Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 15, 2026
Application No. 18/924,121

MONITORING DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION BASED ON CONFIGURATION INFORMATION AND STATUS OF CELL DISCONTINUOUS OPERATION

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Oct 23, 2024
Priority
Aug 09, 2023 — CN PCT/CN2023/112052 +1 more
Examiner
GEORGE, AYANAH S
Art Unit
2467
Tech Center
2400 — Computer Networks
Assignee
Nokia Corporation
OA Round
4 (Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
7m
Est. Remaining
93%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
446 granted / 514 resolved
+28.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
23 currently pending
Career history
546
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.0%
-39.0% vs TC avg
§103
84.8%
+44.8% vs TC avg
§102
6.7%
-33.3% vs TC avg
§112
2.8%
-37.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 514 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION This action is a response an amendment filed 12/16/25 in which claims 1-14 and 16-24 are pending. 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 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. Claim(s) 22 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Babei et al. (Pub. No.: 2024/0267987), herein Babei and Liang et al. (WO 2025/013815 A1), herein Liang. As to claim 22, Babei teaches an apparatus, comprising: at least one processor (Babei Fig. 15 processor); and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to (Babei Fig. 15 storage medium 1510): transmit, to a terminal device, configuration information with downlink control information for an action on a cell discontinuous operation of a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information (Babei [0296] In an example, a wireless device may receive one or more messages (e.g., one or more RRC messages) comprising configuration parameters of a first cell. the first cell may be a secondary cell. The one or more messages/the configuration parameters may comprise cell DTX/DRX configuration parameters of one or more cell DTX/DRX patterns for the first cell. [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell. The wireless device may activate or deactivate a first cell DTX pattern, in the one or more cell DTX patterns, and/or a first cell DRX pattern in the one or more cell DRX patterns. [0097] A wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel of a downlink BWP. For example, the UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in configured monitoring occasions in one or more configured COntrol REsource SETs (CORESETs) according to the corresponding search space configurations. A search space configuration may define how/where to search for PDCCH candidates) and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of: a cell discontinuous transmission or a cell discontinuous reception (Babei [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell);; and transmit, to the terminal device, the downlink control information based on the configuration information and a status of the cell discontinuous operation (Babei [0097] A wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel of a downlink BWP. For example, the UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in configured monitoring occasions in one or more configured COntrol REsource SETs (CORESETs) according to the corresponding search space configurations [0296] The wireless device may determine, based on the cell DTX pattern and/or the cell DRX pattern, that a first timing of an action associated with activation of the first cell is while the first cell is in a cell DTX state and/or a cell DRX state, e.g., overlaps with a duration that the first cell is in the cell DTX state and/or the cell DRX state. The wireless device may delay the action and may perform the action after the first cell transitions from the cell DTX state and/or the cell DRX state to the non-cell DTX state and/or the non-cell DRX state. Example actions associated with activation of the first cell may comprise one or more of: SRS transmissions on the first cell, CSI reporting for the first cell, PDCCH monitoring on the first cell, PDCCH monitoring for the first cell, and PUCCH transmissions on the first cell, if configured) wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell discontinuous operations, and the cell discontinuous operation in the plurality of cell discontinuous operations is in activated status (Babei [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell. The wireless device may activate or deactivate a first cell DTX pattern, in the one or more cell DTX patterns, and/or a first cell DRX pattern in the one or more cell DRX patterns) Babei does not teach Group-common downlink control information format 2_X However Liang does teach Group-common downlink control information format 2_X (Liang [0060]-[0061] L1 signalling that is addressable to one or more UEs (e.g., using group common signalling), using a PDCCH, for cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation (in this example without hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback). Specifically, DCI based in accordance with a new DCI format for the purpose of cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation is used to provide the indication for cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation. The new DCI format is referred to herein as 'DCI format 2_X') It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Babei with Liang, because Liang teaches us [0060] The DCI format 2_X may, for example, be similar to DCI Formats 2_0, 2_1, 2_2 and 2_3 that are designed to address a group of UEs 3 and can accommodate payloads for each UE within the group (e.g., with the payload for a specific UE 3 having a specific position within the DCI so that each UE 3 is able to extract its own information while ignoring the information intended for other UEs 3). As to claim 24, Babei teaches a method, comprising: transmitting, at an apparatus and to a terminal device, configuration information associated with downlink control information for an action on a cell discontinuous operation of a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of (Babei [0296] In an example, a wireless device may receive one or more messages (e.g., one or more RRC messages) comprising configuration parameters of a first cell. the first cell may be a secondary cell. The one or more messages/the configuration parameters may comprise cell DTX/DRX configuration parameters of one or more cell DTX/DRX patterns for the first cell. [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell. The wireless device may activate or deactivate a first cell DTX pattern, in the one or more cell DTX patterns, and/or a first cell DRX pattern in the one or more cell DRX patterns. [0097] A wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel of a downlink BWP. For example, the UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in configured monitoring occasions in one or more configured COntrol REsource SETs (CORESETs) according to the corresponding search space configurations. A search space configuration may define how/where to search for PDCCH candidates): a cell discontinuous transmission or a cell discontinuous reception (Babei [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell); and transmitting, to the terminal device, the downlink control information based on the configuration information and a status of the cell discontinuous operation (Babei [0097] A wireless device may monitor a downlink control channel of a downlink BWP. For example, the UE may monitor a set of PDCCH candidates in configured monitoring occasions in one or more configured COntrol REsource SETs (CORESETs) according to the corresponding search space configurations [0296] The wireless device may determine, based on the cell DTX pattern and/or the cell DRX pattern, that a first timing of an action associated with activation of the first cell is while the first cell is in a cell DTX state and/or a cell DRX state, e.g., overlaps with a duration that the first cell is in the cell DTX state and/or the cell DRX state. The wireless device may delay the action and may perform the action after the first cell transitions from the cell DTX state and/or the cell DRX state to the non-cell DTX state and/or the non-cell DRX state. Example actions associated with activation of the first cell may comprise one or more of: SRS transmissions on the first cell, CSI reporting for the first cell, PDCCH monitoring on the first cell, PDCCH monitoring for the first cell, and PUCCH transmissions on the first cell, if configured) wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell discontinuous operations, and the cell discontinuous operation in the plurality of cell discontinuous operations is in activated status (Babei [0297] In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive configuration parameters of one or more cell discontinuous transmission (DTX) patterns and/or cell discontinuous reception (DRX) patterns associated with one or more cell. The wireless device may activate or deactivate a first cell DTX pattern, in the one or more cell DTX patterns, and/or a first cell DRX pattern in the one or more cell DRX patterns) Babei does not teach Group-common downlink control information format 2_X However Liang does teach Group-common downlink control information format 2_X (Liang [0060]-[0061] L1 signalling that is addressable to one or more UEs (e.g., using group common signalling), using a PDCCH, for cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation (in this example without hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback). Specifically, DCI based in accordance with a new DCI format for the purpose of cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation is used to provide the indication for cell DTX/DRX activation/deactivation. The new DCI format is referred to herein as 'DCI format 2_X') It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Babei with Liang for the same reasons stated in claim 22. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 1-14, 16-21 and 23 allowed. 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 AYANAH S GEORGE whose telephone number is (571)272-8880. The examiner can normally be reached on 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM. 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, Hassan Phillips can be reached on 572-272-3940. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. AYANAH S. GEORGE Primary Examiner Art Unit 2467 /AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 2 earlier events
Mar 26, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 16, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Jul 16, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 13, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Aug 19, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Aug 28, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Dec 16, 2025
Response Filed
Apr 29, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
93%
With Interview (+6.0%)
2y 4m (~7m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 514 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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