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 .
Response to Arguments
Claims 1-46 have been canceled, therefore, rejections and objections to claims 1, 4-5, 7-11, 44, and 46 are withdrawn. Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 47, 51, 54, 59, 63, and 66 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LI et al. (US 20230309016 A1, hereinafter, "LI").
Regarding claim 59, LI teaches a second user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network (paragraph 0105; figure 10, communications device: 1000), the second UE comprising:
a memory storing instructions;
LI writes, “In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1012 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor 1004 to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 5-6” (paragraph 0106; figure 10, computer-readable medium/memory: 1012).
and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to perform:
LI writes, “In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1012 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor 1004 to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 5-6” (paragraph 0106; figure 10, processor: 1004).
receiving, from a first UE, discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information comprising DRX-related parameters for a sidelink communication between the first UE and the second UE or between a pair of source layer-2 ID and destination layer-2 ID;
LI writes, “Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving information regarding at least one sidelink communication using sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) for at least one application or service; determining at least one first sidelink DRX configuration based on the information; transmitting, to at least one second UE, an indication of the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration for the at least one sidelink communication; and receiving, from the at least one second UE, an indication of whether the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration is accepted for the at least one sidelink communication” (paragraph 0007).
determining to at least one of accept or reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE;
LI writes, “Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving information regarding at least one sidelink communication using sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) for at least one application or service; determining at least one first sidelink DRX configuration based on the information; transmitting, to at least one second UE, an indication of the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration for the at least one sidelink communication; and receiving, from the at least one second UE, an indication of whether the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration is accepted for the at least one sidelink communication” (paragraph 0007).
and transmitting, to the first UE, at least one of acceptance information indicating an acceptance of the DRX configuration information or rejection information indicating a rejection of the DRX configuration information.
LI writes, “Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving information regarding at least one sidelink communication using sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) for at least one application or service; determining at least one first sidelink DRX configuration based on the information; transmitting, to at least one second UE, an indication of the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration for the at least one sidelink communication; and receiving, from the at least one second UE, an indication of whether the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration is accepted for the at least one sidelink communication” (paragraph 0007).
Regarding claim 63, LI teaches the second UE of claim 59, wherein, when the processor is configured to cause the second UE to perform determining to reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to further perform:
Additionally, LI teaches determining that the second UE at least one of cannot find an available transmission resource during an active time of the DRX configuration scheme or cannot meet a latency requirement during an active time of the DRX configuration scheme.
LI writes, “In some aspects, UE 804 may reject the configuration with reasons such as SL DRX cycle length to be increased or decreased (e.g., a preferred SL DRX cycle length) to align with its other SL DRX configuration(s) or for its power saving or latency specifications, SL DRX on duration to be increased or decreased (e.g., a preferred SL DRX On timer value) for different Tx UEs or data packet sizes, or SL DRX offset to be shifted with overlapping or non-overlapping with its other SL DRX configuration(s) (e.g., a preferred SL DRX Offset value), as examples, and UE 802 may adjust the SL DRX configuration accordingly and reconfigures the SL DRX with adjusted SL DRX configuration” (paragraph 0075).
Regarding claim 66, LI teaches a first user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication network (paragraph 0105; figure 10, communications device: 1000), the first UE comprising:
a memory storing instructions;
LI writes, “In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1012 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor 1004 to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 5-6” (paragraph 0106; figure 10, computer-readable medium/memory: 1012).
and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to perform:
LI writes, “In certain aspects, the computer-readable medium/memory 1012 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by the processor 1004, cause the processor 1004 to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 5-6” (paragraph 0106; figure 10, processor: 1004).
transmitting, to a second UE, discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration information comprising DRX-related parameters for a sidelink communication between the first UE and the second UE or between a pair of source layer-2 ID and destination layer-2 ID;
LI writes, “Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving information regarding at least one sidelink communication using sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) for at least one application or service; determining at least one first sidelink DRX configuration based on the information; transmitting, to at least one second UE, an indication of the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration for the at least one sidelink communication; and receiving, from the at least one second UE, an indication of whether the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration is accepted for the at least one sidelink communication” (paragraph 0007).
and receiving, from the second UE, at least one of acceptance information indicating an acceptance of the DRX configuration information by the second UE or rejection information indicating a rejection of the DRX configuration information by the second UE.
LI writes, “Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication by a first user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: receiving information regarding at least one sidelink communication using sidelink discontinuous reception (DRX) for at least one application or service; determining at least one first sidelink DRX configuration based on the information; transmitting, to at least one second UE, an indication of the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration for the at least one sidelink communication; and receiving, from the at least one second UE, an indication of whether the at least one first sidelink DRX configuration is accepted for the at least one sidelink communication” (paragraph 0007).
Claims 47, 51, and 54 are method claims corresponding to the apparatus claims 59, 63, and 66 that have already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 59, 63, and 66. Claims 47, 51, and 54 are rejected under the same rational as claims 59, 63, and 66.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 48-50, 55-57, and 60-62 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI as applied to claims 47, 54, and 59 above, and further in view of DI GIROLAMO et al. (US 20230014303 A1, hereinafter, "DI GIROLAMO").
Regarding claim 60, LI teaches the second UE of claim 59, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to further perform:
LI fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “determining to reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE;” and “and transmitting, to the first UE, suggested DRX configuration information along with the rejection information.”
However, in analogous art, DI GIROLAMO teaches determining to reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE;
DI GIROLAMO writes, “Note that UE 201 may accept the SL DRX configuration, modify the SL DRX configuration, or reject the SL DRX configuration. For example, this may be to coordinate this SL DRX configuration with other SL DRX configurations that are already enabled in the UE. For the latter two options, UE 201 may provide a cause value to serving cell 205 as to the reason for the modification or rejection. In the case of modification, UE 201 may also provide the SL DRX configuration chosen by UE 201” (paragraph 0228).
and transmitting, to the first UE, suggested DRX configuration information along with the rejection information.
DI GIROLAMO writes, “Note that UE 201 may accept the SL DRX configuration, modify the SL DRX configuration, or reject the SL DRX configuration. For example, this may be to coordinate this SL DRX configuration with other SL DRX configurations that are already enabled in the UE. For the latter two options, UE 201 may provide a cause value to serving cell 205 as to the reason for the modification or rejection. In the case of modification, UE 201 may also provide the SL DRX configuration chosen by UE 201” (paragraph 0228).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of LI to include aspects described by DI GIROLAMO that consists of “Methods, systems, and apparatuses, among other things, as described herein may use 1) A sidelink state model to describe the UE behavior for sidelink DRX operation. The DRX operation tailored to each of the sidelink states; 2) Power savings opportunities during SL operation, in addition to stopping PSCCH monitoring; 3) Various DRX models applicable to the sidelink; 4) SL_DRX operation for the SL UnLinked state; or 5) SL DRX operation for the SL_Linked state.” DI GIROLAMO provides the motivation for modification by indicating a process for suggesting a DRX configuration to a UE and subsequent actions taken by the UE (paragraph 0228).
Regarding claim 61, LI teaches the second UE of claim 59, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to further perform:
LI fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “determining to reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE;” and “and transmitting, to the first UE, a cause value indicating a reason for the rejection along with the rejection information.”
However, in analogous art, DI GIROLAMO teaches determining to reject the DRX configuration information from the first UE;
DI GIROLAMO writes, “Note that UE 201 may accept the SL DRX configuration, modify the SL DRX configuration, or reject the SL DRX configuration. For example, this may be to coordinate this SL DRX configuration with other SL DRX configurations that are already enabled in the UE. For the latter two options, UE 201 may provide a cause value to serving cell 205 as to the reason for the modification or rejection. In the case of modification, UE 201 may also provide the SL DRX configuration chosen by UE 201” (paragraph 0228).
and transmitting, to the first UE, a cause value indicating a reason for the rejection along with the rejection information.
DI GIROLAMO writes, “Note that UE 201 may accept the SL DRX configuration, modify the SL DRX configuration, or reject the SL DRX configuration. For example, this may be to coordinate this SL DRX configuration with other SL DRX configurations that are already enabled in the UE. For the latter two options, UE 201 may provide a cause value to serving cell 205 as to the reason for the modification or rejection. In the case of modification, UE 201 may also provide the SL DRX configuration chosen by UE 201” (paragraph 0228).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of LI to include aspects described by DI GIROLAMO that consists of “Methods, systems, and apparatuses, among other things, as described herein may use 1) A sidelink state model to describe the UE behavior for sidelink DRX operation. The DRX operation tailored to each of the sidelink states; 2) Power savings opportunities during SL operation, in addition to stopping PSCCH monitoring; 3) Various DRX models applicable to the sidelink; 4) SL_DRX operation for the SL UnLinked state; or 5) SL DRX operation for the SL_Linked state.” DI GIROLAMO provides the motivation for modification by indicating a process for suggesting a DRX configuration to a UE and subsequent actions taken by the UE (paragraph 0228).
Regarding claim 62, LI and DI GIROLAMO teach the second UE of claim 61,
Additionally, LI teaches wherein the cause value indicates that the second UE at least one of cannot find an available transmission resource during an active time of the DRX configuration scheme or cannot meet a latency requirement during an active time of the DRX configuration scheme.
LI writes, “In some aspects, UE 804 may reject the configuration with reasons such as SL DRX cycle length to be increased or decreased (e.g., a preferred SL DRX cycle length) to align with its other SL DRX configuration(s) or for its power saving or latency specifications, SL DRX on duration to be increased or decreased (e.g., a preferred SL DRX On timer value) for different Tx UEs or data packet sizes, or SL DRX offset to be shifted with overlapping or non-overlapping with its other SL DRX configuration(s) (e.g., a preferred SL DRX Offset value), as examples, and UE 802 may adjust the SL DRX configuration accordingly and reconfigures the SL DRX with adjusted SL DRX configuration” (paragraph 0075).
Claims 48-50 and 55-57 are method claims corresponding to the apparatus claims 60-62 that have already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claims 60-62. Claims 48-50 and 55-57 are rejected under the same rational as claims 60-62.
Claim(s) 52 and 64 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI as applied to claims 47 and 59 above, and further in view of PAN et al. (US 20210227621 A1, hereinafter, "PAN") and LI, YANHUA (US 20230189145 A1, hereinafter, "LI, YANHUA").
Regarding claim 64, LI teaches the second UE of claim 59, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to further perform:
LI fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “when the second UE is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state: transmitting, to a network, the DRX configuration information from the first UE;” and “and receiving, from the network, a network acceptance of the DRX configuration information.”
However, in analogous art, PAN teaches when the second UE is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state: transmitting, to a network, the DRX configuration information from the first UE;
PAN writes, “The Network may initiate the RRC reconfiguration procedure to a UE in RRC_CONNECTED” (paragraph 0154). PAN adds, “...FIG. 13, which shows an example where UE2's DRX is determined by gNB1 for unicast sidelink communication” (paragraph 0431; figure 13). PAN continues, “More specifically, gNB1 could provide UE1 with the sidelink DRX configuration for UE2 via a RRC message (e.g. RRCReconfiguration)” (paragraph 0433).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of LI to include aspects described by PAN that “relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for network configuring sidelink discontinuous reception in a wireless communication system.” PAN provides the motivation for modification by indicating and illustrating the transmission of a DRX configuration from UE1 to UE2 to gNB2 while in the RRC connected state (paragraph 0431).
LI and PAN fail to explicitly disclose information regarding, “and receiving, from the network, a network acceptance of the DRX configuration information.”
However, in analogous art, LI, YANHUA teaches and receiving, from the network, a network acceptance of the DRX configuration information.
LI, YANHUA writes, “Step S120 includes receiving an effectiveness indication issued for the auxiliary information, where the effectiveness indication is configured to indicate whether the DRX configurations determined from the auxiliary information go into effect” (paragraph 0074; figure 3). LI, YANHUA continues, “For example, the base station may indicate, by issuing the effectiveness indication, to accept or reject the suggestion of the DRX configuration for each DRX group provided by the UE by means of the auxiliary information” (paragraph 0075).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of LI and PAN to include aspects described by LI, YANHUA explaining a method that includes “reporting auxiliary information for at least two discontinuous reception (DRX) groups, where the auxiliary information is configured for a network to determine DRX configurations for the at least two DRX groups.” LI, YANHUA provides the motivation for modification by discussing the base station transmitting an effectiveness indication based on the DRX configuration (paragraph 0228).
Claim 52 is a method claim corresponding to the apparatus claim 64 that has already been rejected above. The applicant’s attention is directed to the rejection of claim 64. Claim 52 is rejected under the same rational as claim 64.
Claim(s) 53, 58, and 65 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LI as applied to claims 47, 54, and 59 above, and further in view of PAN.
Regarding claim 65, LI teaches the second UE of claim 59, wherein, when the processor executes the instructions, the processor is configured to cause the second UE to further perform:
LI fails to explicitly disclose information regarding, “transmitting, to the first UE, at least one of suggested DRX configuration information or a traffic pattern of the second UE prior to receiving the DRX configuration information from the first UE.”
However, in analogous art, PAN teaches transmitting, to the first UE, at least one of suggested DRX configuration information or a traffic pattern of the second UE prior to receiving the DRX configuration information from the first UE.
PAN writes, “The Network may initiate the RRC reconfiguration procedure to a UE in RRC_CONNECTED” (paragraph 0154). PAN adds, “...FIG. 13, which shows an example where UE2's DRX is determined by gNB1 for unicast sidelink communication” (paragraph 0431; figure 13). PAN continues, “More specifically, gNB1 could provide UE1 with the sidelink DRX configuration for UE2 via a RRC message (e.g. RRCReconfiguration)” (paragraph 0433).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the method and invention of LI to include aspects described by PAN that “relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for network configuring sidelink discontinuous reception in a wireless communication system.” PAN provides the motivation for modification by indicating and illustrating the transmission of a DRX configuration from UE1 to UE2 to gNB2 while in the RRC connected state (paragraph 0431).
Claims 1-46 have been canceled by the applicant, respectfully.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/Christopher A. Reyes/Examiner, Art Unit 2475 8/2/2026
/KHALED M KASSIM/supervisory patent examiner, Art Unit 2475
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