DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Application
2 This instant Office Action is in response to Amendment filed on 11/19/2025.
3. This Office Action is made Final.
4. Claims 7-12 are currently cancelled.
5. Claims 1-6 and 13-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant’s arguments regarding the amendment presented on 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but are moot because of new grounds of rejection set forth herein with at least one new reference as necessitated by amendment.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
1. Claims 1-6 and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by
Cozzo et al. US 20210360660 hereafter Cozzo (Note: The following Provisional Applications includes support for the disclosure relied herein: US63025665 2020-05-15 in particular pgs. 20-26, US63046907 2020-07-01 in particular pgs. 20-44, US63064762 2020-08-12, US 63112020 2020-11-10)
As to Claim 1. (Currently Amended) Cozzo discloses a method for data channel [i.e. PUSCH] transmission, comprising [Figs. 4, 11, 14, Sections 0068: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to transmitting Msg3 physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with repetitions]:
determining, by a terminal device [i.e. UE/User Equipment], information on a number of repeated transmission times of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH according to PUSCH common configuration [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] information [Sections 0084, 0087, 0090: For a UE configured to operate, a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission with a TB can be configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon used to configure the cell specific PUSCH parameters. Determining a number of repetitions for Msg3 PUSCH transmission performed by any of the UEs. A UE procedure for determining a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission, in which a gNB configures the UE with a number of repetitions for the Msg3 PUSCH transmission in pusch-ConfigCommon],
wherein the PUSCH is used to carry a third message [i.e. Msg3 or Msg3 PUSCH] in a random access process [Sections 0077, 0091, 0138: A random access procedure, includes 4-step; and in step-3 the UE transmits a PUSCH (Msg3). UE transmit Msg3 (third message) with the number of repetitions determined by the UE and with the configured number of repetitions in pusch-ConfigCommon. The number of repetitions to use in Msg3 retransmissions be part of the Msg3 configuration in pusch-ConfigCommon].
As to Claim 2. (Original) Cozzo discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the PUSCH common configuration information [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] comprises a PUSCH time domain resource allocation list [i.e. TDRA Table] information element IE and the PUSCH time domain resource allocation list IE comprises the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH [Sections 0123, 0124: A number of Msg3 (PUSCH) repetitions are associated with a time domain resource allocation configuration; a number of TDRA tables (i.e. lists) can be defined, each TDRA table defines which PUSCH time domain resource allocation configuration to apply and the indication of which TDRA table to use can be indicated in a field in the IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon which is used to configure the cell specific PUSCH parameters. The indication of which TDRA table to use can be indicated in a field in the IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon].
As to Claim 3. (Original) Cozzo discloses the method according to claim 2, wherein the PUSCH time domain resource allocation list [i.e. TDRA Table] IE comprises a plurality of time domain resource allocation configurations, and each time domain resource allocation configuration comprises a set of time domain resource allocation information and the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH [Sections 0119, 0123: Embodiments describe transmitting Msg3 with repetitions in a time domain resource allocation; a UE determine a time domain resource allocation for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission from parameters and from the TDRA tables and TS 38.214 v16.1.0 define PUSCH time domain resource allocation configurations for a UE to apply. A number of TDRA tables (i.e. lists) can be defined, each TDRA table defines which PUSCH time domain resource allocation configuration to apply and the indication of which TDRA table to use can be indicated in a field in the IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon, a Msg3-PUSCH-TimeDomainAllocationTable field can indicate a TDRA table from a configured set of TDRA tables].
As to Claim 4. (Original) Cozzo discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein each of the time domain resource allocation [i.e. TDRA] configurations comprises one piece of information on the number of repeated transmission times, and the one piece of information on the number of repeated transmission times is used for initial transmission and retransmission of the PUSCH; or wherein each of the time domain resource allocation configurations comprises two pieces of information on the number of repeated transmission times, and the two pieces of information on the number of repeated transmission times are respectively used for the initial transmission and retransmission of the PUSCH [Note: the term "or" recited which suggest alternative language or selection can be made. Sections 0103, 0138: The number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission can be indicated by an entry in a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) table in addition to a start and length of a PUSCH transmission in a slot. A retransmission of Msg3 PUSCH can use a same or different number of repetitions used in an initial transmission; the UE can transmit Msg3 with a number of repetitions derived from the number of repetitions of the initial transmission].
As to Claim 5. (Currently Amended) Cozzo discloses the method according to claim 3, wherein the determining, by the terminal device [i.e. UE/User Equipment], the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH according to the PUSCH common configuration [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] information comprises [Sections 0084, 0090: A UE configured to operate a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon. A UE determining a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission, in which a gNB configures the UE with a number of repetitions for the Msg3 PUSCH transmission in pusch-ConfigCommon],
determining, by the terminal device [i.e. UE/User Equipment], the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH according to the PUSCH common configuration information and an uplink [i.e. UL] grant sent by a network device [Sections 0006, 0084, 0103: In general, the BS/base station (i.e. network device) configured to transmit grant scheduling for PUSCH. A UE configured a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon and a number of repetitions for PUSCH transmission indicated by a field in the UL grant. A number of repetitions can be signaled in a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon, and can additionally or alternatively be indicated by a field in the UL grant],
wherein the uplink grant comprises first indication information,
and the first indication information is configured to indicate a target time domain resource allocation [i.e. TDRA] configuration among the plurality of time domain resource allocation configurations [Sections 0006, 0123, 0124: Where the first grant indicates an entry of the TDRA table. Each TDRA table defines which PUSCH time domain resource allocation configuration to apply, the indication of which TDRA table to use can be indicated in a field in the IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon and a field in a UL grant scheduling a PUSCH transmission can indicate a TDRA table (i.e. target TDRA) from a set of 2 or 4 TDRA tables. One or more TDRA tables can be defined with each TDRA table defining which PUSCH time domain resource allocation configuration to apply for Msg3 PUSCH transmission, a field in the UL grant scheduling the PUSCH transmission and the IE PUSCH-ConfigCommon for PUSCH repetitions as indicated].
As to Claim 6. (Original) Cozzo discloses the method according to claim 5, wherein the uplink grant is an uplink grant in a random access response RAR, or the uplink grant is an uplink grant in downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI is used to schedule retransmission of the PUSCH [Sections 0077, 0084, 0138: A random access procedure, a gNB transmits of Random Access Response (RAR) message in which the transmission of a PUSCH scheduled by a RAR UL grant. A number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission can be indicated by a field in the UL grant provided by the RAR message scheduling the Msg3 PUSCH transmission. The UE determines the number of repetitions for a Msg3 retransmission from the DCI format scheduling the Msg3 PUSCH retransmission].
As to Claim 13. (Currently Amended) Cozzo discloses a method for data channel [i.e. PUSCH] transmission, comprising [Figs. 4, 11, 14, Sections 0068: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to transmitting Msg3 physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) with repetitions]:
configuring, by a network device [i.e. Base Station/BS/gNB], information on a number of repeated transmission times of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH for a terminal device [i.e. UE/User Equipment], according to PUSCH common configuration [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] information [Sections 0084, 0087, 0090: For a UE configured to operate, a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission with a TB can be configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon used to configure the cell specific PUSCH parameters. Determining a number of repetitions for Msg3 PUSCH transmission performed by any of the UEs. A UE procedure for determining a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission, in which a gNB configures the UE with a number of repetitions for the Msg3 PUSCH transmission in pusch-ConfigCommon],
wherein the PUSCH is used to carry a third message [i.e. Msg3 or Msg3 PUSCH] in a random access process [Sections 0077, 0091, 0138: A random access procedure, includes 4-step; and in step-3 the UE transmits a PUSCH (Msg3). UE transmit Msg3 (third message) with the number of repetitions determined by the UE and with the configured number of repetitions in pusch-ConfigCommon. The number of repetitions to use in Msg3 retransmissions be part of the Msg3 configuration in pusch-ConfigCommon].
As to Claim 14. (Original) The method according to claim 13, wherein the PUSCH common configuration information comprises a PUSCH time domain resource allocation list information element IE, and the PUSCH time domain resource allocation list IE comprises the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH [See Claim 2 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 15. (Original) The method according to claim 14, wherein the PUSCH time domain resource allocation list IE comprises a plurality of time domain resource allocation configurations, and each time domain resource allocation configuration comprises a set of time
domain resource allocation information and the information on the number of repeated transmission times of the PUSCH [See Claim 3 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 16. (Original) The method according to claim 15, wherein each of the time domain resource allocation configurations comprises one piece of information on the number of repeated transmission times, and the one piece of information on the number of repeated transmission
times is used for initial transmission and retransmission of the PUSCH; or wherein each of the time domain resource allocation configurations comprises two pieces of information on the number of repeated transmission times, and the two pieces of information on the number of repeated transmission times are respectively used for the initial transmission and retransmission of the PUSCH [See Claim 4 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 17. (Original) The method according to claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: sending, by the network device, an uplink grant to the terminal device, wherein the uplink grant comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is configured to indicate a target time domain resource allocation configuration among the plurality of time domain resource allocation configurations [See Claim 5 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 18. (Original) The method according to claim 17, wherein the uplink grant is an uplink grant in a random access response RAR, or the uplink grant is an uplink grant in downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI is used to schedule retransmission of the PUSCH [See Claim 6 rejection because both claims have similar subject matter therefore similar rejection applies herein].
As to Claim 19. (Currently Amended) Cozzo discloses a terminal device [i.e. UE/User Equipment], comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store a computer program, and the processor being configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, to [Fig. 3, Sections 0050, 0054: The UE includes a processor-340 and a memory-360. The processor is also capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory; and the processor can move data into or out of the memory as required by an executing process]:
determine information on a number of repeated transmission times of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH according to PUSCH common configuration [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] information [Sections 0084, 0087, 0090: For a UE configured to operate, a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission with a TB can be configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon used to configure the cell specific PUSCH parameters. Determining a number of repetitions for Msg3 PUSCH transmission performed by any of the UEs. A UE procedure for determining a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission, in which a gNB configures the UE with a number of repetitions for the Msg3 PUSCH transmission in pusch-ConfigCommon],
wherein the PUSCH is used to carry a third message [i.e. Msg3 or Msg3 PUSCH] in a random access process [Sections 0077, 0091, 0138: A random access procedure, includes 4-step; and in step-3 the UE transmits a PUSCH (Msg3). UE transmit Msg3 (third message) with the number of repetitions determined by the UE and with the configured number of repetitions in pusch-ConfigCommon. The number of repetitions to use in Msg3 retransmissions be part of the Msg3 configuration in pusch-ConfigCommon].
As to Claim 20. (Currently Amended) Cozzo discloses a network device [i.e. Base Station/BS/gNB], comprising: a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store a computer program, and the processor being configured execute the computer program stored in the memory, to [Fig. 2, Sections 0041, 0045: The BS includes a controller/processor-225 and a memory-230. The controller/processor is capable of executing programs and other processes resident in the memory such as an OS. to a process that is being executed]:
configure information on a number of repeated transmission times of a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH for a terminal device, according to PUSCH common configuration [i.e. Pusch-ConfigCommon] information [Sections 0084, 0087, 0090: For a UE configured to operate, a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission with a TB can be configured by a field in the RRC IE pusch-ConfigCommon used to configure the cell specific PUSCH parameters. Determining a number of repetitions for Msg3 PUSCH transmission performed by any of the UEs. A UE procedure for determining a number of repetitions for a Msg3 PUSCH transmission, in which a gNB configures the UE with a number of repetitions for the Msg3 PUSCH transmission in pusch-ConfigCommon],
wherein the PUSCH is used to carry a third message [i.e. Msg3 or Msg3 PUSCH] in a random access process [Sections 0077, 0091, 0138: A random access procedure, includes 4-step; and in step-3 the UE transmits a PUSCH (Msg3). UE transmit Msg3 (third message) with the number of repetitions determined by the UE and with the configured number of repetitions in pusch-ConfigCommon. The number of repetitions to use in Msg3 retransmissions be part of the Msg3 configuration in pusch-ConfigCommon].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Cozzo et al. US 20230053082 in particular Fig. 6, and Section [0088].
Furthermore, each additional prior arts cited on PTO-892 but not applied in rejection contains a disclosed description related to the claimed subject matter found either in the Figures, description summary and/or disclosure.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAEL M ULYSSE whose telephone number is (571)272-1228. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
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February 27, 2026
/JAEL M ULYSSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477