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
Acknowledgment is made of the information disclosure statements filed on May 19, 2026. U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, and non-patent literature documents have been considered.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 11, 14, 21-22, and 26-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kang and Kim. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2022/0294514) in view of Zhou et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2021/0153040), herein referred to as “Zhou”.
Regarding Claim 1,
Kang discloses: A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: one or more antennas; and a processing system that includes one or more processor and one or more memories that store code and are couples with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to:
transmit, to a network entity, a beam failure recovery message that indicates a preferred new beam associated with a secondary cell (SCell), wherein the preferred new beam is not included in a candidate beam set associated with the SCell
[0182] As described above, an object of a BFR-PRACH standardized in Rel-15 is to transmit ‘occurrence of beam failure+new beam RS (set) information’ together to a base station. Meanwhile, an object of a BFR-PUCCH is to inform only ‘occurrence of beam failure to SCell(s)’. And, to which SCell(s) beam failure occurred (e.g., CC index(es)), whether there is a new beam for corresponding SCell(s) and a corresponding beam RS ID when there is a new beam (and quality(s) (e.g., a RSRP or a SINR) of corresponding beam RS(s)) may be reported as a subsequent MAC-CE (or UCI). Here, a subsequent beam report is not necessarily triggered all the time and it is possible to deactivate SCell(s) which are BFR configured for a corresponding terminal after a base station receives a BFR-PUCCH. A reason for such a design is because dozens of SCells may be associated with one PCell/PSCell and because from a viewpoint of a base station, there may be a lot of terminals sharing one PCell/PSCell UL, and considering even such a case, it is desirable to minimize the amount of UL resources reserved for a SCell BFRQ to each terminal in a PCell/PSCell.
Kang does not explicitly disclose: receive, from the network entity, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
However, Zhou discloses: receive, from the network entity, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
[0122] In some aspects, following the predetermined number of symbols after receiving the BFR response from the base station, the UE may apply the new beam indicated in the step 2 MAC-CE, at least for the DL reception on the failed SCell. In some aspects, this procedure may be extended when a group-CC-based beam update procedure is utilized. For example, following a predetermined number of symbols after receiving an SCell BFR response to the step 2 MAC-CE that indicates a failed CC with an identified new beam, if the base station has indicated an applicable CC list that includes this reported failed CC, then the UE may apply the new beam identified in the step 2 MAC-CE on every CC in the applicable CC list. Thus, when a UE reports a beam failure corresponding to a given CC that corresponds to an SCell, a base station may respond with a new beam for that specific SCell. Here, the UE may apply that new beam to the whole list of CCs in that same CC list, if such a CC list is configured.
Kang and Zhou are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang to include the concept of receiving a downlink message in order to enable the new beam as taught by Zhou so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 4,
Kang discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the beam failure recovery message indicates the preferred new beam according to a joint identifier associated with a synchronization signal block and a channel state information reference signal.
[0129] Whether such a beam failure event occurs may be determined by a terminal through reception quality of a downlink reference signal (RS). And, a reporting message for such a situation or a message for a beam recovery request (referred to as a BFRQ (beam failure recovery request) message) should be transmitted from a terminal. A base station which received such a beam failure recovery request message may perform beam recovery through a variety of processes such as beam RS transmission, beam reporting request, etc. for beam recovery.
[0152] As an example of a Beam failure recovery operation, a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) operation based on a RACH procedure (i.e., a PRACH) may be performed. Hereinafter, a corresponding BFRQ procedure is described in detail.
[0165] A terminal transmits to a base station a preamble and a PRACH resource which is directly or indirectly associated and configured with a beam RS (CSI-RS or SSB) selected in the process.
Regarding Claim 11,
Claim 11 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1, but from the perspective of the network entity.
Kang discloses: A network entity for wireless communication, comprising: one or more antennas; and a processing system that includes one or more processor and one or more memories that store code and are couples with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to:
receive, from a user equipment (UE), a beam failure recovery message that indicates a preferred new beam associated with a secondary cell (SCell), wherein the preferred new beam is not included in a candidate beam set associated with the SCell
[0182] As described above, an object of a BFR-PRACH standardized in Rel-15 is to transmit ‘occurrence of beam failure+new beam RS (set) information’ together to a base station. Meanwhile, an object of a BFR-PUCCH is to inform only ‘occurrence of beam failure to SCell(s)’. And, to which SCell(s) beam failure occurred (e.g., CC index(es)), whether there is a new beam for corresponding SCell(s) and a corresponding beam RS ID when there is a new beam (and quality(s) (e.g., a RSRP or a SINR) of corresponding beam RS(s)) may be reported as a subsequent MAC-CE (or UCI). Here, a subsequent beam report is not necessarily triggered all the time and it is possible to deactivate SCell(s) which are BFR configured for a corresponding terminal after a base station receives a BFR-PUCCH. A reason for such a design is because dozens of SCells may be associated with one PCell/PSCell and because from a viewpoint of a base station, there may be a lot of terminals sharing one PCell/PSCell UL, and considering even such a case, it is desirable to minimize the amount of UL resources reserved for a SCell BFRQ to each terminal in a PCell/PSCell.
Kang does not explicitly disclose: transmit, to the UE, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam
However, Zhou discloses: transmit, to the UE, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
[0122] In some aspects, following the predetermined number of symbols after receiving the BFR response from the base station, the UE may apply the new beam indicated in the step 2 MAC-CE, at least for the DL reception on the failed SCell. In some aspects, this procedure may be extended when a group-CC-based beam update procedure is utilized. For example, following a predetermined number of symbols after receiving an SCell BFR response to the step 2 MAC-CE that indicates a failed CC with an identified new beam, if the base station has indicated an applicable CC list that includes this reported failed CC, then the UE may apply the new beam identified in the step 2 MAC-CE on every CC in the applicable CC list. Thus, when a UE reports a beam failure corresponding to a given CC that corresponds to an SCell, a base station may respond with a new beam for that specific SCell. Here, the UE may apply that new beam to the whole list of CCs in that same CC list, if such a CC list is configured.
Kang and Zhou are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang to include the concept of transmitting a downlink message in order to enable the new beam as taught by Zhou so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 14,
Claim 14 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 4.
Regarding Claim 21,
Claim 21 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1.
Kang discloses: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:
transmitting, to a network entity, a beam failure recovery message that indicates a preferred new beam associated with a secondary cell (SCell), wherein the preferred new beam is not included in a candidate beam set associated with the SCell
[0182] As described above, an object of a BFR-PRACH standardized in Rel-15 is to transmit ‘occurrence of beam failure+new beam RS (set) information’ together to a base station. Meanwhile, an object of a BFR-PUCCH is to inform only ‘occurrence of beam failure to SCell(s)’. And, to which SCell(s) beam failure occurred (e.g., CC index(es)), whether there is a new beam for corresponding SCell(s) and a corresponding beam RS ID when there is a new beam (and quality(s) (e.g., a RSRP or a SINR) of corresponding beam RS(s)) may be reported as a subsequent MAC-CE (or UCI). Here, a subsequent beam report is not necessarily triggered all the time and it is possible to deactivate SCell(s) which are BFR configured for a corresponding terminal after a base station receives a BFR-PUCCH. A reason for such a design is because dozens of SCells may be associated with one PCell/PSCell and because from a viewpoint of a base station, there may be a lot of terminals sharing one PCell/PSCell UL, and considering even such a case, it is desirable to minimize the amount of UL resources reserved for a SCell BFRQ to each terminal in a PCell/PSCell.
Kang does not explicitly disclose: receive, from the network entity, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
However, Zhou discloses: receiving, from the network entity, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
[0122] In some aspects, following the predetermined number of symbols after receiving the BFR response from the base station, the UE may apply the new beam indicated in the step 2 MAC-CE, at least for the DL reception on the failed SCell. In some aspects, this procedure may be extended when a group-CC-based beam update procedure is utilized. For example, following a predetermined number of symbols after receiving an SCell BFR response to the step 2 MAC-CE that indicates a failed CC with an identified new beam, if the base station has indicated an applicable CC list that includes this reported failed CC, then the UE may apply the new beam identified in the step 2 MAC-CE on every CC in the applicable CC list. Thus, when a UE reports a beam failure corresponding to a given CC that corresponds to an SCell, a base station may respond with a new beam for that specific SCell. Here, the UE may apply that new beam to the whole list of CCs in that same CC list, if such a CC list is configured.
Kang and Zhou are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang to include the concept of receiving a downlink message in order to enable the new beam as taught by Zhou so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 22,
Kang discloses: The method of claim 21, wherein the beam failure recovery message indicates the preferred new beam according to a transmission configuration indication state identifier, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) identifier associated with a bandwidth part, or a joint identifier associated with a synchronization signal block and a CSI-RS.
[0129] Whether such a beam failure event occurs may be determined by a terminal through reception quality of a downlink reference signal (RS). And, a reporting message for such a situation or a message for a beam recovery request (referred to as a BFRQ (beam failure recovery request) message) should be transmitted from a terminal. A base station which received such a beam failure recovery request message may perform beam recovery through a variety of processes such as beam RS transmission, beam reporting request, etc. for beam recovery.
[0152] As an example of a Beam failure recovery operation, a beam failure recovery request (BFRQ) operation based on a RACH procedure (i.e., a PRACH) may be performed. Hereinafter, a corresponding BFRQ procedure is described in detail.
[0165] A terminal transmits to a base station a preamble and a PRACH resource which is directly or indirectly associated and configured with a beam RS (CSI-RS or SSB) selected in the process.
Regarding Claim 26,
Claim 26 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 1, but from the perspective of the base station.
Kang discloses: A method of wireless communication performed by a network entity, comprising:
receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a beam failure recovery message that indicates a preferred new beam associated with a secondary cell (SCell), wherein the preferred new beam is not included in a candidate beam set associated with the SCell
[0182] As described above, an object of a BFR-PRACH standardized in Rel-15 is to transmit ‘occurrence of beam failure+new beam RS (set) information’ together to a base station. Meanwhile, an object of a BFR-PUCCH is to inform only ‘occurrence of beam failure to SCell(s)’. And, to which SCell(s) beam failure occurred (e.g., CC index(es)), whether there is a new beam for corresponding SCell(s) and a corresponding beam RS ID when there is a new beam (and quality(s) (e.g., a RSRP or a SINR) of corresponding beam RS(s)) may be reported as a subsequent MAC-CE (or UCI). Here, a subsequent beam report is not necessarily triggered all the time and it is possible to deactivate SCell(s) which are BFR configured for a corresponding terminal after a base station receives a BFR-PUCCH. A reason for such a design is because dozens of SCells may be associated with one PCell/PSCell and because from a viewpoint of a base station, there may be a lot of terminals sharing one PCell/PSCell UL, and considering even such a case, it is desirable to minimize the amount of UL resources reserved for a SCell BFRQ to each terminal in a PCell/PSCell.
Kang does not explicitly disclose: transmitting, to the UE, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam
However, Zhou discloses: transmitting, to the UE, one or more downlink messages that include information to enable communication using the preferred new beam.
[0122] In some aspects, following the predetermined number of symbols after receiving the BFR response from the base station, the UE may apply the new beam indicated in the step 2 MAC-CE, at least for the DL reception on the failed SCell. In some aspects, this procedure may be extended when a group-CC-based beam update procedure is utilized. For example, following a predetermined number of symbols after receiving an SCell BFR response to the step 2 MAC-CE that indicates a failed CC with an identified new beam, if the base station has indicated an applicable CC list that includes this reported failed CC, then the UE may apply the new beam identified in the step 2 MAC-CE on every CC in the applicable CC list. Thus, when a UE reports a beam failure corresponding to a given CC that corresponds to an SCell, a base station may respond with a new beam for that specific SCell. Here, the UE may apply that new beam to the whole list of CCs in that same CC list, if such a CC list is configured.
Kang and Zhou are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang to include the concept of transmitting a downlink message in order to enable the new beam as taught by Zhou so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 27,
Claim 27 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 22.
Claims 2 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Zhou, held further in view of He et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2020/0389221), herein referred to as “He”.
Regarding Claim 2,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 2.
However, He discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the beam failure recovery message indicates the preferred new beam according to a transmission configuration indication state identifier.
[0069] FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating transmissions between a base station and a UE. More specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates a timeline of a DRX cycle between a base station and a UE, e.g., using preconfigured BFR resources during an off period of the DRX cycle. As shown in FIG. 5, the UE can perform a measurement, e.g., for a new beam or SSB during the off period. The UE can then determine a new beam or SSB to report, during the off period. Next, the UE can use preconfigured BFR resources in time and/or frequency to report information about the new beam and/or to request a BFR procedure. After the UE requests the BFR procedure, the base station may switch from the current beam to the new candidate beam. For example, the base station can transmit a MAC-CE indicating the beam switch, where the MAC-CE is activated for a new transmission configuration indicator (TCI). The UE can then switch the TCI state to be ready to receive control signaling using the new beam at the next DRX on duration.
Kang in view of Zhou and He are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of indicating a new beam according to a transmission configuration indication identifier as taught by He so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 12,
Claim 12 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 2.
Claims 3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Zhou, held further in view of Agiwal et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2021/0013948), herein referred to as “Agiwal”.
Regarding Claim 3,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 3.
However, Agiwal discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the beam failure recovery message indicates the preferred new beam according to a channel state information reference signal identifier associated with a bandwidth part.
[0072] Candidate beam selection threshold (rsrp-Threshold): Threshold to select a suitable candidate beam. Threshold can be RSRP or RSRQ threshold. Threshold can be separately signaled for SSB based candidate beam and CSI-RS based candidate beam. In an embodiment, threshold is signaled only for SSB based candidate beam or CSI-RS based candidate beam and is applied for both types (i.e. SSB and CSI-RS) of candidate beams. Threshold(s) is signaled per BWP as beam configuration can be different in different BWP. Threshold may or may not be signaled for each configured BWP of SCell. For SCell's BFR, UE selects suitable candidate beam based on threshold signaled in BWP configuration of the active BWP of that SCell. beamFailureRecoveryConfigSCell IE can be defined and included in dedicated BWP configuration wherein the beamFailureRecoveryConfigSCell IE includes threshold(s).
Note: “The “rsrp-Threshold” includes both CSI-RS and BWP.
Kang in view of Zhou and Agiwal are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having a CSI-RS and BWP as part of the beam failure recovery message as taught by Agiwal so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 13,
Claim 13 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 3.
Claims 5-10, 15-20, 23-25, and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Kang in view of Zhou, held further in view of Zhou et. al. (U.S. Pat. Pub. 2021/0297959), herein referred to as “Zhou II”.
Regarding Claim 5,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 5.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 1, wherein the beam failure recovery message includes a beam failure detection medium access control element (BFR MAC-CE).
[0478] A wireless device may send/transmit an SCell BFR MAC CE and/or a truncated SCell BFR MAC CE, for example, based on available uplink radio resource.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having a BFR MAC-CE as taught by Zhou II so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 6,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 6.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 5, wherein the BFR MAC-CE includes a first octet having a field to indicate a beam failure detection associated with the SCell and includes a second octet to indicate information associated with the preferred new beam.
[0480] An SCell BFR MAC CE may be identified/indicated by a MAC subheader comprising an LCID value (e.g., 46 with 4 octets). An SCell BFR MAC CE may have a variable size. The SCell BFR MAC CE may comprise a bitmap. The bitmap may be in ascending order, for example, based on an index (e.g., the ServCellIndex) and/or BFR information (e.g., octets comprising candidate beam availability indication (AC) for SCells indicated in the bitmap). A single octet bitmap may be used if a highest index (e.g., highest ServCellIndex) of the wireless device's (e.g., the wireless device's MAC entity's) SCell configured with beam failure detection is less than 8 (or any other quantity), and otherwise four octets (or another quantity of octets) may be used. An SCell BFR MAC CE may comprise at least one of: a C, field, a candidate RS present/absent indication field (e.g., AC field in FIG. 51A or FIG. 51B), and/or a candidate RS indication field.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou II to include the concept of having octets as part of the BFR as taught by Zhou so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 7,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 7.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 6, wherein the second octet includes a first field to indicate that the candidate beam set associated with the SCell does not include a reference signal that has a reference signal received power (RSRP) that satisfies the threshold and includes a second field to indicate a reference signal identifier associated with the preferred new beam.
[0480] Beam failure might not be detected and an octet comprising the AC field might not be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 0. The octets comprising the AC field may be present in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex. An AC field may indicate a presence of the candidate RS ID field in the octet. The AC field may be set to 1, for example, if at least one of the SSBs with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or the CSI-RSs with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList is available; otherwise, the AC field may be set to 0. The candidate RS ID field may be present, for example, if the AC field set to 1. R bits may be present, for example, if the AC field is set to 0. A candidate RS indication field may be set to the index of an SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or to the index of a CSI-RS with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList. The length of Candidate RS indication field may be 6 bits.
Note: This citation is in line with Applicant’s specification paragraph [0063] and Figure 4 elements 415 and 420, where the “first field” is the “AC field” and the “second field” can be “R bits” or “candidate RS ID”.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having octets that have certain fields that meet certain conditions such as an RSRP threshold as taught by Zhou II so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 8,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 8.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 7, wherein the second octet includes a third field to indicate that the reference signal identifier associated with the preferred new beam is reported in the second field.
[0480] An SCell BFR MAC CE may comprise at least one of: a C, field, a candidate RS present/absent indication field (e.g., AC field in FIG. 51A or FIG. 51B), and/or a candidate RS indication field. A C.sub.i field of the SCell BFR MAC CE may indicate beam failure detection and the presence of an octet comprising the AC field for the SCell with ServCellIndex i., Beam failure may be detected and the octet comprising the AC field may be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex i, for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 1. Beam failure might not be detected and an octet comprising the AC field might not be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 0. The octets comprising the AC field may be present in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex. An AC field may indicate a presence of the candidate RS ID field in the octet. R bits may be present, for example, if the AC field is set to 0. A candidate RS indication field may be set to the index of an SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or to the index of a CSI-RS with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList. The length of Candidate RS indication field may be 6 bits.
Note: This citation is in line with Applicant’s specification paragraph [0084] and Figure 4 elements 420, where the “first field” is the “AC field”, the “second field” is “R bits”, and the third field is “candidate RS ID”.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having octets that contain the candidate RS ID as taught by Zhou II so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 9,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 8.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 6, wherein the second octet includes a first field to indicate that the candidate beam set associated with the SCell does not include a reference signal that has a reference signal received power (RSRP) that satisfies the threshold and includes a second field to indicate that a reference signal identifier is not reported for the preferred new beam.
[0480] An SCell BFR MAC CE may comprise at least one of: a C, field, a candidate RS present/absent indication field (e.g., AC field in FIG. 51A or FIG. 51B), and/or a candidate RS indication field. A C.sub.i field of the SCell BFR MAC CE may indicate beam failure detection and the presence of an octet comprising the AC field for the SCell with ServCellIndex i., Beam failure may be detected and the octet comprising the AC field may be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex i, for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 1. Beam failure might not be detected and an octet comprising the AC field might not be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 0. The octets comprising the AC field may be present in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex. An AC field may indicate a presence of the candidate RS ID field in the octet. The AC field may be set to 1, for example, if at least one of the SSBs with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or the CSI-RSs with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList is available; otherwise, the AC field may be set to 0. The candidate RS ID field may be present, for example, if the AC field set to 1. R bits may be present, for example, if the AC field is set to 0. A candidate RS indication field may be set to the index of an SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or to the index of a CSI-RS with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList. The length of Candidate RS indication field may be 6 bits.
Note: This citation is in line with Applicant’s specification paragraph [0084] and Figure 4 elements 420, where the “first field” is the “AC field”, the “second field” is “R bits”, and the third field is “candidate RS ID”.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having octets that have certain fields that meet certain conditions such as an RSRP threshold as taught by Zhou II so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 10,
Kang in view of Zhou does not fully disclose all the limitations of Claim 8.
However, Zhou II discloses: The UE of claim 9, wherein the second field includes a codepoint or an individual bit that is set to a defined value to indicate that the reference signal identifier is not reported for the preferred new beam.
[0480] An SCell BFR MAC CE may comprise at least one of: a C, field, a candidate RS present/absent indication field (e.g., AC field in FIG. 51A or FIG. 51B), and/or a candidate RS indication field. A C.sub.i field of the SCell BFR MAC CE may indicate beam failure detection and the presence of an octet comprising the AC field for the SCell with ServCellIndex i., Beam failure may be detected and the octet comprising the AC field may be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex i, for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 1. Beam failure might not be detected and an octet comprising the AC field might not be present for the SCell with ServCellIndex for example, if the C.sub.i field is set to 0. The octets comprising the AC field may be present in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex. An AC field may indicate a presence of the candidate RS ID field in the octet. The AC field may be set to 1, for example, if at least one of the SSBs with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or the CSI-RSs with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList is available; otherwise, the AC field may be set to 0. The candidate RS ID field may be present, for example, if the AC field set to 1. R bits may be present, for example, if the AC field is set to 0. A candidate RS indication field may be set to the index of an SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the SSBs in candidateBeamRSSCellList or to the index of a CSI-RS with CSI-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdBFR amongst the CSI-RSs in candidateBeamRSSCellList. The length of Candidate RS indication field may be 6 bits.
Note: “Codepoint/individual bit” per Applicant’s Figure 3 element 415 is commensurate with this citation to include Figure 51A of this reference due to the “AC” state.
Kang in view of Zhou and Zhou II are considered to be analogous because they pertain to wireless communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Kang in view of Zhou to include the concept of having a codepoint or individual bit that indicates that the reference signal is not reported as taught by Zhou II so as to aid in in the beam failure recovery process.
Regarding Claim 15,
Claim 15 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 5.
Regarding Claim 16,
Claim 16 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6.
Regarding Claim 17,
Claim 17 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 7.
Regarding Claim 18,
Claim 18 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 8.
Regarding Claim 19,
Claim 19 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 9.
Regarding Claim 20,
Claim 20 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 10.
Regarding Claim 23,
Claim 23 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6.
Regarding Claim 24,
Claim 24 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 7.
Regarding Claim 25,
Claim 25 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 9.
Regarding Claim 28,
Claim 28 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 6.
Regarding Claim 29,
Claim 29 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 7.
Regarding Claim 30,
Claim 30 is rejected on the same grounds of rejection set forth in claim 9.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s response filed on February 13, 2026 is acknowledged.
The following claims were amended as part of applicant’s response: 1, 7, 9, 11-21, 24-26, and 29-30.
There and no new claims and no canceled claims.
Claims 1-30 are pending.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 11, 21, and 26 have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE P. SAMLUK whose telephone number is (571)270-5607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Derrick Ferris can be reached on 571-272-3123. 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.
/JESSE P. SAMLUK/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
Prosecution Insights