Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. PCT/CN2023/080010, filed on March 7, 2023, that claims foreign priority to 202210238584.0, filed on March 11, 2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 10, 2024, was filed before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits. The submissions are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
4. Claims 3, 5, 10, 13, 16, and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Examiner suggests replacing “when” in claim 3 (line 3), claim 5 (line 3), claim 16 (line 3), and claim 18 (line 3) with “in response to”.
“A system frame" in claim 3 (line 3) should be replaced with - - the system frame - - to be consistent with the first citation of “a system frame” in claim 2 (line 3).
Claim 10 (line 1) recites “the WUS type” and it should be - - a WUS type - -, as “the WUS type” lacks antecedent basis.
“DRX configuration information of a WUS” in claim 13 (lines 1-2) should be replaced with - - the DRX configuration information of the WUS - - to be consistent with the first citation of “DRX configuration information of a Wake-Up Signal (WUS)” in claim 1 (line 3).
“DRX configuration information of the WUS” in claim 13 (line 4) should be replaced with - - the DRX configuration information of the WUS - - to be consistent with the first citation of “DRX configuration information of a Wake-Up Signal (WUS)” in claim 1 (line 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 14, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685 (US 2020/0396685A1, “Nam ‘685”), in view of 3GPP ‘484 (XIAOMI COMMUNICATIONS, "Discussion on how the WUS works with C-DRX", 3GPP TSG-RAN2# 106 R2-1906484, May 2019, 4 pages, “3GPP ‘484”).
Regarding claims 1, 14, and 20, Nam ‘685 discloses a terminal (FIG. 9, para 3, 142, and 147; user equipment (UE)), comprising:
a memory storing computer-readable instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the computer-readable instructions, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations (FIG. 9, para 142 and 147; UE includes a memory that stores instructions, and a processor, where the processor executes the instructions to perform functions) comprising:
receiving Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration information; and performing, based on the DRX configuration information, WUS monitoring during DRX on duration (para 6-8, 38, and 90; the UE is configured by a base station to perform WUS monitoring within the DRX on-duration; the DRX configuration information is provided during radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment between the base station and the UE),
wherein the DRX configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
DRX start point configuration information;
DRX on duration configuration information (para 90; the DRX configuration information includes DRX on-duration information; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art); or
DRX cycle configuration information.
However, Nam ‘685 does not specifically disclose receiving Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration information of a Wake-Up Signal (WUS).
3GPP ‘484 teaches receiving Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration information of a Wake-Up Signal (WUS) (page 3; UE receives UE-specific WUS configuration information with the UE’s DRX configuration).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Nam ‘685’s terminal that receives DRX configuration information, to include 3GPP ‘484’s UE that receives UE-specific WUS configuration information with the UE’s DRX configuration. The motivation for doing so would have been to enhance UE power saving in NR (3GPP ‘484, Introduction).
7. Claims 2 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, and further in view of Ahmad ‘623 (US 11,968,623, “Ahmad ‘623”).
Regarding claims 2 and 15, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 1 and 14, respectively, as outlined above.
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 does not specifically disclose wherein the DRX start point configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a system frame; a superframe, wherein the superframe comprises N system frames, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1; extended Discontinuous Reception eDRX configuration information for paging; a related parameter of Connected mode Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX) for the terminal; or a related parameter of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that the terminal is configured to monitor.
Ahmad ‘623 teaches wherein the DRX start point configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
a system frame;
a superframe, wherein the superframe comprises N system frames, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1;
extended Discontinuous Reception eDRX configuration information for paging;
a related parameter of Connected mode Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX) for the terminal; or
a related parameter of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) that the terminal is configured to monitor (col. 5:28-48, 6:34-67, and 7:1-30; DRX configuration includes a parameter drx-SlotOffset that provides a start of DRX on duration; UE performs PDCCH monitoring in the on-duration; thus, the DRX configuration information includes DRX start point configuration information and a parameter related to PDCCH monitoring by the UE; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685 and 3GPP ‘484, to include Ahmad ‘623’s DRX configuration that includes a parameter drx-SlotOffset that provides a start of DRX on duration. The motivation for doing so would have been to identify implementation details for discontinuous reception mode (Ahmad ‘623, col. 1:42-54).
8. Claims 3 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, further in view of Ahmad ‘623, and further in view of Zheng ‘565 (US 2019/0037565, “Zheng ‘565”).
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 2 and 15, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Ahmad ‘623 teaches wherein the performing, based on the DRX configuration information, WUS monitoring during DRX on duration comprises: when the DRX start point configuration information comprises a system frame,
determining a DRX start point based on at least one frame of the system frame or a first time offset (col. 5:28-48, 6:34-67, and 7:1-30; DRX configuration includes parameters drx-SlotOffset and drx-LongCycleStartOffset that provide a start of DRX on duration and subframe where the DRX Cycle starts; UE performs PDCCH monitoring in the on-duration; thus, the DRX configuration includes frame information, DRX on-duration start information, and time offset information), and
performing WUS monitoring during the DRX on duration based on the DRX start point (col. 5:28-48, 6:34-67, and 7:1-30; UE performs wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration; thus, UE performs WUS monitoring based on DRX on-duration start information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Ahmad ‘623, to further include Ahmad ‘623’s wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration. The motivation for doing so would have been to identify implementation details for discontinuous reception mode (Ahmad ‘623, col. 1:42-54).
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 does not specifically disclose wherein a start point of the first time offset is a start point or an end point of the one frame of the system frame.
Zheng ‘565 teaches wherein a start point of the first time offset is a start point or an end point of the one frame of the system frame (para 266; a time offset consists of a number of subframes between a first subframe and a second subframe; thus, a start point of the time offset is an end point of the first subframe; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Ahmad ‘623, to include Zheng ‘565’s time offset that consists of a number of subframes between a first subframe and a second subframe. The motivation for doing so would have been to improve information transmission flexibility and reliability (Zheng ‘565, para 7).
9. Claims 4-5 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, further in view of Ahmad ‘623, and further in view of Nagasaka ‘168 (US 2020/0383168, “Nagasaka ‘168”).
Regarding claims 4 and 17, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 2 and 15, respectively, as outlined above.
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 does not specifically disclose wherein the eDRX configuration information comprises at least one of the following: a start point or an end point of an eDRX cycle; a start point or an end point of a Paging Time Window (PTW) within the eDRX cycle; a paging frame within the PTW; a paging occasion within the paging frame within the PTW; or a start point or an end point of a superframe in which the paging occasion is located.
Nagasaka ‘168 teaches wherein the eDRX configuration information comprises at least one of the following:
a start point or an end point of an eDRX cycle (para 177; extended DRX configuration information includes start timing information of the extended DRX cycle; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art);
a start point or an end point of a Paging Time Window (PTW) within the eDRX cycle;
a paging frame within the PTW;
a paging occasion within the paging frame within the PTW; or
a start point or an end point of a superframe in which the paging occasion is located.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Ahmad ‘623, to include Nagasaka ‘168’s extended DRX configuration information. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a concern that if calculating the extended DRX cycle from the conventional DRX cycle and a coefficient parameter, an appropriate SFN of the PF may not be determined (Nagasaka ‘168, para 86-87 and 109).
Regarding claims 5 and 18, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 4 and 17, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Ahmad ‘623 teaches wherein the performing, based on the DRX configuration information, WUS monitoring during DRX on duration comprises:
performing WUS monitoring during the DRX on duration based on the first start point (col. 5:28-48, 6:34-67, and 7:1-30; UE performs wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration; thus, UE performs WUS monitoring based on DRX on-duration start information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168, to further include Ahmad ‘623’s wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration. The motivation for doing so would have been to identify implementation details for discontinuous reception mode (Ahmad ‘623, col. 1:42-54).
Furthermore, Nagasaka ‘168 teaches when the DRX start point configuration information comprises the eDRX configuration information, determining a first start point of DRX based on the eDRX configuration information (para 177; extended DRX configuration information includes start timing information of the extended DRX cycle).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168, to further include Nagasaka ‘168’s extended DRX configuration information. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a concern that if calculating the extended DRX cycle from the conventional DRX cycle and a coefficient parameter, an appropriate SFN of the PF may not be determined (Nagasaka ‘168, para 86-87 and 109).
10. Claims 6 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, further in view of Ahmad ‘623, further in view of Nagasaka ‘168, and further in view of Wei ‘520 (US 2025/0133520, “Wei ‘520”).
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168 discloses all the limitations with respect to claims 5 and 18, respectively, as outlined above.
Further, Ahmad ‘623 teaches wherein the operations further comprise: performing WUS monitoring during the DRX on duration based on the second start point (col. 5:28-48, 6:34-67, and 7:1-30; UE performs wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration; thus, UE performs WUS monitoring based on DRX on-duration start information).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168, to further include Ahmad ‘623’s wake-up signal monitoring during the DRX on duration. The motivation for doing so would have been to identify implementation details for discontinuous reception mode (Ahmad ‘623, col. 1:42-54).
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168 does not specifically disclose adjusting, based on a second time offset, the first start point of the DRX to a second start point.
Wei ‘520 teaches adjusting, based on a second time offset, the first start point of the DRX to a second start point (para 111; frame timing is delayed based on an offset).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, Ahmad ‘623, and Nagasaka ‘168, to include Wei ‘520’s frame timing that is delayed based on an offset. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide improvements in sidelink technology (Wei ‘520, para 3).
11. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, further in view of Ahmad ‘623, and further in view of Sha ‘302 (US 2024/0349302, “Sha ‘302”).
Regarding claim 7, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 2, as outlined above.
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Ahmad ‘623 does not specifically disclose wherein the related parameter of the PDCCH that the terminal monitors comprises at least one of the following: a time position of a search space in which the PDCCH is located; or a cycle of the search space in which the PDCCH is located.
Sha ‘302 teaches wherein the related parameter of the PDCCH that the terminal monitors comprises at least one of the following:
a time position of a search space in which the PDCCH is located; or
a cycle of the search space in which the PDCCH is located (para 48; PDCCH search space is configured using parameters that include a cycle of the PDCCH search space; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Ahmad ‘623, to include Sha ‘302’s PDCCH search space configured using parameters that include a cycle of the PDCCH search space. The motivation for doing so would have been to address problems in configuration of a PDCCH search space with respect to C-DRX configuration (Sha ‘302, para 3-4).
12. Claims 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, and further in view of Yang ‘336 (US 2024/0284336, “Yang ‘336”).
Regarding claim 8, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 does not specifically disclose wherein different WUS types are associated with respective DRX configuration information.
Yang ‘336 teaches wherein different WUS types are associated with respective DRX configuration information (FIG. 4, para 2 and 51-52; WUS configuration includes an amount of offset before the DRX on duration period and a type of the WUS sequence).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685 and 3GPP ‘484, to include Yang ‘336’s WUS configuration that includes an amount of offset before the DRX on duration period and a type of the WUS sequence. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce UE’s power consumption (Yang ‘336, para 29).
Regarding claim 9, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Yang ‘336 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 8, as outlined above.
Further, Nam ‘685 teaches wherein before the performing, based on the DRX configuration information, WUS monitoring during DRX on duration, the method further comprises: determining DRX configuration information (para 6-8, 38, and 90; the UE is configured by a base station to perform WUS monitoring within the DRX on-duration; the DRX configuration information is provided during radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment between the base station and the UE; thus, UE determines the DRX configuration before performing WUS monitoring within the DRX on-duration).
Furthermore, Yang ‘336 teaches determining, based on a WUS type, DRX configuration information associated with the WUS type (FIG. 4, para 2 and 51-52; the base station determines the WUS configuration and sends it to the UE; the WUS configuration includes an amount of offset before the DRX on-duration period and the type of the WUS sequence; thus, the base station determines the DRX configuration information associated with the WUS type, based on the WUS type; therefore, the UE receives the DRX configuration associated with the WUS type, based on the WUS type).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Yang ‘336, to further include Yang ‘336’s WUS configuration that includes an amount of offset before the DRX on duration period and a type of the WUS sequence. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce UE’s power consumption (Yang ‘336, para 29).
Regarding claim 10, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Yang ‘336 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 8, as outlined above.
Further, Yang ‘336 teaches wherein the WUS type is associated with at least one of the following:
a WUS sequence (para 51; WUS configuration includes an amount of offset before the DRX on duration period and a type of the WUS sequence; examiner notes the use of alternative language; for rejection purposes, only one of the alternative limitations must be disclosed by prior art),
a WUS format,
a WUS frame structure, or
a WUS-occupied band.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685, 3GPP ‘484, and Yang ‘336, to further include Yang ‘336’s WUS configuration that includes an amount of offset before the DRX on duration period and a type of the WUS sequence. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce UE’s power consumption (Yang ‘336, para 29).
13. Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, and further in view of Mazloum ‘155 (US 2025/0151155, “Mazloum ‘155”).
Regarding claim 11, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
Further, 3GPP ‘484 teaches wherein the DRX configuration information of the WUS comprises configuration information of at least one DRX of the WUS (page 3; UE receives UE-specific WUS configuration information with the UE’s DRX configuration; thus, the DRX configuration is of the WUS, and it comprises DRX configuration of the WUS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685 and 3GPP ‘484, to further include 3GPP ‘484’s UE that receives UE-specific WUS configuration information with the UE’s DRX configuration. The motivation for doing so would have been to enhance UE power saving in NR (3GPP ‘484, Introduction).
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 does not specifically disclose a quantity of configuration information of the at least one DRX is related to a terminal capability of the terminal.
Mazloum ‘155 teaches a quantity of configuration information of the at least one DRX is related to a terminal capability of the terminal (FIGS. 5 and 12, para 66-67, 117, and 120; the access node configures the UE with a DRX configuration, in response to the UE signaling the UE’s capability; thus, the DRX configuration information is related to the UE’s capability; therefore, the quantity of the DRX configuration information is related to the UE’s capability).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685 and 3GPP ‘484, to include Mazloum ‘155’s access node that configures the UE with a DRX configuration, in response to the UE signaling the UE’s capability. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a problem of inflexibility of current DRX configurations (Mazloum ‘155, para 7).
Regarding claim 12, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 and Mazloum ‘155 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 11, as outlined above.
Further, Nam ‘685 teaches wherein the performing, based on the DRX configuration information, WUS monitoring during DRX on duration comprises:
performing, based on the configuration information of the at least one DRX, WUS monitoring during on duration of the at least one DRX (para 6-8, 38, and 90; the UE is configured by a base station to perform WUS monitoring within the DRX on-duration; the DRX configuration information is provided during radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment between the base station and the UE).
14. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam ‘685, in view of 3GPP ‘484, and further in view of Yerramalli ‘535 (US 2024/0334535, “Yerramalli ‘535”).
Regarding claim 13, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 discloses all the limitations with respect to claim 1, as outlined above.
However, Nam ‘685 in combination with 3GPP ‘484 does not specifically disclose before the receiving, DRX configuration information of a WUS, the method further comprises: sending, assistance information to a network-side device, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX configuration information of the WUS indicated by the terminal.
Yerramalli ‘535 teaches before the receiving, DRX configuration information of a WUS, the method further comprises: sending, assistance information to a network-side device, wherein the assistance information comprises DRX configuration information of the WUS indicated by the terminal (FIG. 1, para 46-47 and 264; UE sends a DRX configuration update message to a location server, where the location server is part of the network).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add features to the combined terminal of Nam ‘685 and 3GPP ‘484, to include Yerramalli ‘535’s UE that sends a DRX configuration update message to a location server. The motivation for doing so would have been to address a power drain for a UE (Yerramalli ‘535, para 142-143).
Conclusion
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/NEVENA ZECEVIC SANDHU/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
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