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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 09/26/2025 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-15 and 17-20 are pending, and claims 3-4 and 16 are canceled.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 15 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 1 recite “applicable” and “inapplicable” in lines 12-13 of claim 1 (similarly for independent claims 15 and 20. Language that suggests or makes optional (i.e., “applicable” and “inapplicable”) but do not require step to be performed or do not limit the scope of the claim to a particular structure or do not limit the scope of a claim or claim limitation(s). Such clauses may render parts of the claim(s) optional (see MPEP 2105 and 2111.04). 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6-7, 9-15 and 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. US20210289438A1, (equivalent to WO2020032544A1, which is listed in applicant submitted IDS and listed as D1 in EPO search report), hereinafter Kim in view of Jeon et al. US 20200314917 A1, hereinafter Jeon.
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches A random access method performed by an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, comprising: (Kim: Summary, Fig. 15, Fig, 16 and para. [0310-0311 & 0300-0301 & 0171-0172 & 0029-0031] When the electrical structures and methods are implemented in software, a computer-readable recording medium having one or more programs (software modules) recorded thereon may be provided. Fig. 1 IAB node and para. [0033-0035])
performing, according to a random access resource type to which the backoff indicator is applicable, and/or, whether the backoff indicator is applicable to the IAB node,
(Kim: para. [0035 & 0050 & 0063-0064] separate system information for an IAB node is defined, and through this, configuration information of the IAB node may be provided. Also, a separate access control, a separate random access resource (corresponds to claim limitation “random access resource type whether the backoff indicator is applicable to the IAB node”), and a separate radio resource control (RRC) signaling for the IAB setup process. Para. [0122-0123] When the access is allowed, the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may attempt a random access to the selected adjacent IAB node 2 1 b-10 by using an IAB-dedicated random access preamble. A reason why the separate access category or access identity is defined is to discriminately consider the IAB setup from another access. This is because the IAB setup configures a backhaul network, and thus the priority thereof may be high)
the following in a case of receiving a backoff indicator during a random access process initiated through a first random access resource:
(Kim: para. [0124] In operation 1 b-55, the IAB node 2 1 b-10 that received the preamble may transmit, to the IAB node 1 1 b-05, a random access response (RAR). When the RAR is not received or the received RAR does not include an ID value of the transmitted preamble, the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value)
generating a time delay according to the backoff indicator, and initiating the random access process again after the time delay expires; or
(Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value),
wherein the first random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource,
(Kim: para. [0035 & 0050 & 0063-0064] separate system information for an IAB node is defined, and through this, configuration information of the IAB node may be provided. Also, a separate access control, a separate random access resource (which corresponds to claim limitation – “first/dedicated random access resource”), and a separate radio resource control (RRC) signaling for the IAB setup process)
wherein the random access resource type comprises the first random access resource and/or the second random access resource,
(Kim: para. [0035 & 0050 & 0063-0064] separate system information for an IAB node is defined, and through this, configuration information of the IAB node may be provided. Also, a separate access control, a separate random access resource (which corresponds to claim limitation – “first/dedicated random access resource”), and a separate radio resource control (RRC) signaling for the IAB setup process)
Kim does not explicitly teaches: ignoring the backoff indicator, and initiating the random access process again through a second random access resource,
wherein the first random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource, and wherein the second random access resource is a common random access resource;
and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource, and is inapplicable to the IAB dedicated random access resource.
However, Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of:
performing, according to a random access resource type to which the backoff indicator is applicable, and/or, whether the backoff indicator is applicable to the IAB node, ignoring the backoff indicator, and initiating the random access process again through a second random access resource, (Jeon: para. [0583] wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on an event type initiating the random access procedure (e.g., a beam failure recovery request, handover, etc.) and/or a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “second/common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “first/dedicated random access resource”))
wherein the first random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource, (Jeon: para. [0371 & 0378] A dedicated random access configuration message (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated) may comprise, for example, one or more RACH occasions for contention-free random access (e.g., occasions), and/or one or more PRACH mask index for random access resource selection (e.g., ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex)) and
the second random access resource is a common random access resource; (Jeon: para. [0361] one or more system information may comprise at least one information element (e.g., PDCCH-Config, PDCCH-ConfigSIB1, and/or PDCCH-ConfigCommon). The at least one information element may be used, for example, to configure a wireless device with one or more control parameters. The one or more control parameters may comprise one or more parameters of one or more control resource sets (e.g., CORESET). The one or more control parameters may comprise, for example, parameters of a first common CORESET#0 (e.g., controlResourceSetZero), and/or a second common CORESET (e.g., commonControlResourceSet). [0384-0386] FIG. 18B shows an example random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) Information Element (IE). The random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) IE may include parameters, which may indicate various properties. Para. [0376-0379] a common and/or a generic random access resource configuration (e.g., at least RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigGeneric), for example, based on a contention based (e.g., four-step and/or a two-step) RA procedure. Para. [0567] A base station may have the capability to determine whether to share RACH occasion(s) between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). A base station may have the capability to determine configured shared PRACH occasions and/or different PRACH occasions, for example, by sending RRC messages (and/or by sending DCI, e.g., dynamically). One or more RACH occasions may be shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). PRACH occasion(s) of a first type of RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure) may be separate from PRACH occasion(s) of a second type of RA procedure (e.g., a four-step RA procedure). A base station may configure one or more PRACH occasions shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., a two-step RA procedure and a four-step RA procedure) and/or preambles partitioned for the multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure)
and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource, and is inapplicable to the IAB dedicated random access resource.
(Jeon: para. [0583] wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on an event type initiating the random access procedure (e.g., a beam failure recovery request, handover, etc.) and/or a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “dedicated random access resource”))
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Jeon in the method of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for a failure of a random access procedure and/or an indication to fallback to a different random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure) may be indicated by the wireless device being able to receive the response based on the second identifier. Such procedures may reduce delay in determining a success or a failure of a random access procedure (Jeon: para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 2, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the initiating the random access process again after the time delay expires comprises: initiating the random access process again through the first random access resource or the second random access resource after the time delay expires (Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value).
Regarding claim 6, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the IAB node generates the time delay according to the backoff indicator, and initiates the random access process again after the time delay expires, (Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value)
Kim does not explicitly teaches: wherein the first random access resource is a common random access resource, and the second random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource; and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource, and is inapplicable to the IAB dedicated random access resource.
However, Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: wherein the first random access resource is a common random access resource, (Jeon: para. [0361] one or more system information may comprise at least one information element (e.g., PDCCH-Config, PDCCH-ConfigSIB1, and/or PDCCH-ConfigCommon). The at least one information element may be used, for example, to configure a wireless device with one or more control parameters. The one or more control parameters may comprise one or more parameters of one or more control resource sets (e.g., CORESET). The one or more control parameters may comprise, for example, parameters of a first common CORESET#0 (e.g., controlResourceSetZero), and/or a second common CORESET (e.g., commonControlResourceSet). [0384-0386] FIG. 18B shows an example random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) Information Element (IE). The random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) IE may include parameters, which may indicate various properties. Para. [0376-0379] a common and/or a generic random access resource configuration (e.g., at least RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigGeneric), for example, based on a contention based (e.g., four-step and/or a two-step) RA procedure. Para. [0567] A base station may have the capability to determine whether to share RACH occasion(s) between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). A base station may have the capability to determine configured shared PRACH occasions and/or different PRACH occasions, for example, by sending RRC messages (and/or by sending DCI, e.g., dynamically). One or more RACH occasions may be shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). PRACH occasion(s) of a first type of RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure) may be separate from PRACH occasion(s) of a second type of RA procedure (e.g., a four-step RA procedure). A base station may configure one or more PRACH occasions shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., a two-step RA procedure and a four-step RA procedure) and/or preambles partitioned for the multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure)
and the second random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource; (Jeon: para. [0371 & 0378] A dedicated random access configuration message (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated) may comprise, for example, one or more RACH occasions for contention-free random access (e.g., occasions), and/or one or more PRACH mask index for random access resource selection (e.g., ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Para. [0567])
and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource, and is inapplicable to the IAB dedicated random access resource (Jeon: para. [0583] wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on an event type initiating the random access procedure (e.g., a beam failure recovery request, handover, etc.) and/or a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “dedicated random access resource”)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Jeon in the method of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for a failure of a random access procedure and/or an indication to fallback to a different random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure) may be indicated by the wireless device being able to receive the response based on the second identifier. Such procedures may reduce delay in determining a success or a failure of a random access procedure (Jeon: para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 7, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the IAB node generates the time delay according to the backoff indicator, and initiates the random access process again after the time delay expires, (Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value)
Kim does not explicitly teaches: wherein the first random access resource is a common random access resource, and the second random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource, or, the first random access resource is the IAB dedicated random access resource, and the second random access resource is the common random access resource; and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource and the IAB dedicated random access resource.
However, Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: wherein the first random access resource is a common random access resource, (Jeon: para. [0361] one or more system information may comprise at least one information element (e.g., PDCCH-Config, PDCCH-ConfigSIB1, and/or PDCCH-ConfigCommon). The at least one information element may be used, for example, to configure a wireless device with one or more control parameters. The one or more control parameters may comprise one or more parameters of one or more control resource sets (e.g., CORESET). The one or more control parameters may comprise, for example, parameters of a first common CORESET#0 (e.g., controlResourceSetZero), and/or a second common CORESET (e.g., commonControlResourceSet). [0384-0386] FIG. 18B shows an example random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) Information Element (IE). The random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) IE may include parameters, which may indicate various properties. Para. [0376-0379] a common and/or a generic random access resource configuration (e.g., at least RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigGeneric), for example, based on a contention based (e.g., four-step and/or a two-step) RA procedure. Para. [0567] A base station may have the capability to determine whether to share RACH occasion(s) between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). A base station may have the capability to determine configured shared PRACH occasions and/or different PRACH occasions, for example, by sending RRC messages (and/or by sending DCI, e.g., dynamically). One or more RACH occasions may be shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). PRACH occasion(s) of a first type of RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure) may be separate from PRACH occasion(s) of a second type of RA procedure (e.g., a four-step RA procedure). A base station may configure one or more PRACH occasions shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., a two-step RA procedure and a four-step RA procedure) and/or preambles partitioned for the multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure)
and the second random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource, or, the first random access resource is the IAB dedicated random access resource, and (Jeon: para. [0371 & 0378] A dedicated random access configuration message (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated) may comprise, for example, one or more RACH occasions for contention-free random access (e.g., occasions), and/or one or more PRACH mask index for random access resource selection (e.g., ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Para. [0567])
the second random access resource is the common random access resource; (Jeon: para. [0361] one or more system information may comprise at least one information element (e.g., PDCCH-Config, PDCCH-ConfigSIB1, and/or PDCCH-ConfigCommon). The at least one information element may be used, for example, to configure a wireless device with one or more control parameters. The one or more control parameters may comprise one or more parameters of one or more control resource sets (e.g., CORESET). The one or more control parameters may comprise, for example, parameters of a first common CORESET#0 (e.g., controlResourceSetZero), and/or a second common CORESET (e.g., commonControlResourceSet). [0384-0386] FIG. 18B shows an example random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) Information Element (IE). The random access common configuration (e.g., RACH-ConfigCommon) IE may include parameters, which may indicate various properties. Para. [0376-0379] a common and/or a generic random access resource configuration (e.g., at least RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigGeneric), for example, based on a contention based (e.g., four-step and/or a two-step) RA procedure. Para. [0567] A base station may have the capability to determine whether to share RACH occasion(s) between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). A base station may have the capability to determine configured shared PRACH occasions and/or different PRACH occasions, for example, by sending RRC messages (and/or by sending DCI, e.g., dynamically). One or more RACH occasions may be shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). PRACH occasion(s) of a first type of RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure) may be separate from PRACH occasion(s) of a second type of RA procedure (e.g., a four-step RA procedure). A base station may configure one or more PRACH occasions shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., a two-step RA procedure and a four-step RA procedure) and/or preambles partitioned for the multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure)
and the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource and the IAB dedicated random access resource (Jeon: para. [0371 & 0378] A dedicated random access configuration message (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated) may comprise, for example, one or more RACH occasions for contention-free random access (e.g., occasions), and/or one or more PRACH mask index for random access resource selection (e.g., ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Para. [0440] A field (e.g., a T field) may be a flag indicating whether the MAC subheader contains a RAPID or a BI (e.g., one or more backoff values may predefined and BI may indicate one of backoff value). para. [0583] wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on an event type initiating the random access procedure (e.g., a beam failure recovery request, handover, etc.) and/or a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “dedicated random access resource”)). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Jeon in the method of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for a failure of a random access procedure and/or an indication to fallback to a different random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure) may be indicated by the wireless device being able to receive the response based on the second identifier. Such procedures may reduce delay in determining a success or a failure of a random access procedure (Jeon: para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 9, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, Kim does not explicitly teaches: wherein the method further comprises: receiving indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating at least one of the following: the random access resource type to which the backoff indicator is applicable, or whether the backoff indicator is applicable to the IAB node,
wherein the random access resource type comprises the first random access resource and/or the second random access resource.
However, Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: wherein the method further comprises: receiving indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating at least one of the following: the random access resource type to which the backoff indicator is applicable, or whether the backoff indicator is applicable to the IAB node, (Jeon: para. [0371 & 0378] A dedicated random access configuration message (e.g., RACH-ConfigDedicated) may comprise, for example, one or more RACH occasions for contention-free random access (e.g., occasions), and/or one or more PRACH mask index for random access resource selection (e.g., ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Para. [0440] A field (e.g., a T field) may be a flag indicating whether the MAC subheader contains a RAPID or a BI (e.g., one or more backoff values may predefined and BI may indicate one of backoff value). para. [0583] wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on an event type initiating the random access procedure (e.g., a beam failure recovery request, handover, etc.) and/or a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “dedicated random access resource”)) wherein the random access resource type comprises the first random access resource and/or the second random access resource. (Jeon: para. Para. [0567] A base station may have the capability to determine whether to share RACH occasion(s) between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). A base station may have the capability to determine configured shared PRACH occasions and/or different PRACH occasions, for example, by sending RRC messages (and/or by sending DCI, e.g., dynamically). One or more RACH occasions may be shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., two-step RA procedure and four-step RA procedure). PRACH occasion(s) of a first type of RA procedure (e.g., a two-step RA procedure) may be separate from PRACH occasion(s) of a second type of RA procedure (e.g., a four-step RA procedure). A base station may configure one or more PRACH occasions shared between multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., a two-step RA procedure and a four-step RA procedure) and/or preambles partitioned for the multiple types of RA procedures (e.g., the two-step RA procedure and the four-step RA procedure) Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Jeon in the method of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for a failure of a random access procedure and/or an indication to fallback to a different random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure) may be indicated by the wireless device being able to receive the response based on the second identifier. Such procedures may reduce delay in determining a success or a failure of a random access procedure (Jeon: para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 10, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 9, wherein the receiving indication information comprises: receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message of a broadcasting type. (Kim: para. [0132] In operation 1 b-85, when one IAB node configuring the wireless backhaul determines that the routing reconfiguration/release is required according to the predetermined reason, the IAB node may notify the same to the IAB donor 1 b-20 via a predetermined RRC message and may notify the same to adjacent IAB nodes associated with the IAB node configuring the wireless backhaul via the predetermined RRC message or system information)
Regarding claim 11, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the generating a time delay according to the backoff indicator comprises: multiplying a time generated by the backoff indicator by a scaling-factor, to obtain the time delay, wherein the scaling-factor is a positive number less than or equal to 1. (Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value).
Regarding claim 12, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 11, wherein before the generating a time delay according to the backoff indicator, the method further comprises: receiving an RRC message, wherein the RRC message is used for configuring the scaling-factor for the IAB node. (Kim: para. [0124] the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value. para. [0132] In operation 1 b-85, when one IAB node configuring the wireless backhaul determines that the routing reconfiguration/release is required according to the predetermined reason, the IAB node may notify the same to the IAB donor 1 b-20 via a predetermined RRC message and may notify the same to adjacent IAB nodes associated with the IAB node configuring the wireless backhaul via the predetermined RRC message or system information)
Regarding claim 13, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the receiving a backoff indicator comprises: receiving a random access response (RAR) message, (Kim: para. [0124] In operation 1 b-55, the IAB node 2 1 b-10 that received the preamble may transmit, to the IAB node 1 1 b-05, a random access response (RAR). When the RAR is not received or the received RAR does not include an ID value of the transmitted preamble, the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value)
Kim does not explicitly teaches: wherein the RAR message comprises a T1 indication field and a T2 indication field, a value of the T1 indication field is 0, and a value of the T2 indication field is 0; or, the RAR message comprises a T indication field, and a value of the T indication field is 0.
Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: the RAR message comprises a T indication field, and a value of the T indication field is 0 (Jeon: para. [0440] A field (e.g., a T field) may be a flag indicating whether the MAC subheader contains a RAPID or a BI (e.g., one or more backoff values may predefined and BI may indicate one of backoff value). The T field may be set to “0” to indicate the presence of a field (e.g., a BI field) in the subheader. The T field may be set to “1” to indicate the presence of a RAPID field in the subheader). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teaching of Jeon in the method of Kim. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for a failure of a random access procedure and/or an indication to fallback to a different random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure) may be indicated by the wireless device being able to receive the response based on the second identifier. Such procedures may reduce delay in determining a success or a failure of a random access procedure (Jeon: para. [0004]).
Regarding claim 14, Kim and Jeon teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the first random access resource corresponds to the backoff indicator. (Kim: para. [0123-0125] In operation 1 b-55, the IAB node 2 1 b-10 that received the preamble may transmit, to the IAB node 1 1 b-05, a random access response (RAR). When the RAR is not received or the received RAR does not include an ID value of the transmitted preamble, the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may delay retransmission of a preamble for a specific time. The specific time may be derived via a backoff value stored in a medium access control (MAC) PDU. For example, the backoff value may be a value between 0 and 1, and the specific value may be a random value between 0 and the backoff value. In case of a random access for IAB setup, the specific time may be derived by multiplying a scaling value provided via the system information by the stored backoff value. Para. [0123] in operation 1 b-50, the IAB node 1 1 b-05 may perform random access by using the separate random access preamble for IAB and a random access frequency/time resource)
Regarding claims 15 and 17-19, Kim teaches a network-side device, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing a program or instructions that are runnable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when being executed by the processor, cause the network-side device to perform the following steps: (Kim: Summary, Fig. 15, Fig, 16 and para. [0310-0311 & 0300-0301 & 0171-0172 & 0029-0031] When the electrical structures and methods are implemented in software, a computer-readable recording medium having one or more programs (software modules) recorded thereon may be provided. Fig. 1 IAB node and para. [0033]-0035) and Kim teaches all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claims 1, 9, 11 and 13, and therefore apparatus claims 15 and 17-19 are rejected using the same rationales.
Regarding claim 20, Kim teaches a non-transitory readable storage medium, storing a program or instructions, wherein the program or instructions, when being executed by a processor, perform the following steps: (Kim: Summary, Fig. 15, Fig, 16 and para. [0310-0311 & 0300-0301 & 0171-0172 & 0029-0031] When the electrical structures and methods are implemented in software, a computer-readable recording medium having one or more programs (software modules) recorded thereon may be provided. Fig. 1 IAB node and para. [0033]-0035) and Kim teaches all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claim 1, and therefore method claim 20 is rejected using the same rationales.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. With regard to applicant’s remark on independent claims 1, 15 and 20 (pages 7-8), applicant submits:
Jeon fails to disclose that: when the random access procedure is CBRA (or CFRA), whether the retransmission of at least one preamble still uses the random access resource in the CBRA (or CFRA) procedure.
In contrast, in the present application, the backoff indicator is applicable to the common random access resource rather an IAB dedicated random access resource. If the access resource selected by IAB-MT is an IAB dedicated random access resource, that is, the first random access resource is an IAB dedicated random access resource and the second random access resource is a common random access resource, IAB-MT ignores the above backoff indicator and does not wait for any time. IAB-MT initiates the random access process again using the general random access resource, rather than using the IAB dedicated random access resource again. In other words, the first random access process uses the first random access resource, and the second random access process uses the second random access resource. (page 8)
However, Jeon in the cited paragraph [0583] teaches that wireless device may ignore the preamble backoff (e.g., PREAMBLE_BACKOFF, a value in BI field in FIG. 20B, etc.) and/or may not have a backoff time. The wireless device may determine whether to apply the backoff time to a retransmission of at least one preamble, for example, based on a type of the random access procedure (e.g., four-step or two-step RA and/or contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “second/common random access resource”) or contention-free RA (CFRA, corresponds to claim limitation “first/dedicated random access resource”). In other words, Jeon teaches the backoff can be ignored based on the type of random access such as contention-based RA (CBRA, corresponds to claim limitation “second/common random access resource”). Therefore, Jeon teaches the claim limitation “ignoring the backoff indicator, and initiating the random access process again through a second random access resource, …, the second random access resource is a common random access resource;”, and thus rejection is maintained.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please also see PTO-892.
Rico Alvarino et al. US 20210410199 A1 in para. [0143] teaches UE 115 selects a resource from resources 305, the UE 115 may perform a backoff based on the backoff indicator in the same manner as for the baseline RACH resources 305 and if the UE 115 selects a resource from resources 310, the UE 115 may ignore the backoff indicator and retransmit the random access request without waiting.
He US 11071147 B2 teaches CBRA procedure, when the BS request backoff, the UE starts a backoff timer (e.g., according to the determined backoff duration) and does not send any preamble before expiry of the backoff period. However, if the UE has contention free resources configured, it may desirable for the UE to still be able transmit a CFRA preamble.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WUTCHUNG CHU whose telephone number is (571)272-4064. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Moo R Jeong can be reached at (571) 272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/WUTCHUNG CHU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2418