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 .
Authorization for Internet Communication
To expedite prosecution, filing a written authorization for internet communication is recommended. Doing so permits USPTO to communicate using email to schedule interviews and/or discuss other aspects of the application. Without the written authorization in place, USPTO cannot respond to email communications. The preferred method of providing authorization is by filing form PTO/SB/439, available at https://www.uspto.gov/patent/forms/forms. See MPEP 502.03.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 5, 12, 19 and 20 is/are objected because of the following informalities (or vagueness):
Claim 5 uses "at least one of" (on-duration timer, cycle, start offset, slot offset), while claims 12 and 19 use "an on-duration timer, a cycle, a start offset, and a slot offset" (all four required). Appropriate clarification is required.
Claim 20 mirrors claims 6 and 13, and recites as "determining" on-duration period. Traditionally this is a UE function, but claims 20 of a BS determines the same. Appropriate clarification 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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 8, 10, 15 and 17 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US 2024/0324058, “Xu”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Xu unless otherwise mentioned.
Xu comprises the following features:
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding claim 1, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for Network Energy Saving (NES), the method comprising:
receiving, from a Base Station (BS), a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message comprising an NES configuration ([0046] “multiple radio resource control (RRC) UE-DRX configurations can be signaled to the UE (e.g., by the base station) … The single RRC UE-DRX configuration signal can be indicative of one or more DRX configuration parameters.”); and
determining whether to apply a cell Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) operation, a cell Discontinuous Reception (DRX) operation, or both the cell DTX operation and the cell DRX operation based on the NES configuration ([0142] “Based on a determination and/or signal that cell-DTX and cell-DRX have been enabled or disabled, the UE can switch from using a first set of UE-DRX configuration parameters corresponding to the cell-DTX (and cell-DRX) enabled state to using a second set of UE-DRX configuration parameters corresponding to the cell-DTX (and cell-DRX) disabled state.”).
Regarding claim 8, it is an UE claim corresponding to the method claim 1, except the limitations, “at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions” (See Fig. 2 for 280, 258, 266, 264 and 282, and [0079] “Memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 102 and the UE 104, respectively.”), and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, it is a base station claim corresponding to the method claim 1 in a reciprocal way, except the limitations, “at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more computer-executable instructions” (See Fig. 2 for 220, 230, 240 and 238, and aforesaid [0079], and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 1.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding claims 3, 10 and 17, the method of claim 1, the UE of claim 8 and the BS of claim 15, respectively, wherein: the UE is served by a plurality of cells ([0072] “a UE 164 that may communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communication link 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.”), and the cell DTX operation, the cell DRX operation, or both the cell DTX operation and the cell DRX operation is/are applied to one of the plurality of cells serving the UE (aforesaid [0142]).
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.
Claim(s) 2, 4-6, 9, 11-13, 16 and 18-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0324058, “Xu”) in view of Li et al. (US 2026/0081725, “Li”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Xu unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 2, 9 and 16, it is noted that while disclosing DTX/DRX configuration, Xu does not specifically teach about applying to a cell. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Li as follows;
the method of claim 1, the UE of claim 8 and the BS of claim 15, respectively, wherein:
the NES configuration is included in a cell configuration carried by the RRC message ([Li, 0045] “A configuration of cell DTX/DRX may be activated or deactivated by using RRC”), and the cell DTX operation, the cell DRX operation, or both the cell DTX operation and the cell DRX operation is/are applied to a cell associated with the cell configuration ([Li, 0051] “the first information includes an inactive period of discontinuous transmission DTX in a target cell or discontinuous reception DRX in a target cell, and the target cell includes a serving cell of the terminal.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Xu by using the features of Li in order to fully utilize resources such that “Embodiments of this application provide a hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback method” [Li, 0005].
Regarding claims 4, 11 and 18, the method of claim 1, the UE of claim 8 and the BS of claim 15, respectively, wherein: the NES configuration comprises a set of common parameters applicable to both the cell DTX operation and the cell DRX operation ([Li, 0064] “the first configuration information may be used to configure the target cell DTX and the target cell DRX. In other words, the cell DTX configuration and the cell DRX configuration may be configured together”, [Li, 0066-0069] describe about “a periodicity of the target cell DTX”, “a start position (start slot) of the target cell DTX”, “a time domain offset of the target cell DTX”, and “an on duration of the target cell DTX.”).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Li are the same as for claim 3.
Regarding claims 5, 12 and 19, the method of claim 4, the UE of claim 8 and the BS of claim 15, respectively, wherein: the set of common parameters comprises at least one of an on-duration timer, a cycle, a start offset, and a slot offset (See aforesaid [Li, 0066-0069]).
Regarding claims 6, 13 and 20, the method of claim 4, the UE of claim 8 and the BS of claim 15, respectively, further comprising: determining a first on-duration period for the cell DTX operation and a second on-duration period for the cell DRX operation based on the set of common parameters ([Li, 0070] “an on duration of the target cell DTX” and aforesaid [Li, 0064]).
Claim(s) 7 and 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al. (US 2024/0324058, “Xu”) in view of Dashtaki et al. (US 2025/0365809, “Dashtaki”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Xu unless otherwise mentioned.
Regarding claims 7 and 14, it is noted that while disclosing DTX/DRX configuration, Xu does not specifically teach about an indication for activation. It, however, had been known in the art before the effective date of the instant application as shown by Dashtaki as follows;
the method of claim 1 and the UE of claim 8, respectively, wherein: the NES configuration comprises a parameter for indicating whether to apply the cell DTX operation, the cell DRX operation, or both the cell DTX operation and the cell DRX operation ([Dashtaki, 0318] “the wireless device may activate the first DRX configuration in response to receiving the one or more configuration parameters. For example, the wireless device may receive an activation command (e.g., a MAC CE or a DCI or an RRC) activating the second DRX configuration.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of instant application to modify Xu by using the features of Dashtaki in order to effectively monitor downlink channels such that The method can further include receiving a downlink control information (DCI) comprising a PDCCH monitoring adaptation field indicating skipping PDCCH during a first window.” [Dashtaki, Abstract].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry H. Kim whose telephone number and email address are as follows; 571-272-5009, harry.kim2@uspto.gov.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Derrick Ferris can be reached at 571-272-3123.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from www.uspto.gov. For questions or assistance, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights