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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-2, 4-5, 10-12, 14, 17, 19-21, 29-31, 33 and 36 are presented for examination.
Claims 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 17, 30 and 31 are amended.
Claims 3, 6-9, 13, 15-16, 18, 22-28, 32, 34-35 and 37-88 are canceled.
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, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 2/6/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Regarding 35 U.S.C. applicant’s arguments, see page 12 Section 2 - page 17, filed October September 24, 2025, with respect to claims 1-2, 5, 10-11, 14, 20, 21-22, 29-31 and 33 have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-2, 5, 10-11, 14, 20, 21-22, 29-31 and 33 have been 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.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Hence a new ground of rejection is further made in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727).
Regarding claims 1, 14 and 17, the applicant argued that, see page 12 paragraph 5, “…The applicant respectfully submits that, since "Claim 12 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims", Applicant submits that each alternative features of claim 12 shall be allowable. In view of this, amended independent claim 1 should be now in condition for allowance. Independent claims 14 and 17 have been amended in a like manner and shall be allowable for the same reasons. Dependent claims are consequently patentable over the prior arts.
In response to applicant's argument, the examiner respectfully disagrees with the argument above.
Applicant changed the scope of independent claims 1 and 14 by removing the limitation “wherein the corresponding information comprises one or more of the following: first corresponding information between SSB information and PUSCH resource information; second corresponding information between random access channel (RACH) resource information and PUSCH resource information”. This limitation is now added in dependent claim 4.
As stated in the Office Action 11/10/2025, Claim 12 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Objections
Claims 20-22 and 29-31 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 20 recites, “A terminal device, the terminal device being a first terminal device, comprising a memory, a transceiver and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under control of the processor, and the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the information processing method according to claim 1. For clarification with respect to independent claim 1, “An information processing method, performed by a first terminal device …”, it is recommended to add the limitations of claim 1 into claim 20.
Claims 21-22 and 29-30 are also objected to, since, they are dependent on the objected base claim 20.
Appropriate correction is required.
Notice re prior art available under both pre-AIA and 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-2, 5, 10-11, 14, 20, 21-22, 29-31 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VIVO ("RACH-less with SSB association",3GPP DRAFT; R2-1909780 ENHANCED RACH-LESS SOLUTION FOR NR, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), 2019-08-16), in view of Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599) and further in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727).
As per claim 1, Vivo disclose An information processing method, performed by a first terminal device (see section 2.1, Proposal 3: The UE selects the SSB/CSI-RS associated to the PUSCH resource which is used for the RACH-less handover, if the RSRP of the SSB/CSI-RS is above a configured threshold), comprising:
receiving configuration information transmitted by a network side device, wherein the configuration information comprises corresponding information between information (SSB) parameters and information of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) parameters (see Section 2, "In NR, one issue is that the UE needs to select the DL beam for the initial access to a target cell. The UL/DL correspondence is created via the RACH procedure (i.e. the transmitted PRACH is associated to a specific SSB/CSI-RS.). The UE chooses a specific DL beams when the RSRP of the beam is above a configured threshold. For the RACH-less solution, as there is no PRACH transmission, the UL/DL correspondence should be created via the PUSCH transmission. Thus we consider that the PUSCH resource should be associated to a specific DL beam, and the selection of the DL beam should be the same as the NR RACH procedure (i.e. based on the RSRP measurement threshold) .The details on how to associate the PUSCH resource to the DL beam can be discussed further in RANI. Proposal 2: The PUSCH resource of the RACH less solution is associated to a SSB/CSI-RS. Proposal 3: The UE selects the SSB/CSI-RS associated to the PUSCH resource which is used for the RACH-less handover, if the RSRP of the SSB/CSI-RS is above a configured threshold. If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 should inform RAN1 to design how to associate the PUSCH resource to the SSB/CSI-RS, and how to create the UL/DL correspondence based on the transmission of the PUSCH. Proposal 4: If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 is kindly requested to send an LS to RAN1 to inform them the RAN2 agreements.2.2 MsgA-alike transmission for RACH-less handover According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA, and the PRACH and PUSCH can be within the same slot. Then from our understanding, the UE capable of 2-step RACH can also send the PRACH+PUSCH directly to the target cell if the TA of the target cell is unknown to the UE. Compared with the 2-step RACH procedure, the benefit of such solution is that the UE does not have to wait for the RAR before sending the subsequent PUSCH(s)/data. Proposal 5: If the TA of the target cell is unknown to the UE, the UE capable of 2-step RACH sends PRACH+PUSCH directly to the target cell during the RACH-less handover"); determining resource information of a target PUSCH according to the configuration information (see section 2.1, The UE keeps using the pre-configured periodic PUSCH resources (namely "pre allocated uplink grant") for the uplink data transmission without waiting for the confirmation (i.e. the Contention Resolution MAC CE scheduled by the C-RNTI PDCCH) from the network).
Although, Vivo disclose receiving configuration information transmitted by a network side device, wherein the configuration information comprises corresponding information between information of synchronization signal block (SSB) parameters and information of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) parameters;
Vivo however does not explicitly disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value;
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Islam however disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices) and wherein the determining the target SSB comprises:
obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs (see para. 0065, 0068, the UE measures/ obtaining/ the RSRP {channel quality parameter} of all detected SSBs/CSI-RS / candidate SSBs); determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs (see para. 0068, when he RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE select the SSB {the target SSB} for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA);
wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value (see para. 0065-0068, the network configures an Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold for selecting an SSB);
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meet a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0065, 0068, when there are multiple SSBs/CSI-RS configured for CFRA that have RSRP measurements meeting the threshold, the UE flexibly select one of the multiple SSBs for CFRA preamble transmission. If there is no SSB/CSI-RS that is configured for CFRA and having an RSRP over the threshold, the UE selects any SSB/CSI-RS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, as taught by Islam, in the system of Vivo, so as to enable the UE to select an appropriate RACH occasion and preamble index from the set in order to convey a particular SSB index/CSI-RS to the network, see Islam, paragraphs 6-9.
Although Islam disclose wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meets a first RSRP threshold.
The combination of Vivo and Islam however does not explicitly disclose the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Xu however disclose wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0222, the terminal device first determine whether an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set. If an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set, an SSB is selected from the SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold, and the selected SSB is used as a target SSB, see also para. 0158, the first signal strength threshold corresponding to the SSB set is recorded as a first SSB-RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, as taught by Xu, in the system of Vivo and Islam, so as to reduce access latency, see Xu, paragraphs 11-17.
As per claim 2, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
Vivo further disclose in case that there is data to be transmitted in a radio resource control (RRC) inactive state, transmitting, according to the resource information, the data to the network side device on the corresponding PUSCH (see Section 2.2, "According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA").
As per claim 5, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
Islam further disclose determining the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises one or more of the following: determining, according to SSB information of a determined target SSB and the first corresponding information, the resource information of the target PUSCH; obtaining resource information of a target RACH according to location information of a determined target SSB, determining, according to the resource information of the target RACH and the second corresponding information, the resource information of the target PUSCH; or, determining, according to location information of a determined target SSB and the time offset, the resource information of the target PUSCH (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index).
As per claim 10, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
Islam further disclose wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: obtaining at least one candidate location information according to the configuration information; in case that a quantity of the candidate location information is one, using the candidate location information as the resource information of the target PUSCH; in case that the quantity of the candidate location information is at least two, selecting, according to service type information of a current service, the resource information of the target PUSCH from the at least two candidate location information; wherein the service type information comprises at least one of data resource bearer configuration information or logical channel configuration information (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices).
As per claim 14, Vivo disclose An information processing method, performed by a network side device, comprising:
determining resource information of a target PUSCH, and transmitting configuration information to a first terminal device (see section 2.1, The UE keeps using the pre-configured periodic PUSCH resources (namely "pre allocated uplink grant") for the uplink data transmission without waiting for the confirmation (i.e. the Contention Resolution MAC CE scheduled by the C-RNTI PDCCH) from the network);
receiving, according to the resource information, data transmitted on a corresponding PUSCH by the first terminal device in an RRC inactive state according to the configuration information (see Section 2.2, "According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA");
wherein the configuration information comprises corresponding information between information of SSB parameters and information of PUSCH parameters (see Section 2, "In NR, one issue is that the UE needs to select the DL beam for the initial access to a target cell. The UL/DL correspondence is created via the RACH procedure (i.e. the transmitted PRACH is associated to a specific SSB/CSI-RS.). The UE chooses a specific DL beams when the RSRP of the beam is above a configured threshold. For the RACH-less solution, as there is no PRACH transmission, the UL/DL correspondence should be created via the PUSCH transmission. Thus we consider that the PUSCH resource should be associated to a specific DL beam, and the selection of the DL beam should be the same as the NR RACH procedure (i.e. based on the RSRP measurement threshold) .The details on how to associate the PUSCH resource to the DL beam can be discussed further in RANI. Proposal 2: The PUSCH resource of the RACH less solution is associated to a SSB/CSI-RS. Proposal 3: The UE selects the SSB/CSI-RS associated to the PUSCH resource which is used for the RACH-less handover, if the RSRP of the SSB/CSI-RS is above a configured threshold. If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 should inform RAN1 to design how to associate the PUSCH resource to the SSB/CSI-RS, and how to create the UL/DL correspondence based on the transmission of the PUSCH. Proposal 4: If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 is kindly requested to send an LS to RAN1 to inform them the RAN2 agreements.2.2 MsgA-alike transmission for RACH-less handover According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA, and the PRACH and PUSCH can be within the same slot. Then from our understanding, the UE capable of 2-step RACH can also send the PRACH+PUSCH directly to the target cell if the TA of the target cell is unknown to the UE. Compared with the 2-step RACH procedure, the benefit of such solution is that the UE does not have to wait for the RAR before sending the subsequent PUSCH(s)/data. Proposal 5: If the TA of the target cell is unknown to the UE, the UE capable of 2-step RACH sends PRACH+PUSCH directly to the target cell during the RACH-less handover").
Vivo however does not explicitly disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value;
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Islam however disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices) and wherein the determining the target SSB comprises:
obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs (see para. 0065, 0068, the UE measures/ obtaining/ the RSRP {channel quality parameter} of all detected SSBs/CSI-RS / candidate SSBs); determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs (see para. 0068, when he RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE select the SSB {the target SSB} for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA);
wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value (see para. 0065-0068, the network configures an Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold for selecting an SSB);
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meet a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0065, 0068, when there are multiple SSBs/CSI-RS configured for CFRA that have RSRP measurements meeting the threshold, the UE flexibly select one of the multiple SSBs for CFRA preamble transmission. If there is no SSB/CSI-RS that is configured for CFRA and having an RSRP over the threshold, the UE selects any SSB/CSI-RS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, as taught by Islam, in the system of Vivo, so as to enable the UE to select an appropriate RACH occasion and preamble index from the set in order to convey a particular SSB index/CSI-RS to the network, see Islam, paragraphs 6-9.
Although Islam disclose wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meets a first RSRP threshold.
The combination of Vivo and Islam however does not explicitly disclose the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Xu however disclose wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0222, the terminal device first determine whether an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set. If an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set, an SSB is selected from the SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold, and the selected SSB is used as a target SSB, see also para. 0158, the first signal strength threshold corresponding to the SSB set is recorded as a first SSB-RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, as taught by Xu, in the system of Vivo and Islam, so as to reduce access latency, see Xu, paragraphs 11-7.
As per claim 20, the combination of Vivo and Islam disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
Islam further disclose A terminal device, the terminal device being a first terminal device (see Fig.3, UE 350), comprising a memory (see Fig.3, a memory 360), a transceiver (see Fig. 3, TX processor 368 and RX processor 356) and a processor (see Fig.3, controller/processor 359), wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under control of the processor, and the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory (see para. 0053, the controller/processor 359 is associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data).
As per claim 21, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose terminal device according to claim 20.
Vivo further disclose wherein the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following step: in case that there is data to be transmitted in an RRC inactive state, transmitting, using the transceiver and according to the resource information, the data to the network side device on the corresponding PUSCH (see Section 2.2, "According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA").
As per claim 22, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose terminal device according to claim 20.
Islam further disclose wherein the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following step: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining, according to the configuration information, the resource information of the target PUSCH comprises: determining, according to the target SSB and the configuration information, the resource information of the target PUSCH (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices).
As per claim 29, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose terminal device according to claim 20.
Islam further disclose wherein the determining, according to the configuration information, the resource information of the target PUSCH comprises: obtaining at least one candidate location information according to the configuration information; in case that a quantity of the at least one candidate location information is one, using the candidate location information as the resource information of the target PUSCH; in case that the quantity of the at least one candidate location information is at least two, selecting, according to service type information of a current service, the resource information of the target PUSCH from the at least two candidate location information; wherein the service type information comprises at least one of data resource bearer configuration information or logical channel configuration information (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices).
As per claim 30, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose terminal device according to claim 22.
Islam further disclose wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises at least one of following information: an RSRP value; an SINR value; a smoothed value of SSB signal sampling points within a first duration; a fluctuation value of SSB signal sampling points within a second duration (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, RACH parameters for CFRA resources may be based, e.g., on a dedicated configuration such as a RACH configuration Information Element (IE) (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated IE). The IE may provide information about resources configured for Msg1, e.g., based on a System Information (SI) request. The RACH configuration information may indicate CFRA resources in time and frequency. The RACH configuration information may indicated CFRA occasions based on RACH resources configured for CFRA and based on an SSB per RACH occasion. CFRA resources may be indicated using an SSB resource list with a corresponding RACH occasion index. A RACH preamble index may also be indicated for each of the list of SSBs. An RSRP threshold may be indicated for selection of the SSB for CFRA. The network may configure the RSRP threshold for use by the UE in selecting SSB for performing CFRA. The UE may measure the RSRP of all detected SSBs, and may determine whether any of the SSBs meet the configured RSRP threshold. If the RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE may select the SSB for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA. Similar information may be provided for CSI-RS configured for CFRA, e.g., including RACH occasion indexes, RACH preamble indexes, and/or RSRP threshold information for a set of CSI-RS configured for CFRA).
As per claim 31, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose terminal device according to claim 30.
Islam further disclose wherein the target SSB satisfies at least one of following conditions: the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold; the SINR value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first SINR threshold; the smoothed value of signal sampling points of the target SSB within the first duration is greater than or equal to a first smoothing threshold; the fluctuation value of signal sampling points of the target SSB within the second duration is less than or equal to a first fluctuation threshold (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, The RACH configuration information may indicate CFRA resources in time and frequency. The RACH configuration information may indicated CFRA occasions based on RACH resources configured for CFRA and based on an SSB per RACH occasion. CFRA resources may be indicated using an SSB resource list with a corresponding RACH occasion index. A RACH preamble index may also be indicated for each of the list of SSBs. An RSRP threshold may be indicated for selection of the SSB for CFRA. The network may configure the RSRP threshold for use by the UE in selecting SSB for performing CFRA. The UE may measure the RSRP of all detected SSBs, and may determine whether any of the SSBs meet the configured RSRP threshold. If the RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE may select the SSB for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VIVO ("RACH-less with SSB association",3GPP DRAFT; R2-1909780 ENHANCED RACH-LESS SOLUTION FOR NR, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), 2019-08-16), in view of Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599), in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727) and further in view of Gong et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/0387479).
As per claim 4, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
The combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu however does not explicitly disclose wherein the corresponding information comprises one of a time offset between SSB and PUSCH.
Gong however disclose wherein a corresponding information further comprises a time offset between SSB and PUSCH (see para. 0086, information comprises a time offset between SSB and PUSCH).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a corresponding information further comprises a time offset between SSB and PUSCH, as taught by Gong, in the system of Vivo, Islam and Xu, so as to support grant free transmissions and multi-beam communications and provide an improved uplink power control schemes, see Gong, paragraphs 6-9.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over VIVO ("RACH-less with SSB association",3GPP DRAFT; R2-1909780 ENHANCED RACH-LESS SOLUTION FOR NR, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), 2019-08-16), in view of Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599), in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727) and further in view of Svedman et al. (US Pub. No.: 2023/0179281).
As per claim 11, the combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 1.
The combination of Vivo, Islam and Xu however does not explicitly disclose wherein the channel quality parameter information further comprises at least one of following information: a signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR) value; a smoothed value of SSB signal sampling points within a first duration; a fluctuation value of SSB signal sampling points within a second duration.
Svedman however disclose wherein a channel quality parameter information further comprises at least one of following information: a signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR) value (see para. 0050, 0092, 0216, 0325-0326, the channel quality parameter is a SINR).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a channel quality parameter information further comprises at least one of following information: a signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR) value, as taught by Svedman, in the system of Vivo, Islam and Xu, so as to improve UL resource efficiency and reduce UL interference and UE power consumption, see Svedman, paragraphs 9, 50, 92.
As per claim 12, the combination of Vivo, Islam, Xu and Svedman disclose the information processing method according to claim 11.
Svedman further disclose wherein the target SSB further satisfies at least one of following conditions: the SINR value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first SINR threshold (see para. 0050, 0092, 0216, 0325-0326, SINR is a above a threshold).
Claims 17 and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599) and further in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727).
As per claim 17, Islam disclose An information processing method, performed by a second terminal device, comprising:
obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, a target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs (see para. 0006, a mapping between an Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and the RACH occasions and preamble indices enable the UE to select an appropriate RACH occasion and preamble index from the set in order to convey a particular SSB index/CSI-RS to the network and in supplementary downlink operation, a UE is able to receive downlink signals yet be unable to transmit an uplink signal, a UE might not be able to transmit an uplink signal using a particular frequency band, e.g. Frequency Range 2 (FR2), due to restrictive limits on uplink transmit power and poor link quality / obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs. A base station needs to determine an SSB index to use to transmit the downlink communication to the UE via the first cell/first band and to select an SSB index for transmitting downlink communication to the UE via the first cell / determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, a target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs, see para. 0060-0063, the UE is not able to transmit uplink communication through FR2 because uplink transmit power might be very limited, e.g., to satisfy maximum permissible exposure (MPE) restrictions, and/or uplink link quality might be poor / obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs. Thus, the UE receives SSB/CSI-RS through FR2 and conveys RACH information regarding the SSB/CSI-RS received through FR2 by transmitting the RACH information on FR1 / determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, a target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs, see also para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices);
wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises at least one of following information: an RSRP value; an SINR value; a smoothed value of SSB signal sampling points within a first duration; a fluctuation value of SSB signal sampling points within a second duration (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, RACH parameters for CFRA resources may be based, e.g., on a dedicated configuration such as a RACH configuration Information Element (IE) (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated IE). The IE may provide information about resources configured for Msg1, e.g., based on a System Information (SI) request. The RACH configuration information may indicate CFRA resources in time and frequency. The RACH configuration information may indicated CFRA occasions based on RACH resources configured for CFRA and based on an SSB per RACH occasion. CFRA resources may be indicated using an SSB resource list with a corresponding RACH occasion index. A RACH preamble index may also be indicated for each of the list of SSBs. An RSRP threshold may be indicated for selection of the SSB for CFRA. The network may configure the RSRP threshold for use by the UE in selecting SSB for performing CFRA. The UE may measure the RSRP of all detected SSBs, and may determine whether any of the SSBs meet the configured RSRP threshold. If the RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE may select the SSB for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA. Similar information may be provided for CSI-RS configured for CFRA, e.g., including RACH occasion indexes, RACH preamble indexes, and/or RSRP threshold information for a set of CSI-RS configured for CFRA);
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meet a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0065, 0068, when there are multiple SSBs/CSI-RS configured for CFRA that have RSRP measurements meeting the threshold, the UE flexibly select one of the multiple SSBs for CFRA preamble transmission. If there is no SSB/CSI-RS that is configured for CFRA and having an RSRP over the threshold, the UE selects any SSB/CSI-RS).
Although Islam disclose wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meets a first RSRP threshold.
Islam however does not explicitly disclose the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Xu however disclose wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0222, the terminal device first determine whether an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set. If an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set, an SSB is selected from the SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold, and the selected SSB is used as a target SSB, see also para. 0158, the first signal strength threshold corresponding to the SSB set is recorded as a first SSB-RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, as taught by Xu, in the system of Islam, so as to reduce access latency, see Xu, paragraphs 11-17.
As per claim 36, the combination of Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 17.
Islam further disclose A terminal device, the terminal device being a second terminal device (see Fig.3, UE 350), comprising a memory (see Fig.3, a memory 360), a transceiver see Fig. 3, TX processor 368 and RX processor 356) and a processor (see Fig.3, controller/processor 359), wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under control of the processor, and the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the information processing (see para. 0053, the controller/processor 359 is associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599), in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727)and further in view of VIVO ("RACH-less with SSB association",3GPP DRAFT; R2-1909780 ENHANCED RACH-LESS SOLUTION FOR NR, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), 2019-08-16).
As per claim 19, the combination of Islam and Xu disclose the information processing method according to claim 17,
The combination of Islam and Xu disclose however does not explicitly disclose wherein, after the determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs, the method further comprises: determining, according to the target SSB, resource information of a target PUSCH; transmitting, according to the resource information, data on a corresponding PUSCH to a network side device, in case that there is data to be transmitted in an RRC inactive state.
Vivo however disclose wherein, after the determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs, the method further comprises: determining, according to the target SSB, resource information of a target PUSCH; transmitting, according to the resource information, data on a corresponding PUSCH to a network side device, in case that there is data to be transmitted in an RRC inactive state (see Section 2, "In NR, one issue is that the UE needs to select the DL beam for the initial access to a target cell. The UL/DL correspondence is created via the RACH procedure (i.e. the transmitted PRACH is associated to a specific SSB/CSI-RS.). The UE chooses a specific DL beams when the RSRP of the beam is above a configured threshold. For the RACH-less solution, as there is no PRACH transmission, the UL/DL correspondence should be created via the PUSCH transmission. Thus we consider that the PUSCH resource should be associated to a specific DL beam, and the selection of the DL beam should be the same as the NR RACH procedure (i.e. based on the RSRP measurement threshold) .The details on how to associate the PUSCH resource to the DL beam can be discussed further in RANI. Proposal 2: The PUSCH resource of the RACH less solution is associated to a SSB/CSI-RS. Proposal 3: The UE selects the SSB/CSI-RS associated to the PUSCH resource which is used for the RACH-less handover, if the RSRP of the SSB/CSI-RS is above a configured threshold. If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 should inform RAN1 to design how to associate the PUSCH resource to the SSB/CSI-RS, and how to create the UL/DL correspondence based on the transmission of the PUSCH. Proposal 4: If Proposal 2/3 is agreed, RAN2 is kindly requested to send an LS to RAN1 to inform them the RAN2 agreements.2.2 MsgA-alike transmission for RACH-less handover According to the recent discussion in the 2-step RACH procedure, the UE in IDLE/INACTIVE can send PRACH+PUSCH (including uplink data) directly to the network via MsgA, and the PRACH and PUSCH can be within the same slot).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein, after the determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs, the method further comprises: determining, according to the target SSB, resource information of a target PUSCH; transmitting, according to the resource information, data on a corresponding PUSCH to a network side device, in case that there is data to be transmitted in an RRC inactive state, as taught by Vivo, in the system of Islam and Xu, so that the UE does not have to wait for the RAR before sending subsequent PUSCH(s)/ data for a UE in IDLE/INACTIVE, see Vivo, paragraphs 6-9.
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Second Rejection:
Claims 1 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Parkvall (WO 2020/141987), in view of Islam et al. (US Pub. No.: 2019/364599) and further in view of Xu et al. (US Pub. No.: 2022/0046727).
As per claim 1, Parkvall disclose An information processing method, performed by a first terminal device, comprising: receiving configuration information transmitted by a network side device, wherein the configuration information comprises corresponding information between information of synchronization signal block (SSB) parameters and information of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) parameters (see page 13 lines 406- 425, ("Alternatively, it is possible to link time- domain resources (e.g., when PUSCH transmission is allowed to occur) to the best received SSE (or best received CSI-RS among a set of configured CSI-RS, or some other downlink signal/reference signal). In this case, the UE may monitor the received signal strength (or signal quality) among a set of known/configured SSE occasions (or CSI-RS occasions), and may use a mapping function from the best received SSE (or CSI-RS) to a corresponding PUSCH transmission instant .... Alternatively, a UE may be configured with multiple configured grants, and based on the SSB/CSI-RS, e.g. an index thereof, one of the configurations is selected.... There may be generally be a mapping (e.g., a predetermined relation) between reference signaling received, and/or timing and/or resources of reference signaling received, and an uplink signaling transmission timing and/or a reception beam timing. The mapping may be configured or configurable, and/or be predefined");
determining resource information of a target PUSCH according to the configuration information (see page 8, 12 lines 385-390, page 13, lines 407-420, the UE monitors the received signal strength (or signal quality) among a set of known/configured SSB occasions (or CSI-RS occasions), and use a mapping function from the best received SSB (or CSI-RS) to a corresponding PUSCH transmission instant / determining resource information of a target PUSCH, see also page 14 lines 429-445, the UE transmit on an associated PUSCH resource (or PUCCH resource). The gNB configures the SSB and/or uplink transmission resources accordingly, and/or be configured to receive signaling from the UE at one of the configured uplink transmission resources).
Although, Parkvall disclose receiving configuration information transmitted by a network side device, wherein the configuration information comprises corresponding information between information of synchronization signal block (SSB) parameters and information of physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) parameters;
Parkvall however does not explicitly disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value;
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Islam however disclose the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information (see para. 0042, 0059-0069, 0075-0083, CFRA-Resources in configuration information from a base station may include an indication of Cell ID, e.g., the ID of the cell whose SSB(s)/CSI-RS(s) are measured and selected by the UE for PRACH. The inclusion of the cell ID enables the UE to find the corresponding RACH parameters (e.g., time and frequency resources) for the particular cell on which the SSB/CSI-RS is received. A CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may include an indication of a cell ID that identifies the cell whose SSB(s) are selected among by the UE for the RACH, e.g., to enable the UE to find the corresponding RACH preamble index. The CFRA-SSB-Resource parameter may indicate SSB(s) and corresponding preamble indices) and wherein the determining the target SSB comprises:
obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs (see para. 0065, 0068, the UE measures/ obtaining/ the RSRP {channel quality parameter} of all detected SSBs/CSI-RS / candidate SSBs); determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs (see para. 0068, when he RSRP for an SSB meets the RSRP threshold, the UE select the SSB {the target SSB} for use in determining a preamble transmission for CFRA);
wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value (see para. 0065-0068, the network configures an Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) threshold for selecting an SSB);
wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meet a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0065, 0068, when there are multiple SSBs/CSI-RS configured for CFRA that have RSRP measurements meeting the threshold, the UE flexibly select one of the multiple SSBs for CFRA preamble transmission. If there is no SSB/CSI-RS that is configured for CFRA and having an RSRP over the threshold, the UE selects any SSB/CSI-RS).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of the method further comprises: determining a target SSB; wherein the determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the configuration information comprises: determining the resource information of the target PUSCH according to the target SSB and the configuration information; wherein the determining the target SSB comprises: obtaining channel quality parameter information of candidate SSBs; determining, according to the channel quality parameter information, the target SSB from at least one of the candidate SSBs; wherein the channel quality parameter information comprises: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value, as taught by Islam, in the system of Vivo, so as to enable the UE to select an appropriate RACH occasion and preamble index from the set in order to convey a particular SSB index/CSI-RS to the network, see Islam, paragraphs 6-9.
Although Islam disclose wherein the target SSB satisfies the following condition: the RSRP value of the target SSB meets a first RSRP threshold.
The combination of Vivo and Islam however does not explicitly disclose the RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold.
Xu however disclose wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold (see para. 0222, the terminal device first determine whether an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set. If an SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold exists in the configured SSB set, an SSB is selected from the SSB whose corresponding RSRP is greater than the first SSB-RSRP threshold, and the selected SSB is used as a target SSB, see also para. 0158, the first signal strength threshold corresponding to the SSB set is recorded as a first SSB-RSRP threshold).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the functionality of wherein a target SSB satisfies the following condition: a RSRP value of the target SSB is greater than or equal to a first RSRP threshold, as taught by Xu, in the system of Vivo and Islam, so as to reduce access latency, see Xu, paragraphs 11-17.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Islam (US Pub. No.:2021/0022058) – see para. 0028, 0060, “A SSB to RACH association pattern period 560 may include one or more association periods and may be determined so that a pattern between PRACH occasions and SSBs repeats at most every 160 msec. Interruption uncertainty may be defined as the minimum time period that guarantees the presence of a valid msgA-PRACH and msgA-PUSCH occasion in the new cell. This minimum time period may be equal to the SSB to RACH association pattern period 560. The SSB to RACH association pattern period 560 may allow the UE to find a valid PRACH resource and valid PUSCH resource for the target cell. The SSB to RACH association pattern period 560 may include multiple SSB to RACH association periods 530. A value of the SSB to RACH association pattern period 560 may be a fixed time period. For example, the value of the SSB to RACH association pattern period 560 may be defined by a standards document or regulation. In some implementations, the fixed time period may be 160 ms”.
VIVO: "Discussion on channel structure for 2-step RACH", 3GPP DRAFT; R1-1906124_DISCUSSION ON CHANNEL STRUCTURE FOR 2-STEP RACH, 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT (3GPP), (2019-05-13) – see (see paragraph [2.2.2] to paragraph [2.2.3], figure 2, paragraph [2.3.2] and paragraph [2.4.3]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR whose telephone number is (571)272-1335. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 7 am - 4 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ian Moore can be reached on 571-272-3085. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAKERAM JANGBAHADUR/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2469
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