DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the amendment filed 20 June 2026. Claims 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-23 are pending in this application.
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 3-8, 10-15, and 17-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2022/0346008) in view of Oliveira da Costa et al. (US 2026/0067671) and Yang et al. (US 2023/0156598).
For Claims 1 and 15, Xu teaches a method and a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories (see paragraphs 57, 60); and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (see paragraphs 57, 60), configured to cause the UE to:
receive a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) or discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration indicating a periodicity for a cell DRX or DTX cycle (see abstract, paragraphs 87-88, 105), a period for a connected mode DRX or DTX cycle of the UE (see paragraphs 53, 87); and
communicate with a network node in accordance with the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the periodicity for the cell DRX or DTX cycle (see paragraphs 87, 100, 104).
Xu as applied above is not explicit as to, but Oliveira Da Costa teaches being an integer multiple of a period for a connected mode DRX or DTX cycle of the UE (see paragraph 38, also 102, 265, 270).
Thus it would have been obvious to relate the periodicity of the DRX or DTX cycle of one entity on the DRX or DTX cycle of another entity as in Oliveira Da Costa when implementing the method of Xu. One of ordinary skill would have been able to use the known relationship between periodicity and cycle when determining how to establish the periodicity of a cell DRX or DTX cycle.
The references as applied above are not explicit as to, but Yang teaches that a slot offset and a start slot are common to the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the connected mode DRX or DTX cycle (see paragraphs 88, 143).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to align the transmitting and receiving slots of a transmitter and receiver as in Yang when implementing the method of Xu. One of ordinary skill would have been able to do so with the reasonably predictable result of ensuring both throughput and energy savings.
For Claim 8, Xu teaches a network node for wireless communication, comprising: one or more memories (see paragraph 69); and one or more processors, coupled to the one or more memories (see paragraph 69), configured to cause the network node to:
transmit a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) or discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration indicating a periodicity for a cell DRX or DTX cycle (see abstract, paragraphs 87-88, 105), a period for a connected mode DRX or DTX cycle of a user equipment (UE) (see paragraphs 53, 87); and
communicate with the UE in accordance with the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the periodicity for the cell DRX or DTX cycle (see paragraphs 87, 100, 104).
Xu as applied above is not explicit as to, but Oliveira Da Costa teaches being an integer multiple of a of a period for a connected mode DRX or DTX cycle of the UE (see paragraph 38, also 102, 265, 270).
Thus it would have been obvious to relate the periodicity of the DRX or DTX cycle of one entity on the DRX or DTX cycle of another entity as in Oliveira Da Costa when implementing the method of Xu. One of ordinary skill would have been able to use the known relationship between periodicity and cycle when determining how to establish the periodicity of a cell DRX or DTX cycle.
The references as applied above are not explicit as to, but Yang teaches that a slot offset and a start slot are common to the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the connected mode DRX or DTX cycle (see paragraphs 88, 143).
Thus it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was filed to align the transmitting and receiving slots of a transmitter and receiver as in Yang when implementing the method of Xu. One of ordinary skill would have been able to do so with the reasonably predictable result of ensuring both throughput and energy savings.
For Claims 3, 10, 17, Xu further teaches the UE, wherein a cell associated with the cell DRX or DTX configuration is included in a cell group configured with a plurality of DRX or DTX configurations (see paragraphs 92-93).
For Claims 4, 11, and 18, Xu further teaches the UE, wherein the plurality of DRX or DTX configurations includes a first DRX or DTX configuration indicating a first DRX or DTX cycle and a second DRX or DTX configuration indicating a second DRX or DTX cycle, and wherein one or more parameters of the first DRX or DTX cycle are different than one or more parameters of the second DRX or DTX cycle (see claims 94, 114, 127).
For Claims 5, 12, and 18, Xu further teaches the UE, wherein the plurality of DRX or DTX configurations includes a first DRX or DTX configuration indicating a first DRX or DTX cycle and a second DRX or DTX configuration indicating a second DRX or DTX cycle, and wherein one or more parameters of the first DRX or DTX cycle are the same as one or more parameters of the second DRX or DTX cycle (see claims 94, 114, 127).
For Claims 6, 13, and 20, Xu further teaches the UE, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: receive an indication for activating the cell DRX or DTX configuration (see paragraphs 97, 143); and wherein the one or more processors, to cause the UE to communicate with the network node in accordance with the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the periodicity for the cell DRX or DTX cycle, are configured to cause the UE to: communicate with the network node in accordance with the cell DRX or DTX cycle and the periodicity for the cell DRX or DTX cycle based on receiving the indication (see paragraphs 97, 107, 143).
For Claim 7, Xu further teaches the UE, wherein the periodicity indicated in the cell DRX or DTX configuration is associated with a first cell and the cell DRX or DTX configuration indicates one or more parameters for another cell DRX or DTX configuration associated with a second cell that is different from the first cell (see paragraphs 92-93, 114, 127).
For Claims 21-23, Xu as applied above is not explicit as to, but Oliveira Da Costa teaches the UE, wherein the integer comprises a variable K, wherein the periodicity is based at least in part on the period for the connected mode DRX or DTX cycle being multiplied by K (see paragraph 38, also 102, 265, 270).
Thus it would have been obvious to relate the periodicity of the DRX or DTX cycle of one entity on the DRX or DTX cycle of another entity as in Oliveira Da Costa when implementing the method of Xu. One of ordinary skill would have been able to use the known relationship between periodicity and cycle when determining how to establish the periodicity of a cell DRX or DTX cycle.
Response to Arguments
The amendment filed 29 June 2026 has been entered.
Previous rejections under 35 USC 112 are withdrawn in light of the amendments.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to rejections under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered, but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection introduced herein. The claims remain rejected under 35 USC 103.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Wu et al. (US 2022/0312543) teaches common DRX and DTX configurations.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CASSANDRA L DECKER whose telephone number is (571)270-3946. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 am - 4:00 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, Faruk Hamza can be reached at 571-272-7969. 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.
/CASSANDRA L DECKER/Examiner, Art Unit 2466 7/22/2026
/FARUK HAMZA/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2466
Prosecution Insights