DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 and 103
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
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1-6, 9-11, 12-16, and 19-20, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou et al. (US 2021/0029738 A1) in view of Sun et al. (US 2020/0245367 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Zhou discloses:
a user equipment (UE) (fig.1 depicts a user equipment in element 115), comprising:
a processor (fig.9 depicts a User Equipment with a processor in element 940); and
a memory (fig.9 depicts a User Equipment with a processor in element 930) for storing a computer program capable of running on the processor (fig.9 element 935 depicts a memory with code stored thereon, and is configured to be executed on the processor in element 1035); and,
wherein the processor is configured to:
determine a first random access occasion (RO) set (par.[0005] describes an UE selecting an RO from a set of RO’s, thus the UE selects an RO set in which to select an RO from the set of RO’s); and
determine an association relationship between the first RO set and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) (par.[0011] describes the association of the selected set of ROs with SSB, see “the set of SSBs indicate a mapping of the set of SSBs to the subset of allowed random access occasions”),
wherein the first RO set belongs to a second RO set determined according to RO configuration information (par.[0005] which describes the selected set of ROs (e.g. the select subset of ROs) which is a subset of a set of ROs, the set of ROs being the second set of ROs ), the first RO set is located within a bandwidth supported by the UE (implicit as the UE is configured to select an RO in a subset of a set of RO’s, the RO’s would have to be in a bandwidth supported by the UE in order to be used by the UE), and the SSB is associated with a random access resource of the UE (par.[0011] describes the PRACH resources in the RO being mapped to the SSB)
While the disclosure of Zhou discloses a first RO set belonging to a second RO set, it may not disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set;
when the first RO set comprises all the ROs within the second RO set, determine an association relationship between the second RO set and the SSB as the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB; and
when the first RO set does not comprise all the ROs within the second RO set, associate all ROs in the first RO set with the SSB.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Sun teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set;
when the first RO set comprises all the ROs within the second RO set, determine an association relationship between the second RO set and the SSB as the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB; and
when the first RO set does not comprise all the ROs within the second RO set, associate all ROs in the first RO set with the SSB (par.[0133] which describes the first subset of ROs and a second subset of ROs wherein the first subset of ROs and the second subset of ROs correspond, respectively with individual SSB. Using this logic, a subset of the first subset of ROs would correspond to a first SSB. For example, if a set of ROs’ comprise five ROs which are a subset of another set of RO’s which correspond to the first SSB, then naturally, since the RO subset is a subset of the set of ROs corresponding with a first SSB, the subset would also correspond with the SSB. Par.[0149] describes different subsets being signaled which correspond with different SSB, a UE may be configured with a subset which is a subset of the subset, and would also correspond with the SSB corresponding with the subset).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the disclosures Zhou with the disclosure of Sun. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a means for associating RACH resources with a downlink reference signal.
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Zhou discloses:
wherein the first RO set is determined by the UE according to the bandwidth supported by the UE and the second RO set (par.[0005] describes the UE selecting an RO from a subset of RO’s. The subset of RO’s being a set of RO’s belonging to the second set of RO’s, as the subset of RO’s are a subset of the set of RO’s. The ROs being configured for use in a system bandwidth as discussed in par.[0097], “For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of predetermined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating over portions or all of the carrier bandwidth.”. Thus, the RO set which the first RO would be selected would be based on the set of ROs which are configured by the network along with the configured carrier bandwidth the UE is configured to operate on).
Regarding claim 3, Zhou discloses:
wherein the RO set comprises part of or all RO’s of the second RO set in a frequency domain (par.[0005] describes selecting from a subset of RO’s, wherein the subset of RO’s are a part of another set of RO’s).
Regarding claim 4, Zhou discloses:
determining, by the UE, at least one of:
whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set, whether the bandwidth supported by the UE is greater than or equal to an initial uplink Bandwidth Part (BWP), or whether the first RO set is associated with the SSB (par.[0113] describes the UE receiving control information that maps SSB to an RO set wherein the UE may select an RO from the RO set which corresponds to the SSB transmitted on a particular beam, such that, the UE may transmit a PRACH on the uplink associated with the beam and SSB).
Regarding claim 5, Zhou discloses:
in response to that the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set, or in response to that the bandwidth supported by the UE is greater than or equal to an initial uplink Bandwidth Part (BWP), or in response to that the first RO set has been associated with the SSB, determining, based on the second RO set, the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB (par.[0113] which recites, in part, “UE 115-a may receive one or more SSBs that indicate a RACH configuration (e.g., indicated by a PRACH configuration index). The RACH configuration may provide a preamble format and may map to a RACH occasion for random access procedures for the UE 115 to use to initiate a RACH procedure”, and par.[0139] which recites, in part, “At 505, base station 105-b may transmit to one or more UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-c) an indication of a RACH configuration and an indication of a mask associated with the RACH configuration, where the mask indicates a subset of allowed random access occasions from a set of random access occasions indicated by the RACH configuration.”. That is, the RACH configuration comprises a set of RACH Occasions and the further configuration information provides a mask indicating a subset of the set which are allowed for use).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Zhou discloses:
in response to that the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set, or in response to that the bandwidth supported by the UE is greater than or equal to an initial uplink Bandwidth Part (BWP), or in response to that the first RO set has been associated with the SSB, or in response to that the first RO set does not comprise all the ROs within the second RO set, or in response to that the bandwidth supported by the UE is less than the initial uplink BWP, or in response to that the first RO set cannot be associated with the SSB, determining, by the UE, the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB based on the first RO set (par.[0141] which recites, in part, “Base station 105-b may configure a mapping of a set of SSBs and the subset of allowed random access occasions. In other cases, base station 105-b may configure a mapping of a set of SSBs to the subset of allowed random access occasions” and “Base station 105-b may transmit, to the one or more UEs 115, the set of SSBs where one or more SSBs of the set of SSBs indicate the mapping, and where the random access message is received based on the mapping. UE 115-c may receive a set of SSBs, and may select an SSB from the set of SSBs based on the signal quality of the SSB. UE 115-c may also identify, based on the SSB, a mapping to random access resources corresponding to the allowed random access occasion.”).
Regarding claim 9, Lei discloses:
receiving, by the UE, third configuration information, wherein the third configuration information is configured to indicate that the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB is determined based on the first RO set, or the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB is determined based on the second RO set (par.[0141] which recites, in part, “Base station 105-b may configure a mapping of a set of SSBs and the subset of allowed random access occasions.”).
Regarding claim 10, Zhou discloses:
wherein the UE determines, according to an indication of the third configuration information, the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB based on the first RO set, or the UE determines, according to the indication of the third configuration information, the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB based on the second RO set (par.[0141] which recites, in part, “Base station 105-b may configure a mapping of a set of SSBs and the subset of allowed random access occasions. In other cases, base station 105-b may configure a mapping of a set of SSBs to the subset of allowed random access occasions”).
Regarding claim 11, Zhou discloses:
wherein the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB determined based on the first RO set is determined by first configuration information received by the UE (par.[0141] which recites, in part, “Base station 105-b may transmit, to the one or more UEs 115, the set of SSBs where one or more SSBs of the set of SSBs indicate the mapping, and where the random access message is received based on the mapping. UE 115-c may receive a set of SSBs, and may select an SSB from the set of SSBs based on the signal quality of the SSB. UE 115-c may also identify, based on the SSB, a mapping to random access resources corresponding to the allowed random access occasion.”).
Regarding claims 12 and 20, Zhou discloses:
a network device (fig.1 depicts a network device such as a base station), comprising a processor (fig.13 depicts a base station with a processor element 1340) and a memory (fig.13 element 1330) for storing a computer program (fig.13 element 1335) capable of running on the processor,
wherein the processor is configured to perform operations of a method for determining a random access resource, comprising:
wherein the processor is configured to:
determining, by the network device, a first random access occasion (RO) set (par.[0005] describes an UE selecting an RO from a set of RO’s, thus the UE selects an RO set in which to select an RO from the set of RO’s); and
determine, by the network device, an association relationship between the first RO set and a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) (par.[0011] describes the association of the selected set of ROs with SSB, see “the set of SSBs indicate a mapping of the set of SSBs to the subset of allowed random access occasions”),
wherein the first RO set belongs to a second RO set determined according to RO configuration information (par.[0005] which describes the selected set of ROs (e.g. the select subset of ROs) which is a subset of a set of ROs, the set of ROs being the second set of ROs ), the first RO set is located within a bandwidth supported by the UE (implicit as the UE is configured to select an RO in a subset of a set of RO’s, the RO’s would have to be in a bandwidth supported by the UE in order to be used by the UE), and the SSB is associated with a random access resource of the UE (par.[0011] describes the PRACH resources in the RO being mapped to the SSB).
While the disclosure of Zhou discloses a first RO set belonging to a second RO set, it may not disclose:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set;
when the first RO set comprises all the ROs within the second RO set, determine an association relationship between the second RO set and the SSB as the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB; and
when the first RO set does not comprise all the ROs within the second RO set, associate all ROs in the first RO set with the SSB.
In an analogous art, the disclosure of Sun teaches:
wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set;
when the first RO set comprises all the ROs within the second RO set, determine an association relationship between the second RO set and the SSB as the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB; and
when the first RO set does not comprise all the ROs within the second RO set, associate all ROs in the first RO set with the SSB (par.[0133] which describes the first subset of ROs and a second subset of ROs wherein the first subset of ROs and the second subset of ROs correspond, respectively with individual SSB. Using this logic, a subset of the first subset of ROs would correspond to a first SSB. For example, if a set of ROs’ comprise five ROs which are a subset of another set of RO’s which correspond to the first SSB, then naturally, since the RO subset is a subset of the set of ROs corresponding with a first SSB, the subset would also correspond with the SSB. Par.[0149] describes different subsets being signaled which correspond with different SSB, a UE may be configured with a subset which is a subset of the subset, and would also correspond with the SSB corresponding with the subset).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the disclosures Zhou with the disclosure of Sun. The motivation/suggestion would have been to provide a means for associating RACH resources with a downlink reference signal.
Regarding claim 14, Zhou discloses:
wherein the first RO set comprises part of or all ROs of the second RO set in a frequency domain (par.[0005] describes selecting from a subset of RO’s, wherein the subset of RO’s are a part of another set of RO’s), wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the network device, whether the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set (par.[0005] the allowed ROs are a subset of the set of ROs such that the determining that the subset does not comprise every RO in the set of ROs).
Regarding claim 15, Zhou discloses:
in response to that the first RO set comprises all ROs within the second RO set, or in response to that the bandwidth supported by the UE is greater than or equal to an initial uplink Bandwidth Part (BWP), or in response to that the first RO set has been associated with the SSB, determining, based on the second RO set, the association relationship between the first RO set and the SSB is determined based on the second RO set (par.[0113] which recites, in part, “UE 115-a may receive one or more SSBs that indicate a RACH configuration (e.g., indicated by a PRACH configuration index). The RACH configuration may provide a preamble format and may map to a RACH occasion for random access procedures for the UE 115 to use to initiate a RACH procedure”, and par.[0139] which recites, in part, “At 505, base station 105-b may transmit to one or more UEs 115 (e.g., UE 115-c) an indication of a RACH configuration and an indication of a mask associated with the RACH configuration, where the mask indicates a subset of allowed random access occasions from a set of random access occasions indicated by the RACH configuration.”. That is, the RACH configuration comprises a set of RACH Occasions and the further configuration information provides a mask indicating a subset of the set which are allowed for use).
Claim(s) 7-8 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou and Sun as applied to the independent claims above, in view of Xiong et al. (US 2020/0351853 A1).
Regarding claims 7 and 8, the disclosure of Zhou and Sun teaches receiving system information with at least first configuration information as discussed in the rejection of the independent claims above, but does not disclose:
determining, by the UE, a number of contention based preambles for the UE according to second configuration information from a network device.
However, receiving configuration information with first and second configuration information was well known prior to the effective filing date of the instant application. For example, the disclosure of Xiong teaches:
determining, by the UE, a number of contention based preambles for the UE according to second configuration information from a network device (par.[0277] describes the network sending to the UE a second configuration for contention-based RACH preambles, and a third for contention-free RACH preambles).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to combine the teachings of Zhou for RACH configuration with the disclosure of Xiong for configuring RACH resources for a preamble and other resources. The motivation/suggestion would have been to reduce signaling overhead by preconfiguring a UE with RACH resources such that the UE may participate in a RACH process faster without having to constantly request resources from the network, improving the user experience.
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Xiong discloses:
wherein the second configuration information is configured to configure the number of the contention based preambles for the UE (par.[0277] describes the network configuring the number of preamble for the UE in the information sent from the network).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lei et al. (US 2021/0028905 A1) “Code Block Group Based Multiplexing”
Wei et al. (US 2022/0330348 A1) “Association of Synchronization Signal Block to Random Access Occasions”
Zewail et al. (US 2022/0007420 A1) “Spreading Aspects of Random Access Channel Procedure”
Agiwal et al. (US 2022/0338102 A1) “Apparatus and Method of Identifying Downlink Transmission Beam in a Cellular Network”
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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JAMAAL HENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2411
/JAMAAL HENSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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