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 Objections
Claims 10 and 27 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 10 and 27 recite “…if the criteria is met.” “Criteria” is plural and should read “…if the criteria are met.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out
and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the
invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly
claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 5, 9, 11, 15, 22 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 9, 11 and 26 recite “…cause the reader device to…”. However, Claims 1 and 11 do not previously recite “a reader device”, resulting in a lack of antecedent basis for “the reader device.” Furthermore, it is unclear whether the term refers to a UE or a network entity. For the purpose of this examination, “the reader device” in Claims 1 and 11 has been interpreted as the respective UE or network entity. Claim 9 depends on Claim 1, and Claim 26 depends on Claim 18. However, Claim 18 does not define “a reader device” either. For the purpose of this examination, “the reader device” in Claim 26 has been interpreted as a UE.
Claims 5, 15 and 22 recite “…wherein each portion is transmitted within multiple WUSs.” Because Claims 5, 15 and 22 depend on Claim 1, 11 and 18, respectively, and none of these independent claims previously recite “multiple WUSs,” the term lacks an antecedent basis. Specifically, Claims 1 and 18 recite only “one or more wake up signals (WUS)”, or “a WUS,” and Claim 11 recites only “a wake up signal (WUS).” The phase “multiple WUSs” is not introduced until Claims 6, 16 and 23.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
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.
Claims 1-2, 11-12, 18-19 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Elkotby et al. (US 2024/0284456 A1), hereinafter “ELKOTBY” in view of Shrivastava et al. (US 2024/0057034 A1), hereinafter “SHRIVASTAVA”.
Regarding claim 1, ELKOTBY teaches, ‘An apparatus for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising:’ (Paragraph [0029]: wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d… may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a
user equipment (UE)):
‘a memory comprising executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to:’ (Paragraphs [0042]-[0043]: FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118… non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132… The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality):
‘monitor, using a first receiver, for one or more wake up signals (WUS) that map to a paging early indicator (PEI)’ (Paragraph [0084]: For example, ULP [Ultra-Low Power] receivers can be used as wake-up radios to trigger device internal wake-up and signal interrupts following the detection of wake-up signaling which then prompts the main modem receiver using active RF components to start up; Paragraph [0125]: LP-WUS: low-power wake-up signal is used to wake up WTRUs supporting ULP receiver's signal characteristics, e.g., modulation, coding, and waveform, and may be used to convey control information, e.g., Paging Occasions (POs) configuration; Paragraph [0127]: LP-PO: low-power paging occasion defines the resources that are used to signal the paging DCI for a WTRU that is equipped with a ULP receiver; Paragraphs [0282]-[0283]: In this subsection, the ULP receivers are used to receive on-demand paging indication… The ULP receiver constantly monitors the paging indication for a quick paging response)
‘and wake up a second receiver to monitor for a paging message if a WUS is detected with a payload that indicates a paging message is scheduled in a PO for a paging subgroup to which the UE belongs.’ (Paragraph [0151]: Upon detection of a LP-WUS addressed to a configured group (e.g., based on configured group identifiers) and determining presence of a LP-PO opportunity based on the detected LP-WUS, the WTRU utilizes the LP-PO configuration to decode the paging DCI… the WTRU
determines the paging message transmission configuration… and transitions to Uu RRC IDLE state (e.g., switches to PDSCH channel monitoring/decoding) within a maximum time duration; Paragraph [0159]: In a fifth step, the WTRU utilizes the conventional receiver to decode the corresponding paging message to the decoded LP-PO or PO. On a condition that the WTRU detects its identifier in the paging message, it initiates connection establishment/resume procedure; Paragraph [0212]: On condition of a ULP WTRU true paging (904), the ULP WTRU triggering a wake up of the regular Uu receiver. By 'true paging' is meant that the paging record includes the identifier of the WTRU, which means that it is actually the WTRU that is being paged).
ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘and indicate paging subgroup information for one or more paging occasions (POs) that have a scheduled paging message;’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraphs [0022]-[0023]: in response to determining that the SIB message comprises the paging subgroup configuration having the at least one of number of paging sub-groups, determine the paging sub-group identity based on formulation based on UE identity, and performing the paging reception based on the determined paging subgroup identity. Paging sub-group identity is determined by formulation as paging_sub_group ID floor (UE_ID/(N*Ns)) mod Nps wherein Nps-Number of paging-sub-groups as configured by network in the cell… receiving, by the UE, at least one of a paging DCI, a paging early indication (PEI), and a reference signal to indicate a presence or absence of the paging for UE's paging sub-group in the paging occasion from the AMF entity or the gNodeb; Paragraph [0025]: In an embodiment, the PEI comprises at least one bit or a bitmap indicating a presence or an absence of the at least one paging-sub-group identity used by the UE (100) in at least one of idle state and inactive state);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting for mapping PEI/WUS signals to assigned UE sub-groups. Combining the PEI/WUS subgrouping payload of SHRIVASTAVA into the dual-receiver architecture of ELKOTBY allows the ultra-low power receiver to parse the subgroup payload and wake up the main receiver only when paging is scheduled specifically for the UE’s assigned subgroup (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
Regarding claims 2, 12, 19 and 29, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘a first portion of the payload indicates one or more POs that have a scheduled paging message;’ (SHRIVATAVA – Paragraph [0029]: The paging grouping controller is configured to determine whether the SIB message comprises paging sub-group configuration having at least one of number of paging sub-groups and a configuration for PEI having at least an offset parameter; Paragraph [0023]: receiving, by the UE, at least one of a paging DCI, a paging early indication (PEI), and a reference signal to indicate a presence or absence of the paging for UE's paging sub-group in the paging occasion from the AMF entity or the gNodeb; Paragraph [0072]: 5. Ns: number of paging occasions for a PF; Paragraph [0076]: The UE (100), in the idle/inactive mode, calculates its Paging Occasion (PO) and Paging Frame (PF) every DRX cycle. Based on the PO and PF, the UE (100) monitors the PDCCH to read paging DCI; Paragraph [0089]: The paging DCI message indicates applicable paging-sub-group(s); Paragraph [0102]: In an example, bit 0 corresponds to first paging-sub-group, bit 1 corresponds to second paging-sub-group and so on… The paging-subgroup information field can be defined within DCI format 1_0 or a new DCI format provided in paging PDCCH and/or PEI (Paging Early Indication)/WUS (Wake-up signal) [Note: a first portion of the PEI/WUS payload (e.g., bitfield/bitmap allocation per PO) indicating the specific paging occasion(s) (Pos) that have scheduled paging]);
‘and a second portion of the payload indicates paging subgroup information for the one or more POs that have a scheduled paging message.’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraph [0025]: PEI comprises at least one bit or a bitmap indicating a presence or an absence of the at least one paging-sub-group identity used by the UE (100) in at least one of idle state and inactive state; Paragraph [0101]: In an embodiment, the reserved bits in the DCI format 1_0 can be conditionally used for indicating the paging-sub-group information field in a bitmap format… A bit when set to 1 represents presence of paging for a specific paging-sub-group and when set 0, it indicates absence of paging for the paging-sub-group. Alternatively, the paging-sub-grouping Id can also be represented by the bits together e.g. When using 4 bits, '0000' indicates paging-sub-group 1, '0001' indicates paging-sub-group 2 and so on [Note: a second portion of the PEI/WUS payload (e.g., bit/code point fields) indicating the paging subgroup information (subgroup IDs/bitmaps) associated with those Pos]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting for mapping PEI/WUS signals to assigned UE sub-groups. Combining the PEI/WUS subgrouping payload of SHRIVASTAVA into the dual-receiver architecture of ELKOTBY allows the ultra-low power receiver to parse the subgroup payload and wake up the main receiver only when paging is scheduled specifically for the UE’s assigned subgroup (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
Regarding claim 11, ELKOTBY teaches, ‘An apparatus for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0030]: The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs; Paragraph [0073]: Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell… and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL):
‘a memory comprising executable instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to: (Paragraph [0436]: Moreover, in the embodiments provided above, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices that include processors are noted. These devices may include at least one Central Processing Unit ("CPU") and memory. In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by the various CPUs and memories):
‘transmit a wake up signal (WUS) that maps to a paging early indicator (PEI)’ (Paragraph [0125]: LP-WUS: low-power wake-up signal is used to wake up WTRUs supporting ULP receiver's signal characteristics, e.g., modulation, coding, and waveform, and may be used to convey control information, e.g., Paging Occasions (POs) configuration: Paragraph [0127]: LP-PO: low-power paging occasion defines the resources that are used to signal the paging DCI for a WTRU that is equipped with a ULP receiver; Paragraph [0135]: when ULP is enabled within a cell, set of cells, or in the network, the network must support wake-up signaling and/or paging DCI and/or paging message transmissions: Paragraph [0209]: FIG. 9: Transmitting ULP-specific and Uu Paging Configurations for ULP-capable WTRUs)
‘and transmit a paging message, in at least one of the POs, as indicated in the payload of the WUS.’ (Paragraph [0135]: the network must support wake-up signaling and/or paging DCI and/or paging message transmissions with signal characteristics that are suitable for both ULP and conventional receivers; Paragraph [0151]: Upon detection of a LP-WUS addressed to a configured
group… the WTRU determines the paging message transmission configuration, e.g., scheduled time and frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme; Paragraph [0159]: In a fifth step, the WTRU utilizes the conventional receiver to decode the corresponding paging message to the decoded LP-PO or PO).
ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘and has a payload that indicates paging subgroup information for one or more paging occasions (POs) that have a scheduled paging message;’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraph [0023]: receiving, by the UE, at least one of a paging DCI, a paging early indication (PEI), and a reference signal to indicate a presence or absence of the paging for UE's paging sub-group in the paging occasion from the AMF entity or the gNodeb; Paragraph [0025]: In an embodiment, the PEI comprises at least one bit or a bitmap indicating a presence or an absence of the at least one paging-sub-group identity used by the UE (100) in at least one of idle state and inactive state; Paragraph [0170]: FIG. 7: S708: Broadcast the total number of paging subgroups in paging subgroup configuration in a system information to the UE);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting for mapping PEI/WUS signals to assigned UE sub-groups. Combining the PEI/WUS subgrouping payload of SHRIVASTAVA into the dual-receiver architecture of ELKOTBY allows the ultra-low power receiver to parse the subgroup payload and wake up the main receiver only when paging is scheduled specifically for the UE’s assigned subgroup (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
Regarding claim 18, ELKOTBY teaches, ‘A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE), comprising:’ (Paragraph [0029]: wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d… may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a
user equipment (UE); Paragraph [0088]: WTRUs implementing either one or a combination of 2G, 3G, 4G and/or 5G RATs perform Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) selection, cell selection/re-selection and location registration procedures while in RRC_IDLE mode):
‘monitoring, using a first receiver, for one or more wake up signals (WUS) that map to a paging early indicator (PEI)’ (Paragraph [0084]: For example, ULP [Ultra-Low Power] receivers can be used as wake-up radios to trigger device internal wake-up and signal interrupts following the detection of wake-up signaling which then prompts the main modem receiver using active RF components to start up; Paragraph [0125]: LP-WUS: low-power wake-up signal is used to wake up WTRUs supporting ULP receiver's signal characteristics, e.g., modulation, coding, and waveform, and may be used to convey control information, e.g., Paging Occasions (POs) configuration; Paragraph [0127]: LP-PO: low-power paging occasion defines the resources that are used to signal the paging DCI for a WTRU that is equipped with a ULP receiver; Paragraphs [0282]-[0283]: In this subsection, the ULP receivers are used to receive on-demand paging indication… The ULP receiver constantly monitors the paging indication for a quick paging response)
‘and waking up a second receiver to monitor for a paging message if a WUS is detected with a payload that indicates a paging message is scheduled in a PO for a paging subgroup to which the UE belongs.’ (Paragraph [0151]: Upon detection of a LP-WUS addressed to a configured group (e.g., based on configured group identifiers) and determining presence of a LP-PO opportunity based on the detected LP-WUS, the WTRU utilizes the LP-PO configuration to decode the paging DCI… the WTRU
determines the paging message transmission configuration… and transitions to Uu RRC IDLE state (e.g., switches to PDSCH channel monitoring/decoding) within a maximum time duration; Paragraph [0159]: In a fifth step, the WTRU utilizes the conventional receiver to decode the corresponding paging message to the decoded LP-PO or PO. On a condition that the WTRU detects its identifier in the paging message, it initiates connection establishment/resume procedure; Paragraph [0212]: On condition of a ULP WTRU true paging (904), the ULP WTRU triggering a wake up of the regular Uu receiver. By 'true paging' is meant that the paging record includes the identifier of the WTRU, which means that it is actually the WTRU that is being paged).
ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘and indicate paging subgroup information for one or more paging occasions (POs) that have a scheduled paging message;’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraphs [0022]-[0023]: in response to determining that the SIB message comprises the paging subgroup configuration having the at least one of number of paging sub-groups, determine the paging sub-group identity based on formulation based on UE identity, and performing the paging reception based on the determined paging subgroup identity. Paging sub-group identity is determined by formulation as paging_sub_group ID floor (UE_ID/(N*Ns)) mod Nps wherein Nps-Number of paging-sub-groups as configured by network in the cell… receiving, by the UE, at least one of a paging DCI, a paging early indication (PEI), and a reference signal to indicate a presence or absence of the paging for UE's paging sub-group in the paging occasion from the AMF entity or the gNodeb; Paragraph [0025]: In an embodiment, the PEI comprises at least one bit or a bitmap indicating a presence or an absence of the at least one paging-sub-group identity used by the UE (100) in at least one of idle state and inactive state);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting for mapping PEI/WUS signals to assigned UE sub-groups. Combining the PEI/WUS subgrouping payload of SHRIVASTAVA into the dual-receiver architecture of ELKOTBY allows the ultra-low power receiver to parse the subgroup payload and wake up the main receiver only when paging is scheduled specifically for the UE’s assigned subgroup (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
Regarding claim 28, ELKOTBY teaches, ‘A method for wireless communications by a network entity, comprising:’ (Paragraph [0030]: The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs; Paragraph [0073]: Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell… and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL):
‘transmitting a wake up signal (WUS) that maps to a paging early indicator (PEI)’ (Paragraph [0125]: LP-WUS: low-power wake-up signal is used to wake up WTRUs supporting ULP receiver's signal characteristics, e.g., modulation, coding, and waveform, and may be used to convey control information, e.g., Paging Occasions (POs) configuration: Paragraph [0127]: LP-PO: low-power paging occasion defines the resources that are used to signal the paging DCI for a WTRU that is equipped with a ULP receiver; Paragraph [0135]: when ULP is enabled within a cell, set of cells, or in the network, the network must support wake-up signaling and/or paging DCI and/or paging message transmissions: Paragraph [0209]: FIG. 9: Transmitting ULP-specific and Uu Paging Configurations for ULP-capable WTRUs)
‘and transmitting a paging message, in at least one of the POs, as indicated in the payload of the WUS.’ (Paragraph [0135]: the network must support wake-up signaling and/or paging DCI and/or paging message transmissions with signal characteristics that are suitable for both ULP and conventional receivers; Paragraph [0151]: Upon detection of a LP-WUS addressed to a configured
group… the WTRU determines the paging message transmission configuration, e.g., scheduled time and frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme; Paragraph [0159]: In a fifth step, the WTRU utilizes the conventional receiver to decode the corresponding paging message to the decoded LP-PO or PO).
ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘and has a payload that indicates paging subgroup information for one or more paging occasions (POs) that have a scheduled paging message;’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraph [0023]: receiving, by the UE, at least one of a paging DCI, a paging early indication (PEI), and a reference signal to indicate a presence or absence of the paging for UE's paging sub-group in the paging occasion from the AMF entity or the gNodeb; Paragraph [0025]: In an embodiment, the PEI comprises at least one bit or a bitmap indicating a presence or an absence of the at least one paging-sub-group identity used by the UE (100) in at least one of idle state and inactive state; Paragraph [0170]: FIG. 7: S708: Broadcast the total number of paging subgroups in paging subgroup configuration in a system information to the UE);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting for mapping PEI/WUS signals to assigned UE sub-groups. Combining the PEI/WUS subgrouping payload of SHRIVASTAVA into the dual-receiver architecture of ELKOTBY allows the ultra-low power receiver to parse the subgroup payload and wake up the main receiver only when paging is scheduled specifically for the UE’s assigned subgroup (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
Claims 3, 5-6, 13, 15-16, 20, 22-23 and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ELKOTBY in view of SHRIVASTAVA in view of Peng et al. (US 2024/0259998 A1), hereinafter “PENG”.
Regarding claims 3, 13, 20 and 30, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but PENG teaches, ‘the first portion of the payload has a fixed size;’ (PENG – Paragraph [0042]: FIG. 6 shows an example bit field structure 600. The structure indicates N POs with a flexible N+N*M bits for group indication. In this structure, the first N bits comprising block 602 associated with N POs are always present, while the latter N*M bits might not present… For example, if N=3 POs and M=4 PO groups, there can be 3 or 7 or 11 or 15 bits in this block structure (i.e., N+ 1=4 possible bit field length) [Note: a first portion of the PEI/WUS payload consisting of a fixed -size N-bit block that is always present to indicate active Pos]);
‘and the second portion of the payload has a variable size that depends on how many POs have a scheduled paging message, as indicated by the first portion of the payload.’ (PENG – Paragraph [0042]: If the i-th bit in the block 602 is "1", then there can be a block of M bits corresponding to the i-th PO, where i=l, 2, ... , N. Otherwise, e.g., if the i-th bit of block 602 is "0", there is no M-bit block corresponding to the i-th bit. For example, if the first bit in block 602 is "l" (e.g., at least one group within PO 1 will be paged), then there can be a block 604 of M bits for PO 1, as shown in FIG. 6. Otherwise, there is no such block of M bits; Paragraph [0044]: With this structure, the overhead of bit field length can be reduced while the coverage of PEI/WUS can be improved [Note: the second portion of the payload (the subgroup M-bit blocks) dynamically varies its size depending directly on how many Pos are indicated by the first N-bit portion as having a scheduled paging message]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of PENG with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of PENG into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that PENG provides a variable-length payload structure where a fixed-size first portion indicates active Pos, and subgroup bit blocks are conditionally appended only for Pos that actually have scheduled paging message. Combining PENG’s variable payload structure into the wake-up receiver framework of ELKOTBY and the subgrouping scheme of SHRIVASTAVA allows for reducing the bit field length of the wake-up signal, minimizing signaling overhead, and improving the transmission coverage and reception reliability of PEI/WUS (See Paragraph [0042], [0044], PENG).
Regarding claims 5, 15 and 22, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 1,
ELKOTBY does not explicitly teach but SHRIVASTAVA teaches, ‘wherein each portion is transmitted within multiple WUSs.’ (SHRIVASTAVA – Paragraph [0087]: 3. Paging Early Indication (PEI)/WUS (Wake-Up signal) (e.g. new DCI based or other mechanism like introducing new low power consuming RF (Radio Frequency) sequence at UE) for idle/inactive mode UEs for paging reception. The paging early indication can carry UE paging-sub-group(s) indication for Idle/Inactive UEs; Paragraph [0102]: The paging-sub-group information field can be defined within DCI format 1_0 or a new DCI format provided in paging PDCCH and/or PEI (Paging Early Indication)/WUS (Wake-up signal) [Note: the paging subgroup indication payload/portion can be carried and transmitted within multiple Wake-Up signals (WUSs)/Paging Early Indications (PEIs)]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of SHRIVASTAVA with ELKOTBY because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of SHRIVASTAVA into ELKOTBY is that SHRIVASTAVA provides the exact bitmapped/field payload formatting of paging subgroup indications associated with specific paging occasions (POs) to eliminate false wake-up alarms. This enables to modify the network transmission and payload structure of ELKOTBY to incorporate the bitmapped paging subgroup signaling structure (See Paragraphs [0007]-[0008], [0032], [0089], SHRIVASTAVA).
ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but PENG teaches, ‘wherein the payload comprises: one or more portions, each portion indicating paging subgroup information for a different PO,’ (PENG – Paragraphs [0035]-[0037]: One PEI can have N*M bits to indicate POs and PO groups, where N is the number of POs associated with the PEI, and M is the number of PO groups within a PO. FIG. 5 shows an example bit field structure 500. The structure indicates N POs and uses N*M bits for M PO groups in each PO. With this structure, each group within a PO can have one bit. Thus, each PO and each group within a PO can be indicated separately… It should be noted that, if no confusion were introduced, a group can be identical to a subgroup [Note: a payload (bit field structure) containing N blocks/portions, where each block corresponds to a different PO (paging occasion). Each portion comprises M bits indicating paging subgroup information (PO groups/subgroups) specific to that particular PO]),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of PENG with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of PENG into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that PENG provides a partitioning a PEI/WUS payload into distinct portions (N x M bits) where each portion carries subgroup indications for a different PO. Combining this into the ELKOTBY/SHRIVASTAVA system allows a single PEI/WUS transmission window to schedule and manage paging for multiple upcoming POs efficiently (See Paragraphs [0035]-[0037], PENG).
Regarding claims 6, 16 and 23, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 1, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but PENG teaches, ‘wherein multiple WUSs are time multiplexed within a WUS monitoring occasion associated with a paging early indicator (PEI).’ (PENG – Paragraph [0039]: A paging occasion can include one or more monitoring occasions (MOs). One MO can include one paging-PDCCH. Similar to PEI/WUS, the paging indication information can also be included in a paging-PDCCH; Paragraph [0103]: A PEI/WUS, such as a PDCCH-based PEI/WUS, can have one or multiple monitoring occasions. The PEI/WUS can have a time window (e.g., 10 slots) for transmission. A UE can be configured to monitor a PEI/WUS within a time window [Note: multiple WUSs/signals are transmitted across time slots/monitoring occasions within a dedicated PEI/WUS monitoring window (time-division multiplexing)]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of PENG with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of PENG into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that PENG provides the PEI/WUS to have multiple monitoring occasions time-multiplexed within a time window (monitoring occasion), which improves transmission coverage and signal detection reliability at the UE. This ensures power-sensitive UEs reliably receive their respective subgroup indications (See Paragraph [0039], [0103], PENG).
Claims 4, 9-10, 14, 21 and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ELKOTBY in view of SHRIVASTAVA in view of Li et al. (US 2025/0220582 A1), hereinafter “LI”.
Regarding claims 4, 14 and 21, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘a third portion of the payload indicates whether the UE should monitor for a subsequent WUS.’ (LI – Paragraph [0043]: LP-WUS can serve at least one of the following purposes; Paragraphs [0048]-[0049]: To serve corresponding purposes, single or multiple different type of LP-WUS can be supported. For example, for all purposes, a single LP-WUS configuration may be applied. For another example, multiple different types of LP-WUS can be configured to serve different purposes, e.g., to enable RRM measurement, a first type of LP-WUS is transmitted periodically… and a second type of LP-WUS is transmitted aperiodically, which wakes up the UE to receive other DL channel/signals or transmit UL channel/signals; Paragraph [0050]: UE may receive one type of LP-WUS depending on the reception of another type of LP-WUS. For example, UE receives other type LP-WUS only if UE can receive first type LP-WUS with RRM result larger than a threshold; Paragraphs [0059]-[0060]: In one embodiment, multiple options can be considered to do RRM measurement by a LP-WUS… The second part of the LP-WUS may include a group ID, sub-group ID or unicast ID for the UE; Paragraph [0104]: If the UE does not detect the LP-WUS which targets the UE, the UE may not turn on the main receiver. This is most power efficient for the UE; Paragraph [0138]: UE may skip a LP-WUS occasion, if UE already starts to tum on the main receiver based on a previous LP-WUS. Alternatively, UE still receives LP-WUS, if the LP-WUS and the previously detected LP-WUS is from different LP-WUS duty cycle configuration [Note: a multi-part/multi-type LP-WUS payload structure where a portion of a first LP-WUS payload indicates whether the UE should monitor for a subsequent LP-WUS (e.g., conditionally monitoring a second-type LP-WUS based on reception/threshold criteria of the first LP-WUS payload)]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that LI provides multi-type/multi-part LP-WUS payload signaling, where an initial wake-up signal (or a specific portion of its payload) indicates to the UE whether it should monitor for a subsequent LP-WUS. Combining LI’s payload indication for subsequent WUS monitoring into the low-power wake-up receiver framework of ELKOTBY and the subgrouping scheme of SHRIVASTAVA enables a hierarchical, multi-stage wake-up procedure that reduces power consumption (See Paragraph [0035], [0049]-[0050], [0138], LI).
Regarding claims 9 and 26, ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA teach, The apparatus of claim 1, ELKOTBY further teaches, ‘wherein the one or more processors configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the reader device to:’ (Paragraphs [0042]-[0043]: FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118… non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132… The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality):
ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wake up the second receiver to monitor for the PEI if one or more criteria are met.’ (LI – Paragraph [0050]: UE may receive one type of LP-WUS depending on the reception of another type of LP-WUS. For example, UE receives other type LP-WUS only if UE can receive first type LP-WUS with RRM result larger than a threshold; Paragraphs [0057]-[0058]: In another option, UE may perform RRM measurement based on first type LP-WUS, which may not require turning on the main radio… After UE finishes cell re-selection, or if RRM measurement does not trigger cell re-selection, UE may monitor the sub-sequent LP-WUS within certain period, e.g., monitor second type LP-WUS. In another option, UE can perform RRM measurement based on LP-WUS and legacy NR reference signals. UE may first perform RRM measurement based on LPWUS… If RRM measurement based on the LP-WUS does not trigger cell re-selection, or after UE finishes cell re-selection by legacy procedure, UE may monitor the sub-sequent LP-WUS within certain period [Note: waking up/activating a second receiver (or main radio/receiver) to monitor for a PEI/subsequent QUS if one or more specified criteria are met (e.g., if an RRM measurement exceeds a threshold or if cell re-selection criteria are satisfied)]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that LI provides gating the activation/wake-up of the receiver to monitor for a PEI or subsequent WUS based on whether specific operational criteria are met (such as signal quality/RRM threshold criteria) ensures that higher-power monitoring is initiated only when channel conditions guarantee reliable signal reception (See Paragraph [0050], [0057]-[0058], LI).
Regarding claims 10 and 27, ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and LI teach, The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: ELKOTBY further teaches, ‘…since a previous paging time window (PTW);’(Paragraph [0182]: In another alternative to the third step, the WTRU may consider a fallback timer T_UuPagingFallback to capture the case when it fails to detect/decode a paging DCI using the ULP receiver… for a duration T_UuPagingFallback… The WTRU may also return to ULP RRC IDLE state if it does not receive any paging DCI for a configured/signaled number of POs [Note: evaluating the failure over a time duration/window (T_UuPaginFallback) or across a set number of previous paging occasions/windows (POs)]);
‘…in a subsequent PTW if the criteria is met.’ (Paragraph [0182]: The WTRU then transitions to Uu RRC IDLE state and monitors paging DCI according to the configured/signaled paging DCI's PO configuration of the conventional receiver, if it fails to detect a paging DCI by the ULP receiver for a duration [Note: the conditional execution (if it fails to detect / if criteria is met) and the timing mechanism (transitioning to the conventional receiver to monitor paging in a subsequent cycle or duration)]).
ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA do not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘the criteria comprise the UE failing to detect a WUS…’ (LI – Paragraph [0105]: For example, 1 bit in LP-WUS indicates whether to turn on the main receiver, if the UE does not detect a LP-WUS which indicates the UE to wake up the main receiver, the UE turns on the main receiver to receive legacy DL signals/channels, e.g., monitor PEI and/or PO according to a legacy procedure. In this way, if UE missed the LP-WUS from gNB, UE could still receive the paging [Note: the specific event criterion: failing to detect / missing the WUS])…
‘and the UE wakes up the second receiver to monitor for the PEI…’ (LI – Paragraph [0105]: if the UE does not detect a LP-WUS which indicates the UE to wake up the main receiver, the UE turns on the main receiver to receive legacy DL signals/channels, e.g., monitor PEI and/or PO according to a legacy procedure[Note: the physical receiver mechanism: waking up/turning on the main (second) receiver to monitor the PEI])…
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA is that LI provides a safety-net fallback mechanism where the UE turns on / wakes up its main (second) receiver to monitor for the PEI and/or paging channel in a subsequent window if it fails to detect a wake-up signal in the previous window/duration. This enables to modify the dual-receiver system of ELKOTBY and SHRIVASTAVA by incorporating WUS fallback monitoring mechanism (See Paragraph [0105], LI).
Claims 7 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ELKOTBY in view of SHRIVASTAVA in view of PENG in view of LI.
Regarding claims 7 and 24, ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG teach, The apparatus of claim 6, ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG do not explicitly teach but LI teaches, ‘wherein a number of WUS candidates the UE is expected to monitor within a WUS monitoring occasion is limited by a capability of the UE.’ (LI – Paragraph [0118]: There is a delay between the LP-WUS and the time that UE is ready for reception using main radio, which can be predefined, configured by high layer or determined by a UE capability report; Paragraph [0136]: Alternatively, multiple candidate locations for the LP-WUS for the UE may be allowed. In this case, UE has to do detection for the LP-WUS in the wus-OnDuration. The candidate locations within the wus-OnDuration can be configured by a list of starting point and duration, similar to multiple SLIVs, which can support non-continuous LP-WUS locations. Alternatively, the candidate locations within the wus-OnDuration can be determined by the number of candidate locations or the duration for a LP-WUS, which can support continuous LP-WUS locations; Paragraph [0146]: After a UE detect a LP-WUS, UE may be able to decode PDCCH/PDSCH in a PO/PEI for the UE, if the gap between the PO/PEI and LP-WUS is no smaller than a period X. X can predefined, preconfigured, configured by high layer signaling or reported by UE as UE capability, e.g., the period X is the transition time for the UE to wake up the main radio [Note: the number of WUS candidates/candidate locations a UE is required or expected to monitor within a WUS duration/occasion is bounded or limited based on reported UE capabilities]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of LI with ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of LI into ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG is that LI provides limiting the number of WUS candidate locations/occasions a UE is expected to blindly detect based on reported UE capabilities that prevent low-power receivers from attempting excessive blind decodes beyond their hardware limits. This enables the network entity to configure only as many WUS candidates as the target UE is capable of processing (See Paragraph [0118], [0136], [0146], LI).
Claims 8, 17 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ELKOTBY in view of SHRIVASTAVA in view of PENG in view of Nogueira-Nine et al. (US 2006/0133408 A1), hereinafter “NOGUEIRA-NINE”.
Regarding claims 8, 17 and 25, ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG teach, The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG do not explicitly teach but NOGUEIRA-NINE teaches, ‘a first of the multiple WUSs has a preamble and payload;’ (NOGUEIRA-NINE – Paragraph [0030]: As shown in FIG. 3, the wake-up signal WU preferably comprises a repetition of a signal block SB formed by a preamble WP and a small data packet WD. The preamble WP and the data packet WD are called "wake-up whistle" and "wake-up data" respectively. To ensure that at least one complete signal block SB can be received during any reception slot RX, the duration TSB of the signal block SB (whistle+data) must be less or equal than one half of the reception slot duration TPL [Note: an initial wake-up signal (WU / signal block) in a series formed by a preamble (AWP) and a payload/data packet (WD)]);
‘and remaining of the multiple WUSs have a payload and lack a preamble.’ (NOGUEIRA-NINE – Paragraph [0035]: As the time pointer is not referred to the end of the wake-up signal, the receiving node A does not need to keep its receiver active during the rest of the wake-up signal WU. On the contrary, the node A just receives and decodes the wake-up data, and uses the embedded time pointer information to switch on the receiver at the right time. Obviously this reduces the time in which the receiver of the destination node A is activated, and hence more power is saved [Note: after synchronization is achieved via the preamble on an initial wake-up black, the remaining wake-sup signals in the transmission contain only the payload/wake-up data (WD) and omit/lack the preamble (WP) to minimize receiver active time and reduce power consumption]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of NOGUEIRA_NINE with ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of NOGUEIRA_NINE into ELKOTBY, SHRIVASTAVA and PENG is that NOGUEIRA_NINE provides that once the receiving node acquires synchronization from the preamble of an initial wake-up signal, subsequent or remaining WUSs in the burst can omit the preamble and transmit only the payload data. Stripping the preamble from remaining/subsequent wake-up signals reduces the overall duration and duty cycle of WUS bursts, allowing the network to conserve frequency resources while ensuring that power-sensitive UEs still receive the required subgroup payload (See Paragraph [0030], [0035], NOGUEIRA_NINE).
Conclusion
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/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479
/JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479
