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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
1. 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) 16, 21, 26 and 31 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US PG Pub. No. 2022/0201605) in view of Ly (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0020254).
As per claim 16:
Yang teaches a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a communication system (see paragraph [0012], teaches a power saving indication method, a network side device, a user equipment for implementing the specific design of DCI for power saving information indication), the method comprising:
receiving, via higher layer signaling, a configuration associated with an energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0052], disclose configuring a DCI. Said DCI carries a power saving information of at least one UE. Paragraph [0055] disclose said power saving information indicates a power saving scheme. Paragraph [0059] disclose scrambling the DCI and sending the scrambled DCI to the UE);
receiving a downlink control information (DCI) format including an indication for a serving cell (see paragraph [0079], disclose the DCI may also include a DCI format identifier for identifying a type of power saving scheme indicated by the power saving information. Paragraph [0080] disclose the type of DCI may then be DCI used for dormant secondary serving cell indication of power saving information. Therefore, the DCI format includes an indication for a serving cell. Also, explained earlier, the DCI is sent as a scrambled DCI to the UE, please see paragraph [0059] and thus the UE receives the DCI format).
Yang does not clearly teach and determining, based on the indication, whether the energy saving mode is used for the serving cell,
wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX).
Ly teaches and determining, based on the indication, whether the energy saving mode is used for the serving cell (paragraph [0101], the base station 105-a may configure the UE 115-a with one or more C-DRX configurations 210 that may be associated with enhanced network power savings (e.g., the network power mode). The base station 105-a may transmit one or more C-DRX configurations 210 based on DTX communications (e.g., DTX active periods), in some cases considering a base station 105-a low power mode. The second C-DRX configuration 210-b may include one or more C-DRX configurations 210 associated with base station 105-a DXT configurations when the base station 105-a is in low power mode. Therefore, in response to receiving said control information, the UE 115-a may be able to switch between C-DRX configurations as the base station 105-a switches between network power saving modes, please see paragraph [0103]),
wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) (as explained earlier in paragraph [0101], the C-DRX configurations 210 are associated with low power mode of the base station 105-a. Paragraph [0096] also disclose said base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate according to discontinuous communication configurations (e.g., DTX, DRX), in some cases, considering a network enhanced power saving mode in a coverage area. Thus, the C-DRX configuration in support of network power modes is associated with a coverage area (i.e., a serving cell)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the switching or changing of C-DRX configurations (as disclosed in Ly) into Yang as a way of enabling the UE to enhance communication alignment between the UE and the base station (please see paragraph [0103] of Ly). Thus, switching to the C-DRX configuration as instructed by the network may result in greater system synchronization, enhanced system power savings and lower network latency (please see paragraph [0003] of Ly).
As per claim 21:
Yang teaches a user equipment (UE) in a communication system (see Figure 15, paragraph [0485], UE), the UE comprising:
a transceiver (see Figure 15, transceiver 154);
and a processor coupled with the transceiver (see Figure 15, processor 151 coupled to transceiver 154 via bus interface 152) and configured to:
receive, via higher layer signaling, a configuration associated with an energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0052], disclose configuring a DCI. Said DCI carries a power saving information of at least one UE. Paragraph [0055] disclose said power saving information indicates a power saving scheme. Paragraph [0059] disclose scrambling the DCI and sending the scrambled DCI to the UE),
receive a downlink control information (DCI) format including an indication for a serving cell (see paragraph [0079], disclose the DCI may also include a DCI format identifier for identifying a type of power saving scheme indicated by the power saving information. Paragraph [0080] disclose the type of DCI may then be DCI used for dormant secondary serving cell indication of power saving information. Therefore, the DCI format includes an indication for a serving cell. Also, explained earlier, the DCI is sent as a scrambled DCI to the UE, please see paragraph [0059] and thus the UE receives the DCI format).
Yang does not clearly teach and determine, based on the indication, whether the energy-saving mode is used for the serving cell, wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX).
Ly teaches and determine, based on the indication, whether the energy-saving mode is used for the serving cell (paragraph [0101], the base station 105-a may configure the UE 115-a with one or more C-DRX configurations 210 that may be associated with enhanced network power savings (e.g., the network power mode). The base station 105-a may transmit one or more C-DRX configurations 210 based on DTX communications (e.g., DTX active periods), in some cases considering a base station 105-a low power mode. The second C-DRX configuration 210-b may include one or more C-DRX configurations 210 associated with base station 105-a DXT configurations when the base station 105-a is in low power mode. Therefore, in response to receiving said control information, the UE 115-a may be able to switch between C-DRX configurations as the base station 105-a switches between network power saving modes, please see paragraph [0103]), wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) (as explained earlier in paragraph [0101], the C-DRX configurations 210 are associated with low power mode of the base station 105-a. Paragraph [0096] also disclose said base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate according to discontinuous communication configurations (e.g., DTX, DRX), in some cases, considering a network enhanced power saving mode in a coverage area. Thus, the C-DRX configuration in support of network power modes is associated with a coverage area (i.e., a serving cell)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the switching or changing of C-DRX configurations (as disclosed in Ly) into Yang as a way of enabling the UE to enhance communication alignment between the UE and the base station (please see paragraph [0103] of Ly). Thus, switching to the C-DRX configuration as instructed by the network may result in greater system synchronization, enhanced system power savings and lower network latency (please see paragraph [0003] of Ly).
As per claim 26:
Yang teaches a method performed by a base station in a communication system (see paragraph [0012], teaches a power saving indication method, a network side device, a user equipment for implementing the specific design of DCI for power saving information indication), the method comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), via higher layer signaling, a configuration associated with an energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0052], disclose configuring a DCI. Said DCI carries a power saving information of at least one UE. Paragraph [0055] disclose said power saving information indicates a power saving scheme. Paragraph [0059] disclose scrambling the DCI and sending the scrambled DCI to the UE);
determining whether the energy-saving mode is to be used for a serving cell (see paragraph [0079], disclose the DCI may also include a DCI format identifier for identifying a type of power saving scheme indicated by the power saving information. Paragraph [0080] disclose the type of DCI may then be DCI used for dormant secondary serving cell indication of power saving information. Therefore, the DCI format includes an indication for a serving cell);
and transmitting, to the UE, based on the determining, a downlink control information (DCI) format including an indication for the serving cell (Also, explained earlier, the DCI is sent as a scrambled DCI to the UE, please see paragraph [0059] and thus the UE receives the DCI format).
Yang does not clearly teach wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX).
Ly teaches wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) (paragraph [0101], the C-DRX configurations 210 are associated with low power mode of the base station 105-a. Paragraph [0096] also disclose said base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate according to discontinuous communication configurations (e.g., DTX, DRX), in some cases, considering a network enhanced power saving mode in a coverage area. Thus, the C-DRX configuration in support of network power modes is associated with a coverage area (i.e., a serving cell)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the switching or changing of C-DRX configurations (as disclosed in Ly) into Yang as a way of enabling the UE to enhance communication alignment between the UE and the base station (please see paragraph [0103] of Ly). Thus, switching to the C-DRX configuration as instructed by the network may result in greater system synchronization, enhanced system power savings and lower network latency (please see paragraph [0003] of Ly).
As per claim 31:
Yang teaches a base station in a communication system (see Figure 14, paragraph [0478], network device), the base station comprising:
a transceiver (see Figure 14, transceiver 1410);
and a processor coupled with the transceiver (see Figure 14, transceiver 1410 coupled to processor 440 via bus interface) and configured to:
transmit, to a user equipment (UE), via higher layer signaling, a configuration associated with an energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0052], disclose configuring a DCI. Said DCI carries a power saving information of at least one UE. Paragraph [0055] disclose said power saving information indicates a power saving scheme. Paragraph [0059] disclose scrambling the DCI and sending the scrambled DCI to the UE);
determine whether the energy-saving mode is to be used for a serving cell (see paragraph [0079], disclose the DCI may also include a DCI format identifier for identifying a type of power saving scheme indicated by the power saving information. Paragraph [0080] disclose the type of DCI may then be DCI used for dormant secondary serving cell indication of power saving information. Therefore, the DCI format includes an indication for a serving cell);
and transmit, to the UE, based on the determining, a downlink control information (DCI) format including an indication for the serving cell (Also, explained earlier, the DCI is sent as a scrambled DCI to the UE, please see paragraph [0059] and thus the UE receives the DCI format).
Yang does not clearly teach wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX).
Ly teaches wherein the energy-saving mode corresponds to at least one of a cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) or a cell discontinuous reception (DRX) (paragraph [0101], the C-DRX configurations 210 are associated with low power mode of the base station 105-a. Paragraph [0096] also disclose said base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate according to discontinuous communication configurations (e.g., DTX, DRX), in some cases, considering a network enhanced power saving mode in a coverage area. Thus, the C-DRX configuration in support of network power modes is associated with a coverage area (i.e., a serving cell)).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the switching or changing of C-DRX configurations (as disclosed in Ly) into Yang as a way of enabling the UE to enhance communication alignment between the UE and the base station (please see paragraph [0103] of Ly). Thus, switching to the C-DRX configuration as instructed by the network may result in greater system synchronization, enhanced system power savings and lower network latency (please see paragraph [0003] of Ly).
3. Claims 17, 22, 27 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Ly and further in view of Ma (WO 2022/056852).
As per claim 17:
Yang in view of Ly teaches the method of claim 16 with the exception of:
wherein the DCI format includes a plurality of indications for a plurality of serving cells,
wherein each indication corresponds to 1 bit,
wherein a first value for the 1 bit indicates that the energy-saving mode is used for a corresponding serving cell, and
wherein a second value for the 1 bit indicates that the energy-saving mode is not used for the corresponding serving cell.
Ma teaches wherein the DCI format includes a plurality of indications for a plurality of serving cells (see page 17, lines 22-23, the serving cells in the primary DRX group follow the wake-up indication in the first DCI),
wherein each indication corresponds to 1 bit (page 17, lines 24-26, whether the serving cells in the secondary DRX group ignore or not to ignore the wake-up indication in the first DCI is indicated by one bit besides the wakeup indication in the first DCI),
wherein a first value for the 1 bit indicates that the energy-saving mode is used for a corresponding serving cell (page 17, lines 26-28, when the bit is “1”, the secondary DRX group follows the indication in the first DCI. That is, when the bit is “1”, whether the secondary DRX group start or not start the DRX-onDurationTimer is depending on the wakeup indication), and
wherein a second value for the 1 bit indicates that the energy-saving mode is not used for the corresponding serving cell (see page 17, lines 24-25, when the bit is “0”, the secondary DRX group ignores the first DCI).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the first DCI comprising a 1-bit indication field as a way of enabling the UE to determine whether or not to start the DRX-OnDurationTimer (please see page 17, lines 27-28 of Ma). Therefore, the use of the secondary DRX group function and wake-up indication function at the same time solves the problem of incompatibility or unclear operations of the DRX state of serving cells in the same cell group (please see page 14, lines 20-27 of Ma).
Claims 22, 27 and 32 are rejected in the same scope as claim 2.
4. Claims 18, 23, 28 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Ly and further in view of Chen (US PG Pub. No. 2011/0081928).
As per claim 18:
Yang in view of Ly teaches the method of claim 16 with the exception of:
the method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a UE capability indicating whether at least one of the cell DTX or the cell DRX is supported by the UE.
Chen teaches the method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a UE capability indicating whether at least one of the cell DTX or the cell DRX is supported by the UE (see paragraph [0033], the UE 11 sends a cell update message carrying capability information that the UE 11 supports the DRX characteristic).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the sending of the cell update message (as disclosed in Chen) into both Yang and Ly as a way for the UE to receive scheduled downlink data such that enhanced DRX characteristic is enabled to perform discontinuous reception (please see paragraph [0040] of Chen).
Claims 23, 28 and 33 are rejected in the same scope as claim 18.
5. Claims 19, 24, 29 and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Ly and further in view of Kadiri (WO 2016/015003).
As per claim 19:
Yang in view of Ly teaches the method of claim 16 with the exception of:
wherein the cell DTX is associated with predefined downlink signals that are not received in an inactive state for the cell DTX identified based on the configuration associated with the energy-saving mode,
wherein the cell DRX is associated with predefined uplink signals that are not transmitted in an inactive state for the cell DRX identified based on the configuration associated with the energy-saving mode, and wherein the predefined uplink signals include a scheduling request (SR) and a configured grant (CG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).
Kadiri teaches wherein the cell DTX is associated with predefined downlink signals that are not received in an inactive state for the cell DTX identified based on the configuration associated with the energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0068], the DTX associated with the eNB with DL data are not received in an inactive state based on a power saving mode with respect to the UE),
wherein the cell DRX is associated with predefined uplink signals that are not transmitted in an inactive state for the cell DRX identified based on the configuration associated with the energy-saving mode (see paragraph [0068], because the UE missed DL data, the UE will not transmit an UL HARQ ACK/NACK regarding the receipt of the data. As a result of no UL HARQ ACK/NACK from the UE, the eNB may determine that the UE is no longer responding to any DL data and may enter into a power saving mode. For example, the eNB may enter into either a CDRX state after drx-inactivity timer expiry or DTX state), and wherein the predefined uplink signals include a scheduling request (SR) and a configured grant (CG) physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (see paragraph [0067], the UE may avoid blind reuse of previously allocated UL grant resources by automatically and immediately resetting the retx-BSR timer upon tuning back to the LTE system and immediately sending a SR to obtain UL grants, even if retx-BSR is not running in this scenario and UE is going to send quick SR requesting for new PUSCH grant resources).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the transitioning between power states for CDRX cycle when scheduling downlink data (as disclosed in Kadiri) into both Yang and Ly as a way of enhancing LTE data throughput and latency performance (please see paragraph [0062] of Kadiri).
Claims 24, 29 and 34 are rejected in the same scope as claim 19.
6. Claims 20, 25, 30 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang in view of Ly and further in view of Shih (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0209463).
As per claim 20:
Yang in view of Ly teaches the method of claim 16 with the exception of:
wherein a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the DCI format is scrambled by a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for energy-saving, wherein in case of identifying that a current operation mode for the serving cell is changed based on the determining, a changed operation mode for the serving cell is applied at a predefined time after the DCI format is received, and wherein the current operation mode and the changed operation mode are (i) the energy- saving mode and a non-energy-saving mode, respectively, or (ii) the non-energy-saving mode and the energy-saving mode, respectively.
Shih teaches wherein a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the DCI format is scrambled by a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for energy-saving (see paragraph [0101], the DCI (e.g., especially the CRC of the DCI) may be scrambled by a specific RNTI (e.g., paging RNTI (P-RNTI)), inactive RNTI (e.g., I-RNTI). The DCI may be transmitted via a power saving signal (e.g., wake up signal (WUS), go-to-sleep signal (GTSS)), wherein in case of identifying that a current operation mode for the serving cell is changed based on the determining, a changed operation mode for the serving cell is applied at a predefined time after the DCI format is received (paragraph [0100], the DCI content may include one bit, where the bit corresponds to a power saving configuration. The power saving configuration may be associated with a (running) timer. The UE may receive the power saving configuration and the associated (running) timer. If the bit is set to “1”, the UE may activate (or apply) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer). On the other hand, if the bit is set to “0”, the UE may deactivate (or stop applying)) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer), and wherein the current operation mode and the changed operation mode are (i) the energy- saving mode and a non-energy-saving mode, respectively (as explained earlier in paragraph [0100], if the bit is set to “1”, the UE may activate (or apply) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer). On the other hand, if the bit is set to “0”, the UE may deactivate (or stop applying)) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer), or (ii) the non-energy-saving mode and the energy-saving mode, respectively (as explained earlier in paragraph [0100], if the bit is set to “1”, the UE may activate (or apply) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer). On the other hand, if the bit is set to “0”, the UE may deactivate (or stop applying)) the power saving configuration associated with the (running) timer).
Thus, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to implement the bit field indicating whether or not to activate or deactivate a power saving configuration for a given duration (as disclosed in Shih) into both Yang and Ly as a way of enabling the UE to determine whether or not to wakeup or sleep at the next upcoming DRX cycle (please see paragraph [0102] of Shih).
Claims 25, 30 and 35 are rejected in the same scope as claim 20.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRINCE AKWASI MENSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-7183. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
PRINCE AKWASI. MENSAH
Examiner
Art Unit 2474
/PRINCE A MENSAH/Examiner, Art Unit 2474
/Michael Thier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2474
Prosecution Insights