DETAILED ACTION
Claim(s) 7 and 9-11 have been examined and are pending.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Remarks/Comments
Specification
Applicants’ amendment of the title in response to the objection of the specification in the Non-Final Rejection mailed June 17, 2025 due to title being non-descriptive is effective. Accordingly, the objection of the specification is withdrawn.
Prior Art Rejections
In the Non-Final Rejection mailed June 17, 2025, the status of the claim(s) in light of the prior art of record was as follows: Claim(s) 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LEI (US 12225592 B2). Claim(s) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LEI (US 20210029743 A1). In response to the Non-Final Rejection applicants have cancelled claim 8. Applicants have also amended independent claim(s) 7, 9, 10 and 11 to include the limitation, “…wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the configuration information, a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission, in a plurality of PUSCH occasions to which the frequency hopping is applied.”, and argue that the prior art of record fails to teach the limitation. While it is agreed that LEI (US 12225592 B2) fails to anticipate the features of amended claim(s) 7, 9, 10 and 11, this does not appear to be the case with LEI (US 20210029743 A1).
Specifically, Applicants argue that LEI (US 20210029743 A1) does not anticipate said feature because in the Non-Final Rejection, the cited portion(s) of LEI (US 20210029743 A1), [Par. 63], that could be relied upon to teach said feature do not qualify as prior art. See Remarks [Page(s) 9-10] part of which is cited below:
“The effective filing date of the present application is November 7, 2019. On the other hand, Lei-2 was filed in the U.S. on February 27, 2020, and claims priority from a provisional application filed on July 25, 2019 (“Lei-2-P”). Accordingly, Lei-2 would be prior art only to the extent that its cited disclosure has support in Lei-2-P. However, Lei-2-P fails to supply the requisite support, as described below…The Examiner contends that the “guard time” discussed in paragraph [0063] of Lei-2 teaches the claim feature period between the first and second hops. See id. p. 10, second paragraph. However, Lei-2-P does not support the teachings of paragraph [0063] of Lei-2 with respect to a guard time between two hops. Specifically, the only portion of Lei-2-P that discusses “guard time” is paragraph [0057], which merely states that an MsgA preamble may include a guard time to reduce interference with an MsgA payload. There is no teaching in Lei-2-P with respect to a guard time between two hops. Thus, Lei-2 to the extent of its support in Lei-2-P fails to teach the claim feature “period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission.” Additionally, Lei-2 lacks any mentioning related to determining a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission, in a plurality of PUSCH occasions to which the frequency hopping is applied, as recited in the above-referenced limitation of the amended independent claims.”
In response to the said arguments, it is agreed that Lei-2-P or LEI (US 20210029743 A1) does not explicitly recite a feature with respect to a guard time between two hops. However, it is noted that [Fig. 7] was cited in addition to [Par. 63] to teach said feature. Furthermore, this feature appears in both [Fig. 7] of LEI (USPGPub No. 20210029743 A1) and [Fig. 7] the provisional application (62/878,579).
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Fig. 7 of the Provisional Application
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Fig. 7 of USPGPub No. 20210029743 A1
[Fig. 7] of USPGPub No. 20210029743 illustrates and identifies two guard time(s) for a UE A. The first being guard time 720 occurring between Hop 1 and Hop 2. The second being guard time 730 occurring between Hop 2 and Hop 3, the second guard time being regarded as analogous to the “…period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission…”. [Fig. 7] of the provisional application while not explicitly reciting and/or explicitly indicating the first and second guard times as in [Fig. 7] of USPGPub No. 20210029743, clearly shows them (arrows added for clarity).
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Thus, the argument that LEI (US 20210029743 A1) does not teach a feature to “…determine …a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission…” because the cited portion(s) of LEI (US 20210029743 A1), in the Non-Final Rejection that could be relied upon to teach said feature do not qualify as prior art is found unpersuasive, as Fig. 7 is believed to the teach the feature in question.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LEI (US 20210029743 A1).
In regards to claim(s) 7 and 10, LEI (US 20210029743 A1) teaches a terminal comprising (Fig. 6, illustrates a terminal, UE 120, and a base station 110. [Par. 42 - Par. 44] teach where the UE comprises a receiver, and a processor, “[0042] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive the downlink signals from base station 110 and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)…A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260... [0044] Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with frequency hopping for two-step RACH, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.”):
a receiver configured to receive, in downlink, configuration information indicating a period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission to which frequency hopping is applied in a 2 step random access procedure (“[0045] In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for receiving, from a base station, configuration information for a two-step random access procedure; means for determining a frequency hopping space for transmitting a payload of a two-step random access channel of the two-step random access procedure…[0063] Each PRU may include a set of DMRS resources and a set of PUSCH resources. A BS 110 may provide configuration information for a PRU. The configuration information may identify a DMRS resource set configuration and/or a PUSCH resource set configuration…The PUSCH resource set configuration may indicate, for example, a number of PUSCH symbols, a number of RBs or sub-PRBs spanned by the PUSCH, precoding or beamforming information, a selection of a UE multiple access signature at the bit level or the resource element level, a selection of a cell-specific multiple access signature at the bit level or at the RE level, a guard time configuration for a guard time between hops, and/or the like. In some aspects, a multiple access signature may include, for example, a scrambling sequence, a spreading code, an interleaving pattern, and/or the like. The guard time configuration may be configurable in the time domain (e.g., based at least in part on a symbol duration of the guard period or guard time). The guard time configuration may be pseudo-random, provided by a table, or may be RRC-state-dependent. The PUSCH may be associated with a PUSCH occasion. The DMRS may hop with the PUSCH occasion since the DMRS is used to decode the PUSCH.”) and
a processor configured to determine the period based on the configuration information, wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the configuration information, a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission, in a plurality of PUSCH occasions in which frequency hopping is applied ([Fig. 7] of USPGPub No. 20210029743 illustrates and identifies two guard time(s) for a UE A. The first being guard time occurring between Hop 1 and Hop 2. The second guard time occurring between Hop 2 and Hop 3, with the second guard time being regarded as analogous to the “…period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission…”.).
In regards to claim 9, LEI (US 20210029743 A1) teaches a base station comprising (Fig. 6, illustrates a terminal, UE 120, and a base station 110. [Par. 41 - Par. 44] teach where the base station comprises a transmitter, and a processor, “[0041] At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs... A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively… [0044] Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with frequency hopping for two-step RACH, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.”):
a transmitter configured to transmit, to a terminal, configuration information indicating a period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission to which frequency hopping is applied in a 2-step random access procedure (Note that the guard time between hops is regarded as being analogous to the claimed, “…period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission…”, “[0045] In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for receiving, from a base station, configuration information for a two-step random access procedure; means for determining a frequency hopping space for transmitting a payload of a two-step random access channel of the two-step random access procedure…[0063] Each PRU may include a set of DMRS resources and a set of PUSCH resources. A BS 110 may provide configuration information for a PRU. The configuration information may identify a DMRS resource set configuration and/or a PUSCH resource set configuration…The PUSCH resource set configuration may indicate, for example, a number of PUSCH symbols, a number of RBs or sub-PRBs spanned by the PUSCH, precoding or beamforming information, a selection of a UE multiple access signature at the bit level or the resource element level, a selection of a cell-specific multiple access signature at the bit level or at the RE level, a guard time configuration for a guard time between hops, and/or the like. In some aspects, a multiple access signature may include, for example, a scrambling sequence, a spreading code, an interleaving pattern, and/or the like. The guard time configuration may be configurable in the time domain (e.g., based at least in part on a symbol duration of the guard period or guard time). The guard time configuration may be pseudo-random, provided by a table, or may be RRC-state-dependent. The PUSCH may be associated with a PUSCH occasion. The DMRS may hop with the PUSCH occasion since the DMRS is used to decode the PUSCH.”) and
a processor configured to determine the period based on the configuration information, wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the configuration information, a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission, in a plurality of PUSCH occasions to which the frequency hopping is applied([Fig. 7] of USPGPub No. 20210029743 illustrates and identifies two guard time(s) for a UE A. The first being guard time occurring between Hop 1 and Hop 2. The second guard time occurring between Hop 2 and Hop 3, with the second guard time being regarded as analogous to the “…period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission…”.).
In regards to claim 11, LEI (US 20210029743 A1) teaches a communication system comprising: a base station and a terminal,
the base station comprising (Fig. 6, illustrates a terminal, UE 120, and a base station 110. [Par. 41 - Par. 44] teach where the base station comprises a transmitter, and a processor, “[0041] At base station 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a data source 212 for one or more UEs... A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM and/or the like) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively… [0044] Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with frequency hopping for two-step RACH, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.”)
: a transmitter configured to transmit, to the terminal, configuration information indicating a period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission to which frequency hopping is applied in a 2 step random access procedure (Note that the guard time between hops is regarded as being analogous to the claimed, “…period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission…”, “[0045] In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for receiving, from a base station, configuration information for a two-step random access procedure; means for determining a frequency hopping space for transmitting a payload of a two-step random access channel of the two-step random access procedure…[0063] Each PRU may include a set of DMRS resources and a set of PUSCH resources. A BS 110 may provide configuration information for a PRU. The configuration information may identify a DMRS resource set configuration and/or a PUSCH resource set configuration…The PUSCH resource set configuration may indicate, for example, a number of PUSCH symbols, a number of RBs or sub-PRBs spanned by the PUSCH, precoding or beamforming information, a selection of a UE multiple access signature at the bit level or the resource element level, a selection of a cell-specific multiple access signature at the bit level or at the RE level, a guard time configuration for a guard time between hops, and/or the like. In some aspects, a multiple access signature may include, for example, a scrambling sequence, a spreading code, an interleaving pattern, and/or the like. The guard time configuration may be configurable in the time domain (e.g., based at least in part on a symbol duration of the guard period or guard time). The guard time configuration may be pseudo-random, provided by a table, or may be RRC-state-dependent. The PUSCH may be associated with a PUSCH occasion. The DMRS may hop with the PUSCH occasion since the DMRS is used to decode the PUSCH.”); and a processor configured to determine the period based on the configuration information ([Par. 63] teaches where the control unit is configured to determine the period, guard time, between hops, using the configuration information. The guard time between the hops is also illustrated in [Fig. 7]).
the terminal comprising (Fig. 6, illustrates a terminal, UE 120, and a base station 110. [Par. 42 - Par. 44] teach where the UE comprises a receiver, and a processor, “[0042] At UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive the downlink signals from base station 110 and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)…A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to a data sink 260... [0044] Controller/processor 240 of base station 110, controller/processor 280 of UE 120, and/or any other component(s) of FIG. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with frequency hopping for two-step RACH, as described in more detail elsewhere herein.”): : a receiver configured to receive, from the base station, the configuration information indicating the period in a time direction(Note that the guard time between hops is regarded as being analogous to the claimed, “…period in a time direction between a first hop and a second hop of PUSCH transmission…”, “[0045] In some aspects, UE 120 may include means for receiving, from a base station, configuration information for a two-step random access procedure; means for determining a frequency hopping space for transmitting a payload of a two-step random access channel of the two-step random access procedure…[0063] Each PRU may include a set of DMRS resources and a set of PUSCH resources. A BS 110 may provide configuration information for a PRU. The configuration information may identify a DMRS resource set configuration and/or a PUSCH resource set configuration…The PUSCH resource set configuration may indicate, for example, a number of PUSCH symbols, a number of RBs or sub-PRBs spanned by the PUSCH, precoding or beamforming information, a selection of a UE multiple access signature at the bit level or the resource element level, a selection of a cell-specific multiple access signature at the bit level or at the RE level, a guard time configuration for a guard time between hops, and/or the like. In some aspects, a multiple access signature may include, for example, a scrambling sequence, a spreading code, an interleaving pattern, and/or the like. The guard time configuration may be configurable in the time domain (e.g., based at least in part on a symbol duration of the guard period or guard time). The guard time configuration may be pseudo-random, provided by a table, or may be RRC-state-dependent. The PUSCH may be associated with a PUSCH occasion. The DMRS may hop with the PUSCH occasion since the DMRS is used to decode the PUSCH.”) ;
and a processor configured to determine the period in a time direction based on the configuration information, wherein the processor of the terminal is configured to determine, based on the configuration information, a period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission, in a plurality of PUSCH occasions to which the frequency hopping is applied([Fig. 7] of USPGPub No. 20210029743 illustrates and identifies two guard time(s) for a UE A. The first being guard time occurring between Hop 1 and Hop 2. The second guard time occurring between Hop 2 and Hop 3, with the second guard time being regarded as analogous to the “…period in a time direction from an ending time position of a second hop of preceding PUSCH transmission to a first hop of following PUSCH transmission…”.).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TARELL A HAMPTON whose telephone number is (571)270-7162. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/TARELL A HAMPTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2476
/PHIRIN SAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476