DETAILED ACTION
1. Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
3. Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 8/02/2024 and 2/19/2025 have been found to be in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Specification
5. The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by United States Patent Application Publication 2023/0354188 A1 to Akl et al. (hereinafter “Akl”).
Regarding Claim 1, Akl discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
receiving (Akl: [0114] – base station transmits to UE configuration information; thus, UE receives…):
first information related to one or more sets of parameters associated with respective one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations on a cell (Akl: [0114], [0118] – UE receives DTX and DRX configurations and associated parameters.), wherein the one or more sets of parameters include:
a periodicity (Akl: [0014], [0118], [0124], [0148] (for DTX).),
a start offset (Akl: [0114], [0124] (for DTX); [0078-0079], [0129] (for DRX).), and
an on-duration timer (Akl: [0078-0080] (for DRX); [0112], [0118] (for DTX).);
second information related to a reception of an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX from the one or more cell DTX or cell DRX configurations (Akl: [0027-0029] – a DTX configuration “may refer to a UE DTX configuration or a cell DRX configuration”. That is, Examiner interprets a DTX configuration to include DRX configurations, and thus, the disclosure of Akl covers both configurations. Akl further discloses that the activation and/or activation of these configurations may be semi-static or dynamic, in which the UE receives these commands either through L1/L2 signaling or RRC signaling. See also [0078], [0111-0113], [0132], [0157].); and
the indication based on the second information (Akl: [0027-0029] – as outlined above, the indication for activation/deactivation may be indicated via L1/L2 or RRC signaling.);
determining one of:
an active period and an inactive period of the cell DTX based on the indication and the first information (Akl: [0057] – “In some examples, the DTX configuration may be activated or inactivated semi-statically or dynamically with respect to UE transmissions. For instance, the DTX configuration or other RRC message may semi-statically indicate a DTX active status, or a DCI or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) may dynamically indicate a DTX active status, which indicates whether the DTX configuration is active or inactive. If the DTX active status is active, the UE may transmit and the base station may receive uplink transmissions during the on duration but not in an off duration of the UE DTX cycle or cell DRX cycle.”); or
an active period and an inactive period of the cell DRX based on the indication and the first information (Akl: [0057] – “In some examples, the DTX configuration may be activated or inactivated semi-statically or dynamically with respect to UE transmissions. For instance, the DTX configuration or other RRC message may semi-statically indicate a DTX active status, or a DCI or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) may dynamically indicate a DTX active status, which indicates whether the DTX configuration is active or inactive. If the DTX active status is active, the UE may transmit and the base station may receive uplink transmissions during the on duration but not in an off duration of the UE DTX cycle or cell DRX cycle.”); and
one of:
receiving channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and inactive periods of the cell DTX (Interpreted to correspond to receiving signals based on the active/inactive periods for the DTX, and is described in Akl in at least Figure 11, step 1120.); or
transmitting channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and inactive periods of the cell DRX (Interpreted to correspond to transmitting signals based on the active/inactive periods for the DRX (a DTX configuration), and is described in Akl in at least Figure 10, step 1020.).
Regarding Claim 3, Akl discloses the method of claim 1, wherein:
the indication is provided by a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (Akl: [0065] – PDCCH carries the DCI; [0106-0107], [0113], [0120-0122] – the DCI indicates the activation/deactivation of a DTX(/DRX) configuration.), the PDCCH is monitored during an UE DRX active time, and the PDCCH is not monitored during an UE DRX inactive time (Akl: [0078-0079] – “When a UE performs discontinuous reception (DRX), the UE generally monitors the radio channel periodically for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) during an active or “on” duration and powers down most of its circuitry to save battery life during an “off” duration.”).
Regarding Claim 4, Akl discloses the method of claim 1, wherein:
the indication is provided by a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (Akl: [0065] – PDCCH carries the DCI; [0106-0107], [0113], [0120-0122] – the DCI indicates the activation/deactivation of a DTX(/DRX) configuration.), and the DCI format further indicates to skip monitoring the PDCCH for one or more subsequent monitoring occasions (Akl: [0078-0079] – corresponds to “discontinuous monitoring” of the PDCCH for the purpose of energy saving in which an RRC received from the base station controls the monitoring, and the DCI activates/deactivates the monitoring, either semi-statically or dynamically. See also [0153], [0155].).
Claims 8, 10, and 11, directed to an apparatus embodiment of claims 1, 3, and 4, recite similar features as claims 1, 3, and 4 respectively, and are therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claims 1, 3, and 4. Please see above rejections of claims 1, 3, and 4. Akl discloses the apparatus as a user equipment comprising a transceiver and a processor in at least Fig. 12 with [0200-0227]).
Regarding Claim 15, Akl discloses a base station (BS) (Akl: Fig. 13 with [0228-0255]) comprising:
a transceiver (Akl: Fig. 13, elements 1330, 1334) configured to transmit:
first information related to one or more sets of parameters associated with respective one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations on a cell (Akl: [0114], [0118] – UE receives DTX and DRX configurations and associated parameters.), wherein the one or more sets of parameters include:
a periodicity (Akl: [0014], [0118], [0124], [0148] (for DTX).),
a start offset (Akl: [0114], [0124] (for DTX); [0078-0079], [0129] (for DRX).), and
an on-duration timer (Akl: [0078-0080] (for DRX); [0112], [0118] (for DTX).);
second information related to a transmission of an indication for activation or deactivation of the cell DTX or the cell DRX from the one or more cell DTX or cell DRX configurations (Akl: [0027-0029] – a DTX configuration “may refer to a UE DTX configuration or a cell DRX configuration”. That is, Examiner interprets a DTX configuration to include DRX configurations, and thus, the disclosure of Akl covers both configurations. Akl further discloses that the activation and/or activation of these configurations may be semi-static or dynamic, in which the UE receives these commands either through L1/L2 signaling or RRC signaling. See also [0078], [0111-0113], [0132], [0157].); and
the indication based on the second information (Akl: [0027-0029] – as outlined above, the indication for activation/deactivation may be indicated via L1/L2 or RRC signaling.); and
a processor operably coupled to the transceiver (Akl: Figure 13, element 1332), the processor configured to determine one of:
an active period and an inactive period of the cell DTX based on the indication and the first information (Akl: [0057] – “In some examples, the DTX configuration may be activated or inactivated semi-statically or dynamically with respect to UE transmissions. For instance, the DTX configuration or other RRC message may semi-statically indicate a DTX active status, or a DCI or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) may dynamically indicate a DTX active status, which indicates whether the DTX configuration is active or inactive. If the DTX active status is active, the UE may transmit and the base station may receive uplink transmissions during the on duration but not in an off duration of the UE DTX cycle or cell DRX cycle.”); or
an active period and an inactive period of the cell DRX based on the indication and the first information (Akl: [0057] – “In some examples, the DTX configuration may be activated or inactivated semi-statically or dynamically with respect to UE transmissions. For instance, the DTX configuration or other RRC message may semi-statically indicate a DTX active status, or a DCI or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) may dynamically indicate a DTX active status, which indicates whether the DTX configuration is active or inactive. If the DTX active status is active, the UE may transmit and the base station may receive uplink transmissions during the on duration but not in an off duration of the UE DTX cycle or cell DRX cycle.”),
wherein the transceiver is further configured to one of:
transmit channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and inactive periods of the cell DTX (Interpreted to correspond to transmitting signals based on the active/inactive periods for the DRX (a DTX configuration), and is described in Akl in at least Figure 10, step 1020.); or
receive channels or signals on the cell based on the determined active and inactive periods of the cell DRX (Interpreted to correspond to receiving signals based on the active/inactive periods for the DTX, and is described in Akl in at least Figure 11, step 1120.).
Claims 17 and 18, dependent upon claim 15, recite similar features as claims 3 and 4, respectively, and are therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claims 3 and 4. Please see above rejections of claims 3 and 4.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Claims 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akl in view of United States Patent Application Publication 2025/0056403 A1 to Zheng et al. (hereinafter “Zheng”).
Regarding Claim 5, Akl discloses the method of claim 1, wherein:
the indication is provided by a downlink control information (DCI) format in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (Akl: [0065] – PDCCH carries the DCI; [0106-0107], [0113], [0120-0122] – the DCI indicates the activation/deactivation of a DTX(/DRX) configuration.), but does not expressly disclose search space configurations, particularly that the second information provides separate search space configuration for receiving the PDCCH during the active period and the inactive period of the cell DTX.
However, this feature cannot be considered new or novel in the presence of Zheng. Zheng is similarly concerned with transitions in discontinuous operations, particular to the “when” for activating/deactivating DTX/DRX operations (Zheng: [0057-0065]). Zheng discloses second information provides separate search space configuration for receiving the PDCCH during the active period and the inactive period of the cell DTX (Zheng: [0071-0072] – a DCI format 2_X is used to delineate DTX/DRX search space configurations for receiving PDCCH during a monitoring occasion, either in active time and/or inactive time.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to modify the method according to Akl in view of the method according in view of Zheng to provide search space configurations based on the DCI format 2_X for the reasons of providing better performance and flexibility, i.e., in terms of traffic load variations (Zheng: [0061-0062]).
Regarding Claim 6, Akl discloses the method of claim 1, but does not expressly disclose search space configurations, and particularly, wherein the one or more cell DTX configurations are associated with respective search space configurations for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for a reception of at least one of:
system information, paging, messages during random access, and data.
However, this feature cannot be considered new or novel in the presence of Zheng. Zheng is similarly concerned with transitions in discontinuous operations, particular to the “when” for activating/deactivating DTX/DRX operations (Zheng: [0057-0065]). Zheng discloses wherein the one or more cell DTX configurations are associated with respective search space configurations (Zheng: [0071-0072] – a DCI format 2_X is used to delineate DTX/DRX search space configurations for receiving PDCCH during a monitoring occasion, either in active time and/or inactive time.) for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for a reception of at least one of:
system information, paging, messages during random access, and data (Zheng: [0046-0047] – corresponds to receiving data based on DTX/DRX configurations.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention (AIA ) to modify the method according to Akl in view of the method according in view of Zheng to provide search space configurations based on the DCI format 2_X for the reasons of providing better performance and flexibility, i.e., in terms of traffic load variations (Zheng: [0061-0062]).
Claims 12 and 13, dependent upon claim 8, recite similar features as claims 5 and 6, respectively, and are therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claims 5 and 6. Please see above rejections of claims 5 and 6.
Claims 19 and 20, dependent upon claim 15, recite similar features as claims 5 and 6, respectively, and are therefore rejected upon the same grounds as claims 5 and 6. Please see above rejections of claims 5 and 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
14. Claims 2, 7, 9, 14, and 16 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
15. Applicant is encouraged to submit a written authorization for Internet communications (PTO/SB/439, http://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sb0439.pdf) in the instant patent application to authorize the examiner to communicate with the applicant via email. The authorization will allow the examiner to better practice compact prosecution. The written authorization can be submitted via one of the following methods only: (1) Central Fax which can be found in the Conclusion section of this Office action; (2) regular postal mail; (3) EFS WEB; or (4) the service window on the Alexandria campus. EFS web is the recommended way to submit the form since this allows the form to be entered into the file wrapper within the same day (system dependent). Written authorization submitted via other methods, such as direct fax to the examiner or email, will not be accepted. See MPEP § 502.03.
16. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV whose telephone number is (571)270-7163. The examiner can normally be reached M, T, R, F 5:00 AM-5:00 PM, W 5:00 AM-3:00 PM (EDT).
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, Michael Thier can be reached at (571) 272-2832. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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BENJAMIN H. ELLIOTT IV
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/BENJAMIN H ELLIOTT IV/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2474 June 2, 2026
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