DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This Office Action is in response to the submission filed 2024-12-03 (herein referred to as the Reply) where claim(s) 1-2, 5, 7-9, 13-15, 19, 23-32 are pending for consideration.
35 USC §112(b) – Claim Rejections
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.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for not particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter of the invention.
Claim(s) 7, 26, 31 and 8-9
With regards to the element(s)
a given power class
The claims recite at least two citations of “a(n) [element]” - either within the claim(s) itself or in a claim in which the claim(s) depend from (the element is introduced at least twice). In other words, the claimed element is introduced twice. Consequently, when subsequent citation(s) of “a [element]” is used, it is unclear if said subsequent citations are referring to a previous introduced element or is attempting to introduce a new, distinct element (but fails to describe it in such a manner that distinguishes it from the first citation).
Furthermore, when subsequent citations of "the [element]" are recited, it is unclear which particular “a [element]” (since there at least two previously introduced similarly named elements) is being referring to.
Dependent claims do not cure the deficiencies of the base/intervening claims as discussed herein and are therefore rejected for at least the same reasons.
Claim(s) 13 and 14
The claim(s) recite variants of:
independent control element
independent indication
With regards to the term “independent” it is unclear as to what this is relative to. What is the “control element” independent of? What is the “indication” independent of?
Dependent claims do not cure the deficiencies of the base/intervening claims as discussed herein and are therefore rejected for at least the same reasons.
35 USC §102 - Claim Rejections
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596)
Claim(s) 1, 23
GAO_596 teaches
determining, by a user equipment (UE), a parameter of adjustment to maximum output power for a given power class based on a comparison of a duty cycle associated with uplink symbols; and Terminal reports, to the network, a maximum transmit power based on a UL duty cycle that is associated with a transmission symbol ratio. <FIG(s). 2, 3, 5, 7; para. 0036-0051, 0059, 0074-0075>.
reporting the parameter when triggered by at least one event, The reporting can be based on a reporting control condition being satisfied (i.e., triggered) <FIG(s). 8; para. 0059>.
wherein the at least one event comprises
a second new event comprising returning to a power class, or A reporting condition can include a power class change that occurs on at least one carrier within the UL duty cycle or a power class fallback, can be considered a return, especially in the case where the terminal has ever used that power class before. <para. 0065, 0078, 0081>.
Claim(s) 28
GAO_596 teaches
a memory to store instructions; and at least one processor to execute the instructions and cause the BS apparatus to: Base station including processor and executable code stored in memory device <FIG(s). 1, 12, 13; para. 0025>.
receive a parameter of adjustment to maximum output power for a given power class based on a comparison of a duty cycle associated with uplink symbols, Terminal reports, to the network, a maximum transmit power based on a UL duty cycle that is associated with a transmission symbol ratio. <FIG(s). 2, 3, 5, 7; para. 0036-0051, 0059, 0074-0075>.
wherein the parameter is received when triggered by at least one event; and The reporting can be based on a reporting control condition being satisfied (i.e., triggered) <FIG(s). 8; para. 0059>.
wherein the at least one event comprises
a second new event comprising returning to a power class, or A reporting condition can include a power class change that occurs on at least one carrier within the UL duty cycle or a power class fallback, can be considered a return, especially in the case where the terminal has ever used that power class before. <para. 0065, 0078, 0081>.
Claim(s) 2, 24, 29
GAO_596 teaches
wherein the reporting comprises a power headroom report (PHR) control element that includes a power headroom available in the UE along with the parameter. PHR is reported <FIG(s). 6; para. 0047-0048>.
Claim(s) 5, 25, 30
GAO_596 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises the second new event and triggers the PHR with an actual value for the parameter, the actual value comprising an absolute value; A motivation for Goa is to provide the network device actual values caused by UL transmission changes at the terminal. <para. 0050, 0054, 0068>.
35 USC §103 - Claim Rejections
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596) in view of LIU_996 (US20250392996)
Claim(s) 13
GAO_596 teaches
wherein the reporting comprises a power headroom report (PHR) control element that includes a power headroom available in the UE PHR is reported <FIG(s). 6; para. 0047-0048>.
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the reporting comprises an uplink (UL) full power mode,
However in a similar endeavor, LIU_996 teaches
wherein the reporting comprises an uplink (UL) full power mode, A terminal's full power mode capability can be reported. <para. 0016-0019>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by LIU_996. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to enable the network device to properly allocate transmission power to the terminal to improve communication performance <para. 0003>.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596) in view of SHIBAIKE_859 (WO2025017859)
Claim(s) 19
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the at least one event comprises the first new event when a configured or default duty cycle is at least partially exceeded.
However in a similar endeavor, SHIBAIKE_859 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises the first new event when a configured or default duty cycle is at least partially exceeded. Reporting condition includes a duty cycle is exceeded. <para. 0070>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by SHIBAIKE_859. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide the network with terminal capability such as whether or not a full-power mode can be used, in uplink control information <Abstract>.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596) in view of GAO_248 (US20220322248)
Claim(s) 1, 13
GAO_596 teaches
determining, by a user equipment (UE), a parameter of adjustment to maximum output power for a given power class based on a comparison of a duty cycle associated with uplink symbols; and Terminal reports, to the network, a maximum transmit power based on a UL duty cycle that is associated with a transmission symbol ratio. <FIG(s). 2, 3, 5, 7; para. 0036-0051, 0059, 0074-0075>.
reporting the parameter when triggered by at least one event, The reporting can be based on a reporting control condition being satisfied (i.e., triggered) <FIG(s). 8; para. 0059>.
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the at least one event comprises a first new event comprising the duty cycle
However in a similar endeavor, GAO_248 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises a first new event comprising the duty cycle
After an uplink duty cycle information exceeds a threshold, the P-MPR starts to take effect and a PHR report is triggered. <FIG(s). 3B; para. 0149>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by GAO_248. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively sent to a second communication node, so that the second communication node determines maximum power reduction. <para. 0006>.
Claim(s) 28
GAO_596 teaches
a memory to store instructions; and at least one processor to execute the instructions and cause the BS apparatus to: Base station including processor and executable code stored in memory device <FIG(s). 1, 12, 13; para. 0025>.
receive a parameter of adjustment to maximum output power for a given power class based on a comparison of a duty cycle associated with uplink symbols, Terminal reports, to the network, a maximum transmit power based on a UL duty cycle that is associated with a transmission symbol ratio. <FIG(s). 2, 3, 5, 7; para. 0036-0051, 0059, 0074-0075>.
wherein the parameter is received when triggered by at least one event; and The reporting can be based on a reporting control condition being satisfied (i.e., triggered) <FIG(s). 8; para. 0059>.
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the at least one event comprises a first new event comprising the duty cycle being exceeded
However in a similar endeavor, GAO_248 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises a first new event comprising the duty cycle
After an uplink duty cycle information exceeds a threshold, the P-MPR starts to take effect and a PHR report is triggered. <FIG(s). 3B; para. 0149>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by GAO_248. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to effectively sent to a second communication node, so that the second communication node determines maximum power reduction. <para. 0006>.
Claim(s) 2, 24, 29
GAO_596 teaches
wherein the reporting comprises a power headroom report (PHR) control element that includes a power headroom available in the UE along with the parameter. PHR is reported <FIG(s). 6; para. 0047-0048>.
Claim(s) 5, 25, 30
GAO_596 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises the second new event and triggers the PHR with an actual value for the parameter, the actual value comprising an absolute value; A motivation for Goa is to provide the network device actual values caused by UL transmission changes at the terminal. <para. 0050, 0054, 0068>.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596) in view of GAO_248 (US20220322248), and further view of LIU_996 (US20250392996)
Claim(s) 13
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the reporting comprises
a power headroom report (PHR) control element that includes a power headroom available in the UE along with the parameter and an uplink (UL) full power mode, or
an independent control element comprising the parameter and an uplink (UL) full power mode.
However in a similar endeavor, LIU_996 teaches
wherein the reporting comprises
a power headroom report (PHR) control element that includes a power headroom available in the UE along with the parameter and an uplink (UL) full power mode, or A terminal's full power mode capability can be reported. <para. 0016-0019>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 and GAO_248 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by LIU_996. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to nable the network device to properly allocate transmission power to the terminal to improve communication performance <para. 0003>.
Claim(s) is/are rejected under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GAO_596 (US20260214596) in view of GAO_248 (US20220322248), and further view of SHIBAIKE_859 (WO2025017859)
Claim(s) 19
GAO_596 does not explicitly teach
wherein the at least one event comprises the first new event when a configured or default duty cycle is at least partially exceeded.
However in a similar endeavor, SHIBAIKE_859 teaches
wherein the at least one event comprises the first new event when a configured or default duty cycle is at least partially exceeded. Reporting condition includes a duty cycleis exceeded. <para. 0070>.
Before the effective filing date of the claim invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art to have modified the system/techniques disclosed by GAO_596 and GAO_248 with the embodiment(s) disclosed by SHIBAIKE_859. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide the network with terminal capability such as whether or not a full-power mode can be used, in uplink control information <Abstract>.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) is/are indicated as having allowable subject matter and objected to.
Claim(s) 15, 27, 32
The claim(s) is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Closest prior art is ISHIBASHI discussed below.
In addition to the explicit reasons given herein, allowability is also determined in view of the combination of references required for obviousness, the inter-relationship between other claimed limitations, and the claimed invention as a whole. Accordingly, amendments that do not incorporate the allowable claims into the base/intervening claims in its entirely, are not allowable. This includes amendments that incorporate the allowable claims into the base/intervening claims in part or in a non-narrowing manner (i.e., changing the scope of the subject matter).
Relevant Cited References
JACOBSSON - US20260238434 teaches UL full-power mode 1 is configured.
ISHIBASHI - US6967911 teaches use of 2bit information such as "0(00)", "1(01)", "2(10)" and "3(11)" but not to represent reserved values or power dB values.
FRANK - US20250301422 teaches measured duty cycle and the defined maximum power class duty cycle; where the measured duty cycle includes a percentage of symbols transmitted by the UE over an evaluation period; where the defined maximum power class duty cycle includes a defined maximum power class duty cycle defined base on one or more of a UE type or a UE power class
Examiner’s Notes
English Translations of Non-English Documents
Text herein may rely upon a non-English document. Any citations used herein for said document refers to paragraphs numbers in the (English) translated document, not the original non-English document.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDRE TACDIRAN whose telephone number is 571-272-1717. The examiner can normally be reached on M-TH, 10-5PM EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached on 571-270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDRE TACDIRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415
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