DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to Amendment filed on 1/27/2026. Claims 16 and 22-24 have been
amended. Claim 21 have been canceled. Claims 16, 18-20, and 22-24 remain pending in the application.
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e),
was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 1/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Remarks/Arguments
Applicant’s remarks/arguments (page 5-10), filed on 1/27/2026, with respect to the 103 rejections of
claims 16 and 22-24 have been fully considered but are moot because new ground of rejections using a newly introduced reference (Wang et al.) are applied in the current rejection.
Regarding remarks in page 7 for independent claim 16, applicant asserts that Regarding limitation (i), the Examiner correctly recognizes that Behravan fails to teach "wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index." See Office Action, page 5. Thus, it is undisputed that Behravan cannot teach limitation (i) of amended independent claim 16.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with the applicant. MolavianJazi et al. (US 2021/0058971 Al) discloses (some PRACH preambles can be associated with an SSB for QCL determination. To identify preambles that are mapped to a certain SSB and a certain RO, various factors can be considered. For the case that N> 1 SSBs are mapped to a RO, select the [preamble index] = [indicated (starting) preamble index]+[associated SSB index], where [associated SSB index] belongs to {0, .. . , N-1}, MolavianJazi: [0077], [0096]-[0097]).
Claim Objections
Claims 16 and 22-24 are objected to because of the following informalities:
“a reduced capability terminal” should be -- the reduced capability terminal -- (Claim 16 line 11-12);
“a reduced capability terminal” should be -- the reduced capability terminal -- (Claim 22 line 11);
“a reduced capability terminal” should be -- the reduced capability terminal -- (Claim 23 line 12-13);
“a reduced capability terminal” should be -- the reduced capability terminal -- (Claim 24 line 10);
Appropriate corrections are required.
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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that
are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 16, 18-20, and 22-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Behravan et al. (US 2023/0354432 A1, hereinafter “Behravan”) in view of MolavianJazi et al. (US 2021/0058971 Al, hereinafter “MolavianJazi”) and in further view of Wang et al. (US 2023/0007524 Al, hereinafter “Wang”).
Regarding claim 16, Behravan discloses:
A terminal comprising (A wireless device (WD) may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. wireless device includes antenna, interface, processing circuitry, device readable medium, user interface equipment, auxiliary equipment, power source and power circuitry, Behravan: Fig. 2, [0091]-[0092]):
a receiver configured to receive, from a base station, configuration information for use in a random access procedure (UE can receive the system information block 1 (SIB 1) including the random access channel (RACH and PRACH) configuration. Radio front end circuitry comprise one or more filters and amplifiers. Radio front end circuitry is connected to antenna and processing circuitry and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna and processing circuitry, Behravan: [0005], [0094]); and
a transmitter configured to transmit, to the base station, a random access preamble indicating whether the terminal is a reduced capability terminal based on the configuration information (the reduced capability UE may send an identifiable preamble in Message 1 ( e.g., use a different preamble set, or scramble the preamble, etc.) or alternatively send the UE capability information or UE ID in a later message (i.e., the UE context radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) Message 3 if the UE comes from RRC INACTIVE, or the S-TMSI if the UE comes from RRC_IDLE). upon identifying an NR-Light UE based on the preamble used, gNB may decide the random access response (RAR) transmissions to enable the lower capability NR-Light UE. the system information may be configure the value for NR-Light. Radio front end circuitry may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection, Behravan: [0009], [0058], [0095]),
Behravan does not explicitly disclose:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal,
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index, and
However, in the same field of endeavor, MolavianJazi teaches:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (PDCCH-ordered PRACH transmission, as provided for example by a DCI format 1_0 with a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field set to all is and using a C-RNTI, the following information is indicated: PRACH preamble index (6 bits), SSB index (6 bits), PRACH Mask index, i.e., the RACH occasion shown in Table 2. if the value of the random access preamble index field is not zero, indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS/PBCH block index indicated by the SS/PBCH block index field of the PDCCH order. PRACH configuration can be used to distinguish a UE-type. A PRACH configuration can include a configuration for one or more of PRACH preambles, RACH occasions, MolavianJazi: [0091]-[0092], [0175]-[0178]),
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index (some PRACH preambles can be associated with an SSB for QCL determination. To identify preambles that are mapped to a certain SSB and a certain RO, various factors can be considered. For the case that N> 1 SSBs are mapped to a RO, select the [preamble index] = [indicated (starting) preamble index]+[associated SSB index], where [associated SSB index] belongs to {0, .. . , N-1}, MolavianJazi: [0077], [0096]-[0097]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan in view of MolavianJazi in order to further modify the preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal and the preamble index which includes a start index relating to the SSB index from the teachings of MolavianJazi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have uplink coverage enhancement due to lower UE power class, PRACH repetitions can be utilized for faster beam management (MolavianJazi: [0214]).
Yet, Behravan in view of MolavianJazi does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the terminal further comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
wherein the terminal further comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell (methods and systems are provided for enabling a low-complexity UE to use the existing synchronization signal block (SSB) to access an NR cell. an eSIB1 may include one or more of the information elements in the legacy SIB1 as well as one or more of the new NR-Light specific information elements. The DCI is used for scheduling PDSCH for eSIB1 transmission. According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, the same PDSCH that carries SIB1 information also carries information elements for NR-Light UEs, i.e., information elements intended for NR-Light UEs are added to SIB1, making it eSIB1. Processing circuitry may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, Wang: [0049]-[0051], [0067], [0080]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan and MolavianJazi in view of Wang in order to further modify the terminal which comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell from the teachings of Wang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because for the NR-Light UEs to access an NR cell even when the CORESET#0 of the NR cell is configured to a wider bandwidth than the maximum UE supported bandwidth, certain embodiments disclosed herein may assume that the NR-Light UE can receive the same SIM (or eSIBl as defined below) as the legacy UE (Wang: [0050]).
Regarding claim 18, Behravan - MolavianJazi - Wang teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 16 above.
Behravan further discloses:
The terminal as claimed in claim 16,
wherein a transmission timing of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (the reduced capability UE may send a preamble and the network sends a random access response indicating reception of the preamble and providing a time-alignment command and an uplink grant, Behravan: [0007], [0009]).
Regarding claim 19, Behravan - MolavianJazi - Wang teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 16 above.
Behravan in view of Wang does not explicitly disclose:
The terminal as claimed in claim 16,
wherein a group to which the random access preamble belongs indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal.
However, in the same field of endeavor, MolavianJazi teaches:
wherein a group to which the random access preamble belongs indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (PRACH configuration can be used to distinguish a UE-type. A PRACH configuration can include a configuration for one or more of PRACH preambles, RACH occasions. A UE-type can include a type/category or a set/group of types/categories for UEs with a predetermined or higher layer indicated set of features, such as a legacy UE type of Rel-15/16 UEs, or a reduced-capability (RedCap) UE type for example with smaller bandwidth/number of antennas/VE power class, such as NR-Light UEs, MolavianJazi: [0175]-[0178]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan and Wang in view of MolavianJazi in order to further modify the group to which the random access preamble belongs indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal from the teachings of MolavianJazi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have uplink coverage enhancement due to lower UE power class, PRACH repetitions can be utilized for faster beam management (MolavianJazi: [0214]).
Regarding claim 20, Behravan - MolavianJazi - Wang teaches all the claimed limitations as set forth in the rejection of claim 16 above.
Behravan further discloses:
The terminal as claimed in claim 16,
wherein the transmitter transmits, to the base station, information indicating whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal by an uplink shared channel in the random access procedure (upon identifying a reduced capacity UE based on the preamble used, the base station may decide to adjust other parameters in the RAR grant field, so that all the reduced capacity UEs may perform the PUSCH transmission, Behravan: [0059]).
Regarding claim 22, Behravan discloses:
A base station comprising (network node includes processing circuitry, device readable medium, interface, auxiliary equipment, power source, power circuitry, and antenna, Behravan: Fig. 2, [0070]):
a transmitter configured to transmit, to a terminal, configuration information for use in a random access procedure (UE can receive the system information block 1 (SIB 1) including the random access channel (RACH and PRACH) configuration. Radio front end circuitry may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters and/or amplifiers. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna, Behravan: [0005], [0080]); and
a receiver configured to receive, from the terminal, a random access preamble indicating whether the terminal is a reduced capability terminal, the random access preamble being transmitted by the terminal based on the configuration information (the reduced capability UE may send an identifiable preamble in Message 1 ( e.g., use a different preamble set, or scramble the preamble, etc.) or alternatively send the UE capability information or UE ID in a later message (i.e., the UE context radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) Message 3 if the UE comes from RRC INACTIVE, or the S-TMSI if the UE comes from RRC_IDLE). upon identifying an NR-Light UE based on the preamble used, gNB may decide the random access response (RAR) transmissions to enable the lower capability NR-Light UE. the system information may be configure the value for NR-Light. Radio front end circuitry comprises filters and amplifiers. Radio front end circuitry may be connected to antenna and processing circuitry. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna and processing circuitry. when receiving data, antenna may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry, Behravan: [0009], [0058], [0080]).
Behravan does not explicitly disclose:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal,
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index, and
However, in the same field of endeavor, MolavianJazi teaches:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (PDCCH-ordered PRACH transmission, as provided for example by a DCI format 1_0 with a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field set to all is and using a C-RNTI, the following information is indicated: PRACH preamble index (6 bits), SSB index (6 bits), PRACH Mask index, i.e., the RACH occasion shown in Table 2. if the value of the random access preamble index field is not zero, indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS/PBCH block index indicated by the SS/PBCH block index field of the PDCCH order. PRACH configuration can be used to distinguish a UE-type. A PRACH configuration can include a configuration for one or more of PRACH preambles, RACH occasions, MolavianJazi: [0091]-[0092], [0175]-[0178]),
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index (For the case that N> 1 SSBs are mapped to a RO, select the [preamble index] = [indicated (starting) preamble index]+[associated SSB index], where [associated SSB index] belongs to {0, .. . , N-1}, MolavianJazi: [0096]), and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan in view of MolavianJazi in order to further modify the preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal and the preamble index which includes a start index relating to the SSB index from the teachings of MolavianJazi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have uplink coverage enhancement due to lower UE power class, PRACH repetitions can be utilized for faster beam management (MolavianJazi: [0214]).
Yet, Behravan in view of MolavianJazi does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the terminal is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
wherein the terminal is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell (methods and systems are provided for enabling a low-complexity UE to use the existing synchronization signal block (SSB) to access an NR cell. an eSIB 1 may include one or more of the information elements in the legacy SIB1 as well as one or more of the new NR-Light specific information elements. The DCI is used for scheduling PDSCH for eSIB 1 transmission. According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, the same PDSCH that carries SIB 1 information also carries information elements for NR-Light UEs, i.e., information elements intended for NR-Light UEs are added to SIB1, making it eSIB1, Wang: [0049]-[0051], [0067]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan and MolavianJazi in view of Wang in order to further modify the terminal which is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell from the teachings of Wang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because for the NR-Light UEs to access an NR cell even when the CORESET#0 of the NR cell is configured to a wider bandwidth than the maximum UE supported bandwidth, certain embodiments disclosed herein may assume that the NR-Light UE can receive the same SIM (or eSIBl as defined below) as the legacy UE (Wang: [0050]).
Regarding claim 23, Behravan discloses:
A communication system comprising (wireless network may comprise and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system, Behravan: Fig. 2, [0064]):
a terminal comprising (A wireless device (WD) may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. wireless device includes antenna, interface, processing circuitry, device readable medium, user interface equipment, auxiliary equipment, power source and power circuitry, Behravan: Fig. 2, [0091]-[0092]):
a receiver configured to receive, from a base station, configuration information for use in a random access procedure (UE can receive the system information block 1 (SIB 1) including the random access channel (RACH and PRACH) configuration. Radio front end circuitry comprise one or more filters and amplifiers. Radio front end circuitry is connected to antenna and processing circuitry and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna and processing circuitry, Behravan: [0005], [0094]); and
a transmitter configured to transmit, to the base station, a random access preamble indicating whether the terminal is a reduced capability terminal based on the configuration information (the reduced capability UE may send an identifiable preamble in Message 1 ( e.g., use a different preamble set, or scramble the preamble, etc.) or alternatively send the UE capability information or UE ID in a later message (i.e., the UE context radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) Message 3 if the UE comes from RRC INACTIVE, or the S-TMSI if the UE comes from RRC_IDLE). upon identifying an NR-Light UE based on the preamble used, gNB may decide the random access response (RAR) transmissions to enable the lower capability NR-Light UE. the system information may be configure the value for NR-Light. Radio front end circuitry may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection, Behravan: [0009], [0058], [0095]),
a base station comprising (network node includes processing circuitry, device readable medium, interface, auxiliary equipment, power source, power circuitry, and antenna, Behravan: Fig. 2, [0070]):
a transmitter configured to transmit the configuration information (UE can receive the system information block 1 (SIB 1) including the random access channel (RACH and PRACH) configuration. antenna, interface, and/or processing circuitry may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment, Behravan: [0005], [0083]); and
a receiver configured to receive the random access preamble (upon identifying an NR-Light UE based on the preamble used, gNB may decide the random access response (RAR) transmissions to enable the lower capability NR-Light UE. the system information may be configure the value for NR-Light. Antenna, interface, and/or processing circuitry may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment, Behravan: [0058], [0083]).
Behravan does not explicitly disclose:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal,
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index, and
However, in the same field of endeavor, MolavianJazi teaches:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (PDCCH-ordered PRACH transmission, as provided for example by a DCI format 1_0 with a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field set to all is and using a C-RNTI, the following information is indicated: PRACH preamble index (6 bits), SSB index (6 bits), PRACH Mask index, i.e., the RACH occasion shown in Table 2. if the value of the random access preamble index field is not zero, indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS/PBCH block index indicated by the SS/PBCH block index field of the PDCCH order. PRACH configuration can be used to distinguish a UE-type. A PRACH configuration can include a configuration for one or more of PRACH preambles, RACH occasions, MolavianJazi: [0091]-[0092], [0175]-[0178]),
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index (some PRACH preambles can be associated with an SSB for QCL determination. To identify preambles that are mapped to a certain SSB and a certain RO, various factors can be considered. For the case that N> 1 SSBs are mapped to a RO, select the [preamble index] = [indicated (starting) preamble index]+[associated SSB index], where [associated SSB index] belongs to {0, .. . , N-1}, MolavianJazi: [0077], [0086]-[0097]), and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan in view of MolavianJazi in order to further modify the preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal and the preamble index which includes a start index relating to the SSB index from the teachings of MolavianJazi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have uplink coverage enhancement due to lower UE power class, PRACH repetitions can be utilized for faster beam management (MolavianJazi: [0214]).
Yet, Behravan in view of MolavianJazi does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the terminal further comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell, and
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
wherein the terminal further comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell (methods and systems are provided for enabling a low-complexity UE to use the existing synchronization signal block (SSB) to access an NR cell. an eSIB1 may include one or more of the information elements in the legacy SIB1 as well as one or more of the new NR-Light specific information elements. The DCI is used for scheduling PDSCH for eSIB1 transmission. According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, the same PDSCH that carries SIB1 information also carries information elements for NR-Light UEs, i.e., information elements intended for NR-Light UEs are added to SIB1, making it eSIB1. Processing circuitry may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, Wang: [0049]-[0051], [0067], [0080]), and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan and MolavianJazi in view of Wang in order to further modify the terminal which comprises a processor configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell from the teachings of Wang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because for the NR-Light UEs to access an NR cell even when the CORESET#0 of the NR cell is configured to a wider bandwidth than the maximum UE supported bandwidth, certain embodiments disclosed herein may assume that the NR-Light UE can receive the same SIM (or eSIBl as defined below) as the legacy UE (Wang: [0050]).
Regarding claim 24, Behravan discloses:
A communication method executed by a terminal, comprising (a method performed by a wireless device comprises obtaining an indication of one or more conditions, Behravan: [0024]):
receiving, from a base station, configuration information for use in a random access procedure (UE can receive the system information block 1 (SIB 1) including the random access channel (RACH and PRACH) configuration. Radio front end circuitry comprise one or more filters and amplifiers. Radio front end circuitry is connected to antenna and processing circuitry and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna and processing circuitry, Behravan: [0005], [0094]); and
transmitting, to the base station, a random access preamble indicating whether the terminal is a reduced capability terminal based on the configuration information (the reduced capability UE may send an identifiable preamble in Message 1 ( e.g., use a different preamble set, or scramble the preamble, etc.) or alternatively send the UE capability information or UE ID in a later message (i.e., the UE context radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) Message 3 if the UE comes from RRC INACTIVE, or the S-TMSI if the UE comes from RRC_IDLE). upon identifying an NR-Light UE based on the preamble used, gNB may decide the random access response (RAR) transmissions to enable the lower capability NR-Light UE. the system information may be configure the value for NR-Light. Radio front end circuitry may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection, Behravan: [0009], [0058], [0095]).
Behravan does not explicitly disclose:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal, and
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index, and
However, in the same field of endeavor, MolavianJazi teaches:
wherein a preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal (PDCCH-ordered PRACH transmission, as provided for example by a DCI format 1_0 with a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) field set to all is and using a C-RNTI, the following information is indicated: PRACH preamble index (6 bits), SSB index (6 bits), PRACH Mask index, i.e., the RACH occasion shown in Table 2. if the value of the random access preamble index field is not zero, indicates the PRACH occasion for the PRACH transmission where the PRACH occasions are associated with the SS/PBCH block index indicated by the SS/PBCH block index field of the PDCCH order. PRACH configuration can be used to distinguish a UE-type. A PRACH configuration can include a configuration for one or more of PRACH preambles, RACH occasions, MolavianJazi: [0091]-[0092], [0175]-[0178]), and
wherein the preamble index includes a start index relating to the SSB index (some PRACH preambles can be associated with an SSB for QCL determination. To identify preambles that are mapped to a certain SSB and a certain RO, various factors can be considered. For the case that N> 1 SSBs are mapped to a RO, select the [preamble index] = [indicated (starting) preamble index]+[associated SSB index], where [associated SSB index] belongs to {0, .. . , N-1}, MolavianJazi: [0077], [0096]-[0097]), and
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan in view of MolavianJazi in order to further modify the preamble index, which is related to a number of a synchronization signal block (SSB) index, of the random access preamble indicates whether the terminal is the reduced capability terminal and the preamble index which includes a start index relating to the SSB index from the teachings of MolavianJazi.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because it would have uplink coverage enhancement due to lower UE power class, PRACH repetitions can be utilized for faster beam management (MolavianJazi: [0214]).
Yet, Behravan in view of MolavianJazi does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the terminal is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
wherein the terminal is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell (methods and systems are provided for enabling a low-complexity UE to use the existing synchronization signal block (SSB) to access an NR cell. an eSIB 1 may include one or more of the information elements in the legacy SIB1 as well as one or more of the new NR-Light specific information elements. The DCI is used for scheduling PDSCH for eSIB 1 transmission. According to certain embodiments disclosed herein, the same PDSCH that carries SIB 1 information also carries information elements for NR-Light UEs, i.e., information elements intended for NR-Light UEs are added to SIB1, making it eSIB1, Wang: [0049]-[0051], [0067]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Behravan and MolavianJazi in view of Wang in order to further modify the terminal which is configured to determine whether a reduced capability terminal can access a cell based on system information block 1 (SIB 1) received in the cell from the teachings of Wang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated because for the NR-Light UEs to access an NR cell even when the CORESET#0 of the NR cell is configured to a wider bandwidth than the maximum UE supported bandwidth, certain embodiments disclosed herein may assume that the NR-Light UE can receive the same SIM (or eSIBl as defined below) as the legacy UE (Wang: [0050]).
Conclusion
In the case of amendments, applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the
specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and support, for ascertaining the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
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/S.C.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2467
/Robert C Scheibel/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467 March 11, 2026