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 Amendment
The amendment filed November 3, 2025 has been accepted and entered. Accordingly, claims 45-46, 52-53, 58, 60-61, and 63-64 have been amended. New claims 65-72 have been added.
Claims 47-51, 57, 59, and 62 have been canceled.
Claims 45-46, 52-56, 58, 60-61, and 63-72 are pending in this application.
In view of the amendment filed November 3, 2025, the previous objection to claim 50 has been moot.
Claim Objections
Claim 66 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 66 should be amended to read, “The method of claim [[66]]65, wherein: the wireless device must be in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state in order….”
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 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 45-46, 52-56, 58, 61, 63-65, 67, 69, and 71 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (WO 2019/139527) and further in view of Cirik et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0053613).
Regarding Claim 45, Wang et al. teaches A method performed by a radio network node configured for use in a wireless communication network (Wang et al. teaches handling communication, e.g., transmitting random access responses (RAR) in a wireless communication network (page 1, lines 6-9)), the method comprising: receiving a message of a procedure for random access by a wireless device to a cell served by the radio network node (Wang et al. teaches that a UE is in a connected node with the radio network node (page 10, lines 23-25); UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR)(page 10, lines 26-30); radio network node receives the preamble (page 10, lines 30-31)); selecting, as a function of on which uplink bandwidth part of the cell the message was received, a format of a random access response to be transmitted as a response to the message (Wang et al. teaches that the UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR)(page 11, lines 25-29); the radio network node transmits a RAR comprising at least an UL grant and lacking a temporary identity that is used by a MAC entity during a random access procedure such as a T-C-RNTI (page 10, lines 31-33; Step 805, FIG. 8, page 11, lines 30-33); the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-4); the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11)), wherein said selecting comprises selecting the format from among different candidate formats that have different sizes and/or at least some different fields (Wang et al. teaches that the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33)), wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are associated with different random access response formats (Wang et al. teaches that UE transmits a preamble in the second beam, being different than the first beam, and that the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery since these are allocated for the BRF processes (page 11, lines 25-29); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33)[Examiner’s Note: the random access resource used for the preamble associated with a BFR results in RAR for a BFR that is different from the ordinary RAR]), wherein said selecting comprises selecting the format to be a first format if the message was received on an initial uplink bandwidth part and selecting the format to be a second format if the message was received on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part (Wang et al. teaches that radio network node configures the UE by transmitting configuration data indicating the configuration of the RAR, and that configuration data indicate whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (Step 801, FIG. 8, page 11, lines 6-11); that UE detects a beam failure of the first beam, and UE initiates a BFR by selecting a second beam to transmit the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery since these are allocated for the BRF processes (page 11, lines 25-29); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33); the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5)[Examiner’s Note: Wang et al. teaches that random access resource used for a preamble can be transmitted using a first beam or second beam. If the first beam is used indicating no BFR, then an ordinary RAR format is selected, whereas if the second beam is used, i.e., non-initial resource, then a RAR format for BFR is used]; ordinary RAR carries RAPID, timing advance command, the grant and the temporary C-RNTI (FIG. 6, page 6, lines 1-5)), wherein the second format is smaller in size than the first format and/or has fewer fields than the first format (Wang et al. teaches the random access response for a BFR triggered random access procedure transmits a MAC PDU comprising one or more MAC subPDUs and optionally padding (page 12, lines 7-10); formats of FIGS. 9A-9C have fewer fields than the ordinary RAR format of FIG. 6 (see FIGS. 6, 9A-9C)); and transmitting the random access response with the selected format (Wang et al. teaches that the network node identifies the random access procedure as a random access procedure for a BFR process and responds to UE with the RAR that carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as a T-C- RNTI (FIG. 8, step 805, page 11, lines 30-34)).
Although teaching that the random access resource used for the RA associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons, because Wang et al. does not explicitly teach random access resource is uplink bandwidth part of the cell, Wang et al. does not teach selecting, as a function of on which uplink bandwidth part of the cell the message was received, a format of a random access response to be transmitted as a response to the message; wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are associated with different random access response formats; wherein said selecting comprises selecting the format to be a first format if the message was received on an initial uplink bandwidth part and selecting the format to be a second format if the message was received on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part. Cirik et al. teaches such a limitation.
Cirik et al. is directed to beam failure recovery procedure un carrier aggregation. More specifically, Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A). Further, Cirik et al. teaches that the second uplink BWP is configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell, and that UE transmits an uplink signal via the second uplink BWP to indicate the beam failure of the second cell (para. [0463]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the random access resources is uplink BWP, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
Regarding Claim 46, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are further associated with different Radio Resource Control states and/or different random access triggering events (Wang et al. teaches the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5); Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are further associated with different random access trigger events, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
Regarding Claim 52, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, wherein the first format includes either a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TC-RNTI) field, or a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) field (Wang et al. teaches the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11)), and wherein the second format lacks both a TC-RNTI field and a C- RNTI field (Wang et al. teaches that the network node identifies the random access procedure as a random access procedure for a BFR process and responds to UE with the RAR that carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as a T-C- RNTI (FIG. 8, step 805, page 11, lines 30-34); FIG. 9A-9C show MAC RAR without both a TC-RNTI field and a C-RNTI field (FIGS. 9A-9C; Step 1004. FIG. 10))
Regarding Claim 53, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach wherein the first format includes a timing advance command (TAC) field and the second format lacks a TAC field (Wang et al. teaches the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11); improved MAC RAR has only the field of UL grant (FIGS. 9A, 9C)).
Regarding Claim 54, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach wherein the selected format lacks both a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TC-RNTI) field and a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) field (Wang et al. teaches the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33; FIGS. 9A-9C)).
Regarding Claim 55, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach wherein the selected format lacks a timing advance command (TAC) field (Wang et al. teaches that the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant but lacks at least the temporary identity such as a T-C-RNTI (step 805, FIG. 8); different MAC RARs do not have TAC field (FIGS. 9A, 9C)).
Regarding Claim 56, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach further comprising: after transmitting the random access response, receiving a further message of the random access procedure (Wang et al. teaches the UE transmits a message 3, to the radio network node 12 in the second beam according to the UL grant in the RAR. This message is a first scheduled uplink transmission on the PUSCH and may make use of HARQ (page 14 of 49, lines 1-3; FIG. 8, Step 807)); and based on selecting the format of the random access response to be a format that lacks a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TC-RNTI) field, blindly decoding the further message using one or more Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (C-RNTIs) allocated to one or more wireless devices that have a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection established with the radio network node (Wang et al. teaches the UE receives a random access response, RAR, from the radio network node, wherein the RAR comprises an UL grant and is lacking a temporary identity that is used by a medium access control (MAC) entity during a random access procedure e.g. a T-C-RNTI i.e. the RAR is without a T-C-RNTI (page 8 of 49, lines 13-20); since UE was in connected mode, it is sufficient with the UL grant in the RAR for the UE to be able to use the second beam for transmission (page 10, line 33 to page 11, line 1); UE already has C-RNTI since it is in connected mode (page 13, lines 24-25); action 808. The transmission of the UE 10 may then successfully be decoded at the radio network node 12 (page 14 of 49, lines 4-5; FIG. 8)).
Regarding Claim 58, Wang et al. teaches A method performed by a wireless device configured for use in a wireless communication network (Wang et al. teaches handling communication, e.g., transmitting random access responses (RAR) in a wireless communication network (page 1, lines 6-9)), the method comprising: transmitting a message of a procedure for random access to a cell (Wang et al. teaches that a UE is in a connected node with the radio network node (page 10, lines 23-25); UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR)(page 10, lines 26-30); radio network node receives the preamble (page 10, lines 30-31)), wherein the message is transmitted on an uplink bandwidth part selected based on a Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the wireless device (Wang et al. teaches that a UE is in a connected mode, i.e., the UE is radio resource control (RRC) connected with the radio network node (page 10, lines 23-25); UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a BFR (page 10, lines 26-30)), and receiving a random access response as a response to the message (Wang et al. teaches the radio network node transmits a RAR comprising at least an UL grant and lacking a temporary identity that is used by a MAC entity during a random access procedure such as a T-C-RNTI (page 10, lines 31-33; Step 805, FIG. 8, page 11, lines 30-33)), wherein the random access response has one of different possible formats that have different sizes and/or at least different fields (Wang et al. teaches that the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33)), wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are associated with different random access response formats (Wang et al. teaches that UE transmits a preamble in the second beam, being different than the first beam, and that the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery since these are allocated for the BRF processes (page 11, lines 25-29); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33)[Examiner’s Note: the random access resource used for the preamble associated with a BFR results in RAR for a BFR that is different from the ordinary RAR]), wherein the random access response has a first format if the message was received on an initial uplink bandwidth part and has a second format if the message was received on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part (Wang et al. teaches that radio network node configures the UE by transmitting configuration data indicating the configuration of the RAR, and that configuration data indicate whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (Step 801, FIG. 8, page 11, lines 6-11); that UE detects a beam failure of the first beam, and UE initiates a BFR by selecting a second beam to transmit the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery since these are allocated for the BRF processes (page 11, lines 25-29); the RAR for a BFR process carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as T-C-RNTI (page 11, lines 30-33); the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5)[Examiner’s Note: Wang et al. teaches that random access resource used for a preamble can be transmitted using a first beam or second beam. If the first beam is used indicating no BFR, then an ordinary RAR format is selected, whereas if the second beam is used, i.e., non-initial resource, then a RAR format for BFR is used]; ordinary RAR carries RAPID, timing advance command, the grant and the temporary C-RNTI (FIG. 6, page 6, lines 1-5)), wherein the second format is smaller in size than the first format and/or has fewer fields than the first format (Wang et al. teaches the random access response for a BFR triggered random access procedure transmits a MAC PDU comprising one or more MAC subPDUs and optionally padding (page 12, lines 7-10); formats of FIGS. 9A-9C have fewer fields than the ordinary RAR format of FIG. 6 (see FIGS. 6, 9A-9C)).
Although teaching that the random access resource used for the RA associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons, because Wang et al. does not explicitly teach random access resource is uplink bandwidth part of the cell, Wang et al. does not teach wherein the message is transmitted on an uplink bandwidth part selected based on a Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the wireless device, wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are associated with different random access response formats; wherein the random access response has a first format if the message was received on an initial uplink bandwidth part and has a second format if the message was received on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part. Cirik et al. teaches such a limitation.
Cirik et al. is directed to beam failure recovery procedure un carrier aggregation. More specifically, Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A). Further, Cirik et al. teaches that the second uplink BWP is configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell, and that UE transmits an uplink signal via the second uplink BWP to indicate the beam failure of the second cell (para. [0463]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the random access resources is uplink BWP, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
Regarding Claim 61, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 58, and further, the references teach wherein different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are further associated with different Radio Resource Control states, and/or different random access triggering events (Wang et al. teaches the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5); Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the different types of uplink bandwidth parts of the cell are further associated with different random access trigger events, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
Regarding Claims 63 and 64, Claims 63 and 64 are directed to apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claims 45 and 58. Therefore, claims 63 and 64 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claims 45 and 58.
Regarding Claim 65, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 45, and further, the references teach wherein a total cell bandwidth of the cell includes multiple uplink bandwidth parts that are each dedicated for uplink communication and that are each included within a frequency span of the same carrier (Cirik et al. teaches that a subset of a total cell bandwidth of a cell is referred to as a bandwidth part (BWP), and that a base station configures a UE with one or more BWPs to achieve a bandwidth adaptation (BA)(para. [0257][0259]); BWPs are configured on a carrier (para. [0271]; FIG. 10)), wherein the initial uplink bandwidth part is an uplink bandwidth part included in the multiple uplink bandwidth parts that a wireless device is to use during initial access to the cell until the wireless device is configured with a non- initial uplink bandwidth part (Wang et al. teaches that UE transmits a preamble in the second beam, being different than the first beam, and that the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery since these are allocated for the BRF processes (page 11, lines 25-29); Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A)[Examiner’s Note: UE is configured with active uplink BWP, but in BFR, UE switches to a second UL BWP, a non-initial UL BWP]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the initial uplink bandwidth part is an uplink bandwidth part included in the multiple uplink bandwidth parts that a wireless device is to use during initial access to the cell until the wireless device is configured with a non-initial uplink bandwidth part, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
Regarding Claims 67, 69, and 71, Claims 67, 69, and 71 are directed to method and apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 65. Therefore, claims 67, 69, and 71 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 65.
Claim 60 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (WO 2019/139527), Cirik et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0053613), and further in view of Agiwal et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0100297).
Regarding Claim 60, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 58, and further the references disclose further comprising selecting the non-initial uplink bandwidth part as the uplink bandwidth part on which to transmit the message if the wireless device is in an RRC Connected state (Wang et al. teaches that a UE is in a connected node with the radio network node (page 10, lines 23-25); UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR)(page 10, lines 26-30); the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5); Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A)).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. so that the selecting the non-initial uplink bandwidth part as the uplink bandwidth part on which to transmit the message if the wireless device is in an RRC connected state, as taught by Cirik et al. The modification would have allowed the system to reduce the latency/delay of the beam failure recovery procedure (see Cirik et al., para. [0461]).
However, the references do not explicitly teach and selecting the initial uplink bandwidth part as the uplink bandwidth part on which to transmit the message if the wireless device is not in an RRC Connected state. Agiwal et al. teaches such a limitation.
Agiwal et al. is directed to method and apparatus for supporting multiple message a sizes and uplink coverage for two step random access procedure. More specifically, Agiwal et al. teaches that in RRC IDLE/INACTIVE state, UE performs RA procedure over initial DL BWP and initial UL BWP of camped cell (para. [0129]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. so that an UL bandwidth is selected based on the RRC state, as taught by Agiwal et al. The modification would have allowed reduced retransmission since uncertainty whether the preamble is for 2 step or 4 step RA is avoided (see Agiwal et al., para. [0024]).
Claims 66, 68, 70, and 72 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (WO 2019/139527), Cirik et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0053613), and further in view of Kim et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0120096).
Regarding Claim 66, the combined teachings of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. teach The method of claim 66, and further, the references teach wherein: the wireless device must be in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state in order to perform random access on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part (Wang et al. teaches that a UE is in a connected node with the radio network node (page 10, lines 23-25); UE transmits a preamble of a random access procedure in a second beam, wherein the preamble or a random access resource used for the preamble is associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR)(page 10, lines 26-30); the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5); Cirik et al. teaches that when the active uplink BWP of the first cell is not configured with beam failure recovery resources of the second cell and when the beam failure is detected for the second cell, the wireless device switches to a second uplink BWP of the first cell (para. [0463]; FIG. 21A)); the second format is specific for a scenario where the wireless device is in an RRC connected state and lacks both a TC-RNTI field and a C-RNTI field (Wang et al. teaches that the network node identifies the random access procedure as a random access procedure for a BFR process and responds to UE with the RAR that carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as a T-C- RNTI (FIG. 8, step 805, page 11, lines 30-34)), based on receiving the message on the initial uplink bandwidth part, selecting the format to be the first format specific to the RRC idle state (Wang et al. teaches that the random access resources used for the RA procedure associated with the BFR process is different than random access resources used for a random access procedure related to other reasons (page 7, lines 1-5); the configuration data indicates whether to use an ordinary RAR format, which carries fields such as timing advance command, UL grant and temporary C-RNTI, or a different RAR format for a random access procedure associated with a BFR (page 11, lines 6-11)) or based on receiving the message on a non-initial uplink bandwidth part, selecting the format to be the second format specific to the RRC connected state (Wang et al. teaches that the network node identifies the random access procedure as a random access procedure for a BFR process and responds to UE with the RAR that carries the UL grant and/or timing advance command but lacks at least the temporary identity such as a T-C- RNTI (FIG. 8, step 805, page 11, lines 30-34); since UE is in connected mode it is sufficient with the UL grant in the RAR for the UE to be able to use the second beam for the transmission (page 10, line 33- page 11, line 1)).
However, the references do not explicitly teach the first format is specific for a scenario where the wireless device is in an RRC idle state and includes either a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TC-RNTI) field or a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) field; and said selecting comprises: based on receiving the message on the initial uplink bandwidth part, selecting the format to be the first format specific to the RRC idle state. Kim et al. teaches such limitations.
Kim et al. is directed to radio resource control messaging. More specifically, Kim et al. teaches the first format is specific for a scenario where the wireless device is in an RRC idle state and includes either a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (TC-RNTI) field or a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) field (Kim et al. teaches that the UE in the RRC idle state receives random access response comprising temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI) value (para. [0360])); and said selecting comprises: based on receiving the message on the initial uplink bandwidth part, selecting the format to be the first format specific to the RRC idle state (Kim et al. teaches that the UE in the RRC idle state receives random access response comprising temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI) value (para. [0360])).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Wang et al. and Cirik et al. so that the first format is specific for a scenario where the wireless device is in an RRC idle state and includes either a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI) or a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), as taught by Kim et al. The modification would have allowed the system to resume communication with less signal overheads and low delay by keeping configuration parameters (see Kim et al., para. [0348]).
Regarding Claims 68, 70, and 72, Claims 68, 70, and 72 are directed to method and apparatus claims and they do not teach or further define over the limitations recited in claim 66. Therefore, claims 68, 70, and 72 are also rejected for similar reasons set forth in claim 66.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Svedman et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0409091), which is directed to beam failure recovery on a non-failed cell; and teaches that UL BWP has CFRA resources/preamble associated with a selected candidate RS (different UL BWPs in a cell is configured with sets of dedicated PRACH resources/preambles associated with different sets of candidate RS)(para. [0172]), indicating that different preamble uses different UL BWP. This is relevant in claim 1 where the different RAR format is selected based on a function of UL BWP.
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.
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