Detailed Action
1. This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s communication filed on 10/05/2023. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-19 are currently pending in this Office Action.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
3. Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a wake-up receiver of user equipment” shall be read as “a wake-up receiver of a user equipment”. Because, claim recites “the user equipment” later otherwise it could lead to lack of antecedent basis issue, see MPEP 2173.05 (e). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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 of this title, 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu et al. Pub. No.: US 2019/0150114 A1 in view of Lee et al. Pub. No.: US 2023/0164732 A1.
Claim 1
Liu discloses an apparatus (UE in fig. 2-11 and fig. 16-22), comprising:
PNG
media_image1.png
830
1098
media_image1.png
Greyscale
at least one processor (processor 1120 in fig. 11); and
at least one memory including computer program code (memory 1125 in fig. 11 storing software to perform instructions as depicted in fig. 2-7 and par. 0143 for storing a code to support WUS receivers),
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor (see par. 0142-0143 to perform the instructions in fig. 2-7), cause the apparatus at least to:
PNG
media_image2.png
836
668
media_image2.png
Greyscale
measure a parameter (par. 0103, RRM measurement may include measuring an RSRP and RSRQ) associated with a radio coverage of a network node for the apparatus (see RRM measurements explained in par. 0103-0108, 725 in fig. 7, UE monitors paging message for WUS periodicity or an RRM measurement periodicity; since claim does specifically define what are involved in measuring and what are required to be the parameter, see MPEP 2111, the claimed parameter can be reasonably interpreted as RRM measurement for RSRP or RSRQ and monitoring paging message massage for DRX parameters ON and OFF);
on the basis of the value of the parameter, transmit information to the network node representing a reception status of a wake-up receiver (WUS receiver in fig. 2-7 and see par. 0097) of the apparatus (par. 0069, UE may report to the base station an indication of the signal received with a highest signal quality; reception status could be reasonably interpreted as in light of par. 0048 of PG PUB of this instant application which states that reception status could be a WUS coverage status or UE monitoring status); and
monitor a selected paging signal from one of multiple paging signals transmitted by the network node (725 in fig. 7 and 1725 in fig. 17).
Although Liu does not explicitly disclose: “a reception status of a wake-up receiver of the apparatus; and on the basis of the reception status of the wake-up receiver of the apparatus monitor a selected paging signal from one of multiple paging signals transmitted by the network node”, the claim limitations are considered obvious by the following rationales.
Firstly, to address the obviousness of the claim limitation “a reception status of a wake-up receiver”, recall that Liu discloses WUS receiver (fig. 2-9) and UE’s report for the strongest signal receiver (par. 0069). In light of MPEP 2111, “a reception status of a wake-up receiver” could be reasonably interpreted as, a WUS coverage status, or a WUS coverage status change, or a change of UE monitoring status from paging DCI to WUS or vice versa. See par. 0048-0049 of PG PUB of this instant application. To advance the prosecution, further evidence is provided herein. In particular, Lee teaches UE status for handover from E-UTRA to NR (fig. 4), reporting measurement location, i.e., coverage status, (see fig. 8 & 12a) and reporting information related to positioning (fig. 13-14 and see par. 0202, 0235 and see measurement report for using a WUS in par. 0250).
Secondly, to consider the obviousness of the claim limitation “on the basis of the reception status of the wake-up receiver of the apparatus monitor a selected paging signal from one of multiple paging signals transmitted by the network node”, recall that Liu discloses UE for monitoring paging message (725 in fig. 7), paging monitoring periodicity (see fig. 3-6) and discontinuous for a set of wake-up signal (1720 in fig. 17). In particular, Lee teaches DRX configuration to monitor or receive a paging signal (par. 0158 and fig. 5-6 and see par. 0290).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify wake-up signal receiver of Liu by providing a user equipment for transmitting and receiving in a wireless communication system as taught in Lee to obtain the claimed invention as specified in the claim. Such a modification would have provided a user equipment to perform a positioning measurement operation in a wireless communication system so that the wireless services could be supported with reliability and low latency as suggested in par. 0002-0005 of Lee.
Claim 2
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
monitor one of a wake-up signal transmitted from the network node and a downlink control information based paging signal transmitted from the network node (Liu, 1720 for monitoring WUS and 1730 for monitoring paging message in fig. 17; and thus, the combined prior art reads on the claim).
Claim 3
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive feedback information from the network node on the basis of the reception status of the wake-up receiver (Liu, feedback for HARQ in par. 0073; similarly, feedback for HARQ could be utilized in the same for feeding back from the network upon receipt of UE status, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale C, see evidence for Acknowledgement in par. 0164 of Hwang et al. Pub. No.: US 2022/0295398 A1); and
on the basis of the feedback information, select a paging signal from one of multiple paging signals transmitted by the network node to monitor (Liu, monitoring for the paging message in steps 1730-1730 in fig. 17 and see par. 0105; since claim does not specifically define what are involved in selecting, UE monitoring for paging from periodicity or based on WUS, would render the claim obvious, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale F).
Claim 4
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
measure at least one of a reference signal received power, a received signal strength indicator, and a reference signal received quality associated with a wake-up signal of the network node, and/or a wake-up signal beacon of the network node (Liu, par. 0103 for measuring an RSRP or RSRQ; Lee, measurement in fig. 10-12 and par. 0190 & 0202-0204 for RSRQ, RSRQ and RSSI; and thus, the combined prior art renders the claim obvious).
Claim 5
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
determine, on the basis of the value of the parameter, whether a threshold is met (Liu, par. 0104, predetermined threshold and see fig. 7); and
if the threshold is met, trigger transmission of the information representing a reception status of a wake-up receiver of the apparatus (Liu, par. 0105, M =1, 4, 8, 16; UE for reporting a measurement value in par. 0220, 0235; accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the combined prior art to perform equally well to the claim, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale G) .
Claim 6
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive information representing a value of the threshold from the network node (Liu, a predetermined value, the base station may indicate longer RRM measurement in par. 0104; for these reasons, the combined prior art would have rendered the claim obvious).
Claim 7
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit the message as part of one of a radio resource control setup message, or a radio resource control resume message, transmitted to the network node (Liu, RRC message in 715 of fig. 7 and par. 0115; Lee, RRC connection; and thus, the combined prior art renders the claim obvious).
Claim 8
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive a message from the network node indicating confirmation of the reception capability of a wake-up receiver of the apparatus (Liu, feedback for HARQ in par. 0073; Lee, configuration from network to UE in fig. 13-14 and WUS in fig. 15; similarly, ACK or acknowledging for receipt form the network upon receipt of UE status could be utilized in the same way as feedback for HARQ, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale C; since claim does not specifically define what are involved in confirmation, with the teachings mentioned, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the combined prior art to perform equally well to the claim; the use of ACK/NACK is intrinsic feature in wireless communication and the evidence could be seen in fig. 4 & 8 for DL and UL in Ahn et al. Pub. No.: US 2013/0265914 A1).
Claim 9-11
Clams 9-11 are method claims corresponding to apparatus claims 1-3. All of the limitations of claims 9-11 are found reciting the same scopes of the respective limitations in claims 1-3. Accordingly, claims 9-11 can be considered obvious by the same rationales applied in the rejection of claims 1-3, respectively set forth above.
Claim 12
Liu discloses an apparatus (bases station in fig. 2-7 & 12-22) comprising:
at least one processor (processor 1520 in fig. 15); and
at least one memory including computer program code (memory 1525 storing software 1530), wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor (processor 1520 and memory 1525 to execute software 1530 to perform the instructions and steps depicted in fig. 7 & 16-22), cause the apparatus at least to:
PNG
media_image3.png
750
955
media_image3.png
Greyscale
configure a set of conditions relating to radio coverage and a transmission mechanism for a wake-up signal transmitted by the apparatus for a wake-up receiver of user equipment (UE in fig. 7; steps 705-7010-715 in fig. 7, base station configure paging periodicity and WUS periodicity, see configuring paging relates to the coverage UE in);
receive a message representing the wake-up receiver of the user equipment ((par. 0069, UE may report to the base station an indication of the signal received with a highest signal quality; reception status could be reasonably interpreted as in light of par. 0048 of PG PUB of this instant application which states that reception status could be a WUS coverage status or UE monitoring status).
Although Liu does not explicitly disclose: “a reception status of a wake-up receiver of the apparatus”, the claim limitation is considered obvious by the following rationales.
Initially, to address the obviousness of the claim limitation “a reception status of a wake-up receiver”, recall that Liu discloses WUS receiver (fig. 2-9) and UE’s report for the strongest signal receiver (par. 0069). In light of MPEP 2111, “a reception status of a wake-up receiver” could be reasonably interpreted as, a WUS coverage status, or a WUS coverage status change, or a change of UE monitoring status from paging DCI to WUS or vice versa. See par. 0048-0049 of PG PUB of this instant application. To advance the prosecution, further evidence is provided herein. In particular, Lee teaches UE status for handover from E-UTRA to NR (fig. 4), reporting measurement location, i.e., coverage status, (see fig. 8 & 12a) and reporting information related to positioning (fig. 13-14 and see par. 0202, 0235 and see measurement report for using a WUS in par. 0250).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify wake-up signal receiver of Liu by providing a user equipment for transmitting and receiving in a wireless communication system as taught in Lee to obtain the claimed invention as specified in the claim. Such a modification would have provided a user equipment to perform a positioning measurement operation in a wireless communication system so that the wireless services could be supported with reliability and low latency as suggested in par. 0002-0005 of Lee.
Claim 13
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit at least one of a secondary synchronization signal, a wake-up signal, a wake-up beacon, and a downlink control information based paging signal (Liu, WUS 210 and paging message in fig. 2, and SSS in par. 0046; and thus, the combined prior art meets the requirement of the claim).
Claim 14
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit a message for the user equipment configured to regulate a wake-up signal monitoring status of the user equipment (Liu, configuration transmitted from base station to UE in 715 of fig. 7 and see fig. 17 for transmitting DRX and WUS in step 1715-1720-1725; and thus, the combined prior art renders the claim obvious) .
Claim 15
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive a physical random access channel message comprising an indication of a change in reception capability of the wake-up receiver of the user equipment (Liu, fig. 16-22; Lee, transmission on PRACH and PUSCH as explained in par. 0091-0092 for reporting measurement in fig. 12-14; accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the combined prior art to perform equally well to the claim, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale F).
Claim 16
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit feedback information on the basis of the reception status of the wake-up receiver (Liu, feedback for HARQ in par. 0073; Lee, RAR in par. 0091-0092; similarly, feedback for HARQ could be utilized in the same for feeding back from the network upon receipt of UE status, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale C; since claim does not specifically define what are involved in confirmation, with the teachings mentioned, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the combined prior art to perform equally well to the claim; the use of ACK/NACK is intrinsic feature in wireless communication and the evidence could be seen in fig. 4 & 8 for DL and UL in Ahn et al. Pub. No.: US 2013/0265914 A1).
Claim 17
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit information representing a value of a threshold relating to a parameter associated with a radio coverage of the apparatus (Liu, a predetermined value, the base station may indicate longer RRM measurement in par. 0104; for these reasons, the combined prior art would have rendered the claim obvious).
Claim 18
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive the message as part of one of a radio resource control setup message or a radio resource control resume message (Liu, RRC message in 715 of fig. 7 and par. 0115; Lee, RRC connection; and thus, the combined prior art renders the claim obvious).
Claim 19
Liu, in view of Lee, discloses the apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
transmit a message indicating confirmation of the reception capability of a wake- up receiver of the user equipment (Liu, feedback for HARQ in par. 0073; Lee, configuration from network to UE in fig. 13-14 and WUS in fig. 15; similarly, ACK or acknowledging for receipt form the network upon receipt of UE status could be utilized in the same way as feedback for HARQ, see MPEP 2143, KSR Exemplary Rationale C; since claim does not specifically define what are involved in confirmation, with the teachings mentioned, one of ordinary skill in the art would have expected the combined prior art to perform equally well to the claim; the use of ACK/NACK is intrinsic feature in wireless communication and the evidence could be seen in fig. 4 & 8 for DL and UL in Ahn et al. Pub. No.: US 2013/0265914 A1).
Contact Information
7. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAN HTUN whose telephone number is (571)270-3190. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7 AM - 5 PM.
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, Jinsong Hu can be reached on 5712723965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SAN HTUN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643