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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION. — The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 3-4 and 13-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 3 and 15, claim 3 recites "The method of claim 1, further comprising based on the detecting, no PRACH preamble is to be transmitted in the second RO due to the LBT failure." Claim 3 depends from claim 1 that recites in part, "…; and based on the detecting, transmitting a second PRACH preamble … in the second RO.". Claim 3 inherits all limitations of claim 1, thus it is not clear if the recitation in claim 3 replaces the last step of "based on the detecting, …." in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required. Claim 15 similarly recites.
Claims 4 and 16 depend from claims 3 and 15, respectively, thus carry the same indefiniteness issues as discussed above, and therefore are rejected on the same grounds discussed above.
Regarding claim 13, said claim recites "A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) configured to perform a method as in any of claim 1-10". It is not clear if claim 13 depends from any of claims 1-10. Also it is not clear from which claims 1 through 10, claim 13 depends. Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claims 14-20, these claims depend from claim 13, thus carry the same indefiniteness issues as discussed above, and therefore are rejected on the same grounds discussed above.
Reasons for Allowance
Claims 1-2 and 5-12 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the claimed invention discloses a method for a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure. The method detects if there is a prior Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preamble transmission in a first Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion (RO) based on a condition that the LBT is not successful. Based on the detection, the method transmits another PRACH preamble in a second RO.
The claimed invention contains the following underlined features which, when combined with other features of the claim, prior art of record failed to anticipate or render obvious at the time of instant invention was filed:
1. A method in a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for physical random-access channel (PRACH) transmission, the method comprising
receiving a configuration of PRACH information, the PRACH information including at least one candidate cover-code;
performing listen before talk (LBT) in a first random-access channel (RACH) occasion (RO) that is prior to a second RO;
on a condition that the LBT is not successful, detecting if there is a first PRACH preamble transmission in the first RO scrambled with a first cover-code from among the at least one candidate cover-code; and
based on the detecting, transmitting a second PRACH preamble scrambled with a second cover-code from among the at least one candidate cover-code in the second RO.
US 2020/0296635 discloses a method for LBT. Its wireless device postpone a PRACH transmission if a channel for LBT is busy. A base station reserves a time duration for the wireless device before transmitting PRACH to perform LBT, e.g., an LBT gap for RACH occasion.
US 2020/0045735 discloses a method for performing a random access procedure for which its User Equipment (UE) fails in performing LBT X times, then the UE retransmits a RACH preamble.
US 2023/0413324 discloses a method with a backoff counter to be decreased by 1 for LBTs in a RO configuration period if all LBT attempts in the previous RO configuration period fail.
US 11432332 discloses a method for increasing PRACH capacity using orthogonal cover codes and identifying a weight value associated with selecting either a first subset of PRACH resources or a second subset of PRACH resources.
Regarding claims 2 and 5-12, these claims depend from claim 1 and thus are allowed for the same reason stated above for claim 1.
Tentative Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 contain similar features as recited in claim 1, thus is tentatively allowed for the same reason as state above, pending on satisfactory of overcoming above 112 rejection.
Claims 14-20 depend from claim 13, thus are tentatively allowed for the same reason stated above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Harry H. Kim whose telephone number and email address are as follows; 571-272-5009, harry.kim2@uspto.gov.
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/HARRY H KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411