DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to claims filed on 9/22/2023.
Claims 1-20 are pending for examination.
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 statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 4/12/2024 and 6/12/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for domestic benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e), 120, or 121 for parent Application No 63/409,627 filed on 9/23/2022.
Drawings
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s submission of drawings received on 9/22/2023. These drawings are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claim 1-20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Soldati et al. (US 20250081101 A1; hereinafter Soldati), and further in view of Wang et al. (US 20220407664 A1; hereinafter Wang).
Regarding Claim 1, Soldati discloses:
A method comprising:
receiving, by a first base station and from a second base station, at least one request message comprising a request for a prediction of an energy consumption metric value [(Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; Fig. 3 and 10)
[0065] Accordingly, in one aspect there is provided a method performed by a first network node for coordinating with a second network node with respect to a UE, energy state assistance information, UE-ESAI, configuration for a UE or a group of UEs currently being served by the first network node. The method includes generating a first coordination message. The method also includes transmitting the first coordination message to the second network node. The first coordination message comprises information related to configuring the UE or the group of UEs to store and/or report UE-ESAI, and the UE-ESAI comprises a measured or estimated first energy metric.
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sending, by the first base station and to the second base station, at least one message comprising:
a first prediction of the energy consumption metric value [(Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12)
[0065] Accordingly, in one aspect there is provided a method performed by a first network node for coordinating with a second network node with respect to a UE, energy state assistance information, UE-ESAI, configuration for a UE or a group of UEs currently being served by the first network node. The method includes generating a first coordination message. The method also includes transmitting the first coordination message to the second network node. The first coordination message comprises information related to configuring the UE or the group of UEs to store and/or report UE-ESAI, and the UE-ESAI comprises a measured or estimated first energy metric.
[0069] For instance, by configuring the UE to measure its energy consumption during a mobility event, it enables selecting the best type of handover to use (e.g. traditional handover, conditional handover, dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover), the best candidate for handover (e.g. at cell level, at carrier frequency level) and the optimal configuration of handover related parameters (e.g. thresholds, offset, time-to-trigger) also in terms of energy consumption at the device. For example, in case of inter-frequency mobility, selecting one target carrier in case the energy consumption for mobility could result in a higher energy consumption compared to handing over the device towards another carrier (e.g. depending of the Frequency Ranges to which the different targets belong to). The target network node can also, in another embodiment, activate a capacity cell in case the UE energy consumed due to handovers would be large without the possibility of being served by the capacity cell. Or in another embodiment, changing the cell and/or beam shapes in one of source/target node can be done based on the energy consumption feedback. For NR, the cell shapes can be altered by increasing the number of SSB beams to improve coverage. The embodiments also enable the network to estimate how costly a ping-pong handover can be at the device in terms of energy consumption. This can be used, for example, to select optimal setting for the mobility events (e.g. thresholds, offsets, and time to triggers). Another advantage is that the embodiments enable the network node to optimize one or more network configurations for improving energy efficiency of a network node or a cluster of network nodes (i.e., network-level optimization).
[0126] In some embodiments, the method also includes the first network node receiving a second coordination message transmitted by the second network node associated with at least a UE connected to/served by the first network node, the second coordination message comprising configuration information related to configuring the UE to store and/or report UE-ESAI.
[0127] In some embodiments, the method also includes the first network node determining a UE-ESAI configuration for at least one UE. A UE-ESAI configuration is a set of information that comprises configuration information related to configuring the UE(s) to store and/or report UE-ESAI (e.g., the UE-ESAI configuration may contain configuration information specifying the type or types of UE-ESAI that the UE should store and report). In some embodiments, the first network node determines the UE-ESAI configuration based also on the second coordination message.
[0151] In one embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 11, the source node and the target node may reuse the handover preparation procedure to coordinate the configuration for a UE for storing and/or reporting UE-ESAI. In this example, the source node may transmit the first coordination message as part of a HANDOVER (HO) REQUEST message associated with at least a UE connected to the first network node. Similarly, the first network node may receive the second coordination message as part of the HANDOVER (HO) RESPONSE message associated with the UE or to the group of UEs. In addition, the source node may transmit a third coordination message to the source node separately from the signaling used for the Handover preparation procedure or as an extension of the handover preparation procedure.
[0152] In one embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 12, the source node and the target node may partly reuse the handover preparation procedure to coordinate the configuration for a UE for storing and/or reporting UE-ESAI. In this example, the source node initiates the handover preparation procedure by transmitting the HANDOVER REQUEST message to the target node. The source node may then receive a HANDOVER RESPONSE message transmitted by the target node comprising the second coordination message. Thereby, the second network node may in this case initiate the coordination procedure with the first network node for configuring at least a UE to store and/or report UE-ESAI using the HANDOVER RESPONSE message.
[0153] In this case, the source node may transmit the first coordination message to the target node in response to the second coordination message, using a dedicated signaling not being part of the handover preparation procedure or a signaling extension of the handover preparation procedure. In this case, the first coordination message may, for instance, acknowledge a request of the target node to configure the UE or the group of UEs to store and/or report UE-ESAI.
[0204] In some embodiments, the fifth coordination message comprises multiple UE-ESAI reports from one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the fifth coordination message comprise combined and/or aggregated and/or processed information associated with one or multiple UE-ESAI reports. In this case, fifth coordination message may comprise statistical measurements, such as standard average, deviation, maximum and minimum values for at least a type of energy metric comprised in the UE-ESAI report(s) received from one or more UEs.
[0207] In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI that the first network node and/or the second network node may configure a UE to store and/or report may comprise one or more energy metrics (e.g., measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy metrics of the UE, such as power/energy consumption, power/energy efficiency, etc.). The UE may predict/estimate an energy metric based on energy estimation model to which the UE has access (e.g., the model may be provided to the UE by a network node). For instance, inputs to the model may include the amount of data in the UE's transmit buffer and the transmit power, and based on this input information and the model, the UE can estimate the amount of energy it will consume to clear its buffer. In some embodiments, each energy metric is associated with one or more operations, functions, configurations, such as the following:
[0208] Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) configuration
[0209] One or more MIMO transmission mode
[0210] MIMO configuration, such as maximum number of layer
[0211] Radio measurements, such as RRM measurements configuration
[0212] Carrier aggregation configuration .
[0213] Dual connectivity configuration
[0214] Quality of service (QoS) configuration
[0215] Quality of experience (QoE) configuration.
[0601] In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI comprises one or more measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics associated to the operation of the user device when connected with the first network node or camping in a radio cell controlled by the first network node. In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI comprises one or more measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics associated to the operation of the user device when connected with the second network node or camping in a radio cell controlled by the second network node. In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI may comprise measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics of the user device, such as power/energy consumption, power/energy efficiency, etc., in association to one or more network configurations including one or more of:
[0602] TDD pattern configurations
[0603] Spectrum sharing configuration (e.g., between NR and LTE)
[0604] Configuration of unlicensed spectrum (e.g., license assisted access for LTE)
[0605] Downlink reference signals configuration, such as CRS configuration, SSB beams configurations, discovery reference signal configurations, etc.
[0606] Number of configured/available component carriers at a network node
[0607] Transmission mode configured in one or more radio cells of a network node
[0608] MIMO transmission mode
[0609] Bandwidth configuration
[0610] Downlink transmission power configuration
[0611] Cell sleeping mode
[0612] Entry and/or exit conditions related to mobility events configured for at least a radio cell and/or a SSB coverage area of a network node, e.g. threshold/offset settings, time to trigger settings, and/or hysteresis settings.
]
a second prediction of the energy consumption metric value [(Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12)]
[0069] For instance, by configuring the UE to measure its energy consumption during a mobility event, it enables selecting the best type of handover to use (e.g. traditional handover, conditional handover, dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover), the best candidate for handover (e.g. at cell level, at carrier frequency level) and the optimal configuration of handover related parameters (e.g. thresholds, offset, time-to-trigger) also in terms of energy consumption at the device. For example, in case of inter-frequency mobility, selecting one target carrier in case the energy consumption for mobility could result in a higher energy consumption compared to handing over the device towards another carrier (e.g. depending of the Frequency Ranges to which the different targets belong to). The target network node can also, in another embodiment, activate a capacity cell in case the UE energy consumed due to handovers would be large without the possibility of being served by the capacity cell. Or in another embodiment, changing the cell and/or beam shapes in one of source/target node can be done based on the energy consumption feedback. For NR, the cell shapes can be altered by increasing the number of SSB beams to improve coverage. The embodiments also enable the network to estimate how costly a ping-pong handover can be at the device in terms of energy consumption. This can be used, for example, to select optimal setting for the mobility events (e.g. thresholds, offsets, and time to triggers). Another advantage is that the embodiments enable the network node to optimize one or more network configurations for improving energy efficiency of a network node or a cluster of network nodes (i.e., network-level optimization).
[0601] In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI comprises one or more measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics associated to the operation of the user device when connected with the first network node or camping in a radio cell controlled by the first network node. In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI comprises one or more measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics associated to the operation of the user device when connected with the second network node or camping in a radio cell controlled by the second network node. In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI may comprise measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy related metrics of the user device, such as power/energy consumption, power/energy efficiency, etc., in association to one or more network configurations including one or more of:
[0602] TDD pattern configurations
[0603] Spectrum sharing configuration (e.g., between NR and LTE)
[0604] Configuration of unlicensed spectrum (e.g., license assisted access for LTE)
[0605] Downlink reference signals configuration, such as CRS configuration, SSB beams configurations, discovery reference signal configurations, etc.
[0606] Number of configured/available component carriers at a network node
[0607] Transmission mode configured in one or more radio cells of a network node
[0608] MIMO transmission mode
[0609] Bandwidth configuration
[0610] Downlink transmission power configuration
[0611] Cell sleeping mode
[0612] Entry and/or exit conditions related to mobility events configured for at least a radio cell and/or a SSB coverage area of a network node, e.g. threshold/offset settings, time to trigger settings, and/or hysteresis settings.
]
Soldati fails to explicitly disclose:
receiving, by a first base station and from a second base station, at least one request message comprising a request for a prediction of an energy consumption metric value of the first base station; and
sending, by the first base station and to the second base station, at least one message comprising:
a first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on a first quantity of handovers between the first base station and at least one other base station; and
a second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on a second quantity of handovers between the first base station and the at least one other base station.
However Wang, analogous art that teaches energy saving in a wireless communication system, does disclose:
receiving, by a first base station and from a second base station, at least one request message comprising a request for a prediction of an energy consumption metric value of the first base station; and [(Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
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[0084] 4. Reporting of the Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, from E2 node(s) to near-RT RIC (e.g., cell throughput, instantaneous energy consumption, number of handovers) through E2 interface.
[0089] In an embodiment, a new xApp is provided, i.e. the energy saving xApp 303 in Near-RT RIC 302. The xApp 303 uses cell statistics collected from non-RT RIC 301a, such as load statistics, and calculates the energy consumption of the E2 node(s) it connects to. It then makes a decision, according to the parameters obtained from E2 interface, e.g., instantaneous cell load and KPIs of the E2 node(s) and decides a list of cells to be activated and deactivated. The deactivation of the cells may occur, e.g., when cell load is low and the energy saving xApp 303 may decide to deactivate some cells and handover the UEs of these cells to the other cells, for energy saving purposes. The activation of the cells may occur, in circumstance when, e.g. 1) KPI degradations may occur, e.g., throughput drop, or 2) there is a (predicted) traffic increase, then the energy saving xApp shall activate a list of cells.
]
sending, by the first base station and to the second base station, at least one message comprising:
a first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on a first quantity of handovers between the first base station and at least one other base station; and [(Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
a second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on a second quantity of handovers between the first base station and the at least one other base station. [(Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
It would have been obvious by the effective filing date of the claimed invention for a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified multi-link communication network of Soldati with that of Wang to include energy savings of a base station in order to save energy, as indicated by Wang (¶89), with reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding Claim 2, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining, by the first base station and based on a machine learning and artificial intelligence model:
the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on no handover between the first base station and at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
the second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station, based on a handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station. [(Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claim 3, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station is based on no handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station. [(Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claim 4, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station is based on a handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station. [(Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claims 5, 11 and 17, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one request message comprises a time schedule to send, to the second base station and from the first base station, the first prediction and the second prediction. [(Soldati ¶10-38; ¶65-69; ¶ 123-127; ¶204-215; ¶235-247; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
[0010] There are several ways in which a UE can reduce energy consumption. These include: (1) increasing the fraction of time that the UE spends in a sleep state, especially a deep sleep where radio frequency (RF) circuitry and/or other circuitry is turned off, and (2) when monitoring signals, operating at minimum necessary receiver configurations, e.g., few antennas, narrow bandwidth (BW), minimum necessary RF quality, etc. The NW can enable and assist this by configuring and signaling to the UE numerous mechanisms. With reference to NR, a gNB can: [0011] Configure signal monitoring (DRX) timelines that allow short monitoring intervals and long sleep intervals between them: [0012] Connected DRX for data scheduling in connected mode (e.g., period, onDuration length) [0013] DRX for paging monitoring in idle/inactive modes (e.g., period, PO length, number of POs) [0014] Minimize inactivity timers [0015] cDRX inactivity timer from last data scheduling to returning to cDRX, [0016] Data inactivity time from last data scheduling to returning to idle mode [0017] Enable mechanisms that pre-signal whether monitoring is necessary in upcoming intervals [0018] WUS in connected mode to indicate status of next onDuration [0019] PEI in idle mode to indicate status of next PO [0020] Guarantee sufficient time for receiver reconfiguration from a minimal to a performance-optimized mode [0021] Cross-slot scheduling specifying a minimum PDCCH/PDSCH distance [0022] Indicate a PDCCH skipping duration [0023] Search space (periodicity) adaptation [0024] Provide guarantees about maximum required receiver performance to handle scheduled data formats [0025] Indication of maximum MIMO layers that will be scheduled [0026] Avoid unnecessary measurements that diminish UE sleep opportunities [0027] UE measurement reduction in connected mode for stationary UEs in good conditions [0028] Activate UAI functionality for the UE to indicate specific configuration preferences, etc. [0029] Measurement relaxation, e.g., RRM, RLM, BFD in connected or idle (RRC_idle/inactive) mode. [0030] Reduction of power consumption over Scells, e.g., by dynamic Scell release or activation/deactivation, Scell dormancy, etc.
[0038] The UE receives the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message with necessary parameters (i.e. new C-RNTI, target eNB security algorithm identifiers, and optionally dedicated RACH preamble, target eNB SIBs, etc.) and is commanded by the source eNB to perform the handover (HO). If RACH-less HO is configured, the RRCConnectionReconfiguration includes timing adjustment indication and optionally preallocated uplink grant for accessing the target eNB. If preallocated uplink grant is not included, the UE should monitor PDCCH of the target eNB to receive an uplink grant. The UE does not need to delay the handover execution for delivering the HARQ/ARQ responses to source eNB.
[0123] As another example, the source node and the target node can coordinate to determine whether to configure the UE to store UE-ESAI when connected to the target node. In this case, the UE is configured by the source node to store UE-ESAI when a connection is established/being established between the UE and the target node, thereby during and/or after a mobility event. The target node can then optionally further trigger the UE to report the collected UE-ESAI in specific resources and/or with a specific format.
[0235] In one embodiment, the UE-ESAI may comprise measurements and/or predictions and/or estimates of energy metrics of the UE, such as power/energy consumption, power/energy efficiency, etc, in association to one or more network configurations in the group of: [0236] TDD pattern configurations [0237] Spectrum sharing configuration (e.g., between NR and LTE) [0238] Configuration of unlicensed spectrum (e.g., license assisted access for LTE) [0239] Downlink reference signals configuration, such as CRS configuration, SSB beams configurations, discovery reference signal configurations, ect. [0240] Number of configured/available component carriers at a network node [0241] Dual connectivity configuration [0242] Transmission mode configured in one or more radio cells of a network node [0243] MIMO transmission mode [0244] Bandwidth configuration [0245] Downlink transmission power configuration [0246] Cell sleeping mode [0247] Entry and/or exit conditions related to mobility events configured for at least a radio cell and/or a SSB coverage area of a network node, e.g. i) Threshold/offset settings or ii) Time to trigger settings
]
Regarding Claims 6, 12, and 18, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on at least one of:
a total energy consumption metric value of the first base station;
no handover between the first base station and other base stations;
a handover from the second base station to the first base station;
a handover from the first base station to the second base station;
a handover from other base stations to the first base station; or
a handover from the first base station to the other base stations.
[ (Soldati ¶69; ¶119; ¶130; ¶222-232)
[0069] For instance, by configuring the UE to measure its energy consumption during a mobility event, it enables selecting the best type of handover to use (e.g. traditional handover, conditional handover, dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover), the best candidate for handover (e.g. at cell level, at carrier frequency level) and the optimal configuration of handover related parameters (e.g. thresholds, offset, time-to-trigger) also in terms of energy consumption at the device. For example, in case of inter-frequency mobility, selecting one target carrier in case the energy consumption for mobility could result in a higher energy consumption compared to handing over the device towards another carrier (e.g. depending of the Frequency Ranges to which the different targets belong to). The target network node can also, in another embodiment, activate a capacity cell in case the UE energy consumed due to handovers would be large without the possibility of being served by the capacity cell. Or in another embodiment, changing the cell and/or beam shapes in one of source/target node can be done based on the energy consumption feedback. For NR, the cell shapes can be altered by increasing the number of SSB beams to improve coverage. The embodiments also enable the network to estimate how costly a ping-pong handover can be at the device in terms of energy consumption. This can be used, for example, to select optimal setting for the mobility events (e.g. thresholds, offsets, and time to triggers). Another advantage is that the embodiments enable the network node to optimize one or more network configurations for improving energy efficiency of a network node or a cluster of network nodes (i.e., network-level optimization).
[0119] This disclosure provides, among other things, a method for two network nodes to coordinate and configure a UE to store and/or report UE related UE-ESAI, which comprises a set of one or more energy metrics (e.g., an energy score, a power score, an energy consumption indicator, an energy efficiency indicator, etc.) for the UE (e.g., energy metrics determined by the UE). An energy metric for the UE may be associated with a specific radio configuration, but this is not a requirement. For instance, the energy metric may be related to sensor information (e.g. temperature, battery level, velocity, orientation), end-user behavior (e.g. which service types are provided by the application layer, identity of the applications).
[0222] In one embodiment, UE-ESAI may further comprise an indication of the time when the UE-ESAI is taken and/or the time validity. For example, each energy metric included in the UE-ESAI may be associated with one or more of: [0223] a time stamp indicating the time at which the UE obtained (e.g., measured or estimated) the energy metric; [0224] fist time interval information indicating a time interval applicable for the energy metric (e.g., the UE-ESAI may contain information specifying that the UE consumed X amount of energy within the last 24 hours and/or specifying that, over the last 24 hours, the UE had an energy efficiency of X %); and [0225] second time interval information indicating a validity period for the energy metric (i.e., the energy metric is only valid for the indicated time interval).
[0130] In another aspect there is provided a method performed by the second network node in a communication network for coordinating with the first network node a configuration for enabling a UE to store and/or report energy state assistance information (UE-ESAI) (which can also be called UE energy efficiency assistance information (UE-EEAI)--that is UE-ESAI and UE-EEAI are synonymously in this disclosure). The method, in one embodiment, includes the second network node receiving a first coordination message transmitted by the first network node associated with at least a UE connected to the first network node, the first coordination message comprising configuration information related to configuring the UE to store and/or report UE-ESAI.
(Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
[0084] 4. Reporting of the Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, from E2 node(s) to near-RT RIC (e.g., cell throughput, instantaneous energy consumption, number of handovers) through E2 interface.
[0089] In an embodiment, a new xApp is provided, i.e. the energy saving xApp 303 in Near-RT RIC 302. The xApp 303 uses cell statistics collected from non-RT RIC 301a, such as load statistics, and calculates the energy consumption of the E2 node(s) it connects to. It then makes a decision, according to the parameters obtained from E2 interface, e.g., instantaneous cell load and KPIs of the E2 node(s) and decides a list of cells to be activated and deactivated. The deactivation of the cells may occur, e.g., when cell load is low and the energy saving xApp 303 may decide to deactivate some cells and handover the UEs of these cells to the other cells, for energy saving purposes. The activation of the cells may occur, in circumstance when, e.g. 1) KPI degradations may occur, e.g., throughput drop, or 2) there is a (predicted) traffic increase, then the energy saving xApp shall activate a list of cells.
]
Regarding Claim 7, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the second prediction of the change of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on at least one of:
a total energy consumption metric value of the first base station;
no handover between the first base station and other base stations;
a handover from the second base station to the first base station;
a handover from the first base station to the second base station;
a handover from other base stations to the first base station; or
a handover from the first base station to the other base stations.
[ (Soldati ¶69; ¶119; ¶130; ¶222-232 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claims 8, 14, and 20 Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the energy consumption metric value comprises at least one of:
an amount of energy consumption over a period of time;
a percentage of energy consumption over a period of time;
an energy efficiency;
a percentage of energy efficiency;
a power consumption; or
a percentage of power consumption.
[ (Soldati ¶69; ¶119; ¶130; ¶222-232 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claims 9 and 15, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 1, wherein the energy consumption metric value is associated with at least one of a:
base station;
cell;
group of cells;
downlink;
uplink;
supplementary uplink;
slice;
SSB area;
5G quality of service (QoS) indicator;
6G QoS indicator; or
QoS class indicator.
[ (Soldati ¶69; ¶119; ¶130; ¶222-232 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)]
Regarding Claims 10, similar to Claim 1 above, Soldati and Wang disclose:
A method comprising:
receiving, by a first base station and from a second base station, at least one request message comprising:
a first request for a first prediction of an energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on no handover between the first base station and at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
a second request for a second prediction of a change of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on a handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; (Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
determining, by the first base station, the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on no handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
determining, by the first base station, the second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on the handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
sending, by the first base station and to the second base station, at least one message comprising:
the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on no handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
the second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on the handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station. (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
Regarding Claims 13 and 19, Soldati and Wang disclose(s):
The method of claim 10, wherein the handover comprises at least one of:
a conditional handover;
a dual connectivity;
a multi connectivity;
a traffic steering; or
a coverage area re-configuration. [(Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69)]
Regarding Claim 16, similar to Claim 1 above, Soldati and Wang disclose:
A method comprising:
sending, by a second base station and to a first base station, at least one request message comprising:
a first request for a first prediction of an energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on no handover between the first base station and at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
a second request for a second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on a handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; (Soldati ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶ 80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
receiving, by the second base station and from the first base station, at least one message comprising:
the first prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on no handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
the second prediction of the energy consumption metric value of the first base station based on the handover between the first base station and the at least one other base station; and (Soldati ¶31-33; ¶65-69; ¶ 125-127; ¶204-215; ¶148-156; ¶601-612; Fig. 3, 10-12 and Wang ¶80-90; ¶121-139; Fig. 3; Fig. 7-8)
determining, by the second base station and based on the at least one message, at least one of:
energy saving actions; [Soldati ¶31-33; ¶ 69; ¶ 156; Fig. 9-13]
load balancing actions; or [Soldati ¶31-33; ¶ 69; ¶ 156; Fig. 9-13]
mobility actions. [Soldati ¶31-33; ¶ 69; ¶ 156; Fig 9-13]
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wang et al. (US 20240381337 A1)
VANDIKAS et al. (WO 2022089748 A1)
Hyde et al. (US 20240298225 A1)
Chen et al. (US 20260006547 A1)
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/RKF/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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