DETAILED ACTION
It is hereby acknowledged that the following papers have been received and placed of record in the file: Amendment date 02/25/2026.
Claims 1, 4, 6, 9 and 11-12 are presented for examination.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/25/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Abstract
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The present disclosures” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided. Examiner suggests applicant either remove the phrases “The present disclosure relates to” or amend “The present disclosure” to “A present disclosure” to overcome the abstract rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
(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, 4, 6, 9 and 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (US 2024/0306209 A1).
Regarding claim 1, a method comprising:
receiving, by a user equipment (UE), information related to a first Random Access (RA) resource set and at least two second RA resource sets from a network (UE receiving resources in a specified random access resource pool corresponding to one target network slice of multiple target network slices is taken as the first random access resource based on a priority order of the multiple target network slices and received resource configuration information, which includes the first random access resource and second random access resources and the number of the target network slices for the UE to initiate the random access may be multiple see Liu: Fig.4 step 401; ¶[0230]; ¶[0233]; Fig.14 step 1401-1402);
transmitting, by the UE, at least one first RA preamble based on the first RA resource set to the network (In step 1403, the UE initiates a random access based on the first random access resource see Liu: Fig.14 step 1403; ¶[0232]); and
receiving, by the UE, a random access response (RAR) including a Fallback RA resource set information (FRI) (UE receiving random access resource fallback indication message “In step 1404, the base station sends a random access resource fallback indication message corresponding to the target network slices” see Liu: ¶[0233]; Fig.14 step 1404);
transmitting, by the UE, at least one second RA preamble based on one of the at least second RA resource sets to the network (In step 1406, the UE reinitiates the random access based on a second random access resource fallen back to based on second random access resource at step 1405 see Liu: Fig.14 steps 1405-1406; ¶[0236]),
wherein the one second RA resource set is determined based on the FRI indicating the one second RA resource set among the at least two second RA resource sets (the UE may determine the second random access resource according to the second indication message sent by the network side see Liu: ¶[0235]),
wherein, based on the FRI indicating two or more second RA resource sets (fallback indication message corresponding to the target network slices see Liu: Fig.14 step 1404), the one second RA resource set is determined based an order of the two or more second RA resource sets in the FRI (UE may determine the second random access resource in the alternative random access resource pool according to a preset priority order see Liu: ¶[0235]).
Regarding claim 4, Liu taught the method of claim 1 as described hereinabove. Liu further teaches wherein: the first RA resource set comprises service specific resources, and the at least two second RA resource sets comprises at least one of service specific resources or common resources (RA resources taking as common random access resource at step 201 and RA resource taking as specified random access resource see Liu: Fig.2-3; ¶[0047-0048]; ¶[0052-0053])
Regarding claim 6, claim 6 is rejected for the same reason as claim 1 as set forth hereinabove. Claim 6 recites a user equipment (UE 1500 see Liu: Fig.15) that perform the same functionalities as the method of claim 1 as described hereinabove.
Regarding claim 9, claim 9 is rejected for the same reason as claim 4 as set forth hereinabove.
Regarding claim 11, claim 11 is rejected for the same reason as claim 1 as set forth hereinabove. Claim 11 recites an apparatus (UE 1500 see Liu: Fig.15) that perform the same functionalities as the method of claim 1 as described hereinabove.
Regarding claim 12, claim 12 is rejected for the same reason as claim 1 as set forth hereinabove. Claim 12 recites a computer readable storage medium that perform the same functionalities as the method of claim 1 as described hereinabove.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 GUANG W LI whose telephone number is (571)270-1897. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 7AM-5PMET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joseph Avellino can be reached on (571) 272-3905. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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GUANG W. LI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2478
May 30, 2026
/GUANG W LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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