DETAILED ACTION
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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 7, 9 and 10 have been fully considered
but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 7, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Agiwal et al (US 2021/0051708 A1), hereinafter, “Agiwal”.
Regarding claim 7, Agiwal disclosed: A terminal apparatus (Agiwal: fig 1, UE (equivalent to “terminal apparatus”)), comprising: a receiver (Agiwal: fig 1, UE equivalent to “receiver”) configured to receive random access channel (RACH) configuration information (Agiwal: fig 2-3, para [0075], where, in step 210, the UE “receive prach-ConfigurationIndex for 2 step CBRA prach-ConfigurationIndex for 4 step CBRA from gNB) used to determine a set of random access preambles for contention based random access (CBRA) (Agiwal: fig 8, steps 810, 820 and 850, para [0088], where, “If the CBRA initiated by UE/GNB is 2 step CBRA (810, 820), UE determines PRACH preambles for 2 step CBRA as follows (850, 860, 870)”); and
a transmitter configured to select a random access preamble from the set ofrandom access preambles (Agiwal: fig 1, para [0011], where, “The terminal comprises a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to: determine a random access preamble for a 2-step random access based on first information associated with a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion for the 2-step random access and second information associated with a number of preambles per SSB for the 2-step random access, determine a PRACH occasion for the 2-step random access based on third information associated with a PRACH configuration index, and transmit, to a base station, a message A (MSG A) including the random access preamble based on the PRACH occasion”), and transmit the selected random access preamble on a particular physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion (Agiwal: fig 1-3, para [0011], where, “The terminal comprises a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a signal; and a controller configured to: determine a random access preamble for a 2-step random access based on first information associated with a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) per physical random access channel (PRACH)”, where, “transmit, to a base station, a message A (MSG A) (equivalent to “particular PRACH”) including the random access preamble based on the PRACH occasion”),
wherein, the transmitter is further configured to determine, on the particular PRACH occasion (Agiwal: fig 1-3, para [0009], where, “determining a PRACH occasion for the 2-step random access based on third information associated with a PRACH configuration index; and transmitting, to a base station, a message A (MSG A) including the random access preamble based on the PRACH occasion”), the set of random access preambles based on a starting preamble index for the set of random access preambles (Agiwal: fig 1-3, para [0091], where, “Same set of preambles is used for each SSB per PRACH occasion. In other words, R1 contention based preambles with consecutive indexes associated with the SSB per valid PRACH occasion start from preamble index PreambleStartIndex”)
and a number of random access preambles in the set of random access preambles (Agiwal: fig 1-3, para [0092], where, “totalNumberOfARA-Preambles is the total number of preambles used for random access (contention based as well as contention free) and is configured by gNB. In another embodiment, it is the total number of preambles used for 2 step CBRA”), and the RACH configuration information explicitly includes, as signaled from a base station (Agiwal: fig 2-3, para [0075], where, in step 210, the UE “receive prach-ConfigurationIndex for 2 step CBRA prach-ConfigurationIndex for 4 step CBRA from gNB equivalent to “base station” and this is an explicit teaching that the base station sends or transmit the configuration to the UE), a first parameter indicating the starting preamble index and a second parameter indicating the number of random access preambles (Agiwal: fig 1-3, para [0068], where, “Contention based RACH configuration includes “prach-ConfigurationIndex” equivalent to “first parameter” which indicates the available set of PRACH occasions for the transmission of the Random Access Preamble” and para [0088], where, “totalNumberOfRA-Preambles (equivalent to “second parameter”) is the total number of preambles used for random access (contention based as well as contention free) and is configured by gNB. In another embodiment, it is the total number of preambles used for 2 step CBRA”).
Regarding claim 9, the claim includes features identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 7 above. The claims are mere reformulation of claim 7 in order to define the corresponding information processing base station, and the rejection to claim 7 is applied hereto. Additionally, the claim includes a base station. However, Agiwal discloses the base station (Agiwal: fig 1, para [0041], base station (gNB)).
Regarding claim 10, the claim includes features identical to the subject matter mentioned in the rejection to claim 7 above. The claims are mere reformulation of claim 7 in order to define the corresponding information processing method for terminal, and the rejection to claim 7 is applied hereto. Additionally, the claim includes a method for terminal. However, Agiwal discloses the method for terminal (Agiwal: para [0009]).
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 NIZAM U AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-9561. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fry, 7:00 AM-6:00 PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Vu can be reached at 571-272-3155. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NIZAM U AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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