DETAILED ACTION
This office action is responsive to communications filed on May 21, 2026. Claims 1-5, 7, 9, 12-15, 17, 19, and 20 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are pending in the 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 § 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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 7-10, 12-14, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yi et al. (US 2025/0227617).
Regarding Claim 1, Yi teaches a user equipment (UE) (UE 2300 – See Fig. 23), comprising:
one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code (“Referring to FIG. 23, a UE 2300 may include a transceiver 2301, a controller (e.g., a processor) 2302, and a storage (e.g., memory) 2303” – See [0289]; “In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) individually or collectively, cause the UE to perform operations are provided” – See [0018]) to cause the UE to:
receive a wake-up signal configuration including a plurality of wake-up signal occasions for transmission of a wake-up signal associated with a second cell (“In operation 2101, the UE may receive secondary cell group configuration information including one SCell or multiple SCells, SCell activation configuration information, and WUS configuration information for an on-demand operation for energy saving, from the BS by higher layer signaling (RRC)” – See [0276]; “the UE activates an on-demand operation of a deactivated SCell via WUS transmission” – See [0249]; “The WUS occasion may be configured of one or more frequency divisional multiplexed (FDMed) or time divisional multiplexed (TDMed) WUS occasions, and each WUS occasion may be mapped to the one SCell or the multiple SCells” – See [0271]; See also Fig. 20; The UE receives WUS (wake-up signal) configuration information including a plurality of WUS occasions for transmission of a WUS associated with a particular SCell (second cell));
receive, from a first cell, an indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal using at least a first wake-up signal occasion of the plurality of wake-up signal occasions (“The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation, and may also indicate SCell activation/deactivation” – See [0258]; “In operation 2102, the UE may receive configuration of SCell activation and activation/deactivation of the on-demand operation by higher layer signaling and L1 signaling” – See [0277]; “Referring to FIG. 18, the BS may indicate on-demand SSB operation activation and on-demand SSB pattern for one SCell or multiple SCells by MAC CE signaling. In detail, the BS may indicate the on-demand SSB operation activation for C1 to C7 SCells, via MAC CE having one octet (1801)” – See [0253]; “The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation” – See [0258]; The UE receives an activation of the on-demand SSB operation from the base station, wherein the on-demand SSB operation involves transmission of the WUS from the UE to the SCell (second cell). Thus, the activation of the on-demand SSB operation triggers transmission of the WUS. As shown in Fig. 20, the WUS is transmitted in a corresponding WUS occasion);
transmit at least a first wake-up signal in the first wake-up signal occasion in response to the indication, wherein the wake-up signal provides information associated with the second cell (“In operation 2104, the UE may transmit the WUS enabling/disabling an on-demand SSB or SIB1 in the one SCell or the multiple SCells, based on the determined structure of the WUS” – See [0279]; “In more detail, a payload size of the WUS for the on-demand SSB or SIB1 may be determined as a sum of information bits of all blocks, and each block corresponds to one SCell. Each block may be configured of 1 bit for requesting the on-demand SSB or SIB1 and k bits indicating a pattern of on-demand transmission. For example, block #0 1902 for SCell #0 may be configured of 1 bit 1904 for requesting on-demand SSB or SIB1 and k bits 1905 indicating a pattern of on-demand transmission” – See [0265]; “The number of bits 1904 of each block so as to request on-demand SSB or SIB1 may be determined according to the number of on-demand channels supported by a SCell corresponding thereto. For example, if SCell #0 supports only on-demand SSB, SSB may be requested via 1 bit, and if SCell #1 supports on-demand SSB and SIB1, SSB and SIB1 may be respectively requested via 2 bits” – See [0266]; The UE transmits a WUS in the corresponding occasion based on the indication. The WUS includes information/bits associated with the second cell. For example, bits 1904 in the WUS are used to request, from a respective SCell, transmission of on-demand SSB and/or SIB1).
Regarding Claim 2, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi further teaches that, to receive the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive an indication that a plurality of wake-up signals are to be transmitted at periodic intervals, and wherein the transmitting includes transmitting the plurality of wake-up signals at the periodic intervals (“a WUS occasion for PRACH-based WUS transmission may be configured with periodicity #1 2002” – See [0271]; The UE received an indication that the WUS are transmitted with a periodicity 2002).
Regarding Claim 3, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi further teaches that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal provides an explicit indication or an implicit indication that the wake-up signal is to be transmitted, and wherein the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal is provided in a message that activates the second cell or is provided in a second message that is separate from the message that activates the second cell (“The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation, and may also indicate SCell activation/deactivation” – See [0258]; See also Table 13; The activation of the on-demand SSB (indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal) for an SCell may be explicitly indicated in RRC signaling along with an indication of the activation of the SCell in the same RRC signaling. Thus, the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal is provided in a message that activates the second cell. Paragraph [0255] discloses a further alternative wherein the activation of the second cell and the trigger indication may be transmitted together in DCI).
Regarding Claim 7, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi further teaches that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates whether one or more on-demand synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) will be activated subsequent to the first wake-up signal (“the configuration of the on-demand operation may be performed during a process of activating the SCell in stage-1 1701 or may be performed along with SCell activation” – See [0243]; “an on-demand SSB and SIB1 configuration method for applying an on-demand SSB and SIB for energy saving of the BS in the 5G system will now be described. Also, the term “on-demand” is used to indicate that periodic transmission of a signal is adjusted according to a UL signal of the UE and the determination of the BS, so as to reduce energy consumption of the BS, and may be replaced with other term having a same meaning” – See [0239]; “The BS may configure, by MAC CE, the UE with SCell activation/deactivation and activation/deactivation of an on-demand SSB or SIB1 operation individually or together” – See [0251]; The activation indication indicates whether on-demand SSBs are activated for the SCell).
Regarding Claim 8, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 7. Yi further teaches that the indication of whether the one or more on-demand SSBs are activated is indicated dynamically or semi statically for one or more cells (“the BS may activate or deactivate one or a plurality of SCells by configuring sCellState of RRC signaling SCellconfig as enable or by MAC CE signaling. Then, for the activated SCell, an on-demand operation may be configured via at least one of RRC signaling, MAC CE signaling, or L1 signaling or via a combination of two or more of the signalings (1705). In this regard, the configuration of the on-demand operation may be performed during a process of activating the SCell in stage-1 1701 or may be performed along with SCell activation” – See [0243]; The indication of on-demand SSB activation is indicated dynamically via RRC or MAC CE signaling).
Regarding Claim 9, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi further teaches that, that triggers transmission of at least the first wake-up signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit the first wake-up signal to the first cell (“when the UE transmits the WUS on the PUCCH in the PCell, reliability of PUCCH transmission may be ensured, and on-demand transmission of one SCell or multiple SCells may be requested, which are efficient” – See [0268]; The WUS may be transmitted in the PCell (first cell)).
Regarding Claim 10, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 9. Yi further teaches that the first wake-up signal comprises a random access channel transmission, an uplink control channel transmission, or an uplink shared channel transmission (“the UE transmits the WUS on the PUCCH” – See [0268]; “a WUS occasion for PRACH-based WUS transmission” – See [0271]; The WUS comprises a PRACH (random access channel) or PUCCH (uplink control channel) transmission).
Claims 12 and 19 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 1.
Claims 13 and 20 are rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 2.
Claim 17 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 7.
Claim 18 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 14, Yi teaches the network entity of Claim 12. Yi further teaches that, to output the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the network entity to: output an indication that the second cell is to be transitioned from an inactive state to an active state (“The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation, and may also indicate SCell activation/deactivation” – See [0258]; “the number of WUS blocks may be determined according to the number of activated SCells or the number of SCells supporting an on-demand operation from among the activated SCells” – See [0268]; The indication of WUS to be transmitted is included in an SCell activation message (indication that the second cell is to be transitioned from an inactive state to an active state)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (US 2025/0227617) in view of Ingale et al. (US 2018/0359790).
Regarding Claim 4, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi does not explicitly teach that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that one or more of the plurality of wake-up signal occasions are to be used to indicate one or more beams detected at the UE, and wherein the one or more beams correspond to beams having a highest measurement value, beams having measurement values that exceed a threshold value, or any combination thereof.
However, Ingale teaches that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that one or more of the plurality of wake-up signal occasions are to be used to indicate one or more beams detected at the UE, and wherein the one or more beams correspond to beams having a highest measurement value, beams having measurement values that exceed a threshold value, or any combination thereof (“corresponding DL beam index of that cell where the BRS measurement is largest indicating the best DL beam index to receive further DL messages/data from SeNB … Based on the determined best DL beam index UE selects the random access preamble. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is one-to-one mapping between the set of random access preambles and the set of DL coverage beams. This one-to-one mapping is either fixed in the standard specification or alternatively provided to the UE as part of the SCG configuration” – See [0044]; “At step 8008, UE transmits the selected random access preamble corresponding to best DL beam index on the PRACH time slot of the concerned SCell” – See [0065]; The indication includes a mapping of random access preambles to DL beams, wherein the UE transmits a random access preamble corresponding to a best DL beam index (one or more beams correspond to beams having a highest measurement value)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yi such that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that one or more of the plurality of wake-up signal occasions are to be used to indicate one or more beams detected at the UE, and wherein the one or more beams correspond to beams having a highest measurement value, beams having measurement values that exceed a threshold value, or any combination thereof. Motivation for doing so would be to allow the UE to indicate a best downlink beam for receiving further data/messages from the cell (See Ingale, [0044]).
Regarding Claim 11, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 9. Yi further teaches that the first wake-up signal comprises a random access channel transmission having a preamble identification (“Also, in order to distinguish the PRACH from a PRACH used in an existing RACH procedure, the BS may configure a separate PRACH preamble format or may set a WUS occasion separately from a RACH occasion. According to another method, the BS may determine and indicate a PRACH root sequence index as an index for new on-demand SSB or SIB1” – See [0272]; The WUS comprises a RACH preamble).
Yi does not explicitly teach that the preamble identification indicates one or more of a detected secondary cell, one or more detected beams associated with the detected secondary cell, or any combination thereof.
However, Ingale teaches a preamble identification that indicates one or more of a detected secondary cell, one or more detected beams associated with the detected secondary cell, or any combination thereof (“corresponding DL beam index of that cell where the BRS measurement is largest indicating the best DL beam index to receive further DL messages/data from SeNB … Based on the determined best DL beam index UE selects the random access preamble. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is one-to-one mapping between the set of random access preambles and the set of DL coverage beams. This one-to-one mapping is either fixed in the standard specification or alternatively provided to the UE as part of the SCG configuration” – See [0044]; “At step 8008, UE transmits the selected random access preamble corresponding to best DL beam index on the PRACH time slot of the concerned SCell” – See [0065]; The preamble identification indicates a best detected beam associated with the detected secondary cell).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yi such that the preamble identification indicates one or more of a detected secondary cell, one or more detected beams associated with the detected secondary cell, or any combination thereof for the same reasons as those given with respect to Claim 4.
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (US 2025/0227617) in view of Hu et al. (US 2025/0301407).
Regarding Claim 5, Yi teaches the UE of Claim 1. Yi further does not explicitly teach that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that the wake-up signal is to be transmitted based at least in part on a prediction at the UE associated with the first wake-up signal.
However, Hu teaches that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that the wake-up signal is to be transmitted based at least in part on a prediction at the UE associated with the first wake-up signal (“The uplink WUS may include an indication of a request by the UE for the on-demand SSB from the one of more secondary cells” – See [0013]; “the UE 500 may measure and/or determine the need for triggering OD-SSB in the SCells, at block 530” – See [0091]; “In some example embodiments, the determination by UE 500 may be based on when the received signal strength from the reference cells, such as, for example the PCell 510 (determined by the pre-defined rule or explicitly configured by higher layer parameter) associated with SSB-less SCell 520 becomes lower than a given threshold” – See [0092]; The indication to transmit the WUS based on a determination of a need for on-demand SSBs (prediction at the UE associated with the first wake-up signal)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yi such that the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates that the wake-up signal is to be transmitted based at least in part on a prediction at the UE associated with the first wake-up signal. Motivation for doing so would be to allow the UE to request on-demand SSBs upon a determination that specific conditions indicating a need for on-demand SSBs are met (See Hu, [0091]).
Claim 15 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 5.
Claims 6 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (US 2025/0227617) in view of Hu et al. (US 2025/0301407) and further in view of Park et al. (US 2024/0251257).
Regarding Claim 6, Yi in view of Hu teaches the UE of Claim 5. Hu further teaches a value that satisfies one or more conditions that indicate that the first wake-up signal is to be transmitted (“The uplink WUS may include an indication of a request by the UE for the on-demand SSB from the one of more secondary cells” – See [0013]; “the UE 500 may measure and/or determine the need for triggering OD-SSB in the SCells, at block 530” – See [0091]; “In some example embodiments, the determination by UE 500 may be based on when the received signal strength from the reference cells, such as, for example the PCell 510 (determined by the pre-defined rule or explicitly configured by higher layer parameter) associated with SSB-less SCell 520 becomes lower than a given threshold” – See [0092]; A signal strength satisfying a threshold condition indicates that the WUS is to be transmitted).
Yi and Hu do not explicitly teach that the value that satisfies one or more conditions that indicate that the first wake-up signal is to be transmitted is based at least in part on a machine learning algorithm output.
However, Park teaches that the prediction at the UE is based at least in part on a machine learning algorithm output value (“The terminal mobility prediction technique may execute an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and/or machine learning (ML) algorithm to predict the received signal strength measurement values at the terminal. In addition, the terminal mobility prediction technique may executes an AI algorithm and/or ML algorithm to predict terminal mobility based on the predicted received signal strength measurement value at the terminal and determine an optimal target cell in advance” – See [0073]; AI/ML algorithms are used to predict a signal strength).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Yi-Hu such that the value that satisfies one or more conditions that indicate that the first wake-up signal is to be transmitted is based at least in part on a machine learning algorithm output. Motivation for doing so would be to determine the values for triggering the wake-up signal in advance (See Park, [0073]).
Claim 16 is rejected based on reasoning similar to Claim 6.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on May 21, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 8-9 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Yi does not teach signaling that triggers a transmission of a wake-up signal, as recited in independent claims 1, 12, and 19.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. According to the broadest reasonable interpretation, the term “trigger” includes an event that causes something to start. As shown above in the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. 102, Yi discloses that the UE receives, from the base station, signaling that activates on-demand SSB operation for a particular SCell in step 2102. In response, the UE transmits the WUS to the SCell to request the on-demand SSB from that SCell in step 2104 (“The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation, and may also indicate SCell activation/deactivation” – See [0258]; “In operation 2102, the UE may receive configuration of SCell activation and activation/deactivation of the on-demand operation by higher layer signaling and L1 signaling” – See [0277]; “In operation 2104, the UE may transmit the WUS enabling/disabling an on-demand SSB or SIB1 in the one SCell or the multiple SCells, based on the determined structure of the WUS” – See [0279]; “Referring to FIG. 18, the BS may indicate on-demand SSB operation activation and on-demand SSB pattern for one SCell or multiple SCells by MAC CE signaling. In detail, the BS may indicate the on-demand SSB operation activation for C1 to C7 SCells, via MAC CE having one octet (1801)” – See [0253]; “The BS may configure the UE with the on-demand operation and may activate the on-demand operation” – See [0258]). Accordingly, the transmission of WUS to the SCell is triggered/caused by the on-demand operation activation signaling from the base station.
On pages 9-10 of the remarks, Applicant argues in substance that Yi does not teach “wherein the indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal indicates whether one or more on-demand synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) will be activated subsequent to the first wake-up signal,” as recited in independent claims 1, 12, and 19.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees. As shown above, Yi’s “indication that triggers transmission of the wake-up signal” is signaling transmitted from the base station to the UE which activates the on-demand SSB operation for one or more SCells. Yi further discloses that the on-demand SSB is transmitted by the SCell in response to the reception of a WUS by the SCell from the UE (“In operation 2104, the UE may transmit the WUS enabling/disabling an on-demand SSB or SIB1 in the one SCell or the multiple SCells, based on the determined structure of the WUS. In operation 2105, after transmitting the WUS, the UE may receive the on-demand SSB or SIB1” – See [0279]-[0280]; “a WUS having multiple blocks for requesting on-demand SSB” – See [0265]). When the UE receives the signaling that indicates activation of the on-demand SSB operation for an SCell, the UE understands that it shall request transmission of the on-demand SSB from the SCell by transmitting the WUS to the SCell. Thus, the UE subsequently receives the on-demand SSB from the SCell in response to transmitting the WUS to the SCell.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Scott M Sciacca whose telephone number is (571)270-1919. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday, 7:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST.
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/SCOTT M SCIACCA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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