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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 18 January 2024 and 30 July 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1 - 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over OPPO, “Discussion on DTX/DRX mechanism”, R1111953, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 #120, Toulouse, France, 04 November 2022 (OPPO) in view of CATT, “Remaining issues on Cell DTX/DRX, R2-2211443, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2#120, Toulouse, France, 04 November 2022 (CATT) and US Patent Application Publication No. 20140301343 (Park et al.).
Regarding claim 1, OPPO discloses: “a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving: first information related to a set of parameters associated with cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) on a cell (Pg. 1; “Section 2 Discussion”: line 3: “Cell DTX/DRX is configured by the gNB via RRC signalling”), and the indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX determining one of: an active period and a non-active period of the cell DTX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DTX, or an active period and a non-active period of the cell DRX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DRX; and one of: receiving channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DTX; or transmitting channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DRX” (Pg. 1, line 27 - Pg. 2, line 1-2: “gNB configures Celi DTX/DRX pattern via RRC reconfiguration. Such Cell DTX/DRX pattern indicated by RRC may contain the Cell DTX/DRX periodicity, the start offset and the duration of active/non-active mode”).
However, OPPO does not clearly disclose the remaining limitations of the claim. To that end CATT, discloses: ”receiving second information related to an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Basically, gNB should configure cell DTX/DRX to UE. Two basic parameters: periodicity and active duration should be mandatory in the RCC configuration. Depends on whether the cell DTX/DRX mechanism can be applied via the RRC signaling alone, the start point of cell DRX/DRX can be included or non-included in the RRC parameters. We prefer to include the start point in the RRC configuration.
Proposal 2: The RRC configuration for cell RTX/DRX should include the; parameters: periodicity, active duration, and start point. For L1/L2 signaling. there are 4 cases:
Case 1: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to activate the configured cell DTX/DRX;
Case 2: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the start point of the celI DTX/DRX period; Case 3: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the: periodicity and/or active duration of the cell DTX/DRX period; Case 4: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to deactivate the configured cell DTX/DRX”). It is respectfully submitted that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine OPPO with the invention of CATT in order to provide indication of activation or deactivation of the cell DTX/RTX (e.g., see CATT @ Lines 1-17).
However, the combination of OPPO and CATT does not clearly disclose the remaining limitations of the claim. To that end, Park et al. discloses: “a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception, wherein the DCI format includes one or more information blocks and wherein the PDCCH reception is according to a common search space ([0006]: “the base station (BS) transmits downlink control information (DCI) in a common search space of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)”); or a radio resource control (RRC) message in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception”. It is respectfully submitted that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine OPPO with the invention of Park et al. in order to provide DCI in a PDCCH (e.g., see Park et al. @ [0006])
With respect to claim 8, OPPO discloses: “a base station (BS) comprising: a transceiver configured to transmit: first information related to a set of parameters associated with cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) on a cell (Pg. 1; “Section 2 Discussion”: line 3: “Cell DTX/DRX is configured by the gNB via RRC signalling”), and the indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX, wherein the indication is provided by: and a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to determine one of: an active period and a non-active period of the cell DTX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DTX, or an active period and a non-active period of the cell DRX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DRX, wherein the transceiver is further configured to one of:transmit channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DTX; or receive channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DRX”.
(Pg. 1, line 27 - Pg. 2, line 1-2: “gNB configures Celi DTX/DRX pattern via RRC reconfiguration. Such Cell DTX/DRX pattern indicated by RRC may contain the Cell DTX/DRX periodicity, the start offset and the duration of active/non-active mode”).
In addition, CATT, discloses: a transceiver configured to transmit: second information related to an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Basically, gNB should configure cell DTX/DRX to UE. Two basic parameters: periodicity and active duration should be mandatory in the RCC configuration. Depends on whether the cell DTX/DRX mechanism can be applied via the RRC signaling alone, the start point of cell DRX/DRX can be included or non-included in the RRC parameters. We prefer to include the start point in the RRC configuration.
Proposal 2: The RRC configuration for cell RTX/DRX should include the; parameters: periodicity, active duration, and start point. For L1/L2 signaling. there are 4 cases:
Case 1: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to activate the configured cell DTX/DRX;
Case 2: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the start point of the celI DTX/DRX period; Case 3: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the: periodicity and/or active duration of the cell DTX/DRX period; Case 4: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to deactivate the configured cell DTX/DRX”).
Further, Park et al. discloses: “a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission, wherein the DCI format includes one or more information blocks and wherein the PDCCH transmission is according to a common search space ([0006]: “the base station (BS) transmits downlink control information (DCI) in a common search space of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)”); or a radio resource control (RRC) message in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission”.
Regarding claim 15, OPPO discloses: “a user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver configured to receive: first information related to a set of parameters associated with cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) on a cell (Pg. 1; “Section 2 Discussion”: line 3: “Cell DTX/DRX is configured by the gNB via RRC signalling”), and the indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX, wherein the indication is provided by: a processor operably coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to determine one of: an active period and a non-active period of the cell DTX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DTX, or an active period and a non-active period of the cell DRX based on the indication for activation or deactivation of cell DRX, wherein the transceiver is further configured to one of: receive channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DTX; or transmit channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and non- active periods of the cell DRX” (Pg. 1, line 27 - Pg. 2, line 1-2: “gNB configures Celi DTX/DRX pattern via RRC reconfiguration. Such Cell DTX/DRX pattern indicated by RRC may contain the Cell DTX/DRX periodicity, the start offset and the duration of active/non-active mode”).
In addition, CATT, discloses: “a transceiver configured to receive: second information related to an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Basically, gNB should configure cell DTX/DRX to UE. Two basic parameters: periodicity and active duration should be mandatory in the RCC configuration. Depends on whether the cell DTX/DRX mechanism can be applied via the RRC signaling alone, the start point of cell DRX/DRX can be included or non-included in the RRC parameters. We prefer to include the start point in the RRC configuration.
Proposal 2: The RRC configuration for cell RTX/DRX should include the; parameters: periodicity, active duration, and start point. For L1/L2 signaling. there are 4 cases:
Case 1: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to activate the configured cell DTX/DRX;
Case 2: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the start point of the celI DTX/DRX period; Case 3: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to modify the: periodicity and/or active duration of the cell DTX/DRX period; Case 4: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to deactivate the configured cell DTX/DRX”).
Further, Park et al. discloses: “a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) reception, wherein the DCI format includes one or more information blocks and wherein the PDCCH reception is according to a common search space ([0006]: “the base station (BS) transmits downlink control information (DCI) in a common search space of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)”); or a radio resource control (RRC) message in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception”.
With respect to claims 2, 9 and 16, CATT discloses: “the first information indicates that the set of parameters are for the cell DTX only, the cell DRX only, or both the cell DTX and cell DRX” (Pg. 3, Section 2-3, Proposal 6: “Cell DTX and DRX should be configured jointly in a single configuration”).
Regarding claims 3, 10 and 17, CATT discloses: “the set of parameters and the indication for activation or deactivation apply to both an uplink (UL) carrier and a secondary UL (SUL) carrier when the cell includes the SUL carrier” information related to an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Basically, gNB should configure cell DTX/DRX to UE. Two basic parameters: periodicity and active duration should be mandatory in the RCC configuration. Depends on whether the cell DTX/DRX mechanism can be applied via the RRC signaling alone, the start point of cell DRX/DRX can be included or non-included in the RRC parameters. We prefer to include the start point in the RRC configuration..
With respect to claims 4, 11 and 18, CATT discloses: “the second information indicates activation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX according to the set of parameters upon reception of the set of parameters in the RRC message” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Basically, gNB should configure cell DTX/DRX to UE. Two basic parameters: periodicity and active duration should be mandatory in the RCC configuration”; “Case 1: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to activate the configured cell DTX/DRX; Case 4: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to deactivate the configured cell DTX/DRX”).
Regarding claims 5, 12 and 19, CATT discloses: “the indication is provided by the DCI format, and the second information provides a starting bit position of an information block of the DCI format for the UE for the cell” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Case 2: the Ll/1.2 signalling can be used to modify the start point of the cell DTX/DRX period”).
With respect to claims 6, 13 and 20, CATT discloses: “the indication is provided by the DCI format, a ‘0’ value for a bit of a cell DTX or cell DRX indication field in an information block of the DCI format indicates deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX , and a ‘1’ value for the bit of the cell DTX or cell DRX indication field in an information block of the DCI format indicates activation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Figure 1: “The examples of cell DTX/DRX mechanism”; Pg. 2, Section 2.2; Lines 1-17: “Case 1: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to activate the configured cell DTX/DRX; Case 4: the L1/L2 signalling can be used to deactivate the configured cell DTX/DRX”).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, OPPO discloses: the indication is provided by the DCI format, and the DCI format provides: an indication to extend a current active period or non-active period of the cell DTX or the cell DRX, or an indication to skip the current active period or non-active period of the cell DTX or the cell DRX” (Pg. 1, line 27 - Pg. 2, line 1-2: “gNB configures Celi DTX/DRX pattern via RRC reconfiguration. Such Cell DTX/DRX pattern indicated by RRC may contain the Cell DTX/DRX periodicity, the start offset and the duration of active/non-active mode”).
Conclusion
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/Myron Wyche/ 25 December 2025
Primary Examiner AU2644