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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 received on 1/15/2024 have been examined, of which claims 1, 8 and 15 are independent.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 6, 13 and 20 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 6, 13 and 20 recite “the ID in the indication”. The limitation is preceded by “an indication of an ID” in respective claim, and “an indication” in respective parent claim. It is noted that in broadest reasonable interpretation in light of specification, the term “an indication of ID” does not require the ID to be in the indication. Thus, it is unclear, which indication is further limited.
Additionally, claim 20 recites “include the indication in the LP-WUS”, preceded by two recitations of “an indication”. It is unclear, which limitation is further limited.
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) 1, 4-5, 7-8, 11-12, 14-15, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al. (US 20240196327)
Regarding claim 1, Li teaches a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system (UE/terminal 11 in wireless communication system, fig 1; fig 4, 7, 10), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (main communication module, fig 4; para 125: the terminal includes two modules, a first module being a main communication module for sending and receiving mobile communication data; RF unit and network module, fig 10);
a low-power receiver (LR) (low power receiving module, fig 4, para 125; RF unit and network module, fig 10) configured to receive a low-power wake up signal (LP-WUS) (para 125: the terminal includes two modules, a second module being a low-power receiving module for receiving a wake-up signal, the WUS (wake up signal) is a low power wake-up signal; step 201, fig 2); and
a processor (processor 1010, fig 10) operably coupled to the transceiver and the LR (processor 1010, fig 10 coupled to network module and RF unit; para 249: the processor 1010 is configured to perform detection for a wake-up signal and determine a monitoring behavior for target channel), the processor configured to determine, based on the LP-WUS, an indication on whether to trigger the transceiver to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (step 203, fig 2; para 54-55: step 203: the terminal determines a monitoring behavior for a target channel based on the detection of the wake-up signal, where the target channel includes at least one of the following: physical downlink control channel PDCCH; para 125: in a case that the low-power receiving module detects a wake-up signal sent by a transmitter, it triggers wake-up of the main communication module),
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the PDCCH based on the indication (PDCCH after WUS in fig 3; para 124-125: during a duration of PDCCH monitoring triggered by the detected wake-up signal, the terminal receives a PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, in a case that the low-power receiving module detects a wake-up signal sent by a transmitter, it triggers wake-up of the main communication module, and the main communication module enters a working state (for example, enters the PDCCH monitoring duration) and can receive and send data).
Regarding claim 8, Li teaches a method of a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system (UE/terminal 11 in wireless communication system, fig 1; terminal performing monitoring method, fig 2), the method comprising:
receiving a low-power wake up signal (LP-WUS) using a low-power receiver (LR) (para 125: the terminal includes two modules, a second module being a low-power receiving module for receiving a wake-up signal, the WUS (wake up signal) is a low power wake-up signal; step 201, fig 2);
determining, based on the LP-WUS, an indication on whether to trigger a transceiver of the UE to receive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (step 203, fig 2; para 54-55: step 203: the terminal determines a monitoring behavior for a target channel based on the detection of the wake-up signal, where the target channel includes at least one of the following: physical downlink control channel PDCCH; para 125: in a case that the low-power receiving module detects a wake-up signal sent by a transmitter, it triggers wake-up of the main communication module); and
receiving, using the transceiver, the PDCCH based on the indication (PDCCH after WUS in fig 3; para 124-125: during a duration of PDCCH monitoring triggered by the detected wake-up signal, the terminal receives a PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH, in a case that the low-power receiving module detects a wake-up signal sent by a transmitter, it triggers wake-up of the main communication module, and the main communication module enters a working state (for example, enters the PDCCH monitoring duration) and can receive and send data; main communication module, fig 4 is considered as transceiver).
Regarding claim 15, Li teaches a base station (BS) in a wireless communication system (network side device 12 in wireless communication system, fig 1; network side device, fig 11, performing method of fig 6), the BS comprising:
a processor (processor 114, fig 11) operably configured to:
determine an indication on whether a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is to be received by a user equipment (UE) (para 135-138: the wake-up signal configuration information includes at least one of the following: a wake-up signal monitoring occasion, the first duration, a first timer, where a length of the first timer is equal to a length of the first duration, and the terminal performs a behavior of monitoring for the wake-up signal and monitoring on a target channel during running of the first timer; abstract: the target channel includes physical downlink control channel PDCCH; determining wake up signal configuration for the target PDCCH channel monitoring as shown in fig 3 and 5 is determination that UE is to monitor and receive the PDCCH); and
determine to include the indication in a low-power wake up signal (LP-WUS) (fig 6; para 132: step 601: A network-side device configures wake-up signal configuration information for a terminal; para 125: WUS is low power wake up signal); and
a transceiver operably coupled to the processor (RF apparatus 112, coupled to processor via bus interface as in fig 11), the transceiver configured to:
transmit the LP-WUS (step 602, fig 6; para 146: the network-side device transmits the wake-up signal and the wake-up signal indicates monitoring on a target channel; para 125: WUS is low power wake up signal); and
transmit the PDCCH when the indication in the LP-WUS indicates the PDCCH is to be received by the UE (fig 3 shows PDCCH+PDSCH during the PDCCH monitoring duration, which is after the WUS is received in the 8th WUS-MO; PDCCH is downlink control channel transmitted by base station to the terminal).
Regarding claim 4, 11 and 18, Li further teaches determining an application delay with respect to a reception (or transmission) of the LP-WUS (para 123: as shown in FIG. 3, on the 8th WUS MO, the terminal detects a wake-up signal, and then starts PDCCH monitoring. There is a specific application delay between reception of the WUS and a start position of PDCCH monitoring, and the application delay may be configured by the network side or specified by the protocol), and determining that the reception (or transmission) of the PDCCH is after the application delay (as shown in fig 3, the PDCCH monitoring duration starts after a delay when the WUS is detected).
Regarding claim 5 and 12, Li further teaches determining a set of signals for radio resource management (RRM) before the application delay; and determining not to measure the set of signals by the UE (as shown in fig 3, the PDCCH resources are not monitored (6 of PDCCH MO on the left side) prior to WUS signal detection at 8th WUS-MO and application delay; para 125 describes that the main communication module stays in sleep mode and not monitoring PDCCH until triggered by wake up signal at low power receiving module).
Regarding claim 7 and 14, Li further teaches triggering the transceiver to receive the PDCCH when the LR does not receive the LP-WUS for K consecutive times, where K is a positive integer that is provided by a higher layer parameter (para 73-78: the step 202 includes: in a case that the terminal detects a wake-up signal and the wake-up signal indicates a first time interval, the terminal performs monitoring for the target channel after the ending of the first time interval, and/or the terminal skips the monitoring for the target channel within the first time interval, the wake-up signal indicates that monitoring for the target channel starts after the first time interval (that is, a wake-up time is indirectly indicated). If the first time interval is 5 ms, the terminal does not perform monitoring for the target channel within the 5 ms, but performs monitoring for the target channel after the 5 ms; further, the terminal does not perform detection for the wake-up signal within the 5 ms).
Regarding claim 19, Li further teaches wherein: the processor is further configured to determine a set of signals for radio resource management (RRM) before the application delay, and the set of signals are not measured by the UE (as shown in fig 3, the PDCCH resources are not monitored (6 of PDCCH MO on the left side) prior to WUS signal detection at 8th WUS-MO and application delay; para 125 describes that the main communication module stays in sleep mode and not monitoring PDCCH until triggered by wake up signal at low power receiving module).
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.
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 2-3, 9-10, 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20240196327) in view of Elkotby et al. (US 20240284456)
Regarding claim 2, 9 and 16, Li teaches the limitations of the parent claim. Li teaches the DRX cycle and active time, but fails to teach PDCCH monitoring relative to RRC states. Elkotby is directed to RRC state paging support using ultra-low power receiver.
Elkotby further teaches wherein the PDCCH is associated with paging when the UE is in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state (fig 11 shows that UE is in ULP idle mode (which is shown in fig 4 as ULP RRC idle mode and described in para 130), detects paging indication LP-WUS in step 1101 and the WTRU monitors DL PDCCH for paging DCI in step 1104). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine low power wake up signal monitoring as taught by Li with low power wake up signaling for paging UE in RRC mode as taught by Elkotby for the benefit of improving device's energy efficiency as taught by Elkotby in para 134.
Regarding claim 3, 10 and 17, Li further teaches wherein the PDCCH is monitored (or to be received) in an active period of a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle (step 203, fig 2; fig 3, 5; para 59: the PDCCH monitoring time period configured by the network-side device includes: DRX active time).
Li fails to teach the fails to teach PDCCH monitoring relative to RRC states.
Elkotby further teaches wherein the PDCCH is monitored (or to be received) in an active period of a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state (a WTRU must monitor the Paging Occasions (POs) to determine presence of network events, initiate RRC Connection Establishment/Resume procedure, and transition to RRC Connected state. The WTRU may use Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in order to reduce power consumption). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine low power wake up signal monitoring as taught by Li with low power wake up signaling for paging UE in RRC mode as taught by Elkotby for the benefit of improving device's energy efficiency as taught by Elkotby in para 134.
Claims 6, 13, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 20240196327) in view of TCL (R1-2211068: L1 signal design and procedure for low power WUS; NPL # 2 in IDS 6/11/2024)
Regarding claim 6 and 13, Li teaches the limitations of the parent claim. Li teaches the low power WUS transmission and configuration related to timing, but does not teach the UE identification within the WUS. TCL is similarly directed low power wake up signal design and procedure.
TCL further teaches to determine, based on the LP-WUS, an indication of an identity (ID), and the transceiver is triggered to receive (or receiving) the PDCCH when an ID of the UE matches the ID in the indication (fig 2 shows UE-ID in the payload of LP-WUS signal; fig 5a-5b; section 3.2: configured LP-WUS requires UE ID according to the UEs specific signal design of LP-WUS, and it can be used to trigger the main radio of UE to inform the UE to monitor the target paging PDCCH as shown in the Figure 5b). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine low power wake up signal monitoring as taught by Li with UE ID included in the LP-WUS as taught by TCL for the benefit of reducing main radio on time and latency as taught by TCL in section 3.2 para 1.
Regarding claim 20, Li teaches the LP-WUS transmission from network side device (base station) and its structural elements including processor and transceiver.
Li fails to teach, but TCL further teaches (gNB in fig 5a-5b) to: determine an indication of an identity (ID) (section 2.2: UE specific based signal design of LP-WUS; fig 2); and
determine to include the indication in the LP-WUS (fig 2 shows UE-ID in the payload of LP-WUS signal); and
to transmit the PDCCH when an ID of the UE matches the ID in the indication (section 3.2: configured LP-WUS requires UE ID according to the UEs specific signal design of LP-WUS, and it can be used to trigger the main radio of UE to inform the UE to monitor the target paging PDCCH as shown in the Figure 5b). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine low power wake up signal monitoring as taught by Li with UE ID included in the LP-WUS as taught by TCL for the benefit of reducing main radio on time and latency as taught by TCL in section 3.2 para 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RINA C PANCHOLI whose telephone number is (571)272-2679. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-4pm.
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/RINA C PANCHOLI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477 12/28/2025
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