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 .
DETAILED ACTION
a. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 04/07/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-19 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, are being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
- claims 1-2, 6-7, 9-10, 13-15, and 18 are amended
- claims 3, 8, 11, and 16 are canceled
b. This is a first action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 04/07/2026.
Response to Arguments
Regarding claim 18 previously objected for informalities, claim 18 has been amended according to the examiner's recommendation and thus the previous objection has been withdrawn.
Regarding Independent claims 1, 2, 5-7, 9-10, 13-15, and 17 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's arguments, see “The amendments are supported at least by claim 3 (now canceled) and paragraphs [0103]-[0108] and [0113]-[0114] of the specification as filed. The foregoing claimed features are not taught or suggested by Lohr or Velev, considered individually or in combination.” on page 9, filed on 04/07/2026, with respect to Lohr et al, Foreign Patent WO2022153242 (hereinafter “Lohr”), and in view of Velev et al. US Pub 2020/0107378 (hereinafter “Velev”), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Cheng et al. US Pub 2024/0015784 (hereinafter “Cheng”), in combination with previously applied references Lohr and Velev. See section Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 below for complete details.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 of this title, 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.
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 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.
Claims 1, 2, 5-7, 9-10, 13-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lohr et al, Foreign Patent WO2022153242 (hereinafter “Lohr”), and in view of Velev et al. US Pub 2020/0107378 (hereinafter “Velev”).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended)
Lohr discloses a wireless communication method (“One method of a user equipment (“UE”) for slice-specific RACH configuration” [0005]), comprising:
performing, by a communication device (e.g. “UE 701” in Fig. 7), a random access technique (“Random access procedure (i.e., “RA procedure” or “RACH procedure”) including Random-access resource partitioning and Random-access prioritization” [0002]) using one set of random access channel (RACH) configurations associated with at least one slice group from a plurality of slice groups (“a first set of slice-specific random access channel (“RACH”) configurations” [0005]), or a service type (“The Slice Differentiator (“SD”) is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to differentiate between multiple network slices of the same SST value.” [0066]),
wherein the one set of RACH configurations (“a first set of slice-specific random access channel (“RACH”) configurations” [0005]) is from multiple sets of RACH configurations related to the plurality of slice groups (“each slice-specific RACH configuration containing a set of random access parameters specific to a slice group identity” [0005]),
wherein each set from the multiple sets of RACH configurations is associated with one slice group from the plurality of slice groups (“Here, each slice-specific RACH configuration contains a set of random access parameters specific to a slice group identity” [0130]),
wherein the random access technique is performed using common or dedicated resources included in the one set of RACH configurations (“In this case the network configures a dedicated preamble to a UE for random access. In some embodiments, the RAN 205 supports a common (i.e., shared) RACH configuration.” [0123-0124]),
wherein the common or dedicated resources include a preamble start index and a number of preambles to be used for the at least one slice group (“To allocate RA resources per slice in time/frequency the following parameters are configured per slice: RACH period, RO start index, RO offset in time/frequency. Within each RO a number of preambles are allocated per slice given by a “Preamble start index” and a “Preamble end index.”” [0044]), or the service type (“The Slice Differentiator (“SD”) is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to differentiate between multiple network slices of the same SST value.” [0066]),
and
wherein each resource from the common or dedicated resources has a use case indication (e.g. “Slice group identity”) that indicates whether the resource is used by the at least one slice group, or the service type (“The UE uses the received “Slice group identity” value(s) for initial access from RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE using CBRA resources. The UE selects the RACH configuration that matches with the specific slice it wants to access to. The length of the “Slice group identity” may be 8 bits (with value range from 0 to 255). The maximum number of slice-specific RACH configurations may be limited to e.g., 2, 4, 8 or 16.” [0085]).
Lohr does not specifically teach herein the common or dedicated resources include the UE type.
In an analogous art, Velev discloses wherein the common or dedicated resources include the UE type (“For example NAS layer of UEs belonging to any of the exempted access category(ies), access identities and/or UE types/classes/categories might not provide the access stratum any NSSAI information. The indication can be sent in the SI for different UE categories, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and/or vehicle to everything (v2x), etc.” [0081]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration to include Velev’s network slice selection assistance information, in order to determine whether to transmit network slice selection assistance information, for example as part of the radio connection establishment signaling (Velev [0001]).
Lohr and Velev do not specifically teach wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups.
In an analogous art, Cheng discloses wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations (e.g., “2-step slice-based RACH procedure, a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure”) include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups (“In some implementations, a UE may perform a 2-step slice-based RACH procedure or a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure. To efficiently select a slice-based RACH procedure type (e.g., 2-step slice-based RACH procedure, a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure), prior to or upon being triggered to perform a RACH procedure, the UE may receive a RACH configuration message which may indicate information related to the RACH procedure, such as information related to a network slice associated with the RACH procedure (e.g., a network slice attempting to be accessed by the RACH procedure), a priority associated with the network slice, a RACH procedure type associated with the network slice, one or more thresholds associated with the network slice (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) thresholds, thresholds configured for a fallback procedure), or a combination therefore. The UE may select a slice-based RACH procedure based on the RACH configuration message. In some implementations, the UE may select the slice-based RACH procedure type based on a common RSRP threshold (e.g., each network slice is associated with the same RSRP threshold). In some implementations, the UE may select the slice-based RACH procedure type based on the priority associated with the network slice. For example, in some cases, network slices may be mapped to a slice-based RACH procedure type based on priority. As such, upon identifying the network slice to be accessed and/or the priority associated with the network slice, the UE may identify the slice-based RACH procedure type based on the network slice and/or priority of the network slice. Additionally or alternatively, network slices may be associated with dedicated RSRP thresholds (e.g., each network slice is assigned an RSRP threshold) based on priority. As such, upon identifying the network slice to be accessed and/or the priority associated with the network slice, the UE may identify the dedicated RSRP threshold associated with the network slice and/or the priority of the network slice and the UE may use the RSRP threshold to determine the slice-based RACH procedure type.” [0046]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration, ad modified by Velev, to include Cheng’s techniques for selecting a slice-based random access procedure, in order to select a slice-based random access procedure based on the random access configuration and the network slice to be accessed by the UE (Cheng [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Cheng’s techniques for selecting a slice-based random access procedure into Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2 (Currently Amended)
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Lohr further discloses wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations (“a slice specific RACH configuration (e.g., for random access resource partitioning and prioritization) is signaled in a System Information Block (“SIB”)” [0040]) include a configuration for a prioritized random access procedure (i.e. “4-step CBRA”, “2-step CBRA”) and a configuration for each slice group of the plurality of slice groups (“Figure 6 shows an exemplary ASN.l IE 600 of signaling for slice-specific RACH configurations for RA prioritization in the existing SIB1. The field ra-PrioritizationPerSlice- Configlnfo-rl7 is included in IE RACH-Config Common (for 4-step CBRA) and/or IE RACH- ConfigCommonTwoStepRA-rl6 (for 2-step CBRA).” [0097]; Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Lohr further discloses wherein the communication device performs the random access technique by using a second set of RACH prioritization parameters configured for a slice group (“Alternatively, in case where common CBRA resources are configured for both slices, then the network may configure RA prioritization parameters specific to the second network slice 211, i.e., configure dedicated parameters for power ramping step and scaling factor for the backoff indicator (“BI”) for the second network slice 211” [0073]).
Regarding claim 6 (Currently Amended)
Lohr discloses a wireless communication method, comprising:
performing, by a network device (i.e. “a communication network”), a first transmission to a communication device (“a user equipment (“UE”)”), wherein the first transmission comprises multiple sets of random access channel (RACH) configurations related to at least one slice group from a plurality of slice groups (“One method of a user equipment (“UE”) for slice-specific RACH configuration includes receiving, from a communication network, a first set of slice-specific random access channel (“RACH”) configurations, each slice-specific RACH configuration containing a set of random access parameters specific to a slice group identity.” [0005]), or a service type (“The Slice Differentiator (“SD”) is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to differentiate between multiple network slices of the same SST value.” [0066]),
wherein each set from the multiple sets of RACH configurations is associated with one slice group from the plurality of slice groups (“The method includes receiving, from the communication network, a mapping of slice group identities to network slices of the communication network and selecting, based on the mapping, a first RACH configuration for a first network slice.” [0005]), and
receiving, by the network device from the communication device, a random access preamble using one set of RACH configurations associated with the at least one slice group from the multiple sets of RACH configurations (“Each RACH configuration per slice shares the same resources in frequency domain, i.e., the parameters “msgl-FDM = 2” and “msg 1 -Frequency Start” are same for each slice. However, in time domain each RACH configuration per slice is different and separate to each other, i.e., the PRACH preambles and RACH occasions are not shared between the slices.” [0111]),
wherein a random access technique is performed using common or dedicated resources included in the one set of RACH configurations (“In this case the network configures a dedicated preamble to a UE for random access. In some embodiments, the RAN 205 supports a common (i.e., shared) RACH configuration.” [0123-0124]),
wherein the common or dedicated resources include a preamble start index and a number of preambles to be used for the at least one slice group (“To allocate RA resources per slice in time/frequency the following parameters are configured per slice: RACH period, RO start index, RO offset in time/frequency. Within each RO a number of preambles are allocated per slice given by a “Preamble start index” and a “Preamble end index.”” [0044]), or the service type (“The Slice Differentiator (“SD”) is optional information that complements the Slice/Service type(s) to differentiate between multiple network slices of the same SST value.” [0066]), and
wherein each resource from the common or dedicated resources has a use case indication (e.g. “Slice group identity”) that indicates whether the resource is used by the at least one slice group, or the service type (“The UE uses the received “Slice group identity” value(s) for initial access from RRC IDLE or RRC INACTIVE using CBRA resources. The UE selects the RACH configuration that matches with the specific slice it wants to access to. The length of the “Slice group identity” may be 8 bits (with value range from 0 to 255). The maximum number of slice-specific RACH configurations may be limited to e.g., 2, 4, 8 or 16.” [0085]).
Lohr does not specifically teach herein the common or dedicated resources include the UE type.
In an analogous art, Velev discloses wherein the common or dedicated resources include the UE type (“For example NAS layer of UEs belonging to any of the exempted access category(ies), access identities and/or UE types/classes/categories might not provide the access stratum any NSSAI information. The indication can be sent in the SI for different UE categories, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and/or vehicle to everything (v2x), etc.” [0081]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration to include Velev’s network slice selection assistance information, in order to determine whether to transmit network slice selection assistance information, for example as part of the radio connection establishment signaling (Velev [0001]).
Lohr and Velev do not specifically teach wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups.
In an analogous art, Cheng discloses wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations (e.g., “2-step slice-based RACH procedure, a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure”) include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups (“In some implementations, a UE may perform a 2-step slice-based RACH procedure or a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure. To efficiently select a slice-based RACH procedure type (e.g., 2-step slice-based RACH procedure, a 4-step sliced-based RACH procedure), prior to or upon being triggered to perform a RACH procedure, the UE may receive a RACH configuration message which may indicate information related to the RACH procedure, such as information related to a network slice associated with the RACH procedure (e.g., a network slice attempting to be accessed by the RACH procedure), a priority associated with the network slice, a RACH procedure type associated with the network slice, one or more thresholds associated with the network slice (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP) thresholds, thresholds configured for a fallback procedure), or a combination therefore. The UE may select a slice-based RACH procedure based on the RACH configuration message. In some implementations, the UE may select the slice-based RACH procedure type based on a common RSRP threshold (e.g., each network slice is associated with the same RSRP threshold). In some implementations, the UE may select the slice-based RACH procedure type based on the priority associated with the network slice. For example, in some cases, network slices may be mapped to a slice-based RACH procedure type based on priority. As such, upon identifying the network slice to be accessed and/or the priority associated with the network slice, the UE may identify the slice-based RACH procedure type based on the network slice and/or priority of the network slice. Additionally or alternatively, network slices may be associated with dedicated RSRP thresholds (e.g., each network slice is assigned an RSRP threshold) based on priority. As such, upon identifying the network slice to be accessed and/or the priority associated with the network slice, the UE may identify the dedicated RSRP threshold associated with the network slice and/or the priority of the network slice and the UE may use the RSRP threshold to determine the slice-based RACH procedure type.” [0046]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration, ad modified by Velev, to include Cheng’s techniques for selecting a slice-based random access procedure, in order to select a slice-based random access procedure based on the random access configuration and the network slice to be accessed by the UE (Cheng [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Cheng’s techniques for selecting a slice-based random access procedure into Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 7 (Currently Amended)
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the method of claim 6, wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a configuration for a prioritized random access procedure and a configuration e for each slice group of the plurality of slice groups.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 7 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in method claim 2. Therefore method claim 7 corresponds to method claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 2 rejection above.
Regarding claim 9 (Currently Amended)
Lohr discloses an apparatus for wireless communication (“Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a wireless communication system for slice-specific RACH configuration” [0008]) comprising a processor (“an apparatus or system may include a computer-readable medium containing computer-readable code which, when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus or system to perform at least a portion of the below described solutions.” [0038]), configured to implement a method, comprising:
perform, by a communication device, a random access technique using one set of random access channel (RACH) configurations associated with at least one slice group from a plurality of slice groups, a user equipment (UE) type, or a service type,
wherein the one set of RACH configurations is from multiple sets of RACH configurations related to the plurality of slice groups,
wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups,
wherein each set from the multiple sets of RACH configurations is associated with one slice group from the plurality of slice groups,
wherein the random access technique is performed using common or dedicated resources included in the one set of RACH configurations, wherein the common or dedicated resources include a preamble start index and a number of preambles to be used for the at least one slice group, the UE type, or the service type, and
wherein each resource from the common or dedicated resources has a use case indication that indicates whether the resource is used by the at least one slice group, the UE type or the service type.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 9 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 9 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 10 (Currently Amended)
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a configuration for a prioritized random access procedure and a configuration for each slice group of the plurality of slice groups.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 10 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 2. Therefore apparatus claim 10 corresponds to method claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 13 (Currently Amended)
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the apparatus of claim 9,
Lohr further discloses wherein the communication device performs the random access technique by using a second set of RACH prioritization parameters configured for a slice group (“Alternatively, in case where common CBRA resources are configured for both slices, then the network may configure RA prioritization parameters specific to the second network slice 211, i.e., configure dedicated parameters for power ramping step and scaling factor for the backoff indicator (“Bl”) for the second network slice 211” [0073]).
Regarding claim 14 (Currently Amended)
Lohr discloses an apparatus for wireless communication (“Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a wireless communication system for slice-specific RACH configuration” [0008]) comprising a processor (“an apparatus or system may include a computer-readable medium containing computer-readable code which, when executed by a processor, causes the apparatus or system to perform at least a portion of the below described solutions.” [0038]), configured to implement a method, comprising:
perform, by a network device, a first transmission to a communication device, wherein the first transmission comprises multiple sets of random access channel (RACH) configurations related to at least one slice group from a plurality of slice groups, a user equipment (UE) type, or a service type,
wherein each set from the multiple sets of RACH configurations is associated with one slice group from the plurality of slice groups,
wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a value that indicates a threshold reference signal received power (RSRP) for each slice group from the plurality of slice groups; and
receive, by the network device from the communication device, a random access preamble using one set of RACH configurations associated with the at least one slice group from the multiple sets of RACH configurations;
wherein a random access technique is performed using common or dedicated resources included in the one set of RACH configurations,
wherein the common or dedicated resources include a preamble start index and a number of preambles to be used for the at least one slice group, the UE type, or the service type, and
wherein each resource from the common or dedicated resources has a use case indication that indicates whether the resource is used by the at least one slice group, the UE type or the service type.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 14 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 6. Therefore apparatus claim 14 corresponds to method claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 15 (Currently Amended)
The apparatus of claim 14,
wherein the multiple sets of RACH configurations include a configuration for a prioritized random access procedure and a configuration for each slice group of the plurality of slice groups.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 15 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 7. Therefore apparatus claim 15 corresponds to method claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 7 rejection above.
Regarding claim 17
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the apparatus of claim 9,
Lohr further discloses wherein the communication device performs the random access technique by using a set of RACH prioritization parameters configured for a slice group (“Alternatively, in case where common CBRA resources are configured for both slices, then the network may configure RA prioritization parameters specific to the second network slice 211, i.e., configure dedicated parameters for power ramping step and scaling factor for the backoff indicator (“BI”) for the second network slice 211” [0073]).
Claims 4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lohr, in view of Velev and Cheng, and further in view of Apple NPL “Discussion on slice based RACH”, 3GPP R2-2103882, April 12 - April 20, 2021 (hereinafter “Apple”).
Regarding claim 4
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the method of claim 1,
Lohr, Velev, and Cheng do not specifically teach wherein the communication device performs the random access technique by performing a 2-step random access technique or by performing a 4-step random access technique.
In an analogous art, Apple discloses wherein the communication device performs the random access technique by performing a 2-step random access technique or by performing a 4-step random access technique (“The existing scheme of RACH type selection is shown as below. UE first performs carrier type selection between NUL and SUL, then performs RA type selection and beam selection for RO selection.” Topic 3, section 2).
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Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration, as modified by Velev and Cheng, to include Apple’s flexible slice specific RACH resource configuration, in order to enable flexible configurations to provide both or only one of 2-step/4-step RACH resources for each slice group (Apple, proposal 2, section 3). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Apple’s flexible slice specific RACH resource configuration into Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 12
The apparatus of claim 9,
wherein the processor of the communication device is configured to perform the random access technique by performing a 2-step random access technique or by performing a 4-step random access technique.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 12 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 4. Therefore apparatus claim 12 corresponds to method claim 4 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 4 rejection above.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lohr, in view of Velev and Cheng, and further in view of Rastegardoost et al., US Pub 2022/0210806, claiming provisional application 63132883 priority 2020-12-31 (hereinafter “Rastegardoost”).
Regarding claim 18 (Currently Amended)
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the apparatus of claim 9,
Lohr, Velev, and Cheng do not specifically teach wherein the UE type comprises a UE with reduced capability, the UE supporting coverage enhancement, the UE supporting small data transmission, the UE initiating small data transmission.
In an analogous art, Rastegardoost discloses wherein the UE type comprises a UE with reduced capability, the UE supporting coverage enhancement, the UE supporting small data transmission, the UE initiating small data transmission (“A UE type/category may be associated with one or more of the capabilities considered for RedCap devices, and/or one or more enhancements considered for coverage recovery/enhancement and/or small data transmission and/or a combination thereof.” [0285]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration, as modified by Velev and Cheng, to include Rastegardoost’s different slice configurations based on UE types, in order to enable flexible slice configurations (Rastegardoost [0285]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Rastegardoost’s different slice configurations based on UE types into Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lohr, in view of Velev and Cheng, and further in view of Oh et al., US Pub 2020/0389262 (hereinafter “Oh”).
Regarding claim 19
Lohr, as modified by Velev and Cheng, previously discloses the apparatus of claim 9,
Lohr, Velev, and Cheng do not specifically teach wherein the service type is a small data transmission.
In an analogous art, Oh discloses wherein the service type is a small data transmission (“The third type service, the third type control information, or the third type data is not limited to the mMTC, but may correspond to a case where at least one of low speed or wide coverage, low power, intermittent data transmission, and small-sized data transmission is required.” [0091])
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration, as modified by Velev and Cheng, to include Oh’s method for smoothly providing a service in a communication system in order to support different types of services (Oh [0001]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Oh’s method for smoothly providing a service in a communication system into Lohr’s slice-specific RACH configuration since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Conclusion
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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