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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/11/23. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1 – 3, 14 – 16, 9 - 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cui et al. (US Publication 2025/0038892) disclosed PCT/CN22/129395.
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Cui teaches an apparatus and a method of a terminal, comprising: (i.e. fig. 2 shows a terminal (user equipment; element 204) comprising a processor, memory and transceiver for executing programmed instructions; see paragraphs 22 - 24)
receiving, from a base station, repeated transmission configuration information of repeated transmission for a message 4 (Msg4) hybrid automatic repeat request- acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK); (i.e. fig.2 shows DL/UL communication between a terminal and a base station respectively, wherein the terminal may receive from a base station, configuration signaling for PUCCH repetition for a MSG4 HARQ-ACK transmission; see paragraphs 34, 35)
receiving a Msg4 from the base station in a random access (RA) procedure between the terminal and the base station; (i.e. Cui discloses the terminal can be configured for repetition of HARQ-ACK transmissions on a PUCCH in response to a MSG4 reception also known as contention resolution in a RACH procedure; see paragraph 34, 35) and
performing repeated transmission for the Msg4 HARQ-ACK based on the repeated transmission configuration information. (i.e. Cui discloses the terminal may respond to the Msg4 on the PUCCH with repetitive HARQ-ACKs according to the received configuration signaling; see paragraphs 34, 35) (See Also; CUI discloses repetitive HARQ-ACK transmissions in a RACH procedure (see paragraph 34), which inherently comprises how a User Equipment (UE) first connects to a cellular network (like 4G/5G) or re-establishes connection, involving a four-message exchange to get uplink synchronization and resources: UE sends a random preamble (Msg1), network sends a Random Access Response (RAR) with timing advance (Msg2), UE sends an RRC Connection Request (Msg3) using allocated resources, the network resolves any collisions and confirms with a Contention Resolution message (Msg4), and finally responds on a PUCCH with a HARQ-ACK if the Msg4 is received; see definition of random access procedure in any scientific literature regarding wireless cellular communications)
Regarding claims 2 and 15, Cui teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the repeated transmission configuration information includes at least one of: an information element indicating enabling or disabling of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a target signal of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a target channel of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers, an information element indicating a repeated transmission number, an information element indicating a periodicity of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a quality threshold used to determine whether to perform repeated transmission, an information element indicating a transmission resource of a message requesting repeated transmission, an information element indicating enabling or disabling a transmission operation of the message requesting repeated transmission, an information element indicating a transmission resource of a message indicating that repeated transmission can be performed, or an information element indicating enabling or disabling a transmission operation of the message indicating that repeated transmission can be performed. (i.e. the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may include enabling/disabling of repetition, repetition factor candidate or specific values among other parameters; see paragraph 36)
Regarding claims 3 and 16, Cui teaches the method according to claim 1, wherein the repeated transmission configuration information is received through at least one of a system information block (SIB) or downlink control information (DCI), and the DCI is a scheduling DCI for the Msg4. (i.e. the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may be received via at least one of: a SIB, MIB or DCI; see paragraph 35)
Regarding claims 9, Cui teaches a method of a base station, comprising:
transmitting, to a terminal, repeated transmission configuration information of repeated transmission of a message4 (Msg4) hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK); (i.e. fig.2 shows DL/UL communication between a terminal and a base station respectively, wherein the terminal may receive from a base station, configuration signaling for PUCCH repetition for a MSG4 HARQ-ACK transmission; see paragraphs 34, 35)
transmitting a Msg4 to the terminal in a random access (RA) procedure between the base station and the terminal; (i.e. Cui discloses the terminal can be configured for repetition of HARQ-ACK transmissions on a PUCCH in response to a MSG4 reception also known as contention resolution in a RACH procedure; see paragraph 34, 35)and
performing a reception operation for the Msg4 HARQ-ACK based on the repeated transmission configuration information. (i.e. Cui discloses the terminal may respond to the Msg4 on the PUCCH with repetitive HARQ-ACKs according to the received configuration signaling; see paragraphs 34, 35) (See Also; CUI discloses repetitive HARQ-ACK transmissions in a RACH procedure (see paragraph 34), which inherently comprises how a User Equipment (UE) first connects to a cellular network (like 4G/5G) or re-establishes connection, involving a four-message exchange to get uplink synchronization and resources: UE sends a random preamble (Msg1), network sends a Random Access Response (RAR) with timing advance (Msg2), UE sends an RRC Connection Request (Msg3) using allocated resources, the network resolves any collisions and confirms with a Contention Resolution message (Msg4), and finally responds on a PUCCH with a HARQ-ACK if the Msg4 is received; see definition of random access procedure in any scientific literature regarding wireless cellular communications)
Regarding claims 10, Cui teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the repeated transmission configuration information includes at least one of: an information element indicating enabling or disabling of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a target signal of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a target channel of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers, an information element indicating a repeated transmission number, an information element indicating a periodicity of repeated transmission, an information element indicating a quality threshold used to determine whether to perform repeated transmission, an information element indicating a transmission resource of a message requesting repeated transmission, an information element indicating enabling or disabling a transmission operation of the message requesting repeated transmission, an information element indicating a transmission resource of a message indicating that repeated transmission can be performed, or an information element indicating enabling or disabling a transmission operation of the message indicating that repeated transmission can be performed. (i.e. the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may include enabling/disabling of repetition, repetition factor candidate or specific values among other parameters; see paragraph 36)
Regarding claims 11, Cui teaches the method according to claim 9, wherein the repeated transmission configuration information is received through at least one of a system information block (SIB) or downlink control information (DCI), and the DCI is a scheduling DCI for the Msg4. (i.e. the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may be received via at least one of: a SIB, MIB or DCI; see paragraph 35)
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, 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 4, 5, 12, 13, 17, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cui et al. (US Publication 2025/0038892) disclosed PCT/CN22/129395 in view of Cozzo et al. (US Publication 2024/0114522) disclosed 63/410,920.
Regarding claims 4 and 17, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 1 and 14 as described previously from which claims 4 and 17 depend. Cui does not teach wherein the receiving of the repeated transmission configuration information comprises: receiving, from the base station, a SIB including an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers; and receiving, from the base station, a DCI including an information element indicating one repeated transmission number among the supportable repeated transmission numbers. (i.e. Cui discloses the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may be received via at least one of: a SIB, MIB or DCI; see paragraph 35)
However Cozzo teaches wherein the receiving of the repeated transmission configuration information comprises: receiving, from the base station, a SIB including an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers; and receiving, from the base station, a DCI including an information element indicating one repeated transmission number among the supportable repeated transmission numbers. (i.e. Cozzo discloses a UE may receive a configuration for a repetitive PUCCH from an SIB and a DCI, wherein the SIB may indicate a repeated transmission list and a DCI format may indicate the repeated number to select in the list; see paragraphs 143, 144, 146, 147)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to utilize the SIB and DCI to indicate the configuration information of Cozzo into the SIB and DCI of Cui. Both Cozzo and Cui teach configuration of UEs to provide repetitive PUCCH HARQ-ACKs in random access.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve network efficiency as High-layer RRC signaling (SIB) changes infrequently and carries the large configuration set, while low-layer DCI signaling, which is transmitted very frequently, only needs a few bits to signal a pointer to the desired value within the SIB set.
Regarding claims 5 and 18, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 4 and 17 as described previously from which claims 5 and 18 depend. Cui does not teach wherein the information element indicating the one repeated transmission number is expressed by a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a HARQ process number (HPN) field, or a downlink assignment index (DAI) field included in the DCI.
However Cozzo teaches wherein the information element indicating the one repeated transmission number is expressed by a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a HARQ process number (HPN) field, or a downlink assignment index (DAI) field included in the DCI. (i.e. Cozzo the information element indicating the repetitive number PUCCH may be sent by MCS, TPC, DAI or RV fields; see paragraphs 117)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to utilize MCS or DAI to communicate the repetition number of Cozzo into Cui. Both Cozzo and Cui teach configuration of UEs to provide repetitive PUCCH HARQ-ACKs in random access.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve network efficiency as low-layer DCI signaling, which is transmitted very frequently, only needs a few bits to signal a pointer to the desired value within the SIB set.
Regarding claims 12, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 9 as described previously from which claims 12 depend. Cui does not teach wherein the receiving of the repeated transmission configuration information comprises: receiving, from the base station, a SIB including an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers; and receiving, from the base station, a DCI including an information element indicating one repeated transmission number among the supportable repeated transmission numbers. (i.e. Cui discloses the configuration signaling for repeated PUCCH HARQ-ACK may be received via at least one of: a SIB, MIB or DCI; see paragraph 35)
However Cozzo teaches wherein the receiving of the repeated transmission configuration information comprises: receiving, from the base station, a SIB including an information element indicating a set of supportable repeated transmission numbers; and receiving, from the base station, a DCI including an information element indicating one repeated transmission number among the supportable repeated transmission numbers. (i.e. Cozzo discloses a UE may receive a configuration for a repetitive PUCCH from an SIB and a DCI, wherein the SIB may indicate a repeated transmission list and a DCI format may indicate the repeated number to select in the list; see paragraphs 143, 144, 146, 147)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to utilize the SIB and DCI to indicate the configuration information of Cozzo into the SIB and DCI of Cui. Both Cozzo and Cui teach configuration of UEs to provide repetitive PUCCH HARQ-ACKs in random access.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve network efficiency as High-layer RRC signaling (SIB) changes infrequently and carries the large configuration set, while low-layer DCI signaling, which is transmitted very frequently, only needs a few bits to signal a pointer to the desired value within the SIB set.
Regarding claims 13, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 12 and 17 as described previously from which claims 13 depend. Cui does not teach wherein the information element indicating the one repeated transmission number is expressed by a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a HARQ process number (HPN) field, or a downlink assignment index (DAI) field included in the DCI.
However Cozzo teaches wherein the information element indicating the one repeated transmission number is expressed by a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a HARQ process number (HPN) field, or a downlink assignment index (DAI) field included in the DCI. (i.e. Cozzo the information element indicating the repetitive number PUCCH may be sent by MCS, TPC, DAI or RV fields; see paragraphs 117)
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to utilize MCS or DAI to communicate the repetition number of Cozzo into Cui. Both Cozzo and Cui teach configuration of UEs to provide repetitive PUCCH HARQ-ACKs in random access.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve network efficiency as low-layer DCI signaling, which is transmitted very frequently, only needs a few bits to signal a pointer to the desired value within the SIB set.
Claims 6 – 8, 19, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cui et al. (US Publication 2025/0038892) disclosed PCT/CN22/129395.
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 1 and 14 as described previously from which claims 6 and 19 depend. Cui does not teach further comprising: measuring a reception quality for a downlink signal/channel received from the base station; and comparing the reception quality with a quality threshold, wherein when the reception quality is below the quality threshold, the repeated transmission for the Msg4 HARQ-ACK is performed.
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to determine a reception quality before indicating the terminal is to perform repeated HARQ-ACK transmission of Cui. The purpose of the instant application and prior art is to ensure the Msg 4 gets through even when radio condition are poor (e.g. interference, distance far) ensuring reliability. It is obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to perform a simple link quality check before ordering repetitive PUCCH transmissions, which would waste power and bandwith in situations when the link is of good quality.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve system adaptability by dynamically adjusting retransmission effort based on real-time channel conditions, already a key feature of modern cellular networks, while also saving power and preventing unnecessary congestion.
Regarding claims 7, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 6 as described previously from which claims 7 depend. Cui does not teach wherein the quality threshold used to determine whether to perform the repeated transmission for the Msg4 HARQ-ACK is distinct from a quality threshold used to determine whether to perform repeated transmission for a message 3 (Msg3).
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to have different quality thresholds regarding Msg3 and Msg4 in Random Access of Cui. Msg 3 is of lower importance as its essentially just announcing your presence, while Msg 4 is more critical because if the phone doesn't get Msg4, the whole connection setup fails, leaving the user without service.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve system efficiency, preventing unnecessary retransmissions for less critical messages while ensuring high reliability for connection-critical ones, balancing performance and network load.
Regarding claims 8 and 20, Cui discloses all the recited limitations of claim 1 and 14 as described previously from which claims 8 and 20 depend. Cui does not teach further comprising: measuring a reception quality for a downlink signal/channel received from the base station; comparing the reception quality with a quality threshold; and in response to that the reception quality is below the quality threshold, transmitting, to the base station, a message including information requesting the repeated transmission of the Msg4 HARQ-ACK or information indicating that the repeated transmission of the Msg4 HARQ-ACK is possible, wherein the repeated transmission for the Msg4 HARQ-ACK is performed after transmission of the message.
It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the time the invention was filed to determine a reception quality before indicating the terminal is to perform repeated HARQ-ACK transmission of Cui. The purpose of the instant application and prior art is to ensure the Msg 4 gets through even when radio condition are poor (e.g. interference, distance far) ensuring reliability. It is obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to perform a simple link quality check before ordering repetitive PUCCH transmissions, which would waste power and bandwith in situations when the link is of good quality.
A person with ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to Cui to improve system adaptability by dynamically adjusting retransmission effort based on real-time channel conditions, already a key feature of modern cellular networks, while also saving power and preventing unnecessary congestion.
Conclusion
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ROBERT J. LOPATA
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/ROBERT J LOPATA/
December 11, 2025Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471