DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The instant application No. 18747666 has claims 1-20 are pending.
2 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
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 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.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Balasubramanian et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0007503 A1; hereinafter Balasub).
Regarding claim 14, Balasub discloses a method performed by a device, the method comprising: generating information related to paging, (See ¶0023, one or more second indications that may be indicative of a set of multiple configurations for generating sensing measurement reports and transmitting, to each of the one or more second UEs, a paging message indicating one of the set of multiple configurations for generating the respective sensing measurement reports) the information including an indication used for triggering an apparatus to perform sensing; and transmitting the information. (See ¶0023, where receiving the respective sensing measurement reports may be based on transmitting the paging message; interpreted that paging message triggers the sensing procedure in order to generate the sensing measurement report)
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 13, 15 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Balasubramanian et al. (Pub. No. US 2023/0007503 A1; hereinafter Balasub) in view of Jung et al. (WO 2022029634 A1; hereinafter Jung).
Regarding claim 1, Balasub discloses a method performed by an apparatus, the method comprising: receiving information related to paging, (See ¶0023, one or more second indications that may be indicative of a set of multiple configurations for generating sensing measurement reports and transmitting, to each of the one or more second UEs, a paging message indicating one of the set of multiple configurations for generating the respective sensing measurement reports) the information including an indication used for triggering the apparatus to perform sensing; (See ¶0023, where receiving the respective sensing measurement reports may be based on transmitting the paging message; interpreted that paging message triggers the sensing procedure in order to generate the sensing measurement report)
However, Balasub fails to disclose decoding the information.
Jung disclose decoding the information (WO 2022029634 A1-Page 22, Using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205, thereby allowing the UE 205 to avoid an unnecessary wake-up for the measurements on a suitable SSB and for blind decoding of the paging DCI.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting the sensing measurement report based on paging message to include decoding the paging message. The motivation to combine is by using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205.
Regarding claim 2, Balasub fails to disclose the information comprises downlink control information (DCI), and the indication is in the DCI.
Jung discloses the information comprises downlink control information (DCI), and the indication is in the DCI. (WO 2022029634 A1-Using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205, thereby allowing the UE 205 to avoid an unnecessary wake-up for the measurements on a suitable SSB and for blind decoding of the paging DCI.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting the sensing measurement report based on paging message to include decoding the paging message. The motivation to combine is by using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205.
Regarding claim 13, Balasub discloses performing the sensing, wherein the sensing comprises at least one of: sensing electromagnetic waves reflected from at least one object, or a sensor on the apparatus sensing a parameter. (See 0041, a first UE may rely on sensor information from one or more sensors (e.g., lidar, radar, camera))
Regarding claim 15, Balasub fails to disclose the information comprises downlink control information (DCI), and the indication is in the DCI.
Jung discloses the information comprises downlink control information (DCI), and the indication is in the DCI. (WO 2022029634 A1-Using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205, thereby allowing the UE 205 to avoid an unnecessary wake-up for the measurements on a suitable SSB and for blind decoding of the paging DCI.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting the sensing measurement report based on paging message to include decoding the paging message. The motivation to combine is by using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205
Regarding claim 20, Balasub discloses an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, (See 0005, a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor) receiving information related to paging, (See ¶0023, one or more second indications that may be indicative of a set of multiple configurations for generating sensing measurement reports and transmitting, to each of the one or more second UEs, a paging message indicating one of the set of multiple configurations for generating the respective sensing measurement reports) the information including an indication used for triggering the apparatus to perform sensing; (See ¶0023, where receiving the respective sensing measurement reports may be based on transmitting the paging message; interpreted that paging message triggers the sensing procedure in order to generate the sensing measurement report)
However, Balasub fails to disclose decoding the information.
Jung disclose decoding the information (WO 2022029634 A1-Using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205, thereby allowing the UE 205 to avoid an unnecessary wake-up for the measurements on a suitable SSB and for blind decoding of the paging DCI.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify transmitting the sensing measurement report based on paging message to include decoding the paging message. The motivation to combine is by using the first DCI to indicate to the UE 205 whether to monitor the paging DCI on an upcoming paging occasion(s) of a paging/DRX cycle(s) or during an upcoming system information modification period(s) may be used to reduce power consumption of the UE 205
Claim(s) 3-4 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Balasub in view of Jung and, further in view of Xiong et al. (Pub. No. US 2018/0213379 A1; hereinafter Xiong).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Balasub in view of Jung fails to disclose the indication indicates that a sensing message is being scheduled by the DCI, and wherein the sensing message indicates at least one of: a type of the sensing to be performed by the apparatus; whether electromagnetic waves are to be transmitted from the apparatus; resources for transmitting the electromagnetic waves; resources for receiving the electromagnetic waves; resources for performing random access; or resources for transmitting feedback obtained from the sensing.
Xiong discloses the indication indicates that a sensing message is being scheduled by the DCI, (See 0060, The resource allocation 530 may be sent via a cellular link or other licensed or unlicensed wireless link, for example. According to this option, both D2D relaying UEs 130 and all MTC UEs 120a-c may listen to the resource allocation from eNodeB 140. This may assist proper reception of the measurement reports from the MTC devices 120a-c. To simplify the design, an example design option of DCI format 3/3A like PDCCH scrambled by MTC-C-RNTI can be used to support the MTC group based signaling) and wherein the sensing message indicates at least one of: a type of the sensing to be performed by the apparatus; whether electromagnetic waves are to be transmitted from the apparatus; resources for transmitting the electromagnetic waves; resources for receiving the electromagnetic waves; resources for performing random access; or resources for transmitting feedback obtained from the sensing. (20180213379-See 0060, n element 2, eNodeB 140 sends out the resource allocation 530 for the transmission of MTC reports over sidelinks. The resource allocation 530 may be sent via a cellular link or other licensed or unlicensed wireless link, for example. According to this option, both D2D relaying UEs 130 and all MTC UEs 120a-c may listen to the resource allocation from eNodeB 140. This may assist proper reception of the measurement reports from the MTC devices 120a-c); See 116, The data or measurement report may be generated by processing sensor information received from a sensor, for example. The sensor information may describe a measurement or sensing result of the sensor. The sensor may be included in the MTC device.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Balasub in view of Jung to include scheduling sensing resources with a DCI. The motivation to combine is to save the control overhead and thereby improve the system spectral efficiency substantially, especially when considering the support of a large number of MTC devices in the network (See ¶0026).
Regarding claim 4, Balasub in view of Jung fails to disclose the sensing message indicates an identifier (ID) that is specific to the apparatus or to a group of apparatuses including the apparatus, and wherein a configuration provided by the sensing message applies to the apparatus or to the group of apparatuses associated with the ID.
Xiong discloses the sensing message indicates an identifier (ID) that is specific to the apparatus or to a group of apparatuses including the apparatus, (See 0141, wherein all MTC UEs report the measurement on the corresponding resource within resource pool which is indicated in the resource allocation from eNodeB; See 0170, wherein downlink control information (DCI) format 3/3A scrambled by MTC-C-RNTI is used to support the MTC group based signaling, wherein MTC-C-RNTI is predefined in the specification or configured by higher layers via master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB) or dedicated RRC signalling) and wherein a configuration provided by the sensing message applies to the apparatus or to the group of apparatuses associated with the ID. (See 0141, wherein all MTC UEs report the measurement on the corresponding resource within resource pool which is indicated in the resource allocation from eNodeB; See 0170, wherein downlink control information (DCI) format 3/3A scrambled by MTC-C-RNTI is used to support the MTC group based signaling, wherein MTC-C-RNTI is predefined in the specification or configured by higher layers via master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB) or dedicated RRC signalling)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Balasub in view of Jung to include scheduling sensing resources with a DCI. The motivation to combine is to save the control overhead and thereby improve the system spectral efficiency substantially, especially when considering the support of a large number of MTC devices in the network (See ¶0026).
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Balasub in view of Jung and, further in view of Xu et al. (WO 2021155520 A1; hereinafter Xu).
Regarding claim 5, Balasub in view of Jung fails to disclose the indication indicates a pattern of one or more bits in the DCI, and the pattern of the one or more bits indicates that a paging message is being scheduled by the DCI.
Xu discloses the indication indicates a pattern of one or more bits in the DCI, and the pattern of the one or more bits indicates that a paging message is being scheduled by the DCI.
(Page 11, the network carries a bitmap in the PDCCH DCI for scheduling paging messages or the PDSCH carrying the paging messages. The bitmap includes one or more bits, and each bit corresponds to one or more bits.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify sensing message is based on paging message to include the paging message is scheduled through a DCI. The motivation to combine is by scheduling paging messages at optimal times, the network can ensure the UE is awake and ready to receive incoming calls, data, or system updates promptly. This reduces latency in service delivery and improves the user experience.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Balasub in view of Jung and, further in view of Astrom et al. (Pub. No. US 20210329550 A1; hereinafter Astrom).
Regarding claim 10, Balasub in view of Jung fails to disclose the method is performed by the apparatus in a wake-up duration of a power saving state.
Astrom disclose the method is performed by the apparatus in a wake-up duration of a power saving state. (See 0040, methods and/or procedures for paging one or more user equipment (UE) based on wake-up signals (WUS) transmitted in a radio access network (RAN).)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Balasub in view of Jung to include wakeup signal is received before UE can do any of the procedure.
The motivation to combine is the WUS contains only one bit of information, the decoding time for a WUS is considerably shorter than that of the full NPDCCH, which may contain up to 35 bits of information. This reduced decoding requirement improves UE power consumption and leads to longer UE battery life (See 0023).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Balasub in view of Jung and, further in view of You et al. (Pub. No. US 2021/0160861 A1; hereinafter You).
Regarding claim 12, Balasub in view of Jung fails to disclose the DCI indicates a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value that is scrambled by a paging ID.
You discloses the DCI indicates a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value that is scrambled by a paging ID. (20210160861-See ¶0090, ABS determines a DCI format according to DCI to be transmitted to the UE and adds a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to the DCI. The CRC is masked (scrambled) with an identifier (e.g., a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI)) depending on an owner of the PDCCH or usage of the PDCCH. For instance, if the PDCCH is for a specific UE, the CRC may be masked with an identifier (e.g., cell-RNTI (C-RNTI)) of the corresponding UE. If the PDCCH is for a paging message, the CRC may be masked with a paging identifier (e.g., paging-RNTI (P-RNTI)))
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method and system disclosed by Balasub in view of Jung to include the crc is in the DCI that is scrambled. The motivation to combine is lets the network target control messages to specific UEs or groups while keeping system messages accessible to all.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9, 11 and 17-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Khoryaev et al. (Pub. No. US 20200029245 A1)-See 0131, the new resource (re)-selection window partially overlaps with the current selection window, then if there is a valid candidate resource for selection, the P-UE 602 can (re)-select it and trigger partial sensing and resource reselection procedure corresponding to new/updated resource selection window, where current resource does not fit or is able to be used. If there is no available candidate resource, the P-UE 602 can be enabled to transmit randomly until new partial sensing data are available (the partial sensing procedure can be triggered so that UE reselects resource already for the next transport block (TB) transmission or after reselection period).
Gao et al. (Pub. No. US 20210058895 A1)-See 0097, first indication information and the second indication information may be jointly indicated by reusing one or more bits of any one of the foregoing fields in the DCI. For example, 00 indicates that the short message is carried on a PDCCH, and the scheduling information of the paging message is invalid; 01 indicates that the scheduling information of the paging message is carried on the PDCCH, and the scheduling information of the paging message is valid; 10 indicates that the short message is carried on the PDCCH, and the UE does not need to receive the PDSCH; and 11 indicates that the scheduling information of the paging message is carried on the PDCCH, and the UE needs to receive the PDSCH.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TEJIS DAYA whose telephone number is (571)270-7817. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-4:30.
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/Tejis Daya/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472
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