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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed September 15 ,2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments concerning claims 1 and 8 have been considered. Under the Office’s proposed broadest reasonable interpretation, the stated conditions are alternatives; establishing the inactivity-timer alternative does not require establishing the PDCCH or shared-channel alternatives as well. You starts the inactivity timer upon PDCCH reception (¶ [0180]) and expressly addresses power waste when a long inactivity time remains after transmission has ended (¶¶ [0186]–[0187]). Paragraph [0188] additionally explains that GTS may be provided during On Duration when there is no data to transmit or receive. Receipt of the DRX Command MAC CE implementation stops the on-duration timer (¶¶ [0190]–[0194]). The Office’s position relies on this disclosed operating sequence and does not treat GTS as itself a PDCCH indicating new UL or DL data.
For claim 8, the Office relies on Method 2, rather than solely on ending one On Duration and starting another in Method 1 at ¶ [0231]. Method 2 pauses the on-duration timer, permits omission of PDCCH monitoring during the GTS interval, and resumes timer operation after that interval (¶¶ [0257]–[0259], [0262]). Under the proposed interpretation, the affected opportunity is skipped during that interval even though operation can later resume. The recurring On Durations described at ¶ [0179] and Fig. 18 are mapped to the current group. Applicant’s distinction between termination and restart therefore does not address this particular pause-and-omission mapping.
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 -
(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) 1-5 and 8-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by You et al.
(US 2022/0007290 A1, hereinafter You) .
Regarding Claims 1 and 16, a method comprising entering a discontinuous reception mode in wireless communications. You discloses a method of operating a wireless UE in connected DRX, in which the UE wakes during an On Duration of each C-DRX cycle and performs data transmission, reception, and PDCCH monitoring. The UE maintains the DRX ON state during the inactivity interval and transitions to sleep when that interval ends (¶¶ [0179]–[0181]; Fig. 18 and ¶¶ [0182]–[0184]).
Controlling at least one timer or at least one on-duration occasion when in DRX mode. You discloses starting the DRX inactivity timer upon PDCCH reception during On Duration and controlling the on-duration and inactivity timers through received power-saving information. Receipt of the DRX Command MAC CE stops both timers (¶¶ [0180], [0191]; ¶¶ [0193]–[0195]).
Controlling the at least one timer comprises stopping an on-duration timer responsive to a condition being met. You discloses that, after data transmission ends while a long inactivity time remains, the network may transmit GTS to avoid unnecessary monitoring. You also discloses GTS while the UE is awake during On Duration with no data to transmit or receive. A DRX Command MAC CE is an example of GTS, and receipt stops drx-onDurationTimer (¶¶ [0186]–[0191]; ¶¶ [0193]–[0194]).
The condition comprises a DRX inactivity timer being started. The Office relies on this alternative of the disjunctive condition. You starts the inactivity timer when PDCCH is received during On Duration and when scheduling DCI is received (¶ [0180]; ¶ [0222]). You then addresses the unnecessary active interval resulting when that timer has been started and a long inactivity time remains after data ends, by providing GTS that ends On Duration and inactivity time (¶¶ [0186]–[0191]; ¶¶ [0222]–[0223] and Fig. 20). The proposed interpretation of responsive to encompasses this mediated sequence: timer start, remaining unnecessary active time, and GTS-directed stop. This mapping is an inference from the disclosed sequence; You does not expressly state that the timer-start event itself directly triggers GTS. The claim does not expressly require an immediate stop or exclude an intervening control signal. The other alternatives need not separately be established if this alternative is met.
Regarding Claim 8,A method comprising entering a discontinuous reception mode in wireless communications. You discloses connected DRX operation of a wireless UE, including recurring On Durations for data transmission, reception, and PDCCH monitoring, followed by sleep operation (¶¶ [0179]–[0181]; Fig. 18 and ¶¶ [0182]–[0184]).
Controlling at least one timer or at least one on-duration occasion when in DRX mode. You discloses stopping or pausing the on-duration and inactivity timers upon GTS receipt and starting a GTS timer. The on-duration or inactivity timer may subsequently resume when the GTS timer expires (¶¶ [0257]–[0259]; ¶ [0262] and ¶¶ [0264]–[0267]).
Controlling the at least one on-duration occasion comprises skipping one or more on-duration occasions in a current group responsive to a condition being met. You provides an On Duration for each C-DRX cycle and illustrates multiple On Durations (¶ [0179]; Fig. 18 and ¶¶ [0182]–[0184]). You pauses the on-duration timer and, in the no-monitoring embodiment, omits PDCCH monitoring during the GTS interval before resuming timer operation (¶¶ [0257]–[0259], [0262]; ¶¶ [0264]–[0267], [0273]–[0274]). Under the proposed construction, the currently applicable recurring On Durations constitute the current group, and suspending the affected On Duration while its monitoring is omitted constitutes skipping the affected on-duration opportunity. The Office relies on the combined pause and omission of monitoring, rather than the word pause alone. You does not expressly identify a current group or state that an entire scheduled On Duration is skipped; mapping these disclosures to the claimed group and occasion is interpretive. The claim does not expressly specify a group size, a separately signaled group identifier, or that the entire occasion must be skipped.
The condition comprises a DRX inactivity timer being started. The Office relies on the inactivity-timer alternative. You starts the inactivity timer upon PDCCH reception or scheduling DCI (¶ [0180]; ¶ [0222]). The ensuing unnecessary active interval is addressed through GTS-based power saving while the inactivity timer is running; the Method 2 implementation pauses timer operation and omits monitoring during the GTS interval (¶¶ [0186]–[0188], [0218]; ¶¶ [0257]–[0259]). Under the proposed mediated interpretation discussed for claim 1, the pause and skipped monitoring are responsive to the power-saving circumstance arising in that sequence. The text expressly makes receipt of GTS the immediate trigger; the connection to the earlier timer start is an inference, not an express trigger statement.
Regarding Claims 2-5 and 9-12, YOU teaches maintaining DRX timers, utilizing DRX inactivity
timers, configuring DRX monitoring behavior, and performing PDCCH monitoring while timers remain
active. YOU further teaches modifying timer operation and monitoring behavior to improve power
savings during DRX operation. See Figs. 16, 18-24.
Accordingly, YOU teaches or at least suggests the additional timer-control and monitoring limitations
recited in claims 2-5 and 9-12.
Regarding Claims 13-15, YOU teaches DRX operation including short DRX cycles, long DRX cycles, DRX
inactivity timers, and transitions between DRX states. YOU expressly illustrates Short DRX Cycle and Long
DRX Cycle operation and timer-based transitions between monitoring states. See Fig. 16.
It would have been obvious to implement asymmetric on-duration patterns, utilize short DRX cycles
between on-duration occasions, utilize long DRX cycles between groups of occasions, and switch
between the short and long DRX cycles based on timer conditions because such techniques reduce UE
power consumption while maintaining responsiveness to expected traffic.
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.
2. Claim(s) 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et al. (US
2022/000720 A1, hereinafter You) in view of Mondet et al. ( WO 2023/086709 A1, hereinafter Mondet).
Regarding claim 6, You discloses all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception
of wherein the controlling further comprises:
receiving a downlink control information (DCI) indicating a specific type of traffic; and
controlling the at least one timer or the at least one on-duration occasion responsive to
receiving the DCI.
Mondet discloses wherein the controlling further comprises:
receiving a downlink control information (DCI) indicating a specific type of traffic; and
controlling the at least one timer or the at least one on-duration occasion responsive to
receiving the DCI (7[0085],figure 2).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to
make the proposed modification of the cloud gaming indication as disclosed by Mondet to improve
communication efficiency and user experience.
Regarding claim 7, You discloses all subject matter of the claimed invention with the exception
of wherein a field in the DCI indicates the specific type of traffic being a traffic for extended reality (XR)
or cloud gaming. Mondet discloses wherein a field in the DCI indicates the specific type of traffic being a traffic for extended reality (XR) or cloud gaming (9[0085],figure 2).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to
make the proposed modification of the cloud gaming indication as disclosed by Mondet to improve
communication efficiency and user experience.
3. Claim(s) 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et al. (US
2022/000720 A1, hereinafter You) in view of Lee (US 2023/0354193 A1, hereinafter Lee).
Regarding Claims 16 and 17, ,YOU teaches DRX operation involving Active Time, On Duration,
DRX inactivity timers, and PDCCH monitoring. YOU teaches adaptive monitoring behavior during DRX
operation to reduce unnecessary UE wakeups and improve power efficiency. See Figs. 18-24 and
corresponding discussion.
YOU does not expressly use the terms "sparse PDCCH monitoring" and "dense PDCCH monitoring." Lee
discloses sparse PDCCH monitoring" and "dense PDCCH monitoring (7[0126],1[0188])
Thus, It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to make the
proposed modification of switching between sparse PDCCH monitoring and dense PDCCH monitoring
based on Active Time, On Duration timer status, or DRX inactivity timer status because increasing
monitoring density when traffic is expected and decreasing monitoring density when traffic is not
expected improves power efficiency while maintaining communication responsiveness.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner
should be directed to ANGEL T BROCKMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5664. The examiner
can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6:00 AM-4:30 PM.
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/ANGEL T BROCKMAN/
Examiner, Art Unit 2412
Prosecution Insights