DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to amended claims filed on 22 January 2026.
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
Applicant’s arguments, filed 02 January 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1-5,7-11,13-16,19-22 and 26-27 under 35 USC 102(a)(1) (using the Sun reference) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made over Sun et al. (US 2021/0306053 A1) (hereinafter Sun) in view of Li et al. (US 2025/0031161 A1) (hereinafter Li).
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) 1-5,7-11,13-16,19-22 and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al. (US 2021/0306053 A1) (hereinafter Sun) in view of Li et al. (US 2025/0031161 A1) (hereinafter Li).
Regarding Claim 1, Sun-Li teaches an apparatus:
Comprising: at least one processor (Sun, Fig. 6, [0103]: [0103] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports random access with beam refinement in wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of a UE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, a communications manager 615, and a transmitter 620. The device 605 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).)); and
at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: [0133] The processor 940 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 940. The processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting random access with beam refinement in wireless communications).):
transmit, to the network entity, at least one of a message 3 or physical uplink control channel corresponding to a message 4 of a random access procedure using the preferred transmission beam (Sun, fig. 5, [0041]- [0045], [0095]-[0103]: [0041] In some existing systems, initial access procedures such as RACH procedures may provide that a UE acquires a cell by reading SSB and a system information block (e.g., SIB1), where the system information block provides initial access related parameters. The UE may then transmit a random access request, which may be referred to as a message-1 or MSG1. In some cases, the RACH procedure may use open-loop power control in which the UE may transmit MSG1 at an initial power level and monitor for a response, and then incrementally increase the power level in one or more subsequent transmissions of MSG1 until a random access response is detected from the base station. The base station, upon detection of MSG1, transmits a random access response, which may be referred to as message-2 or MSG2, which may include PDCCH and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) portions. In some cases, the PDCCH may be scrambled with random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) which is a function of the random access occasion (RO) that the UE used to send MSG1 (e.g., based on a best detected SSB at the UE). Within the PDSCH portion, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) may acknowledge the reception of MSG1 and grant the UE an uplink grant to send a message-3 (MSG3) that may include a UE identification. The UE may monitor for PDCCH communications (e.g., downlink control formation (DCI) format 1_0) that are scrambled with the RA-RNTI that corresponds to the RO the UE used to transmit MSG1 and, if detected, proceed with PDSCH decoding. If the MAC-CE is found in the PDSCH, adding to a random access preamble the UE used to send MSG1, the UE will treat this MAC-CE as for itself and follow the UL grant to send its UE-ID in MSG3. In the event of a collision from multiple UEs (e.g., if they used the same preamble sequence in the same RO for sending MSG1) that each send the MSG3 at the same resource, the base station may identify the collision and perform contention resolution, followed by a transmission of an uplink grant in a message-4 (MSG4) from the base station).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion; and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.);
Additionally, Li teaches that a response message of a RACH procedure may include an SSB index corresponding to a beam determined by the base station, which can be seen as, and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0093] In some aspects, the msg2 614 may include an identifier of the RACH preamble, a timing advance (TA), an uplink grant for the UE 604 to transmit data, cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a back-off indicator. The UE 604 then sends a third four-step RACH message (e.g., a msg3 616) to the base station 602. [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 2, Sun- Li teaches the apparatus of claim 1:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: [0133] The processor 940 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 940. The processor 940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 930) to cause the device 905 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting random access with beam refinement in wireless communications).):
receive information that enables the transmission of the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 5 and fig. 6, [0043]-[0045], [0095]-[0103], [0103]- [0109]: [0104] The receiver 610 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to random access with beam refinement in wireless communications, etc.). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 920 described with reference to FIG. 9. The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. [0043] Techniques as discussed herein allow for UEs to transmit one or more additional signals as part of the random access process, which may be measured at the base station using different receive beamforming parameters in order to refine a beam that is used to transmit MSG2. In some cases, the base station may transmit a PDCCH order in response to receiving a random access request, which may trigger the UE to transmit one or more modified random access requests using a same transmission beam, which may allow the base station to perform beam refinement. Given beam correspondence, the refined receive beam may be used as refined transmit beam for MSG2 transmission. By using a PDCCH order, the UE does not unnecessarily transmit the modified random access request(s), and thus resources can be conserved. Further, such a PDCCH order may have a higher likelihood of reception at the UE than a regular MSG2 transmission, as the order may have a relatively small payload and may thus have a relatively large coding gain as compared to a regular MSG2, which can compensate for a relatively low beamforming gain. [0045] Further, techniques as discussed herein may reduce a number of downlink and uplink transmissions, and thereby reduce power consumption at a UE, for example. Additionally, in cases where mmW transmissions use a shared or unlicensed frequency spectrum band, a reduced number of transmissions between a UE and a base station is beneficial because it reduces the likelihood that an access procedure will be interrupted in the event that a different transmitter obtains the wireless channel.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 3, Sun- Li teaches the apparatus of claim 1:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
receive a beam-change mapping as part of system information configured to control the beam switching points at the apparatus for transmitting the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 4, [0091]- [0094]: [0094] In still other examples, the UE may transmit MSG1 405-c, and in response to the PDCCH order, may retransmit the same signal in MSG1′ 450. The base station, to perform beam refinement, may use first receive beam 455 to measure a first portion of MSG1′ 450, and a second receive beam 460 to measure a second portion of MSG1′ 450. In other cases, the base station may measure using more than two receive beams. Such techniques may be used in cases where the PRACH waveform is formed by multiple repetition of a same sequence, and thus the base station can switch receive beams in during the transmission to effectively treat one MSG1′ 450 transmission as multiple reference signals. It is to be understood that the examples of FIG. 4 are provided for purposes of illustration and discussion, and that numerous other examples of modified random access requests and corresponding receive beams for measurement may be used in accordance with techniques as discussed herein.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 4, Sun teaches the apparatus of claim 1:
Wherein the message indicating the preferred transmission beam is received via at least one of: a medium access control control element, downlink control information, or physical downlink control channel signaling (Sun, [0039]: [0039] Various described techniques provide for refinement of beamforming parameters as part of a random access procedure. In some cases, a base station and a user equipment (UE) may use multiple transmissions associated with an access procedure (e.g., a random access procedure for initial access between the UE and base station) to refine a beam that is used for subsequent portions of the access procedure. In some cases, the UE may transmit a random access request to the base station and, in response thereto, the base station may transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order to the UE. The PDCCH order may indicate that the UE is to transmit one or more modified random access requests to the base station. The base station may monitor for the one or more modified random access requests using different beamforming parameters in order to determine a refined beam to be used for a subsequent transmission in the random access procedure. The base station may then use the refined beam to transmit a random access response to the UE, and complete the access procedure.).
Regarding Claim 5, Sun teaches the apparatus of claim 1:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
select transmission beams spatially matched to reception beams that measure above a synchronization signal block power threshold for a synchronization signal block beam (Sun, Fig. 2, [0078]- [0087]: [0086] In some cases, the UE 115-a may provide an indication to the base station 105-a that it supports monitoring for PDCCH orders 220 and can transmit modified requests 225 for beam refinement. In some cases, the base station 105-a may configure different random access occasions, and UEs that support random access beam refinement may use a first subset of random access occasions and UEs that do not support such beam refinement or that do not need beam refinement (e.g., in cases where a received power of a SSB from the base station 105-a at the UE 115-a may exceed a threshold value) may use a second subset of random access occasions. In other cases, support for PDCCH order monitoring may be indicated based on a random access preamble that is selected from the random access request 215 (e.g., a first subset of preambles may be configured to indicate UE capability to engage in beam refinement during random access and a second subset of preambles may indicate legacy behavior is to be used). In some cases, the UE 115-a may switch between MSG2′ monitoring and MSG1′ transmission and the legacy behavior based on one or more conditions. For example, if the UE 115-a (e.g., based on downlink signal measurement), determines that it is near a cell center, it can use legacy behavior and use a first pool of resources or preambles for MSG1 without MSG2′ monitoring. On the other hand, if the UE 115-a determines that is at the edge of cell coverage or otherwise has relatively poor channel conditions, it can use a second pool of resources or preambles that allows the base station 105-a to send MSG2′ to refine beams. In other cases, the UE 15-a may use the first pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power is not reaching a relatively high level (e.g., based on open loop power control techniques for random access) and switch to the second pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power UE reaches or nears its maximum transmit power.).
Claim 6 cancelled.
Regarding Claim 7, Sun-Li teaches an apparatus:
Comprising: at least one processor (Sun, Fig. 6, [0103]: See above for [0103])); and
at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133].):
receive, from a user equipment, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion from the same user equipment (Sun, Fig. 3 and 4, [0088]- [0090], [0091]- [0094]: [0090] The base station 105-b may receive MSG1 315 and determine to transmit a PDCCH order in MSG2′ 320 to trigger the UE 115-b to then transmit a modified random access request in MSG1′ 325. The base station 105-b may monitor for the MSG1′ 325 transmission using beamforming parameters associated with one or more refined beams in order to determine a refined beam to be used for subsequent random access communications. Optionally, the base station 105-b may transmit a second PDCCH order in MSG2′ 330 to trigger a second MSG1′ 335 that may be used for further beam refinement, and such a process may continue for one or more further PDCCH orders and responsive transmissions. The base station 105-b may perform beam refinement procedures when monitoring for the MSG1′ transmission(s), such as by using multiple receive beam parameters to determine the refined beam, some examples of which will be discussed with reference to FIG. 4. The base station 105-b may use the refined beam to transmit MSG2 340. The UE 115-b may receive the MSG2 340 and transmit MSG3 345, which may be followed by a MSG4 350 from the base station 105-b, and downlink transmissions 355 and uplink transmissions 360.);
detect a transmission beam switching operation of the user equipment (Sun, fig. 4 and fig. 5, [0078]-[0090], [0091]- [0094]: [0094] In still other examples, the UE may transmit MSG1 405-c, and in response to the PDCCH order, may retransmit the same signal in MSG1′ 450. The base station, to perform beam refinement, may use first receive beam 455 to measure a first portion of MSG1′ 450, and a second receive beam 460 to measure a second portion of MSG1′ 450. In other cases, the base station may measure using more than two receive beams. Such techniques may be used in cases where the PRACH waveform is formed by multiple repetition of a same sequence, and thus the base station can switch receive beams in during the transmission to effectively treat one MSG1′ 450 transmission as multiple reference signals. It is to be understood that the examples of FIG. 4 are provided for purposes of illustration and discussion, and that numerous other examples of modified random access requests and corresponding receive beams for measurement may be used in accordance with techniques as discussed herein.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion; and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.);
Additionally, Li teaches that a response message of a RACH procedure may include an SSB index corresponding to a beam determined by the base station, which can be seen as, and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0093] In some aspects, the msg2 614 may include an identifier of the RACH preamble, a timing advance (TA), an uplink grant for the UE 604 to transmit data, cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a back-off indicator. The UE 604 then sends a third four-step RACH message (e.g., a msg3 616) to the base station 602. [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 8, Sun-Li teaches the apparatus of claim 7:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
transmit information prior to receiving the physical random access channel preamble that enables the transmission of the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 5, [0095]- [0102]: [0100] At 535, the UE 115-c may detect the PDCCH order and determine to transmit a modified random access request to the base station 105-c, which may be used for beam refinement. The UE 115-c may, based on the PDCCH order, also update a random access response window to provide time during which one or more further PDCCH orders may be communicated, a regular MSG2 is communicated, or combinations thereof. At 540, the UE 115-c may transmit MSG1′ to the base station 105-c.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 9, Sun teaches the apparatus of claim 7:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
detect within a single random access channel occasion a user equipment transmission beam to indicate in the message configured to indicate the preferred transmission beam (Sun, Fig. 5, [0095]- [0102]: [0100] At 535, the UE 115-c may detect the PDCCH order and determine to transmit a modified random access request to the base station 105-c, which may be used for beam refinement. The UE 115-c may, based on the PDCCH order, also update a random access response window to provide time during which one or more further PDCCH orders may be communicated, a regular MSG2 is communicated, or combinations thereof. At 540, the UE 115-c may transmit MSG1′ to the base station 105-c.).
Regarding Claim 10, Sun-Li teaches the apparatus of claim 7:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
transmit a beam-change mapping as part of system information configured to control the beam switching points at the user equipment for transmitting the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 4, [0091]- [0094]: See above for [0094]).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 11, Sun teaches the apparatus of claim 7:
Wherein the at least one memory and instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus at least to (Sun, Fig. 9, [0126]- [0134]: See above for [0133]):
transmit the message indicating the preferred transmission beam via at least one of: a medium access control control element, downlink control information, or physical downlink control channel signaling (Sun, [0039]: See above for [0039].).
Claim 12 cancelled.
Regarding Claim 13, Sun-Li teaches a method:
Comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
transmitting, by a user equipment and to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion (Sun, Fig. 4 and 5, [0091]- [0094], [0095]- [0102]: [0091] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of modified random access requests 400 that support random access with beam refinement in wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, modified random access requests 400 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100 or 200. In this example, a UE (e.g., a UE 115 of FIG. 1, 2, or 3) may transmit a MSG1 405 and receive a MSG2′ in response thereto, and indicates that the UE is to transmit a modified random access request that may be used as a beam refinement signal at the base station.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion; and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.);
Additionally, Li teaches that a response message of a RACH procedure may include an SSB index corresponding to a beam determined by the base station, which can be seen as, and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0093] In some aspects, the msg2 614 may include an identifier of the RACH preamble, a timing advance (TA), an uplink grant for the UE 604 to transmit data, cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a back-off indicator. The UE 604 then sends a third four-step RACH message (e.g., a msg3 616) to the base station 602. [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 14, Sun-Li teaches the method of claim 13:
Further comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
receiving, by the user equipment, information that enables the transmission of the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 1, [0040]- [0042], [0047]- [0077]: [0054] The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 15, Sun-Li teaches the method of claim 13:
Further comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
receiving, by the user equipment, a beam-change mapping as part of system information configured to control the beam switching points at the user equipment for transmitting the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig.2, [0078]-[0087]: [0086] In some cases, the UE 115-a may provide an indication to the base station 105-a that it supports monitoring for PDCCH orders 220 and can transmit modified requests 225 for beam refinement. In some cases, the base station 105-a may configure different random access occasions, and UEs that support random access beam refinement may use a first subset of random access occasions and UEs that do not support such beam refinement or that do not need beam refinement (e.g., in cases where a received power of a SSB from the base station 105-a at the UE 115-a may exceed a threshold value) may use a second subset of random access occasions. In other cases, support for PDCCH order monitoring may be indicated based on a random access preamble that is selected from the random access request 215 (e.g., a first subset of preambles may be configured to indicate UE capability to engage in beam refinement during random access and a second subset of preambles may indicate legacy behavior is to be used). In some cases, the UE 115-a may switch between MSG2′ monitoring and MSG1′ transmission and the legacy behavior based on one or more conditions. For example, if the UE 115-a (e.g., based on downlink signal measurement), determines that it is near a cell center, it can use legacy behavior and use a first pool of resources or preambles for MSG1 without MSG2′ monitoring. On the other hand, if the UE 115-a determines that is at the edge of cell coverage or otherwise has relatively poor channel conditions, it can use a second pool of resources or preambles that allows the base station 105-a to send MSG2′ to refine beams. In other cases, the UE 15-a may use the first pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power is not reaching a relatively high level (e.g., based on open loop power control techniques for random access) and switch to the second pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power UE reaches or nears its maximum transmit power.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 16, Sun teaches the method of claim 13:
wherein the message indicating the preferred transmission beam is received via at least one of: a medium access control control element, downlink control information, or physical downlink control channel signaling (Sun, [0041]: [0041] In some existing systems, initial access procedures such as RACH procedures may provide that a UE acquires a cell by reading SSB and a system information block (e.g., SIB1), where the system information block provides initial access related parameters. The UE may then transmit a random access request, which may be referred to as a message-1 or MSG1. In some cases, the RACH procedure may use open-loop power control in which the UE may transmit MSG1 at an initial power level and monitor for a response, and then incrementally increase the power level in one or more subsequent transmissions of MSG1 until a random access response is detected from the base station. The base station, upon detection of MSG1, transmits a random access response, which may be referred to as message-2 or MSG2, which may include PDCCH and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) portions. In some cases, the PDCCH may be scrambled with random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) which is a function of the random access occasion (RO) that the UE used to send MSG1 (e.g., based on a best detected SSB at the UE). Within the PDSCH portion, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) may acknowledge the reception of MSG1 and grant the UE an uplink grant to send a message-3 (MSG3) that may include a UE identification. The UE may monitor for PDCCH communications (e.g., downlink control formation (DCI) format 1_0) that are scrambled with the RA-RNTI that corresponds to the RO the UE used to transmit MSG1 and, if detected, proceed with PDSCH decoding. If the MAC-CE is found in the PDSCH, adding to a random access preamble the UE used to send MSG1, the UE will treat this MAC-CE as for itself and follow the UL grant to send its UE-ID in MSG3. In the event of a collision from multiple UEs (e.g., if they used the same preamble sequence in the same RO for sending MSG1) that each send the MSG3 at the same resource, the base station may identify the collision and perform contention resolution, followed by a transmission of an uplink grant in a message-4 (MSG4) from the base station.).
Regarding Claim 19, Sun-Li teaches a method:
Comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
receiving, by a network entity and from a user equipment, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion from the same user equipment (Sun, Fig. 1, [0047]- [0077]: [0067] Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with the UEs 115 through one or more other access network transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station 105).);
detecting, by the network entity, a transmission beam switching operation of the user equipment (Sun, Fig. 3, [0071]- [0074], [0088]- [0090]: [0071] A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally, or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.); and
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion; and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, transmit, to a network entity, a physical random access channel preamble using at least two different transmission beams in the same random access channel occasion (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.);
Additionally, Li teaches that a response message of a RACH procedure may include an SSB index corresponding to a beam determined by the base station, which can be seen as, and receive, from the network entity, a message configured to indicate a preferred transmission beam of the at least two different transmission beams used with the physical random access channel preamble (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0093] In some aspects, the msg2 614 may include an identifier of the RACH preamble, a timing advance (TA), an uplink grant for the UE 604 to transmit data, cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a back-off indicator. The UE 604 then sends a third four-step RACH message (e.g., a msg3 616) to the base station 602. [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 20, Sun-Li teaches the method of claim 19:
further comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
transmitting, by the network entity, information prior to receiving the physical random access channel preamble that enables the transmission of the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 3, [0088]-[0090]: [0089] In some cases, the base station 105-b, within each SSB 310, may transmit synchronization information in the form of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission. In some cases, each SSB 310 may have an associated uplink transmission resource 315 (e.g., first RACH resources), and a random access request received in a particular RACH resource may indicate the associated SSB 310 that was selected by the UE 115-b. The UE 115-b in this example may monitor received signals during the beam sweep operation 305 and determine that the first SSB 310-a has a higher gain (e.g., a higher RSRP) than other of the SSBs 310, and may determine the associated first RACH resource for transmission of MSG1 315. In some examples, as discussed herein, the first SSB may have different subsets of RACH resources, where a first subset of the RACH resources may be used to indicate that the UE 115-b supports beam refinement in random access, and a second subset of the RACH resources may be used to indicate that the UE 115-b does not support beam refinement in random access or does not need such beam refinement (e.g., when a signal quality of signals from the first SSB 310-a are above a threshold value). In other cases, as discussed herein, different random access preambles for MSG1 315 may be selected to provide such an indication of beam refinement capability.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Regarding Claim 21, Sun teaches the method of claim 19:
further comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
detecting, by the network entity, within a single random access channel occasion a user equipment transmission beam to indicate in the message configured to indicate the preferred transmission beam (Sun, Fig. 2, [0078]-[0087]: [0081] In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, the base station 105-a may receive the random access request 215 and determine to transmit a PDCCH order 220, which may be an example of a control channel order as discussed herein. In some cases, the PDCCH order 220 is a compressed PDCCH order relative to PDCCH orders that are used in existing deployments that are used to trigger a connected mode UE to send a random access request for a handoff or for timing advance recovery (e.g., based on a DCI 1_0 scrambled with C-RNTI (identified by all 0 FDRA)). Such existing PDCCH orders may have redundant fields to allow alignment with a normal DCI 1_0 to avoid the UE decoding a different DCI length.).
Regarding Claim 22, Sun-Li teaches the method of claim 19:
Further comprising (Sun, Fig. 14, [0165]- [0170]):
transmitting, by the network entity, a beam-change mapping as part of system information configured to control the beam switching points at the user equipment for transmitting the physical random access channel preamble using the at least two different transmission beams (Sun, Fig. 2, [0078]-[0087]: [0078] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 200 that supports random access with beam refinement in wireless communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, wireless communications system 200 may implement aspects of wireless communications system 100. Wireless communications system 200 may include a base station 105-a and a UE 115-a, which may be examples of the corresponding devices described with reference to FIG. 1. Base station 105-a and UE 115-a may communicate using one or more directional beams. In wireless communications system 200, a transmitter (e.g., base station 105-a) may engage in a beam sweeping operation to establish an active beam pair link with a receiver (e.g., UE 115-a) that may be used for downlink communications 205 and uplink communications 210.).
Thus, Sun does not explicitly teach at least two different transmission beams.
Similar to the system of Sun, Li teaches that the UE may transmit respective SSB reports for multiple beams, and may transmit information corresponding to the multiple beams via a message of RACH procedure, which can be seen as, at least two different transmission beams (Li, fig. 6A-6B, fig. 8-9, [0093]-[0101], [0110]-[0125], [0126]-[0131], [0138]-[0178]: [0095] FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a communication flow 650 between the base station 602 and the UE 604 implementing a two-step RACH procedure 660. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6B, the two-step RACH procedure 660 includes the exchange of two messages. Specifically, the UE 604 may initiate the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a first two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgA 662) to the base station 602. Responsive to the msgA 662, the base station 602 may complete the message exchange of the two-step RACH procedure 660 by sending a second two-step RACH message (e.g., a msgB 664) to the UE 604. [0111] For example, the UE 804 may transmit a first SSB report associated with the first beam 708a, may transmit a second SSB report associated with the second beam 708b, may transmit a third SSB report associated with the third beam 708c, and/or may transmit a fourth SSB report associated with the fourth beam 708d. [0115] In some examples, the alternate beam may be a beam reported by the UE 804 to the base station 802. For example, the UE 804 may transmit respective SSB reports for each of the first beam 708a, the second beam 708b, the third beam 708c, and the fourth beam 708d. Based on the received SSB reports, the base station 802 may determine that the fourth beam 708d is the preferred beam to use for downlink communication with the UE 804.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Sun with Li in order to improve beam management and communication performance by utilizing information associated with multiple beams (Li,[0082]).
Claims 23-25 cancelled.
Regarding Claim 26, Sun teaches the method of claim 13 further comprising:
Selecting, by the user equipment, transmission beams spatially matched to reception beams that measure above a synchronization signal block power threshold for a synchronization signal block beam (Sun, [0047]-[0088], [0117]-[0125]: [0058] A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115. [0086] In some cases, the UE 115-a may provide an indication to the base station 105-a that it supports monitoring for PDCCH orders 220 and can transmit modified requests 225 for beam refinement. In some cases, the base station 105-a may configure different random access occasions, and UEs that support random access beam refinement may use a first subset of random access occasions and UEs that do not support such beam refinement or that do not need beam refinement (e.g., in cases where a received power of a SSB from the base station 105-a at the UE 115-a may exceed a threshold value) may use a second subset of random access occasions. In other cases, support for PDCCH order monitoring may be indicated based on a random access preamble that is selected from the random access request 215 (e.g., a first subset of preambles may be configured to indicate UE capability to engage in beam refinement during random access and a second subset of preambles may indicate legacy behavior is to be used). In some cases, the UE 115-a may switch between MSG2′ monitoring and MSG1′ transmission and the legacy behavior based on one or more conditions. For example, if the UE 115-a (e.g., based on downlink signal measurement), determines that it is near a cell center, it can use legacy behavior and use a first pool of resources or preambles for MSG1 without MSG2′ monitoring. On the other hand, if the UE 115-a determines that is at the edge of cell coverage or otherwise has relatively poor channel conditions, it can use a second pool of resources or preambles that allows the base station 105-a to send MSG2′ to refine beams. In other cases, the UE 15-a may use the first pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power is not reaching a relatively high level (e.g., based on open loop power control techniques for random access) and switch to the second pool of resources or preambles when the MSG1 transmit power UE reaches or nears its maximum transmit power. [0118] The random access manager 810 may transmit an initial random access request to a base station to establish a wireless connection with the base station. In some examples, the random access manager 810 may identify a first random access occasion for transmitting the initial random access request from a set of random access occasions, where using the first random access occasion indicates that the UE is to monitor for the control channel order for beam refinement during random access (along with monitoring for a random access response), and where a random access request transmitted using a second random access occasion of the set of random access occasions indicates that the UE is to monitor for the random access response without monitoring for the control channel order. In some examples, the random access manager 810 may select the first random access occasion based on a measurement of one or more channel characteristics of a transmission from the base station. In some cases, the first random access occasion is selected based on a measured reference signal strength from the base station being below a signal strength threshold value. In some cases, the first random access occasion is selected based on one or more other random access request transmissions using the second random access occasion having a transmission power that exceeds a power threshold value.).
Regarding Claim 27, Sun teaches the method of claim 17 further comprising:
transmitting, by the network entity, the message indicating the preferred transmission beam via at least one of: a medium access control control element, downlink control information, or physical downlink control channel signaling (Sun, fig. 5, [0095]-[0109]: [0041] In some existing systems, initial access procedures such as RACH procedures may provide that a UE acquires a cell by reading SSB and a system information block (e.g., SIB1), where the system information block provides initial access related parameters. The UE may then transmit a random access request, which may be referred to as a message-1 or MSG1. In some cases, the RACH procedure may use open-loop power control in which the UE may transmit MSG1 at an initial power level and monitor for a response, and then incrementally increase the power level in one or more subsequent transmissions of MSG1 until a random access response is detected from the base station. The base station, upon detection of MSG1, transmits a random access response, which may be referred to as message-2 or MSG2, which may include PDCCH and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) portions. In some cases, the PDCCH may be scrambled with random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) which is a function of the random access occasion (RO) that the UE used to send MSG1 (e.g., based on a best detected SSB at the UE). Within the PDSCH portion, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) may acknowledge the reception of MSG1 and grant the UE an uplink grant to send a message-3 (MSG3) that may include a UE identification. The UE may monitor for PDCCH communications (e.g., downlink control formation (DCI) format 1_0) that are scrambled with the RA-RNTI that corresponds to the RO the UE used to transmit MSG1 and, if detected, proceed with PDSCH decoding. If the MAC-CE is found in the PDSCH, adding to a random access preamble the UE used to send MSG1, the UE will treat this MAC-CE as for itself and follow the UL grant to send its UE-ID in MSG3. In the event of a collision from multiple UEs (e.g., if they used the same preamble sequence in the same RO for sending MSG1) that each send the MSG3 at the same resource, the base station may identify the collision and perform contention resolution, followed by a transmission of an uplink grant in a message-4 (MSG4) from the base station.).
Conclusion
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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/FRANCESCA LIMA SANTOS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2468
/MARCUS SMITH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2468