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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 04/20/2026 have been fully considered, but they are moot in view of new ground of rejection presented in this office action, which better addresses the claims as amended.
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.
Claims 1-3, 15-17, 19-21 and 23-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIU et al. (US 20220369388 A1) in view of Rastegardoost et al. (US 20230060894 A1) and further in view of PARK (US 20230007702 A1) and further in view of XU et al. (US 20220104274 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
LIU discloses “A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication
system, the method comprising” (See [0003] a method for random access by a user
equipment is disclosed): “receiving, from a base station (BS), at least one configuration for
a random access” (See [0019] The UE 202 may obtain a plurality of random access channel
resource sets, the plurality of random access channel resource sets may be configured by
the WANN 204, and then the WANN 204 may transmit the plurality of random access
channel resource sets to the UE 202), “wherein each of the at least one configuration
associates a set of random access resources with a feature combination” (See [0035]
according to the feature information of the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of
the following classifications of user equipment: a full capability UE without enabling
coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced
capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced
capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or a reduced capability UE enabling coverage
enhancement and coverage recovery. [0036] The UE 202 may be configured with a RACH
resource set configuration option. The RACH resource set configuration option may include
mapping information between the random-access channel resource sets and classifications
of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H), “and wherein a feature in the feature combination
corresponds to any one of reduced capability, small data transmission, or msg3-repetition” (See [0035] according to the feature information of the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. See tables 2A-2H. [0044] to improve the transmission performance of Msg3, the UE 202 may repetitively transmit the Msg3 for multiple times. Note: LIU discloses the UE features include reduced capability and coverage enhancement, and also discloses the UE enabling Msg3 repetition, and a POSITA would have understood Msg3 repetition to be included among the coverage enhancement features available to the UE); “determining a set of random access resources from the at least one configuration, based on a feature combination of the UE” (See [0033] the UE 202 may select the first random access channel resource set from the plurality of random access channel resource sets based on a feature information of the UE 202); “and performing a random access procedure, based on the determined set of random access resources” (See [0040] after selecting the first random access channel resource set, the UE 202 may perform a random access to the wireless communication network 200 by transmitting a random access preamble, i.e., Msg1 on the first random access channel resource set to the WANN 204), “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a feature combination” (See [0036] The UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random-access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H).
LIU does not explicitly disclose that the set of random-access resources comprise a random-
access preamble and a random-access occasion.
However, Rastegardoost discloses “wherein the set of random-access resources comprises
at least one random access preamble and at least one random access channel (RACH)
occasion, associated with the feature combination” (See [0237] a network may pre-
configure multiple random-access resources (e.g. preamble formats, preamble groups,
random access channel occasions) associated with/mapped to multiple coverage
enhancement (CE) levels. [0239] To differentiate or identify wireless devices of a first type
(e.g., having a first CE level, or having a first capability such as reduced capability UEs or the
enhanced UEs that support Rel-17 coverage enhancement) during initial access, the
scheduler may configure separate random-access resources mapped to different UE types
(e.g., CE levels or capabilities), for example, separate time/frequency resources for
RACH occasions and/or preambles. [0257] The first RACH resource set may comprise the
first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion. [0262] The second RACH resource set may
comprise the first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion).
LIU discloses associating different UE feature combinations with different RACH resource
sets, and Rastegardoost discloses that a RACH resource set comprises at least one random
access preamble and at least one RACH occasion, and further teaches configuring different
RACH resource sets for different coverage enhancement levels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of Rastegardoost
by implementing the feature-based RACH mapping using well defined RACH resource set
configurations comprising preambles and RACH occasions, and the motivation to do so
would have been to provide differentiated, reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low latency communication based on the
category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, PARK discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the number of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random access procedure” (See [0214] An RO configuration parameter (a first RO configuration parameter) may indicate the number of ROs associated with a single SSB. The first RO configuration parameter may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0215] In addition, a new RO configuration parameter (a second RO configuration parameter) for an RC UE may be defined. The second RO configuration parameter for such RC UE may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0239] in order to configure ROs separately for the normal UE and the RC UE, a random access-related configuration table may be used. The random access-related configuration table may be a previously defined set of configuration parameters, e.g., the number of ROs in the time domain in a PRACH slot. Note: Different RO configurations (including number of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that RO configurations (including number of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the teachings of PARK, and the motivation to do so would have been to improve the ability to distinguish between different types/ capabilities of UEs, and secure the reliability of reception and coverage of Reduced Capability UEs (PARK [0118]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost and PARK does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a position of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, XU discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a position of the at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the position of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random access procedure” (See [0051] a network device configures different RACH resources for terminal devices with different positioning capabilities. [0073] The present invention is not limited to classification based on the positioning precision. For example, the terminal devices are classified based on an indicator. For example, terminal devices having different indicators correspond to different types, and different RACH resources are allocated to different types of terminal devices [0060] A set of RACH resources includes at least one of a time domain position of a RO, a frequency domain position of the RO. Note: Different RACH resources (including position of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that the RACH resources (including position of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU, Rastegardoost and PARK, with the teachings of XU, and the motivation to do so would have been to help avoid a problem that random access preamble receiving time windows overlap which increases a success rate of accessing the network device by the terminal device can without reducing a random access capacity of an entire system (XU [0024]).
Regarding claim 2,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The method of claim 1, wherein the performing comprises; identifying a RACH occasion and a random-access preamble from the determined set of random-access resources; and transmitting, to the BS, the random
access preamble on the RACH occasion” (See Rastegardoost [0229] The wireless device,
based on the RA resource selection, may transmit the preamble using the selected RACH
occasion. [0260] In response to determining the first CE level, the wireless device may select
random access resources (e.g. preamble/RO/PO) from the first RACH resource set
associated with the second SSB to initiate the random-access procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of
Rastegardoost, and the motivation to do so would have been to provide differentiated,
reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low
latency communication based on the category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
Regarding claim 3,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The method of claim 1, wherein, in case that more than one RACH occasion corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB), at least one RACH occasion of the more than one RACH occasion is allocated for a specific feature combination” (See PARK [0218] The UE may select one or more ROs to be used for repetitive transmission of a random-access preamble from among ROs associated with the selected single SSB).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the
teachings of PARK to implement the feature-based RACH resource differentiation by
allocating at least a RACH occasion corresponding to an SSB, thereby ensuring operable
beam-aligned random access.
Regarding claim 15,
LIU discloses “A method performed by a base station (BS) in a wireless communication
system” (See [0003] method related to wireless communication, for performing random
access in a wireless communication system), “the method comprising: transmitting, to a
user equipment (UE), at least one configuration for a random access” (See [0019] The UE 202 may obtain a plurality of random-access channel resource sets, the plurality of
random access channel resource sets may be configured by the WANN 204, and then the
WANN 204 may transmit the plurality of random-access channel resource sets to the
UE 202), “wherein each of the at least one configuration associates a set of random access
resources with a feature combination” (See [0035] according to the feature information of
the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user
equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE
enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage
enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or
a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. [0036] The
UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH
resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random
access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H),
“wherein a feature in the feature combination corresponds to any one of reduced capability, small data transmission, or msg3-repetition” (See [0035] according to the feature information of the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. See tables 2A-2H. [0044] to improve the transmission performance of Msg3, the UE 202 may repetitively transmit the Msg3 for multiple times. Note: LIU discloses the UE features include reduced capability and coverage enhancement, and also discloses the UE enabling Msg3 repetition, and a POSITA would have understood Msg3 repetition to be included among the coverage enhancement features available to the UE); “and wherein a set of random access resources is determined from the at least one configuration, by the UE, based on a feature combination of the UE” (See [0033] the UE 202 may select the first random access channel resource set from the plurality of random access channel resource sets based on a feature information of the UE 202); “and receiving at least one random access preamble for a random access procedure, from the UE, wherein the random access procedure is based on the determined set of random access resources” (See [0040] after selecting the first random access channel resource set, the UE 202 may perform a random access to the wireless communication network 200 by transmitting a random access preamble, i.e., Msg1 on the first random access channel resource set to the WANN 204), “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a feature combination” (See [0036] The UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random-access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H).
LIU does not explicitly disclose that the set of random-access resources comprise a random-
access preamble and a random-access occasion.
However, Rastegardoost discloses “wherein the set of random-access resources comprises
at least one random access preamble and at least one random access channel (RACH)
occasion, associated with the feature combination” (See [0237] a network may pre-
configure multiple random-access resources (e.g. preamble formats, preamble groups,
random access channel occasions) associated with/mapped to multiple coverage
enhancement (CE) levels. [0239] To differentiate or identify wireless devices of a first type
(e.g., having a first CE level, or having a first capability such as reduced capability UEs or the
enhanced UEs that support Rel-17 coverage enhancement) during initial access, the
scheduler may configure separate random-access resources mapped to different UE types
(e.g., CE levels or capabilities), for example, separate time/frequency resources for
RACH occasions and/or preambles. [0257] The first RACH resource set may comprise the
first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion. [0262] The second RACH resource set may
comprise the first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion).
LIU discloses associating different UE feature combinations with different RACH resource
sets, and Rastegardoost discloses that a RACH resource set comprises at least one random
access preamble and at least one RACH occasion, and further teaches configuring different
RACH resource sets for different coverage enhancement levels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of Rastegardoost
by implementing the feature-based RACH mapping using well defined RACH resource set
configurations comprising preambles and RACH occasions, and the motivation to do so
would have been to provide differentiated, reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low latency communication based on the
category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, PARK discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the number of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random-access procedure” (See [0214] An RO configuration parameter (a first RO configuration parameter) may indicate the number of ROs associated with a single SSB. The first RO configuration parameter may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0215] In addition, a new RO configuration parameter (a second RO configuration parameter) for an RC UE may be defined. The second RO configuration parameter for such RC UE may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0239] in order to configure ROs separately for the normal UE and the RC UE, a random access-related configuration table may be used. The random access-related configuration table may be a previously defined set of configuration parameters, e.g., the number of ROs in the time domain in a PRACH slot. Note: Different RO configurations (including number of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that RO configurations (including number of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the teachings of PARK, and the motivation to do so would have been to improve the ability to distinguish between different types/ capabilities of UEs, and secure the reliability of reception and coverage of Reduced Capability UEs (PARK [0118]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost and PARK does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a position of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, XU discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a position of the at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the position of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random access procedure” (See [0051] a network device configures different RACH resources for terminal devices with different positioning capabilities. [0073] The present invention is not limited to classification based on the positioning precision. For example, the terminal devices are classified based on an indicator. For example, terminal devices having different indicators correspond to different types, and different RACH resources are allocated to different types of terminal devices [0060] A set of RACH resources includes at least one of a time domain position of a RO, a frequency domain position of the RO. Note: Different RACH resources (including position of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that the RACH resources (including position of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU, Rastegardoost and PARK, with the teachings of XU, and the motivation to do so would have been to help avoid a problem that random access preamble receiving time windows overlap which increases a success rate of accessing the network device by the terminal device can without reducing a random access capacity of an entire system (XU [0024]).
Regarding claim 16,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving comprises receiving, from the UE, a random-access preamble on a RACH occasion, and wherein the RACH occasion and the random-access preamble are identified from the determined set of random-access resources” (See Rastegardoost [0229] The wireless device, based on the RA resource selection, may transmit the preamble using the selected RACH occasion. [0260] In response to determining the first CE level, the wireless device may select random access resources (e.g. preamble/RO/PO) from the first RACH resource set associated with the second SSB to initiate the random-access procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of
Rastegardoost, and the motivation to do so would have been to provide differentiated,
reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low
latency communication based on the category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
Regarding claim 17,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The method of claim 15, wherein, in case that more than one RACH occasion corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB), at least one RACH occasion of the more than one RACH occasion is allocated for a specific feature combination” (See PARK [0218] The UE may select one or more ROs to be used for repetitive transmission of a random-access preamble from among ROs associated with the selected single SSB).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the
teachings of PARK to implement the feature-based RACH resource differentiation by
allocating at least a RACH occasion corresponding to an SSB, thereby ensuring operable
beam-aligned random access.
Regarding claim 19,
LIU discloses “A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE
comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to
the at least one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at
least one processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor
individually or in any combination to cause the UE to” (See Fig. 2, UE 202): “receive, from a
base station (BS), at least one configuration for a random access” (See [0019] The
UE 202 may obtain a plurality of random-access channel resource sets, the plurality of
random access channel resource sets may be configured by the WANN 204, and then the
WANN 204 may transmit the plurality of random-access channel resource sets to the
UE 202), “wherein each of the at least one configuration associates a set of random access
resources with a feature combination” (See [0035] according to the feature information of
the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user
equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage
enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or
a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. [0036] The
UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH
resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random
access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H), “and
wherein a feature in the feature combination corresponds to any one of reduced capability, small data transmission, or msg3-repetition” (See [0035] according to the feature information of the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. See tables 2A-2H. [0044] to improve the transmission performance of Msg3, the UE 202 may repetitively transmit the Msg3 for multiple times. Note: LIU discloses the UE features include reduced capability and coverage enhancement, and also discloses the UE enabling Msg3 repetition, and a POSITA would have understood Msg3 repetition to be included among the coverage enhancement features available to the UE); “determine a set of random access resources from the at least one configuration, based on a feature combination of the UE” (See [0033] the UE 202 may select the first random access channel resource set from the plurality of random access channel resource sets based on a feature information of the UE 202); “and perform a random access procedure, based on the determined set of random access resources” (See [0040] after selecting the first random access channel resource set, the UE 202 may perform a random access to the wireless communication network 200 by transmitting a random access preamble, i.e., Msg1 on the first random access channel resource set to the WANN 204), “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a feature combination” (See [0036] The UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random-access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H).
LIU does not explicitly disclose that the set of random-access resources comprise a random-
access preamble and a random-access occasion.
However, Rastegardoost discloses “wherein the set of random-access resources comprises
at least one random access preamble and at least one random access channel (RACH)
occasion, associated with the feature combination” (See [0237] a network may pre-
configure multiple random-access resources (e.g. preamble formats, preamble groups,
random access channel occasions) associated with/mapped to multiple coverage
enhancement (CE) levels. [0239] To differentiate or identify wireless devices of a first type
(e.g., having a first CE level, or having a first capability such as reduced capability UEs or the
enhanced UEs that support Rel-17 coverage enhancement) during initial access, the
scheduler may configure separate random-access resources mapped to different UE types
(e.g., CE levels or capabilities), for example, separate time/frequency resources for
RACH occasions and/or preambles. [0257] The first RACH resource set may comprise the
first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion. [0262] The second RACH resource set may
comprise the first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion).
LIU discloses associating different UE feature combinations with different RACH resource
sets, and Rastegardoost discloses that a RACH resource set comprises at least one random
access preamble and at least one RACH occasion, and further teaches configuring different
RACH resource sets for different coverage enhancement levels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of Rastegardoost
by implementing the feature-based RACH mapping using well defined RACH resource set
configurations comprising preambles and RACH occasions, and the motivation to do so
would have been to provide differentiated, reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low latency communication based on the
category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, PARK discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the number of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random-access procedure” (See [0214] An RO configuration parameter (a first RO configuration parameter) may indicate the number of ROs associated with a single SSB. The first RO configuration parameter may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0215] In addition, a new RO configuration parameter (a second RO configuration parameter) for an RC UE may be defined. The second RO configuration parameter for such RC UE may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0239] in order to configure ROs separately for the normal UE and the RC UE, a random access-related configuration table may be used. The random access-related configuration table may be a previously defined set of configuration parameters, e.g., the number of ROs in the time domain in a PRACH slot. Note: Different RO configurations (including number of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that RO configurations (including number of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the teachings of PARK, and the motivation to do so would have been to improve the ability to distinguish between different types/ capabilities of UEs, and secure the reliability of reception and coverage of Reduced Capability UEs (PARK [0118]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost and PARK does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a position of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, XU discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a position of the at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the position of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random access procedure” (See [0051] a network device configures different RACH resources for terminal devices with different positioning capabilities. [0073] The present invention is not limited to classification based on the positioning precision. For example, the terminal devices are classified based on an indicator. For example, terminal devices having different indicators correspond to different types, and different RACH resources are allocated to different types of terminal devices [0060] A set of RACH resources includes at least one of a time domain position of a RO, a frequency domain position of the RO. Note: Different RACH resources (including position of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that the RACH resources (including position of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU, Rastegardoost and PARK, with the teachings of XU, and the motivation to do so would have been to help avoid a problem that random access preamble receiving time windows overlap which increases a success rate of accessing the network device by the terminal device can without reducing a random access capacity of an entire system (XU [0024]).
Regarding claim 20,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The UE of claim 19, wherein the UE is further caused to: identify a RACH occasion and a random access preamble from the determined set of random access resources; and transmit, to the BS, the random access preamble on the RACH occasion” (See Rastegardoost [0229] The wireless device, based on the RA resource selection, may transmit the preamble using the selected RACH occasion. [0260] In response to determining the first CE level, the wireless device may select random access resources (e.g. preamble/RO/PO) from the first RACH resource set associated with the second SSB to initiate the random-access procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of
Rastegardoost, and the motivation to do so would have been to provide differentiated,
reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low
latency communication based on the category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
Regarding claim 21,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The UE of claim 19, wherein, in case that more than one RACH occasion corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB), at least one RACH occasion of the more than one RACH occasion is allocated for a specific feature combination” (See PARK [0218] The UE may select one or more ROs to be used for repetitive transmission of a random-access preamble from among ROs associated with the selected single SSB).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the
teachings of PARK to implement the feature-based RACH resource differentiation by
allocating at least a RACH occasion corresponding to an SSB, thereby ensuring operable
beam-aligned random access.
Regarding claim 23,
LIU discloses “A base station (BS) in a wireless communication system, the BS comprising:
at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least
one transceiver; and at least one memory, communicatively coupled to the at least one
processor, storing instructions executable by the at least one processor individually or in
any combination to cause the BS to” (See Fig. 2, WANN 204): “transmit, to a user
equipment (UE), at least one configuration for a random access” (See [0019] The
UE 202 may obtain a plurality of random-access channel resource sets, the plurality of
random access channel resource sets may be configured by the WANN 204, and then the
WANN 204 may transmit the plurality of random-access channel resource sets to the
UE 202), “wherein each of the at least one configuration associates a set of random access
resources with a feature combination” (See [0035] according to the feature information of
the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user
equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE
enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage
enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or
a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. [0036] The
UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH
resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random
access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H), “wherein a feature in the feature combination corresponds to any one of reduced capability, small data transmission, or msg3-repetition” (See [0035] according to the feature information of the UE 202, the UE 202 may be classified as one of the following classifications of user equipment: a full capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement, a full capability UE enabling coverage enhancement, a reduced capability UE without enabling coverage enhancement or coverage recovery, a reduced capability UE enabling coverage recovery, or a reduced capability UE enabling coverage enhancement and coverage recovery. See tables 2A-2H. [0044] to improve the transmission performance of Msg3, the UE 202 may repetitively transmit the Msg3 for multiple times. Note: LIU discloses the UE features include reduced capability and coverage enhancement, and also discloses the UE enabling Msg3 repetition, and a POSITA would have understood Msg3 repetition to be included among the coverage enhancement features available to the UE), “and wherein a set of random access resources is determined from the at least one configuration, by the UE, based on a feature combination of the UE” (See [0033] the UE 202 may select the first random access channel resource set from the plurality of random access channel resource sets based on a feature information of the UE 202); “and receive at least one random access preamble for a random access procedure, from the UE, wherein the random access procedure is based on the determined set of random access resources” (See [0040] after selecting the first random access channel resource set, the UE 202 may perform a random access to the wireless communication network 200 by transmitting a random access preamble, i.e., Msg1 on the first random access channel resource set to the WANN 204), “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a feature combination” (See [0036] The UE 202 may be configured with a RACH resource set configuration option. The RACH resource set configuration option may include mapping information between the random-access channel resource sets and classifications of user equipment. See tables 2A-2H).
LIU does not explicitly disclose that the set of random-access resources comprise a random-
access preamble and a random-access occasion.
However, Rastegardoost discloses “wherein the set of random-access resources comprises
at least one random access preamble and at least one random access channel (RACH)
occasion, associated with the feature combination” (See [0237] a network may pre-
configure multiple random-access resources (e.g. preamble formats, preamble groups,
random access channel occasions) associated with/mapped to multiple coverage
enhancement (CE) levels. [0239] To differentiate or identify wireless devices of a first type
(e.g., having a first CE level, or having a first capability such as reduced capability UEs or the
enhanced UEs that support Rel-17 coverage enhancement) during initial access, the
scheduler may configure separate random-access resources mapped to different UE types
(e.g., CE levels or capabilities), for example, separate time/frequency resources for
RACH occasions and/or preambles. [0257] The first RACH resource set may comprise the
first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion. [0262] The second RACH resource set may
comprise the first preamble and/or a first RACH occasion).
LIU discloses associating different UE feature combinations with different RACH resource
sets, and Rastegardoost discloses that a RACH resource set comprises at least one random
access preamble and at least one RACH occasion, and further teaches configuring different
RACH resource sets for different coverage enhancement levels.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of Rastegardoost
by implementing the feature-based RACH mapping using well defined RACH resource set
configurations comprising preambles and RACH occasions, and the motivation to do so
would have been to provide differentiated, reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low latency communication based on the
category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, PARK discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a number of at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the number of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random-access procedure” (See [0214] An RO configuration parameter (a first RO configuration parameter) may indicate the number of ROs associated with a single SSB. The first RO configuration parameter may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0215] In addition, a new RO configuration parameter (a second RO configuration parameter) for an RC UE may be defined. The second RO configuration parameter for such RC UE may be provided from a base station to a UE via system information (e.g., SIB1). [0239] in order to configure ROs separately for the normal UE and the RC UE, a random access-related configuration table may be used. The random access-related configuration table may be a previously defined set of configuration parameters, e.g., the number of ROs in the time domain in a PRACH slot. Note: Different RO configurations (including number of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that RO configurations (including number of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the teachings of PARK, and the motivation to do so would have been to improve the ability to distinguish between different types/ capabilities of UEs, and secure the reliability of reception and coverage of Reduced Capability UEs (PARK [0118]).
LIU in view of Rastegardoost and PARK does not explicitly disclose that the configuration includes a position of at least one RACH occasion corresponding to the feature combination.
However, XU discloses “wherein each of the at least one configuration includes a position of the at least one RACH occasion, corresponding to the feature combination, wherein the position of the at least one RACH occasion is for the random access procedure” (See [0051] a network device configures different RACH resources for terminal devices with different positioning capabilities. [0073] The present invention is not limited to classification based on the positioning precision. For example, the terminal devices are classified based on an indicator. For example, terminal devices having different indicators correspond to different types, and different RACH resources are allocated to different types of terminal devices [0060] A set of RACH resources includes at least one of a time domain position of a RO, a frequency domain position of the RO. Note: Different RACH resources (including position of ROs) are configured for different types of UEs. It is implied that the RACH resources (including position of ROs) are used for the RA procedure.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU, Rastegardoost and PARK, with the teachings of XU, and the motivation to do so would have been to help avoid a problem that random access preamble receiving time windows overlap which increases a success rate of accessing the network device by the terminal device can without reducing a random access capacity of an entire system (XU [0024]).
Regarding claim 24,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The BS of claim 23, wherein the BS is further caused to receive, from the UE, a random-access preamble on a RACH occasion, and wherein the RACH occasion and the random-access preamble are identified from the determined set of random access resources” (See Rastegardoost [0229] The wireless device, based on the RA resource selection, may transmit the preamble using the selected RACH occasion. [0260] In response to determining the first CE level, the wireless device may select random access resources (e.g. preamble/RO/PO) from the first RACH resource set associated with the second SSB to initiate the random-access procedure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU with the teachings of
Rastegardoost, and the motivation to do so would have been to provide differentiated,
reliable and operable random access, and enable/enhance successful/efficient/reliable/low
latency communication based on the category requirements (Rastegardoost [0235]).
Regarding claim 25,
LIU in view of Rastegardoost, PARK and XU disclose “The BS of claim 23, wherein, in case that more than one RACH occasion corresponds to a synchronization signal block (SSB), at least one RACH occasion of the more than one RACH occasion is allocated for a specific feature combination” (See PARK [0218] The UE may select one or more ROs to be used for repetitive transmission of a random-access preamble from among ROs associated with the selected single SSB).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a POSITA before the effective filing date of the
claimed invention to have modified the teachings of LIU and Rastegardoost, with the
teachings of PARK to implement the feature-based RACH resource differentiation by
allocating at least a RACH occasion corresponding to an SSB, thereby ensuring operable
beam-aligned random access.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 18, 22 and 26 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but
would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the
base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/SALMA AYAD/Examiner, Art Unit 2462 /YEMANE MESFIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2462
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