DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-29 have been examined.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 15-18, and 27-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2017024516 A1 to Fan et al. (hereinafter Fan).
As per claim 1, Pan discloses a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication (Fan Fig. 5), comprising: a memory (Fan Fig. 5 and [086-087], discloses a UE which inherently has a storage); and one or more processors (Fan [086-087]), coupled to the memory (Fan Fig. 5), individually or collectively configured to: transmit a beam failure recovery (BFR) message regarding a failed link ((Fan [065], "... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failure to AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4 at step S320.")), wherein the failed link is one of an indirect link with a network node via a relay node (Fan Fig. 1, ref. E1, for the connection between UE 112Aand network node AN 111A) or a direct link with the network node (Fan Fig. 1, ref. E1, for the connection between UE 112Aand network node AN 111E), wherein the BFR message is transmitted on one of the indirect link (Fan [066], " [066] ... For example, as shown in Fig. 1, UE 112B can access to AN 111G via beams G1or G2, or to AN 111F via beam F2. Therefore, for serving beam G1(G2) , besides backup beam G2 (G1) in AN 111G, beam F2 in AN 111F can be also used as a backup beam； likewise, for serving beam F2, beams G1 and G2 can be used as backup beams. The above configuration enhances recovery capability from beam failure, especially when all of the beams within an AN are unavailable.") or the direct link that is not the failed link (paragraph [065], " [065] ... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failureto AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4at step S320. "); and receive an updated beam configuration for the failed link on a selected beam indicated by the BFR message (Fan [065], " [065] ... Then at step S330, UE 112A receives from AN 111E information on the selection of the available beam or the new serving beam. The process proceeds to step S340, where UE 112A continues the communication with AN 111E via beam E4 and then returns step S310.")).
As per claim 2, Fan discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further individually or collectively configured to wait a time period for a BFR response on the indirect link after transmitting the BFR message (Fan [038,077,083]).
As per claim 15, Fan discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the direct link is the failed link (Fan [065] ... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failureto AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4 at step S320.).
As per claim 16, Fan discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the BFR message is on the direct link via a random access channel (RACH) transmission (Fan [046]).
As per claim 17, Fan discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the indirect link is the failed link (Fan [065], ref. E1 as failed direct beam).
As per claim 18, Fan discloses a network node for wireless communication (Fan Fig. 6), comprising: a memory (Fan Fig. 6 and [086-087], discloses a AN which inherently has a storage); and one or more processors (Fan [086-087]), coupled to the memory, individually or collectively configured to: receive a beam failure recovery (BFR) message regarding a failed link ((Fan [065], "... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failure to AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4 at step S320.")), wherein the failed link is one of an indirect link with a remote user equipment (UE) via a relay node (Fan Fig. 1, ref. E1, for the connection between UE 112Aand network node AN 111A) or a direct link with the remote UE (Fan Fig. 1, ref. E1, for the connection between UE 112Aand network node AN 111E), wherein the BFR message is received on one of the indirect link (Fan [066], " [066] ... For example, as shown in Fig. 1, UE 112B can access to AN 111G via beams G1or G2, or to AN 111F via beam F2. Therefore, for serving beam G1(G2) , besides backup beam G2 (G1) in AN 111G, beam F2 in AN 111F can be also used as a backup beam； likewise, for serving beam F2, beams G1 and G2 can be used as backup beams. The above configuration enhances recovery capability from beam failure, especially when all of the beams within an AN are unavailable.") or the direct link that is not the failed link (paragraph [065], " [065] ... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failureto AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4at step S320. "); and transmit an updated beam configuration for the failed link on a selected beam indicated by the BFR message (Fan [065], " [065] ... Then at step S330, UE 112A receives from AN 111E information on the selection of the available beam or the new serving beam. The process proceeds to step S340, where UE 112A continues the communication with AN 111E via beam E4 and then returns step S310.")).
As per claim 27, Fan discloses the network node of claim 18, wherein the direct link is the failed link (Fan [065] ... UE 112A transmits notification of the occurrence of the beam failureto AN 111E via beams E1, E2 and E4 or only via beams E2 and E4 at step S320.).
As per claim 28, Fan discloses the network node of claim 18, wherein the BFR message is on the direct link via a random access channel (RACH) transmission (Fan [046]).
As per claim 29, Fan discloses the network node of claim 18, wherein the indirect link is the failed link (Fan [065], ref. E1 as failed direct beam).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 14 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fan as applied to claims 1-2, 15-18, and 27-29 above, and further in view of WO 2020/210041 A1 to Raghavan et al. (hereinafter “Rag”).
As per claim 14, Fan discloses the UE of claim 1, wherein the BFR message is on the indirect link via a sidelink communication.
Fan may not explicitly disclose, but Rag, which is in the same field of endeavor, discloses wherein the BFR message is on the indirect link via a sidelink communication (Fig. 3A, ref. 310, UE1-BS mmW Link BFR communication)). The purpose of Rag is to beam failure recovery (BFR) in millimeter wave (mmW) systems with network assisted user equipment (UE) cooperation (Rag [0002]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rag with Fan, to improve beam failure recovery by reducing latency and improving reliability of the BFR procedure (Rag [0057]).
As per claim 26, Fan discloses the network node of claim 18, wherein the BFR message is on the indirect link via a sidelink communication.
Fan may not explicitly disclose, but Rag, which is in the same field of endeavor, discloses wherein the BFR message is on the indirect link via a sidelink communication (Fig. 3A, ref. 310, UE1-BS mmW Link BFR communication)). The purpose of Rag is to beam failure recovery (BFR) in millimeter wave (mmW) systems with network assisted user equipment (UE) cooperation (Rag [0002]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Rag with Fan, to improve beam failure recovery by reducing latency and improving reliability of the BFR procedure (Rag [0057]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-13 and 19-25 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7161. The examiner can normally be reached Flex.
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FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2476
/FAIYAZKHAN GHAFOERKHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2476