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 RCE filed on 10/7/25.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-13 & 15-21 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 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.
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) may detect the preamble from all antennas they support; [0056] 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 increased transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient to reach the additional neighboring base stations)); 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 associated with a neighbor cell (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] PRACH preamble having a transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient for an antenna of at least one 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 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 associated with 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] PRACH preamble having a transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient for an antenna of at least one 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 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 configurationconveying 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 can be different based on a different value and/or use case of Q. For example, 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] In yet another example, the further information on the down-selection can be an indication of whether candidate SS/PBCH block(s) are transmitted or not (e.g., by DCI format), 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; [0090] In yet another example, the further information on the down-selection can be an indication of whether candidate SS/PBCH block(s) are transmitted or not (e.g., by DCI format), such that the set of indexes for the first indexing; [0105] For one example, the second index of SS/PBCH block can be utilized as determining the resources associated with a physical random access channel (PRACH). [0108] For yet another example, for a PRACH transmission triggered by higher layers, the index of resources provided by ssb-ResourceList can refer to the second index of SS/PBCH block ).
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 Zhu for frequency location from Yang to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Zhu, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 2, Yang-Si 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 associated with the neighbor cell is same as PRACH resource configuration associated with the serving cell (Yang, page 4, paragraph 56 & 64; i.e., [0056] PRACH preamble having a transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient for an antenna of at least one 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 increased transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient to reach the additional neighboring base stations).
As to claim 3, Yang-Si 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 associated with 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) may detect the preamble from all antennas they support); and
determine, based on the first message, that a second set of parameters of the PRACH resource configuration associated with the neighbor cell is same as corresponding set of PRACH resource configuration associated with 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) may detect the preamble from all antennas they support).
As to claim 4, Yang-Si 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 associated with 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 associated with 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 to substitute QCL parameter from Zhu for frequency location from Yang to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Zhu, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 6, Yang-Si 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 associated with a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for the neighbor cell and a second PDCCH message associated with a second RNTI associated with a second neighbor cell.
However, Si teaches the limitation wherein the second message comprises a first Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message associated with a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) for the neighbor cell and a second PDCCH message associated with a second RNTI associated with a second neighbor cell (Si, page 11, paragraph 155; i.e., [0155] system information-radio network temporary identifier (SI-RNTI) and the system information indicator in DCI is set to 1, random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI), paging-RNTI (P-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 to substitute QCL parameter from Zhu for frequency location from Yang to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Zhu, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 7, Yang-Si 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) associated with 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) associated with 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 to substitute QCL parameter from Zhu for frequency location from Yang to improvements in radio interface efficiency and coverage (Zhu, page 1, paragraph 3).
As to claim 9, Yang-Si 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 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] PRACH preamble having a transmission power and/or length of transmission time sufficient for an antenna of at least one 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; [0064] PRACH preamble (PCQI), as respectively received, to the serving base station 220-1 via the backhaul network 173 or 175. 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).
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 teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with 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 associated with 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 teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with 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 the processor is further configured to 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), and the identifiers,).
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 teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with the timing group ID having same Timing Advance (TA).
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 associated with 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, 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 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 13, Yang-Si teaches the UE as recited in claim 12. But Yang failed to teach the claim limitation 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 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 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 15, Yang-Si teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, referred to as the transmission-to-reception (Tx-Rx) 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 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 16, Yang-Si teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with a second signal for transmitting the second signal, the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 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 17, Yang-Si teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with a second signal for transmitting the second signal. The first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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] 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), and the maximum nominal
system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), 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. 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 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 19, Yang-Si teaches the method as recited in claim 18. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with a second signal for transmitting the second signal, and wherein the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with a second group of signals, and the first TA is different from the second TA.
However, Manolakos teaches the limitation wherein the first signal is associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 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).
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 teaches the UE as recited in claim 1. But Yang 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with 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 associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 associated with a first signal to a second TA associated with 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 associated with a first group of signals and the second signal is associated with 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 to substitute QCL parameter from Zhu for frequency location from Yang 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. In some instances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the smallest unit of scheduling; [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 ; [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).
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 integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks from Si for universal terrestrial radio access network from Yang-Si to enable faster deployment of such networks and enhance end user coverage (Si, page 1, paragraph 4).
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4, 6-21 has/have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection. Applicant’s arguments include the failure of previously applied art to expressly disclose “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” (see Applicant’s response, 10/7/25, page 11-12). It is evident from the detailed mappings found in the above rejection(s) that Si disclosed this functionality (see Si, page 5, paragraph 57; page 6, paragraph 84; page 8, paragraph 105 & 108). Further, it is clear from the numerous teachings (previously and currently cited) that the provision for “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” was widely implemented in the networking art. Thus, Applicant’s arguments drawn toward distinction of the claimed invention and the prior art teachings on this point are not considered persuasive.
Listing of Relevant Arts
Lin, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 2022/0210835 A1 discloses timing advance, first and second value, symbol length.
Liou, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20220061117 A1 discloses CORESETPoolIndex, MAC-CE, PDCCH, RNTI and SIB.
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.
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/THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416