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 .
Priority
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, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The information disclosure statement(s) submitted on August 9, 2024, September 23,2025, and October 27, 2025 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Specification
4. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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 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.
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 of this title, 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.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1-9 and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0323721 A1) in view of Hu et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0324059 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Li et al. teach a method, performed by a user equipment (UE), for configuring radio resource management (RRM) relaxation in extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) mode (Fig.5), the method comprising:
determining whether the UE has met legacy RRM relaxation criteria for a relaxation scaling factor k (Fig.5); and
configuring RRM relaxation timing (read as (read as a specific relaxation coeffiencient (Paragraph [0205])) based on use of a paging transmission window (PTW) and the relaxation scaling factor k. (read as a “the specific relaxation coefficient may be determined according to an eDRX cycle corresponding to a current state of the UE and a DRX cycle included in a PTW of the eDRX cycle.”(Paragraph [0205]) For example, “the relaxed RRM measurement configuration for the serving cell may be determined with reference to Table 1 or Table 2.”(Table(s)1-2, page 9; Paragraph [0206]) Further, Table(s) 1 and 2 teach a Scaling Factor. (Table(s)1-2, page 9))
However, Li et al. fail to explicitly teach determining whether an eDRX cycle is configured as being greater or less than 10.24 seconds;
Hu et al. teach a method for determining whether an eDRX cycle is configured as being greater or less than 10.24 seconds (read as “If the UE in the inactive state is configured with the idle state eDRX cycle greater than 10.24s, and the inactive state eDRX cycle greater than 10.24s, then the UE is determined to have the eDRX cycle for determining the measurement configuration, …”(Paragraph [0168]));
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the function for determining an eDRX cycle is greater than 10.24s as taught by Hu et al. within the UE as taught by Li et al. for the purpose of improving radio resource management (RRM) measurements in connection with a device operating in an extended DRX mode.
Regarding claim 13, Li et al. teach a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1, 9 @ 804, and 10 @ 932) of a user equipment (UE) (Fig(s).1, 9, and 10) for configuring radio resource management (RRM) relaxation in extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) mode (Fig.5),
the computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1, 9 @ 804, and 10 @ 932) including instructions (read as instructions (Paragraph [0285])) that when executed by the UE (Fig(s).1, 9, and 10), cause the UE (Fig(s).1, 9, and 10) to:
determine whether the UE has met legacy RRM relaxation criteria for a relaxation scaling factor k (Fig.5); and
configure RRM relaxation timing based on use of a paging transmission window (PTW) and the relaxation scaling factor k. (read as a “the specific relaxation coefficient may be determined according to an eDRX cycle corresponding to a current state of the UE and a DRX cycle included in a PTW of the eDRX cycle.”(Paragraph [0205]) For example, “the relaxed RRM measurement configuration for the serving cell may be determined with reference to Table 1 or Table 2.”(Table(s)1-2, page 9; Paragraph [0206]) Further, Table(s) 1 and 2 teach a Scaling Factor. (Table(s)1-2, page 9))
However, Li et al. fail to explicitly teach determine whether an eDRX cycle is configured as being greater or less than 10.24 seconds;
Hu et al. teach a method for determining whether an eDRX cycle is configured as being greater or less than 10.24 seconds (read as “If the UE in the inactive state is configured with the idle state eDRX cycle greater than 10.24s, and the inactive state eDRX cycle greater than 10.24s, then the UE is determined to have the eDRX cycle for determining the measurement configuration, …”(Paragraph [0168]));
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the function for determining an eDRX cycle is greater than 10.24s as taught by Hu et al. within the UE as taught by Li et al. for the purpose of improving radio resource management (RRM) measurements in connection with a device operating in an extended DRX mode.
Regarding claims 2 and 14, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being less than or equal to 10.24 seconds and the PTW not being used in IDLE or Inactive mode (read as “while an eDRX cycle less than or equal to 10.24 s may not have a PTW. ”(Paragraph [0064])),
the method further comprises configuring the RRM relaxation timing to follow the eDRX cycle irrespective of the relaxation scaling factor k. (read as “When the cycle of the relaxed RRM measurement is determined according to Table 3, it is obvious that the UE has different eDRX cycles and DRX cycles, and the corresponding relaxation coefficients are also different.”(Table 3, page 9; Paragraph [0216]))
Regarding claims 3 and 15, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being less than or equal to 10.24 seconds and the PTW not being used in IDLE or Inactive mode (read as “while an eDRX cycle less than or equal to 10.24 s may not have a PTW. ”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises
configuring the RRM relaxation timing by applying the relaxation scaling factor k on the eDRX cycle to implement RRM measurement based on the relaxation scaling factor k applied to the eDRX cycle. (Table(s) 1-2, page 9)
Regarding claims 4 and 16, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being less than or equal to 10.24 seconds and the PTW not being used in IDLE or Inactive mode (read as “while an eDRX cycle less than or equal to 10.24 s may not have a PTW. ”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises
configuring the RRM relaxation timing based on a comparison of the relaxation scaling factor to a ratio between the eDRX cycle and a legacy DRX cycle. (Table(s) 1-2, page 9)
Regarding claims 5 and 16, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being less than or equal to 10.24 seconds and the PTW not being used in IDLE or Inactive mode (read as “while an eDRX cycle less than or equal to 10.24 s may not have a PTW. ” (Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises:
determining multiple relaxation criteria are met, the multiple relaxation criteria including the UE is not at cell edge and that it is stationary or low mobility (read as “When the change in the signal measurement value of the serving cell currently detected by the UE is very small, meaning that the UE may be in a stationary or low-speed moving state, …”(Paragraph [0103])); and
implementing RRM measurement based on the relaxation scaling factor k applied to the eDRX cycle. (Table 3, page 9)
Regarding claims 6 and 18, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being less than or equal to 10.24 seconds and the PTW not being used in IDLE or Inactive mode (read as “while an eDRX cycle less than or equal to 10.24 s may not have a PTW. ” (Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises receiving from a network an indication to relax RRM measurement based on the relaxation scaling factor k or an individual scaling factor k' applied to the eDRX cycle. (Fig(s).1, 7, 9 @ 816, and 10 @ 950)
Regarding claims 7 and 19, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being greater than 10.24 seconds and the PTW being used in IDLE mode (read as “an eDRX cycle greater than 10.24 s may have a PTW, …”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises
retaining PTW periodicity corresponding to the eDRX cycle for RRM measurement. (read as “… when the eDRX cycle used by the UE to determine RRM measurement is greater than a preset cycle, it is determined that the eDRX cycle used by the UE to determine RRM measurement has a PTW.” (Paragraph [0065]))
Regarding claims 8 and 20, and as applied to claims 1 and 13 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being greater than 10.24 seconds and the PTW being used in IDLE mode (read as “an eDRX cycle greater than 10.24 s may have a PTW, …”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises
determining whether a relaxed measurement period corresponding to the relaxation scaling factor k applied to a legacy measurement period is greater than a length of the PTW. (read as “determining a relaxed RRM measurement configuration according to a circumstance situation where an RRM measurement relaxation is limited by said PTW.” (Fig.5 @ S111; Abstract))
Regarding claim 9, and as applied to claim 8 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) teach a method, in which, in response to the relaxed measurement period being greater than the length of the PTW (read as “an eDRX cycle greater than 10.24 s may have a PTW, …”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises
configuring no relaxation within each PTW. (read as RRM before relaxation (Paragraph [0055]))
Regarding claim 12, and as applied to claim 1 above, Li et al., as modified by Hu et al., teach a method and a computer-readable storage medium (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) teach a method, in which, in response to the eDRX cycle being greater than 10.24 seconds and the PTW being used in IDLE mode (read as “an eDRX cycle greater than 10.24 s may have a PTW, …”(Paragraph [0064])), the method further comprises:
applying the relaxation scaling factor k to PTW periodicity corresponding to the eDRX cycle (read as Table(s).1-3, page 9; Fig(s)9-10); and
implementing RRM measurement within each PTW based on one legacy DRX cycle as a measurement interval. (read as Table(s).1-3, page 9; Fig(s)9-10)
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0323721 A1) in view of Hu et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0324059 A1), and Kazmi et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2025/0024492 A1).
Regarding claim 11, and as applied to claim 1 above, Li et al. teach “A method for determining a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration is executed by a user equipment (UE).” (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract)
Hu et al. teach a method for “… determining relevant information of a first extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle based on a non-connected state of the UE and an eDRX configuration of the UE; and determining the measurement configuration of the UE based on the relevant information.” (Abstract) Also, Hu et al. teach a method, in which, in response to the relaxed measurement period being greater than the length of the PTW (read as “The RRM measurement time is not limited to the PTW of the eDRX cycle of the CN paging.” (Paragraph [0159])),
However, Li et al. and Hu et al. fail to explicitly teach extending the PTW to the relaxation scaling factor k*the legacy measurement period.
Kazmi et al. teach a method further comprises extending the PTW to the relaxation scaling factor k*the legacy measurement period. (read as “the UE may extend or is allowed to extend or is required to extend the PTW duration (TPTW) by certain duration e.g. by G1*Tmin.” (Paragraph [0067]))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the function for extending a PTW duration as taught by Kazmi et al. and the function for determining an eDRX cycle is greater than 10.24s as taught by Hu et al. within the UE as taught by Li et al. for the purpose of improving radio resource management (RRM) measurements in connection with a device operating in an extended DRX mode.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claim 10 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 10, and as applied to claims 8 above, the best prior art found during the examination of the present, Li et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0323721 A1) teach “A method for determining a radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration is executed by a user equipment (UE).” (Fig(s).1,5 and 9-10; Abstract) in view of Hu et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2024/0324059 A1) teach a method for “… determining relevant information of a first extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle based on a non-connected state of the UE and an eDRX configuration of the UE; and determining the measurement configuration of the UE based on the relevant information.” (Abstract), fail to disclose: “in response to the relaxed measurement period being greater than the length of the PTW, the method further comprises
employing another scaling factor k' to perform RRM measurement relaxation, in which k' is equal to the length of the PTW in units of a legacy DRX cycle divided by the legacy measurement period in units of the legacy DRX cycle.”
Conclusion
7. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure:
Li et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 20240324060 A1) teach “if the idle state eDRX cycle of the UE is greater than the second cycle, then the idle state eDRX cycle of the UE has a PTW, and if the idle state eDRX cycle is configured as the first eDRX cycle, then measurement time of RRM measurement may be limited within the PTW of the idle state eDRX cycle.”(Paragraph [0096])
R2-2009935 (“eDRX and RRM measurement relaxation for RedCap UE”, 2-13 November 2020) teach “Introduce eDRX cycle longer than 10.24 s for RRC_INACTIVE state.”(Section 2.1, page 2)
Any response to this Office Action should be faxed to (571) 273-8300 or mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Any inquiry concerning this communication or early communications from the Examiner should be directed to Salvador E. Rivas whose telephone number is (571) 270-1784. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 7:00AM to 3:30PM.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Un C. Cho can be reached on (571) 272- 7919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/SALVADOR E RIVAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2413
August 27, 2026
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