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 statement (IDS) submitted on 1/19/24 and 3/31/25 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the features in the claims must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because claim 12 recite limitation “A computer storage medium”, which covers both non-statutory subject matter and statutory subject matter, so giving a broadest reasonable interpretation, limitation “A computer storage medium” is non-statutory subject matter.
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)(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) 1-12 and 14-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Li et al. (US 2020/0404700 A1).
Consider claim 1, Li teaches a method of operating a wireless device in a wireless communication network (Fig. 1 and paragraph 6), the method comprising:
communicating based on beam selection (paragraph 6, utilizing a beam selected from a set of beams), the beam selection being based on monitoring for reference signaling in a first resource space (paragraph 14, the beam is selected based on reference signaling… the reference signaling and/or system information signaling may be associated to radio link monitoring), the first resource space being associated to a second resource space associated to reception of a random access message (paragraph 15-16, the message may indicate the same preamble or set of preambles, and/or may indicate different preambles… using different preamble may allow associating the RA messages from the UE with control messages. And a preamble, or set of preambles, may be associated with specific resources, e.g. time/frequency resources…).
Consider claims 2 and 12, claims 2 and 12 having similar limitation as claim 1, therefore, claims 2 and 12 are rejected for the same reasons claim 1 is rejected.
Consider claims 3 and 14, Li also teaches wherein the reference signaling is associated to a random access message (paragraph 17, a random access procedure may comprise transmitting a RA message utilizing a random access preamble, wherein the preamble may be based on a beam on which the control message was received).
Consider claims 4 and 15, Li also teaches wherein the reference signaling is associated to a random access message intended for a second wireless device (paragraph 60, different types of reference signaling may be considered, e.g. pertaining to uplink, downlink or sidelink).
Consider claims 5 and 16, Li also teaches wherein communicating based on beam selection comprises using one or both of a reception beam and a transmission beam based on the beam selection (paragraph 6, the control message is transmitted utilizing a beam selected from a set of beams).
Consider claims 6 and 17, Li also teaches wherein communicating comprises transmitting a random access message by the wireless device (paragraph 8, performing a random access procedure may comprise transmitting a random access (RA) message to the RAN and/or network node).
Consider claims 7 and 18, Li also teaches wherein communicating comprises receiving a random access message by the wireless device (paragraph 8, it may be considered that performing the random access procedure comprises receiving, and/or expecting to receive, a random access response message).
Consider claims 8 and 19, Li also teaches wherein communicating comprises transmitting one or both data signaling and control signaling by the wireless device (paragraph 74, acknowledgement signaling, e.g. as a form of control information or signaling like uplink control information/signaling, may be transmitted by a terminal on a PUCCH).
Consider claims 9-10 and 20-21, Li also teaches wherein the wireless device has a beam link to the wireless communication network when monitoring for the reference signaling and wherein the wireless device is connected to the wireless communication network when monitoring for the reference signaling (paragraph 14, the reference signaling and/or system information signaling may be associated to radio link monitoring).
Consider claim 11, Li also teaches wherein communicating comprises receiving one or both data signaling and control signaling by the wireless device using a reception beam based on the beam selection (paragraph 6, receiving ,from a network node, a control message indicating the user equipment to perform a random access procedure, wherein the control message is transmitted utilizing a beam selected from a set of beams).
Claim(s) 1-12 and 14-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Akkarakaran et al. (US 2019/0029049 A1).
Consider claim 1, Akkarakaran teaches a method of operating a wireless device in a wireless communication network (Abstract), the method comprising:
communicating based on beam selection (paragraph 77, beam selection), the beam selection being based on monitoring for reference signaling in a first resource space (paragraph 78, beam selected based on a SS beam, e.g., one of the swept beams with a corresponding SS having the best receive quality), the first resource space being associated to a second resource space associated to reception of a random access message (paragraph 78, transit Msg1 using a beam selected. A beam is a resource therefore, a set of beams is a resource space).
Consider claims 2 and 12, claims 2 and 12 having similar limitation as claim 1, therefore, claims 2 and 12 are rejected for the same reasons claim 1 is rejected.
Consider claims 3 and 14, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein the reference signaling is associated to a random access message (paragraph 93).
Consider claims 4 and 15, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein the reference signaling is associated to a random access message intended for a second wireless device (paragraph 93).
Consider claims 5 and 16, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein communicating based on beam selection comprises using one or both of a reception beam and a transmission beam based on the beam selection (paragraph 72, communication using beams).
Consider claims 6 and 17, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein communicating comprises transmitting a random access message by the wireless device (Fig. 8 and paragraph 75, the Msg1).
Consider claims 7 and 18, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein communicating comprises receiving a random access message by the wireless device (Fig. 8 and paragraph 75, Msg2).
Consider claims 8 and 19, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein communicating comprises transmitting one or both data signaling and control signaling by the wireless device (Fig. 8 and paragraph 75, Msg1 and Msg3).
Consider claims 9-10 and 20-21, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein the wireless device has a beam link to the wireless communication network when monitoring for the reference signaling and wherein the wireless device is connected to the wireless communication network when monitoring for the reference signaling (paragraph 73, a connection is established when the UE monitors for a reference signal).
Consider claim 11, Akkarakaran also teaches wherein communicating comprises receiving one or both data signaling and control signaling by the wireless device using a reception beam based on the beam selection (paragraph 72, communication using beams and Fig. 8 and paragraph 75, Msg1 and Msg3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUSTIN YE LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-5258. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30-8:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kathy Wang-Hurst can be reached at 5712705371. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JUSTIN Y LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2644 1/22/26