DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 10, 19, and 28 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1, in line 2, replace “indicating” with --associated--.
Regarding claim 10, in line 2, replace “indicating” with --associated--.
Regarding claim 19, in line 5, replace “indicating” with --associated--.
Regarding claim 28, in line 5, replace “indicating” with --associated--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP §§ 706.02(l)(1) - 706.02(l)(3) for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/process/file/efs/guidance/eTD-info-I.jsp.
Claims 1-36 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-38 of U.S. Patent No. 11,950,287 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because independent claims of the present application merely broaden the scope of independent claims of US Patent No. 11,950,287 B2 respectively, by eliminating that one or more radio resource control messages comprising one or more configuration parameters of a plurality of preambles and selecting a preamble of the plurality of preambles that is associated with a candidate beam.
It has been held that the omission an element and its function is an obvious expedient if the remaining elements perform the same as before. In Re Karlson, 136 USPQ 184 (CCPA). Also, note Ex Parte Rainu, 168 USPQ 375 (Bd.App. 1969); omission of a reference element whose function is not needed would be obvious to one skilled in the art.
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.
Claims 1-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiong et al (US 2020/0351853 A1) in view of Tiirola et al (US 2018/0198594 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Xiong discloses a method comprising:
receiving, by a wireless device, one or more configuration parameters indicating a plurality of reference signals (163rd – 164th paragraphs, reporting the measurement result incudes feeding back, according to the configured threshold, measurement results of all measurement reference signals greater than or not less than the threshold. Herein, the configured threshold must be received by the UE);
receiving an indication of one or more reference signals of the plurality of reference signals (160th paragraph, the UE acquires measurement reference signals configured by a base station); and
transmitting, based on a beam failure associated with the one or more reference signals (Figs. 22 and 26, beam failure associated with SSB is detected), a preamble via a random access channel (RACH) resource (191st paragraph, UE transmits the preamble on the channel time-frequency response).
Xiong does not disclose medium access control (MAC) control element indicating one or more reference signals. Tiirola discloses reference signals can be conveyed in the form of DCI or MAC CE (100th paragraph). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to convey reference signals in MAC CE in Xiong’s system, as suggested by Tiirola, since MAC CE handles collisions effectively.
Regarding claims 2, 12, 20, and 30, Xiong discloses that wherein the transmitting the preamble comprises transmitting a beam failure recovery request with the preamble (Fig. 26, a beam failure recovery request is transmitting with the preamble).
Regarding claims 3 and 21, Xiong discloses monitoring a plurality of second reference signals for determining a candidate beam associated with the preamble (189th – 190th paragraphs, UE selects a candidate downlink transmit beam according to measurement result of reference signals and a preamble is selected based on association with the downlink transmit beam).
Regarding claims 4 and 22, Xiong discloses that wherein the one or more configuration parameters further comprise one or more thresholds (163rd – 164th paragraphs, reporting the measurement result incudes feeding back, according to the configured threshold, measurement results of all measurement reference signals greater than or not less than the threshold), the method further comprising: determining that a channel quality of the one or more reference signals is below a first threshold of the one or more thresholds; and detecting, based on the determining, a beam failure of a beam associated with the one or more reference signals (804th paragraph, terminal selects candidate beam according to measurement result and selects a preamble to transmit a beam failure recovery request. Herein, the measured reference signals are below the configured threshold and a beam failure of a beam transmitting the reference signal is declared).
Regarding claims 5 and 25, Xiong discloses detecting a beam failure of a beam associated with the one or more reference signals, wherein the beam failure is associated with a quality of the one or more reference signals (804th paragraph, terminal selects candidate beam according to measurement result and selects a preamble to transmit a beam failure recovery request. Herein, the measured reference signals are below the configured threshold and a beam failure of a beam transmitting the reference signal is declared), and wherein the RACH resource is associated with a first set, of the plurality of reference signals, comprising the one or more reference signals (Fig. 23, random access channels and preambles are associated with set of SSBs).
Regarding claims 6 and 26, Xiong discloses that wherein a first set, of the plurality of reference signals, comprises the one or more reference signals (Fig. 13, each synchronization signal block comprises one or more of reference signals), and wherein the RACH resource is associated with a second set, of the plurality of reference signals (Fig. 13, a random access occasion is associated with a set of SSB), comprising a candidate reference signal associated with a candidate beam that is associated with the preamble (Fig. 13, each set of SSB comprises a reference signal having a beam direction and a preamble).
Regarding claims 7 and 23, Xiong discloses measuring a channel quality associated with a channel state information reference signal resource associated with the one or more reference signals (160th – 161st paragraphs, measuring reference signals including CSI-RSs).
Regarding claims 8 and, 24, Xiong discloses selecting, based on a measurement associated with at least one of the one or more reference signals being below a threshold, the preamble (Figs. 26 and 27, preamble is selected after beam failure detection).
Regarding claims 9 and 27, Xiong discloses that wherein the RACH resource is selected from the one or more RACH resources (Fig. 23, random access channels) and is associated with a candidate beam that is associated with the preamble (Fig. 27). Xiong does not disclose that wherein the at least one MAC control element further indicates one or more RACH resources. Tiirola discloses that bandwidth can be conveyed via MAC CE (100th paragraph). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to convey bandwidth allocation in MAC CE in Xiong’s system, as suggested by Tiirola, to allocate resources among UEs.
Regarding claims 11 and 29, Xiong discloses that wherein the one or more configuration parameters of the plurality of reference signals comprises a channel state information reference signal resource (160th paragraph, configured CSI-RSs).
Regarding claims 13 and 31, Xiong discloses transmitting one or more indications of a plurality of sets of second reference signals (Fig. 13, each synchronization signal block comprises one or more of reference signals), wherein the preamble is associated with a candidate beam that is associated with at least one reference signal in a first set of the plurality of sets of second reference signals (Fig. 13, each set of SSB comprises a reference signal having a beam direction and a preamble).
Regarding claims 14 and 32, Xiong discloses determining, based on the receiving the preamble, a beam failure of a beam associated with the one or more reference signals (Figs. 26-27, preamble is selected and transmitted after beam failure detection), wherein the one or more configuration parameters further indicate one or more thresholds associated with the beam failure (163rd – 164th paragraphs, reporting the measurement result incudes feeding back, according to the configured threshold, measurement results of all measurement reference signals greater than or not less than the threshold. Herein, the configured threshold must be received by the UE).
Regarding claims 15 and 33, Xiong discloses that wherein the receiving the preamble is selected with at least one of the one or more reference signals not satisfying a threshold (Figs. 26-27, preamble is selected and transmitted after beam failure detection).
Regarding claims 16 and 34, Xiong discloses that wherein the beam failure is associated with a quality of the one or more reference signals (Fig. 26, beam failure is associated with measurement of reference signals), and wherein the RACH resource is associated with a first set, of the plurality of reference signals, comprising the one or more reference signals (Fig. 13).
Regarding claims 17 and 35, Xiong discloses that wherein the beam failure is associated with a quality of the one or more reference signals (Fig. 26, beam failure is associated with measurement of reference signals), wherein a first set, of the plurality of reference signals, comprises the one or more reference signals (Fig. 13, each synchronization signal block comprises one or more of reference signals), and wherein the RACH resource is associated with a second set, of the plurality of reference signals (Fig. 13, a random access occasion is associated with a set of SSB), comprising a candidate reference signal associated with a candidate beam that is associated with the preamble (Fig. 13, each set of SSB comprises a reference signal having a beam direction and a preamble).
Regarding claims 18 and 36, Xiong discloses that wherein the preamble is associated with a candidate beam (Fig. 27), and wherein the RACH resource is associated with the candidate beam and is selected from one or more RACH resources (Fig. 23, random access channels). Xiong does not disclose that wherein the at least one MAC control element further indicates one or more RACH resources. Tiirola discloses that bandwidth can be conveyed via MAC CE (100th paragraph). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to convey bandwidth allocation in MAC CE in Xiong’s system, as suggested by Tiirola, to allocate resources among UEs.
Regarding claim 19, Xiong discloses a wireless device (99th paragraph, terminal) comprising:
one or more processors (99th paragraph, terminal comprises processor); and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors (99th paragraph, terminal comprises memory storing instructions, executed by the processor), cause the wireless device to:
receive one or more configuration parameters indicating a plurality of reference signals (163rd – 164th paragraphs, reporting the measurement result incudes feeding back, according to the configured threshold, measurement results of all measurement reference signals greater than or not less than the threshold. Herein, the configured threshold must be received by the UE);
receive an indication of one or more reference signals of the plurality of reference signals (160th paragraph, the UE acquires measurement reference signals configured by a base station); and
transmit, based on a beam failure associated with the one or more reference signals (Figs. 22 and 26, beam failure associated with SSB is detected), a preamble via a random access channel (RACH) resource (191st paragraph, UE transmits the preamble on the channel time-frequency response).
Xiong does not disclose medium access control (MAC) control element indicating one or more reference signals. Tiirola discloses reference signals can be conveyed in the form of DCI or MAC CE (100th paragraph). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to convey reference signals in MAC CE in Xiong’s system, as suggested by Tiirola, since MAC CE handles collisions effectively.
Regarding claim 28, Xiong discloses a base station (100th paragraph, base station) comprising:
one or more processors (100th paragraph, base station comprises processor); and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors (100th paragraph, base station comprises memory storing instructions, executed by the processor), cause the base station to:
transmit one or more configuration parameters indicating a plurality of reference signals (163rd – 164th paragraphs, reporting the measurement result incudes feeding back, according to the configured threshold, measurement results of all measurement reference signals greater than or not less than the threshold. Herein, the configured threshold must be received by the UE);
transmit an indication of one or more reference signals of the plurality of reference signals (160th paragraph, the UE acquires measurement reference signals configured by a base station); and
receive, from the wireless device via a random access channel (RACH) resource and based on a beam failure associated with the one or more reference signals (Figs. 22 and 26, beam failure associated with SSB is detected), a preamble (191st paragraph, UE transmits the preamble on the channel time-frequency response).
Xiong does not disclose medium access control (MAC) control element indicating one or more reference signals. Tiirola discloses reference signals can be conveyed in the form of DCI or MAC CE (100th paragraph). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to convey reference signals in MAC CE in Xiong’s system, as suggested by Tiirola, since MAC CE handles collisions effectively.
Conclusion
Jung et al (US Patent No. 10,700,752 B2), same field of endeavor, discloses beam feedback using RACH (Figs. 10-15 and 19-24).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANH VU H LY whose telephone number is (571)272-3175. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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ANH VU H. LY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2472
/ANH VU H LY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2472