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 .
This action is in response to the application filed on 20 March 2024.
Claims 7-9 are under examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 16 September 2025 and 16 December 2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “control unit”, “reception unit”, and “transmission unit” in claims 7 and 8. The specification discloses the processor 1001 may include a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with a peripheral apparatus, a control apparatus, a
calculation apparatus, a register, etc. For example, the above-described control unit 140, control unit 240, and the like, may be implemented by the processor 1001, Paragraph 71. the transmitting/receiving antenna, the amplifier unit, the transmitting/receiving unit, the transmission line interface, and the like, may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit
may be physically or logically divided into a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, paragraph 75.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nory et al. (US Publication 2024/0372678).
With respect to claims 7 and 9, Nory teaches A terminal (UE, Figure 13) comprising:
a control unit configured to set up a configuration related to monitoring of a downlink control channel; (The search spaces within which PDCCH candidates must be monitored are configured to the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. A monitoring periodicity can also be configured for different PDCCH candidates, paragraph 33)
a reception unit configured to receive the downlink control channel from a secondary cell (PDCCH monitoring on PCell can be on PCell slots with SCS mu1 (e.g. 15 kHz SCS), and PDCCH monitoring on sSCell can be based on sSCell slots with SCS mu2 (e.g. 30 kHz SCS), paragraph 54. The UE is expected to monitor PDCCH candidates on the sSCell for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, based on one or more parameters (set 1) of the first SS set, paragraph 70) and to receive a downlink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell; (the UE can monitor DL PDCCH on SCell X for assignments/grants scheduling PDSCH/PUSCH corresponding to SCell X, paragraph 40. PDCCH monitoring on PCell can be on PCell slots with SCS mu1 (e.g. 15 kHz SCS), and PDCCH monitoring on sSCell can be based on sSCell slots with SCS mu2 (e.g. 30 kHz SCS), paragraph 54.) and
a transmission unit configured to transmit an uplink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell, (the UE may determine number of PDCCH candidates to monitor for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, paragraph 77) wherein the control unit switches the configuration related to monitoring of the downlink control channel in a case where the secondary cell becomes a dormant-BWP (Bandwidth Part) state. (When sSCell is deactivated for the UE (e.g. based on detection of SCell deactivation command in a MAC CE) or when the active BWP of the sSCell is set to a dormant BWP (i.e., a BWP on which UE does not perform PDCCH monitoring), UE stops PDCCH monitoring on the sSCell and monitors some additional PDCCH candidates on the PCell (i.e., additional compared to the case when sSCell is activated) for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, paragraph 57. The existing cross-carrier scheduling can be enhanced such that monitoring of some PDCCH candidates that can schedule PCell PDSCH/PUSCH is switched between sSCell and PCell (potentially with different SCS than sSCell) based on whether the sSCell is activated (or operating using a non-dormant bandwidth part (BWP)) or not, paragraph 69)
With respect to claim 8, Nory teaches A communication system comprising:
a base station; (Network node, Figure 13) and
a terminal, (UE, Figure 13) wherein the base station includes:
a transmission unit configured to transmit a downlink control channel from a secondary cell and to transmit a downlink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell; (The UE is expected to monitor PDCCH candidates on the sSCell for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, based on one or more parameters (set 1) of the first SS set, paragraph 70) and
a reception unit configured to receive an uplink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell, (the UE may determine number of PDCCH candidates to monitor for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, paragraph 77) and
the terminal includes:
a control unit configured to set up a configuration related to monitoring of the downlink control channel; (The search spaces within which PDCCH candidates must be monitored are configured to the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. A monitoring periodicity can also be configured for different PDCCH candidates, paragraph 33)
a reception unit configured to receive the downlink control channel from the secondary cell (PDCCH monitoring on PCell can be on PCell slots with SCS mu1 (e.g. 15 kHz SCS), and PDCCH monitoring on sSCell can be based on sSCell slots with SCS mu2 (e.g. 30 kHz SCS), paragraph 54. The UE is expected to monitor PDCCH candidates on the sSCell for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, based on one or more parameters (set 1) of the first SS set, paragraph 70) and to receive a downlink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell; (the UE can monitor DL PDCCH on SCell X for assignments/grants scheduling PDSCH/PUSCH corresponding to SCell X, paragraph 40. PDCCH monitoring on PCell can be on PCell slots with SCS mu1 (e.g. 15 kHz SCS), and PDCCH monitoring on sSCell can be based on sSCell slots with SCS mu2 (e.g. 30 kHz SCS), paragraph 54.) and
a transmission unit configured to transmit an uplink shared channel scheduled by the downlink control channel in a cell different from the secondary cell, (the UE may determine number of PDCCH candidates to monitor for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, paragraph 77)
wherein the control unit switches the configuration related to monitoring of the downlink control channel in a case where the secondary cell becomes a dormant-BWP (Bandwidth Part) state. (When sSCell is deactivated for the UE (e.g. based on detection of SCell deactivation command in a MAC CE) or when the active BWP of the sSCell is set to a dormant BWP (i.e., a BWP on which UE does not perform PDCCH monitoring), UE stops PDCCH monitoring on the sSCell and monitors some additional PDCCH candidates on the PCell (i.e., additional compared to the case when sSCell is activated) for DCI formats that can schedule PDSCH/PUSCH for the PCell, paragraph 57. The existing cross-carrier scheduling can be enhanced such that monitoring of some PDCCH candidates that can schedule PCell PDSCH/PUSCH is switched between sSCell and PCell (potentially with different SCS than sSCell) based on whether the sSCell is activated (or operating using a non-dormant bandwidth part (BWP)) or not, paragraph 69)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhou et al. (US Publication 2022/0303960) discloses A downlink control information (DCI), received at a first slot, indicates to switch PDCCH monitoring from the first SSG to a second SSG, of the BWP, having no search spaces. The wireless device stops monitoring the PDCCH at a second slot that starts, after the last symbol of the first slot, in response to the switching PDDCH monitoring to the second SSG.
Kumagai et al. (US Publication 2022/0386281) discloses a control unit configured to switch from a first search space to a second search space upon detection of the downlink control channel, and switch from the second search space to the first search space upon determining that a signal transmission by a base station is completed, wherein a period of a time domain of the second search space is longer than that of the first search space.
Any inquiry concerning this communication from the examiner should be directed to ABDULLAHI AHMED whose telephone number is (571) 270-3652. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:00AM-4:30PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Khalid Kassim can be reached on 571-270-3370. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABDULLAHI AHMED/Examiner, Art Unit 2475