CTNF 18/405,856 CTNF 95020 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Applicant’s amendment filed 2/18/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 2-7, 14-23, 27-29, 32, and 33 are withdrawn. Claims 26 and 38 are amended. Priority The present application does not claim for foreign priority. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 4/24/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner. Election/Restriction 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 8-13, 30, and 31 in the reply filed on 2/18/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-38 are pending, of which claims 2-7, 14-23, 27-29, 32, and 33 are withdrawn from consideration. Claims 1, 8-13, 24-26, 30, 31, and 34-38 are examined on the merits. Claim Objections Claims 8-13, 25, 30, 31, 34, and 36 are objected because of the following informalities: In claims 8-13, 25, 30, 31, 34, and 36, it is suggested to add “wherein” to read “The apparatus of claim X, wherein …” to provide a clear way to state additional limitation(s) that further defines element(s) already introduced in the parent claim. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-12-aia AIA (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. 07-15-03-aia AIA Claim s 1, 26, 37, and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhou et al. (US 2026/0107344 A1, hereinafter Zhou ) claiming benefit to and fully-supported by US provisional applications 63/531,100 filed on Aug. 7, 2023 . Regarding claim 1: Zhou teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, UE2) , comprising: one or more memories (see, Zhou: Fig. 15, Memory 1524 of Wireless Device 1502) ; and one or more processors (see, Zhou: Fig. 15, Processing System 1518 of Wireless Device 1502) coupled with the one or more memories and configured to cause the UE to: receive one or more control messages that include information associated with a detection of an activated cell discontinuous operation or a deactivated cell discontinuous operation (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, “RRC config. cell DTX” ; para. [0410], “different wireless devices may arrive/enter/access a cell at a same time or different time. A first wireless device may receive RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of a cell DTX/DRX configuration of a cell earlier than the second wireless device. Each wireless device may be configured (separately) by the base station with one or more RRC messages comprising first configuration parameters of the cell and second configuration parameters of a cell DTX/DRX configuration for the cell.” , supports are found in Fig. 43; para. [0409] of 63/531,100.) , the activated cell discontinuous operation associated with a cycle that includes a plurality of active periods and a plurality of non-active periods, the information to differentiate a first communication during the plurality of active periods from a second communication outside of the plurality of active periods (see, Zhou: para. [0329], “When a cell DTX configuration is configured (and activated if an explicit activation command is needed) for a cell, in a first time duration of the cell DTX configuration (e.g., in a first power state/mode, in a cell DTX Active Time, in a cell DTX on duration, etc.), the base station may transmit periodic downlink signals (e.g., SIBs/SSBs/CSI-RSs/TRSs), downlink control channels (PDCCH), downlink shared channels (PDSCH), etc., as it does in normal state for the cell (e.g., when the Cell DTX configuration is not configured as in legacy system). In a second time duration of the cell DTX configuration (e.g., in a second power state/mode, in a cell DTX inactive/non-active time, in a cell DTX off duration, etc.), the base station may reduce transmission power/bandwidth/beam of the periodic downlink signals (e.g., CSI-RSs), stop transmission of the periodic downlink signals (e.g., CSI-RSs), keep transmitting SSBs, and/or stop transmission of PDCCHs/PDSCHs (e.g., SPS PDSCHs and/or dynamic scheduled PDSCHs) via the cell. The wireless device may stop receiving the periodic downlink signals and the PDCCHs/PDSCHs via the cell. The base station may perform the cell DTX operation (for each DTX cycle) on the cell periodically, e.g., by configuring a periodicity of a DTX cycle comprising the first time duration and/or the second time duration.” , support is found in para. [0328] of 63/531,100.) ; and indicate, based at least in part on the detection, a failure to receive an activation message or a deactivation message associated with a cell discontinuous operation (see, Zhou: Fig. 43 and para. [0412], “the second wireless device may not receive the group common DCI comprising the activation/deactivation indication of the cell DTX/DRX configuration for the cell, e.g., in a measurement gap, in a sleep/power saving mode/state, or when the second wireless device drops PDCCH monitoring for the group common DCI due to the lower priority of the PDCCH monitoring when PDCCH occasion(s) for the group common DCI overlap with other PDCCH occasions with higher priorities. In response to not receiving the group common DCI, the second wireless device may transmit to the base station an uplink signal (e.g., a cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation state request or a cell DTX/DRX state request) requesting the (current and/or activation/deactivation) state of the cell DTX/DRX configuration of the cell.” , supports are found in Fig. 43; para. [0411] of 63/531,100.) . Regarding claim 26: Zhou teaches an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, gNB) , comprising: one or more memories (see, Zhou: Fig. 15, Memory 1514 of Base Station 1504) ; and one or more processors (see, Zhou: Fig. 15, Processing System 1508 of Base Station 1504) coupled with the one or more memories and configured to cause the network entity to: output one or more control messages that include information associated with a detection of an activated cell discontinuous operation or a deactivated cell discontinuous operation (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, “RRC config. cell DTX” ; para. [0410], “different wireless devices may arrive/enter/access a cell at a same time or different time. A first wireless device may receive RRC messages comprising configuration parameters of a cell DTX/DRX configuration of a cell earlier than the second wireless device. Each wireless device may be configured (separately) by the base station with one or more RRC messages comprising first configuration parameters of the cell and second configuration parameters of a cell DTX/DRX configuration for the cell.” , supports are found in Fig. 43; para. [0409] of 63/531,100.) , the activated cell discontinuous operation associated with a cycle that includes a plurality of active periods and a plurality of non-active periods, the information to differentiate a first communication during the plurality of active periods from a second communication outside of the plurality of active periods (see, Zhou: para. [0329], “When a cell DTX configuration is configured (and activated if an explicit activation command is needed) for a cell, in a first time duration of the cell DTX configuration (e.g., in a first power state/mode, in a cell DTX Active Time, in a cell DTX on duration, etc.), the base station may transmit periodic downlink signals (e.g., SIBs/SSBs/CSI-RSs/TRSs), downlink control channels (PDCCH), downlink shared channels (PDSCH), etc., as it does in normal state for the cell (e.g., when the Cell DTX configuration is not configured as in legacy system). In a second time duration of the cell DTX configuration (e.g., in a second power state/mode, in a cell DTX inactive/non-active time, in a cell DTX off duration, etc.), the base station may reduce transmission power/bandwidth/beam of the periodic downlink signals (e.g., CSI-RSs), stop transmission of the periodic downlink signals (e.g., CSI-RSs), keep transmitting SSBs, and/or stop transmission of PDCCHs/PDSCHs (e.g., SPS PDSCHs and/or dynamic scheduled PDSCHs) via the cell. The wireless device may stop receiving the periodic downlink signals and the PDCCHs/PDSCHs via the cell. The base station may perform the cell DTX operation (for each DTX cycle) on the cell periodically, e.g., by configuring a periodicity of a DTX cycle comprising the first time duration and/or the second time duration.” , support is found in para. [0328] of 63/531,100.) ; output an activation message or a deactivation message associated with a cell discontinuous operation (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, “GC DCI activating cell DTX config.” ; para. [0411], “the first wireless device may receive a group common DCI comprising an activation/deactivation indication of the cell DTX/DRX configuration for the cell, after the first wireless device receives the RRC messages. The first wireless device may activate the cell DTX/DRX configuration, e.g., based on example embodiments of FIG. 34 and/or FIG. 35.” ; para. [0412], “the second wireless device may not receive the group common DCI comprising the activation/deactivation indication of the cell DTX/DRX configuration for the cell, e.g., in a measurement gap, in a sleep/power saving mode/state, or when the second wireless device drops PDCCH monitoring for the group common DCI due to the lower priority of the PDCCH monitoring when PDCCH occasion(s) for the group common DCI overlap with other PDCCH occasions with higher priorities.” , supports are found in Fig. 43; para. [0410-0411] of 63/531,100.) ; and communicate with one or more user equipments (UEs) (see, Zhou: Fig. 43, UE1 and UE2) based at least in part on the output of the activation message or the deactivation message and the one or more control messages (see, Zhou: Fig. 3 and para. [0419], “if a wireless device (the first wireless device or the second wireless device) does not receive a group common DCI indicating a deactivation of the cell DTX/DRX configuration of a cell, the wireless device may transmit a cell DTX/DRX state request, to the base station, asking/requesting a current state of the cell DTX/DRX configuration. The base station may transmit a cell DTX/DRX state indication indicating the deactivation state of the cell DTX/DRX, corresponding to the cell DTX/DRX state request. The wireless device, in response to receiving the cell DTX/DRX state indication, may determine that the cell DTX/DRX is in the deactivated state.” Also, see para. [0329-0330] for communication between the gNB and the UEs based on a cell DTX configuration. Supports are found in Fig. 43; para. [0418] [0328-0329] of 63/531,100.) . Regarding claim 37: Claim 37 recites the method performed by the user equipment (UE) of claim 1, and contains no additional limitations. Therefore, claim 37 is rejected by applying the similar rationale used to reject claim 1 above. Regarding claim 38: Claim 38 recites the method performed by the network entity of claim 26, and contains no additional limitations. Therefore, claim 38 is rejected by applying the similar rationale used to reject claim 26 above . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 8-13, 24, 25, 30, 31, and 34-36 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 and any intervening claims. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JI-HAE YEA whose telephone number is (571) 270-3310. The examiner can normally be reached on MON-FRI, 7am-3pm, ET. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SUJOY K KUNDU can be reached on (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JI-HAE YEA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471 Application/Control Number: 18/405,856 Page 2 Art Unit: 2471
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