DETAILED ACTION
Claims 8-10 and 18-30 have been cancelled. Claims 1-7, 11-17, and 31-40 have been examined.
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 Objections
Claims 38-40 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 38 depends from claim 21 which was cancelled. Applicant should correct the dependency of claim 38 so that it does not depend from a cancelled claim. Claims 39-40 depend from claim 38 and therefore have the same issue.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-7, 11-17, and 31-40 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20240023011 A1 to Niu et al. (hereinafter “Niu”) and US 20220369264 A1 to Cheng et al. (hereinafter “Cheng”)
As per claim 1, Niu discloses a method performed by a wireless device (Niu Abstract), the method comprising: adapting monitoring of a downlink control channel based on a gap in network coverage overlapping a paging occasion configured for the wireless device, wherein adapting monitoring of the downlink control channel comprises monitoring the downlink control channel during a replacement paging occasion (Niu [0062,0065,0127-0128] [0131] When the UE determines that the eDRX paging time window (PTW) or the PSM activation time of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may negotiate eDRX/PSM parameters with the core network. The UE may send a message, such as an attach request message, a TAU request message, etc., to the core network. The message may include a NAS message. The message may carry at least one of: [0132] a desired extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) parameter; [0133] a desired shift time of a Paging Time Window in an eDRX cycle; [0134] a desired Power Saving Mode (PSM) parameter; [0135] a desired shift time of an activation time of a PSM; [0136] a coverage hole information; [0137] an eDRX deactivation indication; [0138] a PSM deactivation indication; [0139] a periodicity of the coverage hole; [0140] a start time of a next coverage hole; or a ratio between a duration of the coverage hole in a predetermined total duration and the predetermined total duration.).
Niu may not explicitly disclose, but Cheng, which is in the same field of endeavor, discloses where the channel to monitor is a downlink control channel (Cheng [0037,0065,0068]). The purpose of Cheng is to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Cheng with Niu, to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]).
As per claim 2, Niu and Cheng discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises monitoring the downlink control channel both during the paging occasion configured for the wireless device and during the replacement paging occasion (Niu [0127] When the UE is in an idle or an inactive state, the UE camps on a cell, obtains the paging occasion configuration of the cell, and determines the paging occasion (PO) according to its UE ID. In each Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle, the UE monitors the paging message at its own paging occasion. On the core network side, if there is a paging message for the UE, the core network sends the paging message in the tracking area where the UE is located. On the base station side, if the paging message of the UE arrives, the base station sends the paging message of the UE at the paging occasion associated with the UE. [0128] In the coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a coverage hole (or, in a silent/mute state, or an access barring state), and is not able to receive data. If the core network or base station does not know the status of the UE, when a paging message arrives, the core network or base station still attempts to page the UE, but no response from the UE may be received, resulting in a call failure. Or, in a coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a mute state, or the UE may be barred from accessing the network, so the UE is not able to receive data. When the UE leaves the coverage hole, the UE may need to wait until the next DRX cycle or the next extended DRX (eDRX) cycle to receive the paging message, which may lead to a delay to the paging message reception. Additionally, the UE may support a Power Saving Mode (PSM) function. When the UE wakes up in the PSM mode, the UE initiates a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure to perform cell search. However, the UE may wake up when the UE is in a coverage hole or when the UE is barred from accessing the network, the cell search fails and wastes the UE's energy. As such, it may be beneficial for the UE to take some proactive actions when there is a coverage hole.).
As per claim 3, Niu and Cheng discloses the method of claim 1, wherein, based on the gap in the network coverage overlapping the paging occasion configured for the wireless device, the method further comprises abstaining from monitoring the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0062,0065]).
As per claim 4, Niu and Cheng discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion prior to the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 5, Niu and Cheng disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion after the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 6, Niu and Cheng discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the paging occasion configured for the wireless device is based on an active portion of a discontinuous reception cycle (Niu [0127-0140]) or a power saving mode cycle (Niu [0147] When the UE determines that the wake-up time of the PSM of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the wake-up time of the PSM. For example, the start time of the wake-up time of the UE's PSM is T, after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the wake-up time of the UE's PSM no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.), and wherein the replacement paging occasion occurs outside of the active portion of the discontinuous reception cycle or the power saving mode cycle (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]).
As per claim 7, Niu and Cheng discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the gap in network coverage overlaps the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]); and sending, to a network node, information indicating that the gap in network coverage overlaps the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]).
As per claim 11, Niu discloses a wireless device comprising processing circuitry (Niu Abstract and [0005]) operable to: adapt monitoring of a downlink control channel based on a gap in network coverage overlapping a paging occasion configured for the wireless device, wherein adapting monitoring of the downlink control channel comprises monitoring the downlink control channel during a replacement paging occasion (Niu [0062,0065,0127-0128] [0131] When the UE determines that the eDRX paging time window (PTW) or the PSM activation time of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may negotiate eDRX/PSM parameters with the core network. The UE may send a message, such as an attach request message, a TAU request message, etc., to the core network. The message may include a NAS message. The message may carry at least one of: [0132] a desired extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) parameter; [0133] a desired shift time of a Paging Time Window in an eDRX cycle; [0134] a desired Power Saving Mode (PSM) parameter; [0135] a desired shift time of an activation time of a PSM; [0136] a coverage hole information; [0137] an eDRX deactivation indication; [0138] a PSM deactivation indication; [0139] a periodicity of the coverage hole; [0140] a start time of a next coverage hole; or a ratio between a duration of the coverage hole in a predetermined total duration and the predetermined total duration.).
Niu may not explicitly disclose, but Cheng, which is in the same field of endeavor, discloses where the channel to monitor is a downlink control channel (Cheng [0037,0065,0068]). The purpose of Cheng is to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Cheng with Niu, to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]).
As per claim 12, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to monitor the downlink control channel both during the paging occasion configured for the wireless device and during the replacement paging occasion (Niu [0127] When the UE is in an idle or an inactive state, the UE camps on a cell, obtains the paging occasion configuration of the cell, and determines the paging occasion (PO) according to its UE ID. In each Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle, the UE monitors the paging message at its own paging occasion. On the core network side, if there is a paging message for the UE, the core network sends the paging message in the tracking area where the UE is located. On the base station side, if the paging message of the UE arrives, the base station sends the paging message of the UE at the paging occasion associated with the UE. [0128] In the coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a coverage hole (or, in a silent/mute state, or an access barring state), and is not able to receive data. If the core network or base station does not know the status of the UE, when a paging message arrives, the core network or base station still attempts to page the UE, but no response from the UE may be received, resulting in a call failure. Or, in a coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a mute state, or the UE may be barred from accessing the network, so the UE is not able to receive data. When the UE leaves the coverage hole, the UE may need to wait until the next DRX cycle or the next extended DRX (eDRX) cycle to receive the paging message, which may lead to a delay to the paging message reception. Additionally, the UE may support a Power Saving Mode (PSM) function. When the UE wakes up in the PSM mode, the UE initiates a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure to perform cell search. However, the UE may wake up when the UE is in a coverage hole or when the UE is barred from accessing the network, the cell search fails and wastes the UE's energy. As such, it may be beneficial for the UE to take some proactive actions when there is a coverage hole.).
As per claim 13, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, wherein, based on the gap in the network coverage overlapping the paging occasion configured for the wireless device, the processing circuitry is operable to abstain from monitoring the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0062,0065]).
As per claim 14, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion prior to the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 15, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion after the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 16, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, wherein the paging occasion configured for the wireless device is based on an active portion of a discontinuous reception cycle (Niu [0127-0140]) or a power saving mode cycle (Niu [0147] When the UE determines that the wake-up time of the PSM of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the wake-up time of the PSM. For example, the start time of the wake-up time of the UE's PSM is T, after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the wake-up time of the UE's PSM no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.), and wherein the replacement paging occasion occurs outside of the active portion of the discontinuous reception cycle or the power saving mode cycle (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]).
As per claim 17, Niu and Cheng disclose the wireless device of claim 11, the processing circuitry further operable to: determine that the gap in network coverage overlaps the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]); and send, to a network node, information indicating that the gap in network coverage overlaps the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]).
As per claim 31, Niu and Cheng disclose a network node comprising processing circuitry (Niu Fig. 1) operable to: adapt when to page a wireless device via a downlink control channel based on a gap in network coverage of the wireless device overlapping a paging occasion configured for the wireless device, wherein adapting when to page the wireless device comprises paging the wireless device during a replacement paging occasion (Niu [0062,0065,0127-0128] [0131] When the UE determines that the eDRX paging time window (PTW) or the PSM activation time of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may negotiate eDRX/PSM parameters with the core network. The UE may send a message, such as an attach request message, a TAU request message, etc., to the core network. The message may include a NAS message. The message may carry at least one of: [0132] a desired extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) parameter; [0133] a desired shift time of a Paging Time Window in an eDRX cycle; [0134] a desired Power Saving Mode (PSM) parameter; [0135] a desired shift time of an activation time of a PSM; [0136] a coverage hole information; [0137] an eDRX deactivation indication; [0138] a PSM deactivation indication; [0139] a periodicity of the coverage hole; [0140] a start time of a next coverage hole; or a ratio between a duration of the coverage hole in a predetermined total duration and the predetermined total duration.).
Niu may not explicitly disclose, but Cheng, which is in the same field of endeavor, discloses where the channel to monitor is a downlink control channel (Cheng [0037,0065,0068]). The purpose of Cheng is to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Cheng with Niu, to performing timing alignment in a wireless communication system (Cheng [0002]).
As per claim 32, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to page the wireless device both during the paging occasion configured for the wireless device and during the replacement paging occasion (Niu [0127] When the UE is in an idle or an inactive state, the UE camps on a cell, obtains the paging occasion configuration of the cell, and determines the paging occasion (PO) according to its UE ID. In each Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle, the UE monitors the paging message at its own paging occasion. On the core network side, if there is a paging message for the UE, the core network sends the paging message in the tracking area where the UE is located. On the base station side, if the paging message of the UE arrives, the base station sends the paging message of the UE at the paging occasion associated with the UE. [0128] In the coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a coverage hole (or, in a silent/mute state, or an access barring state), and is not able to receive data. If the core network or base station does not know the status of the UE, when a paging message arrives, the core network or base station still attempts to page the UE, but no response from the UE may be received, resulting in a call failure. Or, in a coverage hole scenario, the UE may be in a mute state, or the UE may be barred from accessing the network, so the UE is not able to receive data. When the UE leaves the coverage hole, the UE may need to wait until the next DRX cycle or the next extended DRX (eDRX) cycle to receive the paging message, which may lead to a delay to the paging message reception. Additionally, the UE may support a Power Saving Mode (PSM) function. When the UE wakes up in the PSM mode, the UE initiates a Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedure to perform cell search. However, the UE may wake up when the UE is in a coverage hole or when the UE is barred from accessing the network, the cell search fails and wastes the UE's energy. As such, it may be beneficial for the UE to take some proactive actions when there is a coverage hole.).
As per claim 33, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, wherein, based on the gap in the network coverage overlapping the paging occasion configured for the wireless device, the processing circuitry is operable to abstain from paging the wireless device during the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0062,0065]).
As per claim 34, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion prior to the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 35, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, wherein the replacement paging occasion includes a paging occasion after the gap in network coverage (Niu [0145] When the UE determines that the PTW in the eDRX of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the start time of the PTW. For example, the start time of the PTW obtained by the UE according to the UE ID is T, and after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the PTW no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.).
As per claim 36, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, wherein the paging occasion configured for the wireless device is based on an active portion of a discontinuous reception cycle (Niu [0127-0140]) or a power saving mode cycle (Niu [0147] When the UE determines that the wake-up time of the PSM of the UE conflicts with the coverage hole, the UE may shift forward/backward the wake-up time of the PSM. For example, the start time of the wake-up time of the UE's PSM is T, after shifting forward, it becomes T+t; or after shifting backward, it becomes T-t, where t is the offset. The offset may be determined by the coverage loophole information. After the shift, the wake-up time of the UE's PSM no longer conflicts with the coverage hole.), and wherein the replacement paging occasion occurs outside of the active portion of the discontinuous reception cycle or the power saving mode cycle (Niu [0127-0140,0145,0147]).
As per claim 37, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 31, the processing circuitry further operable to: receive, from the wireless device, information indicating that the gap in network coverage overlaps the paging occasion configured for the wireless device (Niu [0127-0140]); and wherein the processing circuitry is operable to adapt when to page the wireless device based at least in part on receiving the information (Niu [0127-0140]).
As per claim 38, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 21, the processing circuitry further operable to determine information to enable the wireless device to determine a configuration of the replacement paging occasion (Niu [0127-0140]).
As per claim 39, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 38, wherein the configuration of the replacement paging occasion indicates when the replacement paging occasion occurs (Niu [0127-0140]).
As per claim 40, Niu and Cheng disclose the network node of claim 38, the processing circuitry further operable to send, to the wireless device, the information that enables the wireless device to determine the configuration of the replacement paging occasion (Niu [0127-0140]).
Conclusion
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FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2476
/FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476