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 .
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I: Claims 1-10 and 15, drawn to apparatuses of cell DTX/DRX negotiation procedure over Xn when cell DTX or cell DRX conflict is determined by a node is acknowledged.
Claims 1-10 and 15 are subject to examination and rejected.
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 1-10 and 15 recite the limitations " cell DTX and/or DRX pattern”, “power and/or antenna characteristics”, “transmission and/or reception errors”, “provide and/or update”, and “provide and/or receive”. The phrase "and/or" renders the claim indefinite because the claim includes elements not actually disclosed, thereby rendering the scope of the claim unascertainable. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 1 and 6 recite the limitations "… a density of active time in a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, …”, “… a usage of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, or ….” and “… a power and/or antenna characteristics for at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern.”. There are ‘a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern’ and ‘at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern’ within the claims and if these terms ‘a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern’ and ‘at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern’ refer to the same features, the later ‘at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern’ should be treated to show antecedent basis. Appropriate correction is required.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-10 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huawei (CB:# NetworkES_Scenarios-summary of email discussion, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG3 #117bis-e, R3-225935, online, 10-18 October 2022).
Regarding claim 1, Huawei teaches an apparatus (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node), comprising
at least one processor (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node); and
at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node), cause the apparatus at least to:
receive, at the apparatus serving at least one first cell and neighboured to an access network element or function serving at least one second cell adjacent to the at least one first cell, information about at least one second cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) and/or discontinuous reception (DRX) pattern used by the access network element or function at least over the at least one second cell (Huawei, see page 2, BS DTX/DRX patterns can be exchanged with neighbor BSs);
based on the received information, determine a conflict with at least one first cell DTX and/or DRX pattern used by the apparatus at least over the at least one first cell (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc); and
provide coordination parameters (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange) comprising at least one of
a pattern density parameter indicating a density of active time in a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern,
a preference parameter indicating a preference with respect to a usage of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, or
a characteristics parameter indicating a power and/or antenna characteristics for at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)).
Regarding claim 2, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus caused to determine the conflict further comprises at least one of, related to the at least one first cell, the apparatus further caused to
determine an increase in interference levels (Huawei, see page 3, RAN3 can study the exchange of cell DTX/ DRX information for inter-cell measurements, interference management, mobility optimization etc. The TP is provided in the Annex),
determine that an interference level exceeds a predetermined interference level threshold (Huawei, see page 3, Four companies all support to study the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc),
determine an increased number of transmission and/or reception errors (Huawei, see page 3, RAN3 can study the exchange of cell DTX/ DRX information for inter-cell measurements, interference management, mobility optimization etc. The TP is provided in the Annex),
determine transmission and/or reception errors to exceed a predetermined error threshold (Huawei, see page 3, RAN3 can study the exchange of cell DTX/ DRX information for inter-cell measurements, interference management, mobility optimization etc. The TP is provided in the Annex),
predict an increase in interference levels (Huawei, see page 3, RAN3 can study the exchange of cell DTX/ DRX information for inter-cell measurements, interference management, mobility optimization etc. The TP is provided in the Annex),
predict an interference level to exceed a predetermined interference level threshold (Huawei, see page 3, Four companies all support to study the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc),
predict an increased number of transmission and/or reception errors (Huawei, see page 3, Four companies all support to study the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc), or
predict transmission and/or reception errors to exceed a predetermined error threshold (Huawei, see page 3, Four companies all support to study the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc).
Regarding claim 3, Huawei teaches wherein the coordination parameters further comprise at least one of
a preferred pattern list indicating a list of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern of which usage is preferred by the apparatus,
a set of cell DTX and/or DRX patterns identified by the apparatus among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, of which usage is preferred by the apparatus,
a preference to update a probability of using at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern,
a preference to decrease a probability of using at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern,
a preference to increase a probability of using at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern,
a preference to use a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern containing a portion of non-active time equal to or above a predetermined non-active time threshold,
a preference to use a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern containing a portion of non-active time below a predetermined non-active time threshold, or
a preference to provide a predetermined DTX and/or DRX offset to a cell DTX and/or DRX cycle of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)).
Regarding claim 4, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus is further caused to
indicate the preference over all the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)), or
indicate the preference for cell DTX and/or DRX patterns among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern that the access network element or function is expected to use with a probability equal to or higher than a predetermined probability threshold (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)).
Regarding claim 5, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus is further caused to
providing information in relation to at least one of
cells served by the apparatus, the cells including the at least one first cell,
first cell DTX and/or DRX patterns used by the apparatus over the cells served by the apparatus, the first cell DTX and/or DRX patterns including the at least one first cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)),
the at least one first cell, or the at least one first cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)).
Regarding claim 6, Huawei teaches an apparatus (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node), comprising
at least one processor (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node); and
at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor (Huawei, see page 2, NG-RAN node), cause the apparatus at least to:
provide, at the apparatus serving at least one second cell and neighboured to an access network element or function serving at least one first cell adjacent to the at least one second cell, information about at least one second cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) and/or discontinuous reception (DRX) pattern used by the access network element or function at least over the at least one second cell (Huawei, see page 2, BS DTX/DRX patterns can be exchanged with neighbor BSs);
based on the provided information, receive coordination parameters (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange) comprising at least one of
a pattern density parameter indicating a density of active time in a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern,
a preference parameter indicating a preference with respect to a usage of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, or
a characteristics parameter indicating a power and/or antenna characteristics for at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)); and
based on the received coordination parameters, update the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc).
Regarding claim 7, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus caused to update the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern further comprises the apparatus caused to at least one of
update the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern with a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern indicated by the patent density parameter,
update the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern with a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern from a preferred pattern list further provided in the coordination parameters,
update a probability of using a cell DTX and/or DRX pattern from the at least one second DTX and/or DRX pattern as further indicated in the coordination parameters,
reduce a probability of using at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern as further indicated in the coordination parameters,
increase a probability of using at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern as further indicated in the coordination parameters (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc),
if the density indicated by the pattern density parameter allows to satisfy traffic requirements of the apparatus, accommodate the indicated density by selecting among cell DTX and/or DRX patterns meeting the indicated density (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange),
if there is no cell DTX and/or DRX pattern available at the apparatus to meet the density indicated by the pattern density parameter, select among the cell DTX and/or DRX patterns available at the apparatus at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern whose density differs from the indicated density by less than a predetermined pattern density threshold (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange),
provide and/or update a DTX and/or DRX offset to a cell DTX and/or DRX cycle of at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern, or
update power and/or antenna characteristics for at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern among the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see page 5, RAN3 should study whether it feasible to enable coordination of more granular cell states over Xn/F1 interface e.g., sleep modes (deep/micro/light sleep) or Network Energy Saving (NES) states, if defined by RAN1).
Regarding claim 8, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus is further caused to
receive information about at least one of
cells served by the access network element or function, the cells including the at least one first cell,
first cell DTX and/or DRX patterns used by the access network element or function over the cells, the first cell DTX and/or DRX patterns including the at least one first DTX and/or DRX pattern,
the at least one first cell, or
the at least one first cell DTX and/or DRX pattern (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K)); and
update the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern further based on the received information (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc).
Regarding claim 9, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus is further caused to
receive a plurality of coordination parameters from a plurality of different access network elements or functions in relation to a conflict determined for the at least one second cell based on the at least one second cell DTX and/or DRX pattern used by the apparatus at least over the at least one second cell (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K));
compare preferences for cell DTX and/or DRX patterns indicated in the received plurality of coordination parameters (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc); and
based on the compared preferences, identify at least one cell DTX and/or DRX pattern with a preference equal to or above a predetermined preference threshold in relation to each of the preferences indicated in the plurality of coordination parameters (Huawei, see page 3, the Cell DTX/DRX for energy saving, and propose to exchange the inter-node Cell DTX/DRX, e.g., for NES coordination, inter-cell measurement, interference management, mobility, resource scheduling, DTX/DRX alignment/offset etc).
Regarding claim 10, Huawei teaches wherein the apparatus is further caused to
receive a plurality of coordination parameters from a plurality of different access network elements or functions in relation to conflicts determined for at least a predetermined number of cells among the cells served by the apparatus (Huawei, see pages 2-3, During BS DTX/DRX coordination with the neighbor BSs, the network can indicate the following - A flag whether the BS DTX pattern is identical to the BS DRX pattern - Whether the BS DTX/DRX pattern is periodic or dynamic - Tx/Rx Inactivity duration (in case of fixed inactivity period) - Starting slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., from slot #N) - Ending slot for Tx/Rx inactivity (e.g., till slot #K));
deactivate cell DTX and/or DRX operation mode at the apparatus (Huawei, see page 5, Currently the NG-RAN nodes only have the knowledge whether a cell is activated or deactivated, which can be used for network energy savings by cell switch on or off as needed); and
return the apparatus to legacy behaviour (Huawei, see page 5, Currently the NG-RAN nodes only have the knowledge whether a cell is activated or deactivated, which can be used for network energy savings by cell switch on or off as needed).
Regarding claim 15, Huawei teaches wherein
if the apparatus is a first NG-RAN node and the access network element or function is a second NG-RAN node, the apparatus caused to provide and/or receive comprises the apparatus further caused to at least one of
provide and/or receive via an Xn interface available between the apparatus and the second NG-RAN node, or provide and/or receive between the apparatus and the second NG-RAN node via the core network (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange);
if the apparatus is a first gNB-DU and the access network element or function is a second gNB-DU, wherein the apparatus and the second gNB-DU are associated with a same gNB-CU, the apparatus caused to provide and/or receive comprises the apparatus further caused to
provide and/or receive between the apparatus and the second gNB-DU via the gNB-CU and F1 interface (Huawei, see page 3, Two companies propose some Cell DTX/DRX details, e.g., the periodicity, (activation or inactivation) duration, offset information, DTX/DRX identical flag etc. One company further mentions the dynamic cell DTX/DRX pattern exchange);
if the apparatus is a first gNB-DU associated with a first gNB-CU and the access network element or function is a second gNB-DU associated with a second gNB-CU, the apparatus caused to provide and/or receive comprises the apparatus further caused to
provide and/or receive between the apparatus and the second gNB-DU via the first gNB-CU and the second gNB-CU and F1 interface (Huawei, see page 5, RAN3 should study whether it feasible to enable coordination of more granular cell states over Xn/F1 interface e.g., sleep modes (deep/micro/light sleep) or Network Energy Saving (NES) states, if defined by RAN1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHONG G KIM whose telephone number is (571)270-0619. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri @ 9am - 5pm.
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/CHONG G KIM/Examiner, Art Unit 2443
/NICHOLAS R TAYLOR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2443
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