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 .
This is responsive to Application 18/958,533 filed 11/25/2024 in which claims 21-38 are presented for examination.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 21-28 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-20 of U.S. Patent No.12,058,644 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other. See table below.
Current Application 18/958,533
Patent 12,058,644 B2
21. A method performed at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
processing, based on signaling from a network, configuration information comprising a value K0 based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value K0 is zero or more slots; and processing, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH
1. A method, comprising: at a component of a network: transmitting configuration information to a user equipment (UE) operating in the network, wherein the configuration information comprises a value K0 based on a scheduling offset between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and wherein the value K0 is zero or more slots; configuring a paging downlink control information (DCI) to be transmitted to the UE on the PDCCH, wherein the paging DCI includes scheduling information for the PDSCH; and transmitting the paging DCI to the UE on the PDCCH.
33. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: process, based on signaling from the network, configuration information comprising a value K0 based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value K0 is zero or more slots; and process, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH.
15. An integrated circuit, comprising: circuitry configured to transmit configuration information to a user equipment (UE) operating in the network, wherein the configuration information comprises a value K0 based on a scheduling offset between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and wherein the value K0 is zero or more slots; circuitry configured to configure a paging downlink control information (DCI) to be transmitted to the UE on the PDCCH, wherein the paging DCI includes scheduling information for the PDSCH; and circuitry configured to transmit the paging DCI to the UE on the PDCCH.
27. (New) A user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a network; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: process, based on signaling from the network, configuration information comprising a value KO based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value KO is zero or more slots; and process, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH.
8. A network component of a network, comprising: a processor configured to: configure configuration information for a user equipment (UE) operating in the network, wherein the configuration information comprises a K0 based on a scheduling offset between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and wherein the value K0 is zero or more slots, and configure a paging downlink control information (DCI) to be transmitted to the UE on the PDCCH, wherein the paging DCI includes scheduling information for the PDSCH; and a transceiver configured to transmit configuration information and the paging DCI to the UE.
Claims 22, 28, 34
Claims 2, 9, 16
Claims 23, 29, 35
Claims 3, 10, 17
Claims 24, 30, 36
Claims 4, 11, 18
Claims 25, 31, 37
Claims 5, 12, 19
Claims 26, 32, 38
Claims 6, 13, 20
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.
Claims 21, 22, 25-28, 31-34, 37 and 38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nam et al (US 2021/0360580 A1).
Regarding claim 21, Nam teaches a method performed at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
processing, based on signaling from a network, configuration information comprising a value KO based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value KO is zero or more slots (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109], UE configured with K0); and
processing, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109]-[0110], processing paging DCI based on the K0).
Regarding claim 27, Nam teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a network; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to:
process, based on signaling from the network, configuration information comprising a value KO based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value KO is zero or more slots (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109], UE configured with K0); and
process, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109]-[0110], processing paging DCI based on the K0).
Regarding claim 33, Nam teaches an apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to:
process, based on signaling from the network, configuration information comprising a value KO based on a scheduling offset between a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), wherein the value KO is zero or more slots (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109], UE configured with K0); and
process, based on signaling from the network on the PDCCH, a paging downlink control information (DCI) comprising scheduling information for the PDSCH (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109]-[0110], processing paging DCI based on the K0).
Regarding claims 22, 28 and 34, Nam teaches processing, based on signaling from the network, the PDSCH in a scheduled slot that is offset K0 slots from a scheduled slot in which the paging DCI was transmitted, wherein the PDSCH comprises paging information corresponding to the paging DCI (Nam: Fig. 11; [0109]-[0110]).
Regarding claims 25, 31 and 37, Nam teaches wherein the configuration information further comprises a value N based on a minimum gap between reception of the paging DCI by the UE and fully processing the paging DCI by the UE, wherein the value N is determined based on a standard for operating the network (Nam: Figs. 7-10; [0097], [0102], offset K0/N as processing time based on 5G NR ).
Regarding claims 26, 32 and 38, Nam teaches wherein the paging DCI comprises a short message (Nam: [0090], [0092] short paging messages).
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.
Claims 23, 24, 29, 30, 35 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nam et al (US 2021/0360580 A1) in view of Rune et al (US 2020/0084746 A1).
Regarding claims 23, 29 and 35, Nam does not explicitly disclose wherein the paging DCI further includes filter information.
Runes teaches wherein the paging DCI further includes filter information (Rune: Fig. 3; [0039], [0076], [0088] paging dci comprising a group identifier allowing the UE to determine whether the paging is CN or RAN initiated).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Nam wherein the paging DCI further includes filter information as disclosed by to provide a system for handling paging messages in a wireless communication network (Rune: Abstract).
Regarding claims 23, 29 and 35, Nam in view of Rune teaches wherein the filter information comprises one of an indication of whether the paging DCI is related to non-3GPP access, whether the paging DCI is related to voice information, whether the paging DCI is related to non-voice information, whether the paging DCI is related to a radio access network (RAN) initiated page, whether the paging DCI is related to a core network (CN) initiated page, whether the paging DCI is related to slicing information, whether the paging DCI comprises a partial UE identification (ID), whether the paging DCI comprises a configured wakeup group ID (WUS ID) or whether the paging DCI comprises a rule based WUJS ID (Rune: Fig. 3; [0039], [0076], [0088] paging dci comprising a group identifier allowing the UE to determine whether the paging is CN or RAN initiated).
Conclusion
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/KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
