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 .
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 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.
This action is responsive to the Remark filed on 4/24/26.
Claims 1-4, 12, 18, and 20 are amended.
Claims 5, 13, and 14 were are cancelled. New claim 22 is added.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-12 & 15-22 is/are presented for examination.
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 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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-7, 9-10, 18, 20 & 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2015/0365157 A1 in view of Si, US 20230189011 A1, and further in view of Christoffersson, US 2022/0338273 A1.
As to claim 1, Yang teaches an user equipment (UE), comprising:
a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a serving cell (Yang, page 1, paragraph 24 & 26; page 4, paragraph 56; page 5, paragraph 73; i.e., [0024] Stated another way, the serving cell of the user equipment (UE) may determine an appropriate
PRACH configuration, broadcast the PRACH configuration with the neighboring cells. The user equipment may transmit the PRACH preamble according to PDCCH order sent by the serving cell. All cells (the serving cell and the neighboring cells)); and
a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to:
receive, using the transceiver and from the serving cell, a first message indicating Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resource configuration a neighbor cell (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] neighboring base station 220-7 to receive the PRACH preamble. When additional neighboring base stations (such as 220-2 and220-6 in FIG. 2A) are present in the vicinity of the serving base station 220-1, the serving base station 220-1 may configure its RACH resource configuration information (RACH-ConfigCommon) to cause UEs, to transmit the PRACH preamble having increased transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient to reach the additional neighboring base stations);
generate, responsive to the second message, the PRACH message according to the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell (Yang, page 3, paragraph 53; i.e., [0053] generation of each PRACH waveform, in LTE, PRACH-Config information elements (refer to FIG. 9 for example) specify the root sequence index. In FIG. 9, highSpeedFlag is for the parameter Highspeed-flag, prach-Configindex is for the parameter prachConfigurationindex, prach-FreqOffset is for the parameter prach-FrequencyOffset, rootSequenceindex is for the parameter RACH_ROOT_SEQUENCE, and zeroCorrelationZoneConfig is for the parameter Ncs configuration); and
transmit, using the transceiver, the PRACH message to the neighbor cell (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] neighboring base station 220-7 to receive the PRACH preamble. When additional neighboring base stations (such as 220-2 and220-6 in FIG. 2A) are present in the vicinity of the serving base station 220-1, the serving base station 220-1 may configure its RACH resource configuration information (RACH-ConfigCommon) to cause UEs, such as the user equipment 110, to transmit the PRACH preamble).
But Yang failed to teach the claim limitation wherein at least a subset of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell is configured by the serving cell; receive, using the transceiver and from the serving cell, a second message to trigger transmission of a PRACH message to the neighbor cell, wherein the second message comprises a Downlink Control Information (DCI) Format 1_0 comprising a neighbor cell index of the neighbor cell and wherein the neighbor cell index comprises an identifier (ID) associated with a higher layer configuration for the PRACH resource configuration.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein receive, using the transceiver and from the serving cell, a second message to trigger transmission of a PRACH message to the neighbor cell, wherein the second message comprises a Downlink Control Information (DCI) Format 1_0 comprising a neighbor cell index of the neighbor cell and wherein the neighbor cell index comprises an identifier (ID) associated with a higher layer configuration for the PRACH resource configuration[0057] conveying DL control information (DCI), and reference signals (RS) that are also known as pilot signals. A gNB transmits data information or DCI through respective physical DL shared channels (PDSCHs) or physical DL control channels (PDCCHs); [0084] the determined set of indexes for the first indexing of SS/PBCH blocks, if Q is configured for a given cell (e.g., either a serving cell or a neighboring cell), then the determined set of indexes for the first indexing of SS/PBCH blocks the Q for neighboring cell; [0089] such that the set of indexes for the first indexing correspond to candidate SS/PBCH blocks with index I_SSB2+k*Q indicated to be transmitted).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang to substitute QCL parameter from Si for frequency location from Yang to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 3).
However, Christoffersson teaches the limitation wherein at least a subset of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell is configured by the serving cell (Christoffersson, page 4, paragraph 85 & 88; i.e., [0085] In some embodiments, the UE is configured with multiple serving cells or carriers within a same timing advance group; [0088] the frequency domain may be distributed across different LBT bandwidth segments in the PRACH configuration. For example, the at least one offset may be an msgl-ROFrequencyOffset defined for a RACH-ConfigGenenc).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang to substitute bandwidth from Christoffersson for frequency location from Yang to allowing the UE 103 to initiate a Random Access procedure on the BWP (Christoffersson, page 3, paragraph 64).
As to claim 2, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine, based on the first message, that the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell is same as PRACH resource configuration for the serving cell (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] neighboring base station 220-7 to receive the PRACH preamble. When additional neighboring base stations (such as 220-2 and220-6 in FIG. 2A) are present in the vicinity of the serving base station 220-1, the serving base station 220-1 may configure its RACH resource configuration information (RACH-ConfigCommon) to cause UEs, such as the user equipment 110, to transmit the PRACH preamble having transmission time sufficient to reach the additional neighboring base stations).
As to claim 3, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine, based on the first message, a first set of parameters of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell configured by the serving cell (Yang, page 1, paragraph 24 i.e., [0024] Stated another way, the serving cell of the user equipment (UE) may determine an appropriate PRACH configuration, broadcast the PRACH configuration with the neighboring cells. The user equipment may transmit the PRACH preamble according to PDCCH order sent by the serving cell. All cells (the serving cell and the neighboring cells)); and
determine, based on the first message, that a second set of parameters of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell is same as corresponding set of PRACH resource configuration for the serving cell (Yang, page 1, paragraph 24 & 26; i.e., [0024] Stated another way, the serving cell of the user equipment (UE) may determine an appropriate PRACH configuration, broadcast the PRACH configuration with the neighboring cells. The user equipment may transmit the PRACH preamble according to PDCCH order sent by the serving cell. All cells (the serving cell and the neighboring cells)).
As to claim 4, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first set of parameters of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell based on System Information Block (SIB) of the neighbor cell.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first set of parameters of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell based on System Information Block (SIB) of the neighbor cell (Si, page 10, paragraph 146; i.e., [0146] the indexing associated with ssbPositionsinBurst in system information block 1 (SIB1) and/or ssb-PositionsinBurst).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Christoffersson to substitute QCL parameter from Si for frequency location from Yang-Christoffersson to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 6, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the second message comprises a first Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message for a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for the neighbor cell and a second PDCCH message for a second RNTI for a second neighbor cell.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein the second message comprises a first Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message for a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for the neighbor cell and a second PDCCH message for a second RNTI for a second neighbor cell (Si, page 11, paragraph 155; i.e., [0155] system information-radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Christoffersson to substitute QCL parameter from Si for frequency location from Yang-Christoffersson to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 7, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the second message comprises one or more of DCI Format 1_0 for indicating a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TC1) for the neighbor cell.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein the second message comprises one or more of DCI Format 1_0 for indicating a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TC1) for the neighbor cell (Si, page 8, paragraph 107; i.e., [0107] [0107] a PRACH transmission initiated by a PDCCH order, the field in DCI format 1_0,).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Christoffersson to substitute QCL parameter from Si for frequency location from Yang-Christoffersson to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 9, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein the UE supports an inter-cell multi-Transmission and Reception Point (multi-TRP) operation and the second message further comprises a plurality of DCI signals to trigger the UE to generate a plurality of PRACH messages to transmit to a plurality of neighbor cells (Yang, page 3, paragraph 53; i.e., [0053] generation of each PRACH waveform, in LTE, PRACH-Config information. In FIG. 9, highSpeedFlag is for the parameter Highspeed-flag, prach-Configindex is for the parameter prachConfigurationindex, prach-FreqOffset is for the parameter prach-FrequencyOffset, rootSequenceindex is for the parameter RACH_ROOT_SEQUENCE, and zeroCorrelationZoneConfig is for the parameter Ncs configuration).
As to claim 10, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1, wherein the UE supports an inter-cell multi-Transmission and Reception Point (multi-TRP) operation and the second message further comprises a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message to trigger the UE to generate a plurality of PRACH messages to transmit to a plurality of neighbor cells (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] the serving base station 220-1 may configure its RACH resource configuration information (RACH-ConfigCommon) to cause UEs, such as the user equipment 110, to transmit the PRACH preamble; [0064] PRACH preamble (PCQI). For example, the neighboring base station 220-7 may receive the transmitted PRACH preamble with a SNR value of 7.2 dB; the neighboring base station 220-2 may receive the transmitted PRACH preamble with a SNR value of 2.4 dB; the neighboring base station 220-6 may receive the transmitted PRACH preamble with a SNR value of0.7 dB; and the serving base station 220-1).
As to claim 22, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the higher layer configuration indicates a list of neighbor cells and the subset of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell configured by the serving cell comprises RACH-ConfigGeneric.
However, Christoffersson teaches the limitation wherein the higher layer configuration indicates a list of neighbor cells and the subset of the PRACH resource configuration for the neighbor cell configured by the serving cell comprises RACH-ConfigGeneric (Christoffersson, page 4, paragraph 85 & 88; i.e., [0085] In some embodiments, the UE is configured with multiple serving cells or carriers within a same timing advance group; [0088] the frequency domain may be distributed across different LBT bandwidth segments in the PRACH configuration. For example, the at least one offset may be an msgl-ROFrequencyOffset defined for a RACH-ConfigGenenc).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si to substitute bandwidth from Christoffersson for frequency location from Yang-Si to allowing the UE 103 to initiate a Random Access procedure on the BWP (Christoffersson, page 3, paragraph 64).
Claim(s) 18 & 20 is/are directed to a method & system claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim(s) 1. Therefore, claim(s) 18 & 20 is/are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim(s) 1.
Claim(s) 8, 11-3, 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2015/0365157 A1 in view of Si, US 20230189011 A1, and further in view of Manolakos, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2021/0360611 A1 .
As to claim 8, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the UE supports an inter-cell multi-Transmission and Reception Point (multi-TRP) operation and the second message further comprises a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message having a CORESETPoolIndex for the neighbor cell for triggering the UE to generate the PRACH message.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein the second message comprises a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message having a CORESETPoolIndex for the neighbor cell for triggering the UE to generate the PRACH message (Manolakos, page 19, paragraph 174; i.e., [0174] PDSCH ( e.g., PRS ID, PCI, CGI, ARFCN) and not the locally defined SSB(s), TCI state(s), TCI codepoint(s), CORESETPoolID(s), and/or TRS).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 11, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal; and receive, using the transceiver, a third message from the neighbor cell, wherein the third message comprises a TA determined by the neighbor cell.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal; and receive, using the transceiver, a third message from the neighbor cell, wherein the third message comprises a TA determined by the neighbor cell (Manolakos, page 13, paragraph 106; i.e., [0106] UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 12, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, using the transceiver, a third message from the serving cell, wherein the third message comprises an indication of a timing group identifier (ID); and transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a plurality of uplink signals for the timing group ID having same Timing Advance (TA); wherein the third message comprises a TA command Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and wherein the TA command MAC CE comprises the indication of the timing group ID.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, using the transceiver, a third message from the serving cell, wherein the third message comprises an indication of a timing group identifier (ID) (Manolakos, page 15, paragraph 125; i.e., [0125] UE to determine subframe/symbol
timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI); and transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a plurality of uplink signals for the timing group ID having same TA (Manolakos, page 15, paragraph 125; i.e., [0125] UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number); wherein the third message comprises a TA command Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) and wherein the TA command MAC CE comprises the indication of the timing group ID (Manolakos, page 17, paragraph 143; i.e., [0143] the serving base station could use RRC, MAC control element (MAC-CE), and/or DCI signaling to activate or deactivate a mode in which all PDCCH and/or PDSCH are treated as PRS).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 15, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, and the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal and drop the second signal.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, and the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal and drop the second signal (Manolakos, page 13, paragraph 105; i.e., [0105] The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, referred to as the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 16, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, and the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal using the first TA and the second signal using the first TA.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, and the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal using the first TA and the second signal using the first TA (Manolakos, page 15, paragraph 125; i.e., [0125] UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 17, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal. The first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal using the first TA and the second signal using the second TA, and a gap is inserted between the first signal and the second signal.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal; The first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, the first TA is different from the second TA, the processor is further configured to transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, the first signal using the first TA and the second signal using the second TA, and a gap is inserted between the first signal and the second signal (Manolakos, page 14, paragraph 112; i.e., [0112] slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
As to claim 19, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the method as recited in claim 18. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim wherein transmitting, to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein the granularity for TA update can include an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, and wherein the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, and the first TA is different from the second TA.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein transmitting, to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein the granularity for TA update can include an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, and wherein the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, and the first TA is different from the second TA (Manolakos, page 15, paragraph 125; i.e., [0125] UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute quasi-co-location (QCL) source from Manolakos for central location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards (Manolakos, page 1, paragraph 4).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang, U.S. Pub/Patent No. US 2015/0365157 A1 in view of Si, US 20230189011 A1, and further in view of Abedini, US 2020/0053682 A1.
As to claim 21, Yang-Si-Christoffersson teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang-Si-Christoffersson failed to teach the claim limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the granularity for TA update is defined at symbol level based on a number of symbols or is defined at slot level, the granularity for TA update, at the symbol level or at the slot level, is defined based on a reference subcarrier spacing or a current subcarrier spacing, and the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, and the first TA is different from the second TA.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein transmit, using the transceiver and to the serving cell, a granularity for Timing Advance (TA) update, wherein: the granularity for TA update comprises an amount of time for the UE to change from a first TA for a first signal to a second TA for a second signal for transmitting the second signal is defined based on a reference subcarrier spacing or a current subcarrier spacing, and the first signal is for a first group of signals and the second signal is for a second group of signals, and the first TA is different from the second TA (Si, page 15, paragraph 125; i.e., [0125] UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute QCL parameter from Zhu for frequency location from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Zhu, page 1, paragraph 3).
However, Abedini teaches the limitation wherein the granularity for TA update is defined at symbol level based on a number of symbols or is defined at slot level, the granularity for TA update, at the symbol level or at the slot level, (Abedini, page 6, paragraph 59-60; i.e., [0059] A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period); [0060] In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. [0105] In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100), is defined based on a reference subcarrier spacing or a current subcarrier spacing (Abedini, page 6, paragraph 59-60; i.e., [0059] A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots each having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods; [0060] In some wireless communications systems, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols.. Each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to modify Yang-Si-Christoffersson to substitute integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks from Si for universal terrestrial radio access network from Yang-Si-Christoffersson to enable faster deployment of such networks and enhance end user coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 4).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4, 6-12 & 15-22 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Listing of Relevant Arts
Khan, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20230284275 A1 discloses subset of PRACH, RACH-ConfigGeneric.
Li, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20230143073 A1 discloses serving the cell, subset of PRACH.
Contact Information
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
THUONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. 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.
/THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
Prosecution Insights