based on network services that the UE requests. In one example, the UE requires a fixed uplink and/or downlink rate for data transmissions. In another example, an uplink and/or a downlink transmission rate of an application requested by the UE may be estimated when a request for the application is sent out. Downlink and uplink transmission rate requirements may vary depending on the geographical location of the UE and/or a current rate of the application requested”; see Figs. 1 and 4-5; [0039]-[0040]; note: QoS requirement(s) information = one or more performance parameters); and
decide to switch from the first power consumption level to a second power consumption level out of the multiple power consumption levels based on the determined proportion (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040]; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption).
Aydin’s first embodiment does not explicitly disclose exceeds a first threshold.
However, a second embodiment of Aydin discloses a criteria is satisfied when a parameter exceeds a threshold or a parameter is below a threshold (“a network criteria is satisfied, e.g., when energy consumption efficiency drops below a threshold, or when the number of unloaded and/or underloaded BSs is greater than a threshold”; [0039]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Aydin’s second embodiment, of a criteria being satisfied when a parameter exceeds a threshold, into the first embodiment of Aydin as it would allow performance parameter that is satisfied to be performance parameter that exceeds a first threshold. Such combination would have been obvious as applying a known technique (i.e., using a threshold to determine a criteria is satisfied) to a known device (method, or product) ready for improvement would yield predictable results. Such combination would have also been obvious to try as it is well known to use thresholds (i.e., either above or below a threshold) when determining if a criteria is satisfied.
As to claim 15:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein - the multiple power consumption levels (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption) comprise at least: a low power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power below a second threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and a high power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power above a third threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption),
- the first power consumption level is represented by the high power consumption level (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = first power consumption = high power consumption),
- the first network node is configured to decide whether or not to switch by deciding to switch from the high power consumption level to the low power consumption level (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040]; [0052] note: off = low power consumption, on = first power consumption = high power consumption), when the determined proportion of UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold, is exceeding a fifth threshold (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters)).
As to claim 16:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the low power consumption level activates in the second network node, any one out of: a cell-sleep, a MIMO sleep, a Massive MIMO sleep, or a booster carrier sleep (“Basically, a CSO approach switches off (or deactivates) one or more base stations based on a pre-defined criteria… a CSO method puts BSs in a sleep mode according to quality of service (QoS) and traffic load”; [0037]; [0080]).
As to claim 17:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the second power consumption level of the multiple power consumption levels comprises zero power consumption (“a BS may not be selected for switching off when the number or percentage of UEs identified as highly important is greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption).
As to claim 18:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the one or more performance parameters are aggregated in any one or more out of: a cell, a frequency band, sector of a cell, a network node site, a cluster of network node sites, a region, a geographical area (“see Figs. 9 and 10; [0005]; [0032]; [0040]; [0060]).
As to claim 21:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein the first threshold depends on at least one of:- the time of day, or - the region of the UE connections (“The method 400 may be performed during some pre-defined time periods”; [0039] “A CSO process may be performed only for the picocell BSs, and macro BSs are always active. Snapshot approach may be adopted, where a snapshot of the network is taken at a certain time to determine which BSs will be switched off”; [0067]).
Claims 2 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the first embodiment of Aydin (US 2016/0255581 A1) in view of the second embodiment of Aydin (US 2016/0255581 A1) and further in view of Yaacoub (US 2015/0382290 A1, hereinafter “Yaacoub”).
As to claim 2:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein - the multiple power consumption levels (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption) comprises at least: a low power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power below a second threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and a high power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power above a third threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and the UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters, where satisfied = exceeds the first threshold).
Aydin does not explicitly disclose- the first power consumption level is represented by the low power consumption level, and -the deciding to switch from the first power consumption level to the second power consumption level comprises deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level, when the determined proportion of UE connections, is exceeding a fourth threshold.
However, Yaacoub discloses the first power consumption level is represented by the low power consumption level (sleep mode; see Fig. 16; [0099]), and -the deciding to switch from the first power consumption level to the second power consumption level comprises deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level (“eNB may send the switched off eNB a wake-up signal to switch it on again”; [0099]), when the determined proportion of UE connections, is exceeding a fourth threshold (“Active BSs exchange traffic load information over the Communication Interface 130 between them during normal network operation at a step 1601. From this exchanged information, an eNB may determine the neighbor eNBs that are switched on, and of which the load increased beyond a certain threshold at a step 1602. In case a load increase is noted beyond target thresholds, the eNB may check its records if the eNB has at least one neighbor eNB in sleep mode at a step 1603. If there is exactly one eNB that was switched off at a step 1604, the active eNB may send the switched off eNB a wake-up signal to switch it on again at a step 1605”; see elements 1602-1607; Fig. 16; [0099]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Yaacoub into the combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments as it would allow the first power consumption level to be represented by the low power consumption level, and –the deciding to switch from the first power consumption level to the second power consumption level comprises deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level, when the determined proportion of UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold, is exceeding a fourth threshold. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to reduce power consumption (Yaacoub; [0003]) as well as permit a low complexity, efficient, and distributed approach that allows dynamically switching BSs on/off according to traffic load conditions (Yaacoub; [0006]-[0007]).
As to claim 14:
The combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments discloses the invention set forth above. Aydin further discloses wherein - the multiple power consumption levels (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052] note: off = second power consumption, on = first power consumption) comprise at least: a low power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power below a second threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and a high power consumption level wherein the second network node consumes power above a third threshold (“a BS may be selected for switching off when less than a threshold number or percentage of UEs being served by the BS have a certain level of power saving priority greater than a threshold”; [0052]; [0039] note: off = low power consumption, on = high power consumption), and the UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold (“BS will be switched off if QoS requirements of at least a number of UEs being served by the BS are satisfied if the BS was switched off”; [0032]; [0040] “a BS may be selected to switch off, if QoS requirements of at least a threshold of UEs currently served by the BS can be satisfied by the remaining active BSs if the BS was switched off”; [0041]; [0039] note: QoS requirement(s) information = performance parameters, where satisfied = exceeds the first threshold).
Aydin does not explicitly disclose- the first power consumption level represented by the low power consumption level, and - the first network node is configured to decide whether or not to switch by deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level, when the determined proportion of UE connections is exceeding a fourth threshold
However, Yaacoub discloses - the first power consumption level represented by the low power consumption level (sleep mode; see Fig. 16; [0099]), and - the first network node is configured to decide whether or not to switch by deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level (“eNB may send the switched off eNB a wake-up signal to switch it on again”; [0099]), when the determined proportion of UE connections, is exceeding a fourth threshold (“Active BSs exchange traffic load information over the Communication Interface 130 between them during normal network operation at a step 1601. From this exchanged information, an eNB may determine the neighbor eNBs that are switched on, and of which the load increased beyond a certain threshold at a step 1602. In case a load increase is noted beyond target thresholds, the eNB may check its records if the eNB has at least one neighbor eNB in sleep mode at a step 1603. If there is exactly one eNB that was switched off at a step 1604, the active eNB may send the switched off eNB a wake-up signal to switch it on again at a step 1605”; see elements 1602-1607; Fig. 16; [0099]).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Yaacoub into the combined system/method of Aydin’s first and second embodiments as it would allow the first power consumption level to be represented by the low power consumption level, and - the first network node to be configured to decide whether or not to switch by deciding to switch from the low power consumption level to the high power consumption level, when the determined proportion of UE connections for which the performance parameter exceeds the first threshold, is exceeding a fourth threshold. Such combination would have been obvious as the references are from analogous art, where a motivation would have been to reduce power consumption (Yaacoub; [0003]) as well as permit a low complexity, efficient, and distributed approach that allows dynamically switching BSs on/off according to traffic load conditions (Yaacoub; [0006]-[0007]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 23-24 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim, removing the alternate option of “a measured data packet transmission rate of the UE” and overcoming the 35 USC 112 rejections.
Conclusion
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/MARIELA VIDAL CARPIO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476
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