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 .
Response to Amendment
This is in response to an amendment/response filed 4/23/2026.
No claims have been cancelled.
No claims have been added.
Claims 1-20 are now pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On page 6-7 of the remarks, in regard to the independent claim(s), the Applicant disagrees with the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Cirik et al. US 20200100311 (hereinafter “Cirik”).
Specifically, the Applicant remarks:
Cirik is silent in disclosing that the random access procedure is initiated based on triggering a first beam failure recovery and a second beam failure recovery.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Regarding (1), the applicant argument is not persuasive because in [0379], Cirik mentions that "the wireless device may detect at least one beam failure according to at least one BFR parameters and trigger a BFR procedure". This means multiple beam failures can trigger a BFR procedure which in turn means first and second beam failure can cause the system to transmits a preamble for a random access procedure. In addition, Cirik also mentions that if one BFR procedure is stopped or reconfigured (e.g. in [0473]), the device may initiate a second BFR or second random access procedure. The claimed transmission of a random access preamble based on triggering both a first and second beam failure recovery is met by the reference's disclosure of multiple BFR-triggered RA attempts, each using a PRACH preamble.
On page 7 of the remarks, in regard to the dependent claims, the Applicant states that the claims are allowable at least due to the deficiencies of the ground of rejection applied to the independent claims.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
The Examiner kindly refer the Applicant to the reasoning pertaining to the independent claims, detailed above.
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) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cirik et al. US 20200100311 (hereinafter “Cirik”).
As to claim 1, 10, and 19 (claim 1 is the method claim for the device and non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 10 and 19 respectively):
Cirik discloses:
A method comprising: receiving, by a wireless device, one or more messages comprising: a first parameter indicating a first maximum beam failure instance threshold; and a second parameter indicating a second maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB, an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow. The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble.”, Cirik [0383]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443]) (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444])
triggering a first beam failure recovery based on a first beam failure instance counter reaching the first maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443])
triggering a second beam failure recovery based on a second beam failure instance counter reaching the second maximum beam failure instance threshold; (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444])
based on triggering the first beam failure recovery and the second beam failure recovery, transmitting a random-access preamble for a random-access procedure; (“A wireless device may initiate a random access procedure (e.g., on an SpCell) for a beamfailure recovery, for example, based on, or in response to, a BFI counter (e.g., BFI_COUNTER) being greater than or equal to a value, such as beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount. The random access procedure may be a contention-based random access procedure.”, Cirik [0385])
and based on successfully completing the random-access procedure, setting: the first beam failure instance counter to zero; and the second beam failure instance counter to zero. (“The wireless device may reset the BFI_COUNTER to zero, for example, if the random access procedure (e.g., contention-free random access) is successfully completed.”, Cirik [0386])
As to claim 2, 11, and 20 (claim 2 is the method claim for the device and non-transitory computer-readable medium in claim 11 and 20 respectively):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the first maximum beam failure instance threshold is different from the second maximum beam failure instance threshold. (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443]) (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm, −110 dbm, or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message.”, Cirik [0367]) (“A wireless device may initiate a random access procedure (e.g., on an SpCell) for a beamfailure recovery, for example, based on, or in response to, a BFI counter (e.g., BFI_COUNTER) being greater than or equal to a value, such as beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount. The random access procedure may be a contention-based random access procedure.”, Cirik [0385]) (“An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB, an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow. The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble.”, Cirik [0383]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for DL-BWP-1 2404 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for DL-BWP-2 2408 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount).”, Cirik [0475])
As to claim 3 and 12 (claim 3 is the method claim for the device in claim 12):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more messages comprise: one or more radio resources control (RRC) messages; one or more medium access control control elements (MAC CE); or one or more downlink control information (DCI). (“An RRC message may configure a wireless device with one or more parameters (e.g., in BeamFailureRecoveryConfig) for a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. The one or more parameters may comprise one or more of: beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount for a beam failure detection, beamFailureDetectionTimer for the beam failure detection, beamFailureRecoveryTimer for a beam failure recovery procedure, rsrp-ThresholdSSB, an RSRP threshold for a beam failure recovery, PowerRampingStep for the beam failure recovery, preambleReceivedTargetPower for the beam failure recovery, preambleTxMax for the beam failure recovery, and/or ra-ResponseWindow. The ra-ResponseWindow may be a time window to monitor one or more responses for the beam failure recovery using a contention-free RA preamble.”, Cirik [0383])
As to claim 4 and 13 (claim 4 is the method claim for the device in claim 13):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 1, wherein: the first beam failure instance counter is based on a first number of reference signals (RSs) having a first channel quality less than a first threshold; and the second beam failure instance counter is based on a second number of the RSs having a second channel quality less than a second threshold. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm, −110 dbm, or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message.”, Cirik [0367]) (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443])
As to claim 5 and 14 (claim 5 is the method claim for the device in claim 14):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 4, wherein the RSs comprise one or more of: one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs); or one or more channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs). (“Second DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-2 2308 may comprise one or more second RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-2 2308 and a second BFI counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more second RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-2 2308.”, Cirik [0444]) (“First DL-BWP-specific BFR configuration parameters for the DL-BWP-1 2304 may comprise one or more first RSs (e.g., RadioLinkMonitoringRS) of the DL-BWP-1 2304 and a first beam failure instance (BFI) counter (e.g., beamFailurelnstanceMaxCount). The wireless device may assess the one or more first RSs (e.g., SSBs, CSI-RSs) to detect a beam failure of the DL-BWP-1 2304.”, Cirik [0443])
As to claim 6 and 15 (claim 6 is the method claim for the device in claim 15):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 4, wherein one or both of the first threshold and the second threshold comprise: a reference signal received power (RSRP) value; or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) value. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm, −110 dbm, or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message.”, Cirik [0367])
As to claim 7 and 16 (claim 7 is the method claim for the device in claim 16):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more messages indicate one or more of: the RSs; the first threshold; or the second threshold. (“A wireless device and/or a base station may trigger a beam failure recovery mechanism. A wireless device may trigger a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, for example, if at least a beam failure occurs. A beam failure may occur if a quality of beam pair link(s) of at least one PDCCH falls below a threshold. The threshold comprise be an RSRP value (e.g., −140 dbm, −110 dbm, or any other value) and/or a SINR value (e.g., −3 dB, −1 dB, or any other value), which may be configured in a RRC message.”, Cirik [0367])
As to claim 8 and 17 (claim 8 is the method claim for the device in claim 17):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 4, wherein the first number of the RSs comprises a set of RSs with a highest number of beam failure instances. (“At time T.sub.1 3004, the wireless device 3010 may initiate a random access procedure for the beam failure recovery of the cell, for example, after or in response to determining that beam failure instance counter, associated with the cell, has reached a maximum quantity of beam failure instance indications. The wireless device 3010 may select a RS, from the one or more second RSs, for example, after or in response to initiating the random access procedure for the beam failure recovery. The selected RS may be associated with a BFRQ resource, which may be one of one or more BFRQ resources. The BFRQ resource may comprise at least one preamble and at least one channel resource. The at least one channel resource may comprise one or more time resources and/or one or more frequency resources. The selected RS may have a radio quality greater than a second threshold. The second threshold may be based on L1-RSRP, RSRQ, hypothetical BLER, or SINR. The second threshold may be configured by the one or more configuration parameters. At time T.sub.1 3004, the wireless device 3010 may transmit the preamble via the at least one channel resource, for example, after or in response to selecting the RS.”, Cirik [0516])
As to claim 9 and 18 (claim 9 is the method claim for the device in claim 18):
Cirik discloses:
The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting one or more capability messages indicating the wireless device supports a beam failure detection and recovery procedure. (“BFR procedures are described. A wireless device may be configured for a BFR procedure based on configuration parameters transmitted by a base station. A wireless device may transmit at least one signal (e.g., a BFR request) to facilitate BFR procedure. For example, a wireless device may transmit at least one signal to facilitate BFR based on the wireless device detecting a beam failure. A wireless device may receive one or more messages from the base station, for example, while waiting for a BFR response to the BFR request. The one or more messages may comprise and/or reconfigure one or more BFR configuration parameters. The wireless device may stop the BFR recovery and initiate a new BFR procedure, for example, after or in response to receiving the one or more messages from the base station. The wireless device may receive a BFR response from the base station, for example, after or in response to initiating the new BFR procedure. By stopping an initial BFR procedure, and initiating a second BFR procedure, the wireless device may recover from the beam failure more quickly and/or consume less power while recovering from a beam failure.”, Cirik [0004])
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ANDREW C KIM whose telephone number is (703)756-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM (PST).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sujoy K Kundu can be reached at (571) 272-8586. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/A.C.K./
Examiner
Art Unit 2471
/SUJOY K KUNDU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2471
Prosecution Insights