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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/1/25 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Awad, U.S. Publication No. 2019/0261428 in view of Li et al. (Li), U.S. Publication No. 2019/0200391.
Regarding Claims 1 and 17, Awad discloses an initial access method, applied
to a terminal and comprising:
receiving a configuration message sent by a network-side device (i.e., The base station 5 is configured to transmit a ‘SIB2’ in its cell for reception by the communication devices 3.; see paragraph [0058]), wherein the configuration message comprises a plurality of initial access resources (i.e., The SIB2 includes the appropriate parameters for the PRACH resource configuration currently in use in the cell of the base station 5.; see paragraph [0058]), and the plurality of initial access resources are configured for different categories of terminals by the network-side device (i.e., the PRACH is configured in the cell of the base station 5 in such a way that different categories of communication devices are allocated different PRACH resources and/or different PRACH preambles for use upon initiation of a random access procedure with the base station 5.; see paragraph [0061]);
selecting, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource corresponding to a category of the terminal (i.e., the mobile telephone 3-1 selects one of the appropriate PRACH preambles associated with legacy UEs and transmits the selected preamble to the base station 5 over the PRACH resource associated with legacy UEs. On the other hand, the MTC device 3-2 selects one of the appropriate PRACH preambles associated with reduced bandwidth UEs and transmits the selected preamble to the base station 5 over the PRACH resource associated with reduced bandwidth UEs.; see paragraph [0063]); and
performing an initial access operation based on the selected initial access resource (in other words, based on the received preamble and/or the used PRACH resource, the base station 5 is able to discern the mobile telephone 3-1 from the MTC device 3-2, and send a random access response (RAR) accordingly.; see paragraphs [0064] and [0065]);
wherein the terminal comprises a first-category terminal and a second-category terminal (in other words, each communication device 3 may fall into one or more of categories of UEs; see paragraph [0055]);
wherein in a case that a terminal selecting the initial access resource is a first-category terminal, the selecting, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource corresponding to a category of the terminal (for example, a first category of UEs include communication devices that support only an earlier release of the LTE standard (e.g. Rel-8, Rel-9, Rel-10, Rel-11, and/or Rel-12). Such group of communication devices are commonly referred to as legacy UEs… By listening to the SIB2 information (broadcast by the base station 5), both the mobile telephone 3-1 and the MTC device 3-2 are able to derive the applicable PRACH configuration for its category of UEs, and perform random access procedures accordingly. Thus, the mobile telephone 3-1 selects one of the appropriate PRACH preambles associated with legacy UEs and transmits the selected preamble to the base station 5 over the PRACH resource associated with legacy UEs; see paragraphs [0055] and [0063]) comprises:
selecting, based on an attribute of the first-category terminal (an attribute such as, the LTE standard that the UE supports as described in paragraph [0055]), a corresponding initial access resource from the plurality of initial access resources (i.e., the mobile telephone 3-1 selects one of the appropriate PRACH preambles associated with legacy UEs as described in paragraph [0063]).
Awad fails to disclose wherein the attribute of the first- category terminal comprises at least one of the following: an antenna quantity capability of less than 4, equal to 2, or equal to 1, a peak rate capability of less than 100 Mbps, a processing delay capability of less than a preset time, a supported carrier quantity capability of less than a preset value, or a transmit power capability of less than a preset value.
Li discloses wherein the attribute of the first- category terminal comprises at least one of the following: an antenna quantity capability of less than 4, equal to 2, or equal to 1, a peak rate capability of less than 100 Mbps, a processing delay capability of less than a preset time, a supported carrier quantity capability of less than a preset value (i.e., when the terminal preempts the unlicensed carrier on which the PRACH resource is configured, the terminal first determines whether a sum of current duration for receiving downlink data and PRACH transmission duration is less than or equal to a maximum channel occupied time. If yes, the terminal preempts, by using a preset channel access manner, the unlicensed carrier on which the PRACH resource is configured. The preset channel access manner may mean that a channel is accessed through category 2.; see paragraph [0140]), or a transmit power capability of less than a preset value.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Li’s invention with Awad’s invention for preventing access delay or failure as described throughout Li.
Regarding Claim 13, Awad discloses an initial access method, applied to a
network-side device and comprising:
configuring a plurality of initial access resources for different categories of terminals (see paragraphs [0058] and [0061]); and
sending a configuration message to the different categories of terminals, wherein the configuration message is used to indicate that the network-side device has configured a plurality of initial access resources for the different categories of terminals (see paragraph [0061];
wherein the terminal comprises a first-category terminal and a second-category terminal (see rejection for claim 1 above);
wherein in a case that a terminal selecting the initial access resource is a first-category terminal, selecting by the terminal, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource corresponding to a category of the terminal comprises (see rejection for claim 1 above):
selecting, based on an attribute of the first-category terminal, a corresponding initial access resource from the plurality of initial access resources (see rejection for claim 1 above).
Awad fails to disclose wherein the attribute of the first- category terminal comprises at least one of the following: an antenna quantity capability of less than 4, equal to 2, or equal to 1, a peak rate capability of less than 100 Mbps, a processing delay capability of less than a preset time, a supported carrier quantity capability of less than a preset value, or a transmit power capability of less than a preset value.
Li discloses wherein the attribute of the first- category terminal comprises at least one of the following: an antenna quantity capability of less than 4, equal to 2, or equal to 1, a peak rate capability of less than 100 Mbps, a processing delay capability of less than a preset time, a supported carrier quantity capability of less than a preset value (i.e., when the terminal preempts the unlicensed carrier on which the PRACH resource is configured, the terminal first determines whether a sum of current duration for receiving downlink data and PRACH transmission duration is less than or equal to a maximum channel occupied time. If yes, the terminal preempts, by using a preset channel access manner, the unlicensed carrier on which the PRACH resource is configured. The preset channel access manner may mean that a channel is accessed through category 2.; see paragraph [0140]), or a transmit power capability of less than a preset value.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to consider Li’s invention with Awad’s invention for preventing access delay or failure as described throughout Li.
Regarding Claims 2 and 18, Awad and Li disclose the method and terminal as
described above. Awad further discloses wherein the attribute of the first-category terminal further comprises at least one of the following: category of the first-category terminal, type of the first-category terminal (such as, legacy UE; see paragraph [0055]), application scenario of the first-category terminal, feature of the first-category terminal, feature set of the first-category terminal, or subscription information of the first-category terminal.
Regarding Claims 3 and 19, Awad and Li disclose the method and terminal as
described above. Awad further discloses wherein in a case that a terminal selecting the initial access resource is a first-category terminal, the selecting, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource corresponding to a category of the terminal further comprises at least one of the following: selecting, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource corresponding to the first-category terminal, wherein the initial access resource selected by the first-category terminal is different from an initial access resource selected by the second-category terminal (see paragraphs [0055] and [0063]); selecting, according to a correspondence between identifiers of the first-category terminals and initial access resources, a corresponding initial access resource from the plurality of initial access resources; selecting, based on a preset weight of the first-category terminal on a corresponding initial access resource, an initial access resource with a preset weight greater than a preset threshold from the plurality of initial access resources; selecting, from the plurality of initial access resources, an initial access resource whose preset weight is greater than the preset threshold and that satisfies the correspondence; or selecting, according to a correspondence between initial access resources and cell identifiers or public land mobile network PLMN identifiers of cells in which the first-category terminals are located, a corresponding initial access resource from the plurality of initial access resources.
Regarding Claim 4, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the configuration message further comprises a first indication message, the first indication message is used to indicate a correspondence between the initial access resources and terminal categories, and the selecting an initial access resource from the plurality of initial access resources comprises: selecting, according to the correspondence, an initial access resource corresponding to a category of the terminal (see paragraph [0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claim 5, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the configuration message further comprises a second indication message, and the second indication message is used to indicate an initial access resource of the first-category terminal (see paragraph [0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claim 6, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the configuration message further comprises a third indication message, and the third indication message is used to indicate an initial access operation to be performed by using an initial access resource of the first-category terminal (see paragraph [0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claim 7, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the initial access operation comprises at least one of the following: camping, receiving system information, monitoring a paging message, monitoring advance indication information, or random access (see paragraphs [0057] and [0058]).
Regarding Claim 8, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein in a case that a terminal selecting the initial access resource is a first-category terminal, the performing an initial access operation based on the selected initial access resource comprises: receiving system information and monitoring a paging message based on a selected first initial access resource, and performing random access based on a selected second initial access resource; wherein the first initial access resource is the same as are source used for receiving system information and monitoring a paging message by the second-category terminal, and the second initial access resource is different from a resource used for random access of the second-category terminal (see paragraph [0057]).
Regarding Claim 9, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein in a case that a terminal selecting the initial access resource is a first-category terminal, the performing an initial access operation based on the selected initial access resource comprises: receiving system information based on a selected third initial access resource, and performing random access and monitoring a paging message based on a selected fourth initial access resource; wherein the third initial access resource is the same as a resource used for receiving system information by the second-category terminal, and the fourth initial access resource is different from a resource used for random access and monitoring a paging message by the second-category terminal (see paragraph [0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claim 10, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the initial access resource comprises at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block SSB, a synchronization signal block based measurement timing configuration SMTC, a search space, a control resource set CORESET, an uplink bandwidth part BWP, a downlink bandwidth part BWP, or a reference signal RS (see paragraphs [0057]-[0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claim 11, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the configuration message is carried by at least one of the following: a physical broadcast channel PBCH, a master information block MIB, a first system information block SIB, extended system information, or a dedicated RRC message; wherein the first SIB is a SIB corresponding to the second-category terminal (see paragraphs [0057]-[0058] and Table 1).
Regarding Claims 12 and 15, Awad and Li disclose the method as described
above. Awad further discloses wherein the extended system information comprises at least one of the following: system information corresponding to the first-category terminal in a first SIB1, wherein the first SIB1 is a SIB in the first SIB, and the first SIB is the SIB corresponding to the second-category terminal; system information corresponding to the first-category terminal in a SIBx, wherein x is an integer greater than 1, the SIBx belongs to a second SIB, and the second SIB is a SIB corresponding to the first-category terminal (see paragraphs [0057]-[0058] and Table 1); or system information corresponding to the first-category terminal in a SIBy, wherein y is an integer greater than 1, the SIBy is a SIB in the first SIB, and the first SIB is the SIB corresponding to the second-category terminal.
Regarding Claim 14, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the configuration message is carried by at least one of the following: a physical broadcast channel PBCH, a master information block MIB, a first system information block SIB, extended system information, or a dedicated RRC message; wherein the first SIB is a SIB corresponding to the second-category terminal (see paragraphs [0057]-[0058] and Table 1); wherein the attribute of the first-category terminal further comprises at least one of the following: category of the first-category terminal, type of the first-category terminal (see paragraph [0055]), application scenario of the first-category terminal, feature of the first-category terminal, feature set of the first-category terminal, or subscription information of the first-category terminal.
Regarding Claim 16, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses wherein the system information corresponding to the first-category terminal in the first SIB1 is used to indicate any one of the following: system information supporting the first-category terminal; and system information allowing access or camping of the first-category terminal (see paragraphs [0057] and [0116]).
Regarding Claim 20, Awad and Li disclose the method as described above.
Awad further discloses a network-side device (i.e., base station 5; see figure 3), comprising a processor (i.e., controller 57; see figure 3), a memory (i.e., memory 59; see figure 3), and a program or instructions (see paragraph [0044]) stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor, wherein when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the initial access method according to claim 13 are implemented (see rejection for claim 13 above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHANTELL LAKETA HEIBER whose telephone number is (571)272-0886. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9am to 5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Anthony Addy, can be reached at telephone number (571)272-0886. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHANTELL L HEIBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645
February 10, 2026