DETAILED ACTION
Claims status
In response to the application filed on 04/20/2026, claims 1-10, and 25-44 are currently pending for the examination. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
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 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.
35 U.S.C. 112(f): Claim Interpretations
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
Claim 44 recites "A user equipment means for establishing a connection, means for receiving a message, and means for transmitting a random access message…", and thus the claim has been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses a generic placeholder “means for” coupled with functional language “receiving/transmitting…” without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claims have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification for the 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph limitation:
In view of the specification, the components of figures 6-8 are the device/apparatus that seems to perform the process of performing various aspects of random access techniques for handover from an access network as described herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may include a connection establishment component 725, a random access information component 730, a random access messaging component 735, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 720 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 620 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 720, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, obtaining, monitoring, outputting, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both. For example, the communications manager 720 may receive information from the receiver 710, send information to the transmitter 715, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 710, the transmitter 715, or both to obtain information, output information, or perform various other operations as described herein. See ¶ [0150-0153]
If applicant wishes to provide further explanation or dispute the examiner’s interpretation of the corresponding structure, applicant must identify the corresponding structure with reference to the specification by page and line number, and to the drawing, if any, by reference characters in response to this Office action.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
For more information, see MPEP § 2173 et seq. and Supplementary Examination Guidelines for Determining Compliance With 35 U.S.C. 112 and for Treatment of Related Issues in Patent Applications, 76 FR 7162, 7167 (Feb. 9, 2011).
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1, 3-25, 27-34, 35, and 37-44 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Muller (US 2018/0063777 A1) in view of LEE et al. (US 2022/0141884 A1) and further in view of Arunachalam et al. (WO 2018/234851 A1).
Regarding claim 1: Muller teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
establish, via a network function of an access network (See Fig. 3: the combination of NN RAT-1 and RAT-2 provides the network function. ¶ [0105]) associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) type, a connection with a network of a second RAT type (See Fig. 3: S601: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-2 network access on RAT-2 resources by transmitting a RAT-2 pre-amble signature that may or may not be combined with L2/3 message and user data. S602: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-1 network access on RAT-1 resources by transmitting a RAT-1 pre-amble signature. ¶ [0106] and ¶ [0107]);
receive, via the network function, a message comprising a data indicating random access information (See Fig. 3: This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) for the second RAT type for the UE (See Fig. 3: S603: The network node 140 b transmits a network access response using RAT-2. ¶ [0109]), the random access information comprising a preamble for the UE and a temporary identifier (ID) for the UE (See Fig. 3: The C-RNTI (i.e., temporary ID) from step S503 is by the network node used to address the wireless device on a Physical downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The wireless device is considered contention resolved if the C-RNTI matches from step S503 in case of non dedicated preamble, i.e. a contention based random access preamble. ¶ [0011]), wherein the preamble and the temporary ID are based on location information associated with the UE (See Fig. 3: ¶ [0011]; and
transmit a random access message (See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) to a network entity associated with the second RAT type based on the message indicating the random access information (See Fig. 6: S604: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information (i.e., the message related to the second RAT type) such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. ¶ [0110]), the random access message comprising the preamble for the UE and a request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (See Fig. 6: S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant (i.e., providing a grant based upon the request made by the UE) or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150…The wireless device 150 recognizes the RAT-2 network access response and continues the RAT-2 network access procedure (i.e., requesting to connect the RAT-2). ¶ [0009] and ¶ [0111]).
Muller doesn’t explicitly discuss using the message comprising a payload.
However, Lee further discloses the message comprising a payload indicating random access information (Lee: See Fig. 15, the UE to receive the RAR MAC PDU including a MAC subPDU which contains the RAPID for the 2-step RACH and an RAPID payload…¶ [0195]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a payload indicating random access information as taught by Lee to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide that radio communication signals can be more efficiently transmitted and/or received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved. Lee: ¶ [0014].
Even though, Muller in view of Lee teaches the information or message including the Random Access Preamble and the temporary ID (Muller: ¶ [0008] and Lee: Abstract), neither of them states the information is based on location information.
However, Arunachalam teaches the information is based on location information (Arunachalam: the set of random access preamble sequences…on which the set of random access preamble sequences is to be transmitted, is a function of an identity of the wireless communication device (e.g., subscriber identity such as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or the like)… , the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node, where the distance can be indicated by any suitable parameter such as, e.g., a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement performed by the wireless communication device with respect to the radio access node. ¶ [0078] and ¶ [0082]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the information is based on location information as taught by Arunachalam to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide efficient transmission of data embedded in the random access procedure even in scenarios where up to many thousands of devices are served by one cell. Arunachalam:
Abstract.
Regarding claim 3; Muller teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit, to the network function, an informational exchange message indicating that the UE received the message indicating the random access information, the informational exchange message comprising no payload (Muller: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150. The network node 140 b may give the wireless device 150 further grants to transmit on RAT-2 uplink resources and may also schedule further downlink data to the wireless device 150 using RAT-2. ¶ [0110] and ¶ [0111]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 4; Muller in view of Lee discloses the UE wherein, to transmit the random access message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit a physical random access channel (PRACH) comprising the preamble and the temporary ID (Lee: the UE may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) and receive a response message to the preamble through a PDCCH and a PDSCH. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 5; Muller in view of Lee teaches the UE of claim 4, wherein the random access message is an initial message of a two-step random access procedure, the initial message comprising both the PRACH and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) comprising the request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (Lee: performing PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUSCH/PUCCH transmission as a normal UL/DL transmission procedure. The random access procedure is also referred to as a random access channel (RACH) procedure. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 6; Muller in view of Lee discloses the UE wherein the access network is a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) (Lee: implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. ¶ [0040]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 7; Muller teaches the UE wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: communicate, after transmission of the random access message, with the network entity via a radio frequency (RF) chain associated with the second RAT type (Muller: See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]), wherein the random access information is based on precise location information for the UE (Arunachalam: the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node. ¶ [0082]).
Regarding claim 8; Muller in view of Lee discloses the UE wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: deactivate, after transmitting the random access message to the network entity, a radio frequency (RF) chain associated with the first RAT type (Lee: deactivate it; i.e. a PDCCH addressed to CS-RNTI indicates that the uplink grant can be implicitly reused according to the periodicity defined by RRC, until deactivated. ¶ [0214]).
Regarding claim 9.; Muller teaches the UE wherein the preamble is unique to the UE (See Fig. 5: The random access preamble comprises a preamble signature which could be a dedicated signature. ¶ [0007]).
Regarding claim 10; Muller teaches the UE wherein the first RAT type is a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT and the second RAT type is a cellular network RAT (See Fig. 5-6: There are different examples of network access procedures that the wireless device 150 and the network nodes 140 a, 140 b participate in…such as Wi-Fi and LTE in unlicensed frequency bands also apply. In this sense, Wi-Fi is defined as any wireless local area network (WLAN). ¶ [0104]).
Regarding claim 25; Muller teaches a method for wireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
establishing, via a network function of an access network (See Fig. 3: the combination of NN RAT-1 and RAT-2 provides the network function. ¶ [0105]) associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) type, a connection with a network of a second RAT type (See Fig. 3: S601: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-2 network access on RAT-2 resources by transmitting a RAT-2 pre-amble signature that may or may not be combined with L2/3 message and user data. S602: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-1 network access on RAT-1 resources by transmitting a RAT-1 pre-amble signature. ¶ [0106] and ¶ [0107]);
receiving, via the network function, a message comprising a data indicating random access information (See Fig. 3: This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) for the second RAT type for the UE (See Fig. 3: S603: The network node 140 b transmits a network access response using RAT-2. ¶ [0109]), the random access information comprising a preamble for the UE and a temporary identifier (ID) for the UE (See Fig. 3: The C-RNTI (i.e., temporary ID) from step S503 is by the network node used to address the wireless device on a Physical downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The wireless device is considered contention resolved if the C-RNTI matches from step S503 in case of non dedicated preamble, i.e. a contention based random access preamble. ¶ [0011]), wherein the preamble and the temporary ID are based on location information associated with the UE (See Fig. 3: ¶ [0011]; and
transmitting a random access message (See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) to a network entity associated with the second RAT type based on the message indicating the random access information (See Fig. 6: S604: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information (i.e., the message related to the second RAT type) such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. ¶ [0110]), the random access message comprising the preamble for the UE and a request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (See Fig. 6: S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant (i.e., providing a grant based upon the request made by the UE) or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150…The wireless device 150 recognizes the RAT-2 network access response and continues the RAT-2 network access procedure (i.e., requesting to connect the RAT-2). ¶ [0009] and ¶ [0111]).
Muller doesn’t explicitly discuss using the message comprising a payload.
However, Lee further discloses the message comprising a payload indicating random access information (Lee: See Fig. 15, the UE to receive the RAR MAC PDU including a MAC subPDU which contains the RAPID for the 2-step RACH and an RAPID payload…¶ [0195]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a payload indicating random access information as taught by Lee to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide that radio communication signals can be more efficiently transmitted and/or received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved. Lee: ¶ [0014].
Even though, Muller in view of Lee teaches the information or message including the Random Access Preamble and the temporary ID (Muller: ¶ [0008] and Lee: Abstract), neither of them states the information is based on location information.
However, Arunachalam teaches the information is based on location information (Arunachalam: the set of random access preamble sequences…on which the set of random access preamble sequences is to be transmitted, is a function of an identity of the wireless communication device (e.g., subscriber identity such as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or the like)… , the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node, where the distance can be indicated by any suitable parameter such as, e.g., a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement performed by the wireless communication device with respect to the radio access node. ¶ [0078] and ¶ [0082]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the information is based on location information as taught by Arunachalam to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide efficient transmission of data embedded in the random access procedure even in scenarios where up to many thousands of devices are served by one cell. Arunachalam:
Abstract.
Regarding claim 27; Muller teaches the method wherein to: transmit, to the network function, an informational exchange message indicating that the UE received the message indicating the random access information, the informational exchange message comprising no payload (Muller: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150. The network node 140 b may give the wireless device 150 further grants to transmit on RAT-2 uplink resources and may also schedule further downlink data to the wireless device 150 using RAT-2. ¶ [0110] and ¶ [0111]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 28; Muller in view of Lee discloses the method wherein, to transmit the random access message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit a physical random access channel (PRACH) comprising the preamble and the temporary ID (Lee: the UE may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) and receive a response message to the preamble through a PDCCH and a PDSCH. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 29; Muller teaches the method wherein to: communicate, after transmission of the random access message, with the network entity via a radio frequency (RF) chain associated with the second RAT type (Muller: See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]), wherein the random access information is based on precise location information for the UE (Arunachalam: the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node. ¶ [0082]).
Regarding claim 30; Muller in view of Lee discloses the method wherein the access network is a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) (Lee: implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. ¶ [0040]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 31; Muller in view of Lee teaches the method wherein the random access message is an initial message of a two-step random access procedure, the initial message comprising both the PRACH and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) comprising the request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (Lee: performing PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUSCH/PUCCH transmission as a normal UL/DL transmission procedure. The random access procedure is also referred to as a random access channel (RACH) procedure. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 33; Muller in view of Lee discloses the method wherein the access network is a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) (Lee: implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. ¶ [0040]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 33; Muller teaches the method wherein the preamble is unique to the UE (See Fig. 5: The random access preamble comprises a preamble signature which could be a dedicated signature. ¶ [0007]).
Regarding claim 34; Muller teaches the method wherein the first RAT type is a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT and the second RAT type is a cellular network RAT (See Fig. 5-6: There are different examples of network access procedures that the wireless device 150 and the network nodes 140 a, 140 b participate in…such as Wi-Fi and LTE in unlicensed frequency bands also apply. In this sense, Wi-Fi is defined as any wireless local area network (WLAN). ¶ [0104]).
Regarding claim 35: Muller teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:
establish, via a network function of an access network (See Fig. 3: the combination of NN RAT-1 and RAT-2 provides the network function. ¶ [0105]) associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) type, a connection with a network of a second RAT type (See Fig. 3: S601: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-2 network access on RAT-2 resources by transmitting a RAT-2 pre-amble signature that may or may not be combined with L2/3 message and user data. S602: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-1 network access on RAT-1 resources by transmitting a RAT-1 pre-amble signature. ¶ [0106] and ¶ [0107]);
receive, via the network function, a message comprising a data indicating random access information (See Fig. 3: This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) for the second RAT type for the UE (See Fig. 3: S603: The network node 140 b transmits a network access response using RAT-2. ¶ [0109]), the random access information comprising a preamble for the UE and a temporary identifier (ID) for the UE (See Fig. 3: The C-RNTI (i.e., temporary ID) from step S503 is by the network node used to address the wireless device on a Physical downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The wireless device is considered contention resolved if the C-RNTI matches from step S503 in case of non dedicated preamble, i.e. a contention based random access preamble. ¶ [0011]), wherein the preamble and the temporary ID are based on location information associated with the UE (See Fig. 3: ¶ [0011]; and
transmit a random access message (See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) to a network entity associated with the second RAT type based on the message indicating the random access information (See Fig. 6: S604: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information (i.e., the message related to the second RAT type) such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. ¶ [0110]), the random access message comprising the preamble for the UE and a request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (See Fig. 6: S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant (i.e., providing a grant based upon the request made by the UE) or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150…The wireless device 150 recognizes the RAT-2 network access response and continues the RAT-2 network access procedure (i.e., requesting to connect the RAT-2). ¶ [0009] and ¶ [0111]).
Muller doesn’t explicitly discuss using the message comprising a payload.
However, Lee further discloses the message comprising a payload indicating random access information (Lee: See Fig. 15, the UE to receive the RAR MAC PDU including a MAC subPDU which contains the RAPID for the 2-step RACH and an RAPID payload…¶ [0195]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a payload indicating random access information as taught by Lee to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide that radio communication signals can be more efficiently transmitted and/or received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved. Lee: ¶ [0014].
Even though, Muller in view of Lee teaches the information or message including the Random Access Preamble and the temporary ID (Muller: ¶ [0008] and Lee: Abstract), neither of them states the information is based on location information.
However, Arunachalam teaches the information is based on location information (Arunachalam: the set of random access preamble sequences…on which the set of random access preamble sequences is to be transmitted, is a function of an identity of the wireless communication device (e.g., subscriber identity such as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or the like)… , the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node, where the distance can be indicated by any suitable parameter such as, e.g., a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement performed by the wireless communication device with respect to the radio access node. ¶ [0078] and ¶ [0082]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the information is based on location information as taught by Arunachalam to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide efficient transmission of data embedded in the random access procedure even in scenarios where up to many thousands of devices are served by one cell. Arunachalam:
Abstract.
Regarding claim 37; Muller teaches the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:
: transmit, to the network function, an informational exchange message indicating that the UE received the message indicating the random access information, the informational exchange message comprising no payload (Muller: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150. The network node 140 b may give the wireless device 150 further grants to transmit on RAT-2 uplink resources and may also schedule further downlink data to the wireless device 150 using RAT-2. ¶ [0110] and ¶ [0111]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 38; Muller in view of Lee discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein, to transmit the random access message, the one or more processors are individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: transmit a physical random access channel (PRACH) comprising the preamble and the temporary ID (Lee: the UE may transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) and receive a response message to the preamble through a PDCCH and a PDSCH. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 39; Muller in view of Lee teaches the non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the random access message is an initial message of a two-step random access procedure, the initial message comprising both the PRACH and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) comprising the request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (Lee: performing PDCCH/PDSCH reception and PUSCH/PUCCH transmission as a normal UL/DL transmission procedure. The random access procedure is also referred to as a random access channel (RACH) procedure. ¶ [0134]).
Regarding claim 40; Muller in view of Lee discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the access network is a trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) (Lee: implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. ¶ [0040]).
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “or”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Regarding claim 41; Muller teaches the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: communicate, after transmission of the random access message, with the network entity via a radio frequency (RF) chain associated with the second RAT type (Muller: See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]), wherein the random access information is based on precise location information for the UE (Arunachalam: the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node. ¶ [0082]).
Regarding claim 42; Muller in view of Lee discloses the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: deactivate, after transmitting the random access message to the network entity, a radio frequency (RF) chain associated with the first RAT type (Lee: deactivate it; i.e. a PDCCH addressed to CS-RNTI indicates that the uplink grant can be implicitly reused according to the periodicity defined by RRC, until deactivated. ¶ [0214]).
Regarding claim 43.; Muller teaches the non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the preamble is unique to the UE (See Fig. 5: The random access preamble comprises a preamble signature which could be a dedicated signature. ¶ [0007]).
Regarding claim 44; Muller teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising:
means for establishing, via a network function of an access network (See Fig. 3: the combination of NN RAT-1 and RAT-2 provides the network function. ¶ [0105]) associated with a first radio access technology (RAT) type, a connection with a network of a second RAT type (See Fig. 3: S601: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-2 network access on RAT-2 resources by transmitting a RAT-2 pre-amble signature that may or may not be combined with L2/3 message and user data. S602: The wireless device 150 performs RAT-1 network access on RAT-1 resources by transmitting a RAT-1 pre-amble signature. ¶ [0106] and ¶ [0107]);
means for receiving, via the network function, a message comprising a data indicating random access information (See Fig. 3: This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) for the second RAT type for the UE (See Fig. 3: S603: The network node 140 b transmits a network access response using RAT-2. ¶ [0109]), the random access information comprising a preamble for the UE and a temporary identifier (ID) for the UE (See Fig. 3: The C-RNTI (i.e., temporary ID) from step S503 is by the network node used to address the wireless device on a Physical downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). The wireless device is considered contention resolved if the C-RNTI matches from step S503 in case of non dedicated preamble, i.e. a contention based random access preamble. ¶ [0011]), wherein the preamble and the temporary ID are based on location information associated with the UE (See Fig. 3: ¶ [0011]; and
means for transmitting a random access message (See Figs. 5-6: the network access is part of a random access procedure. This random access procedure could be an LTE random access procedure…This random access procedure could be a random access procedure using an emerging RAT. ¶ [0104]) to a network entity associated with the second RAT type based on the message indicating the random access information (See Fig. 6: S604: The wireless device 150 transmits user data and/or control signaling using RAT-2 to the network node 140 b. The user data and/or control signaling comprises RAT-2 information (i.e., the message related to the second RAT type) such as identity information. The network node 140 b recognizes that the wireless device 150 responded to the network access response transmitted in step S603. ¶ [0110]), the random access message comprising the preamble for the UE and a request to connect with the network of the second RAT type (See Fig. 6: S605: The network node 140 b transmits, using RAT-2, an uplink grant (i.e., providing a grant based upon the request made by the UE) or downlink scheduling to the wireless device 150…The wireless device 150 recognizes the RAT-2 network access response and continues the RAT-2 network access procedure (i.e., requesting to connect the RAT-2). ¶ [0009] and ¶ [0111]).
Muller doesn’t explicitly discuss using the message comprising a payload.
However, Lee further discloses the message comprising a payload indicating random access information (Lee: See Fig. 15, the UE to receive the RAR MAC PDU including a MAC subPDU which contains the RAPID for the 2-step RACH and an RAPID payload…¶ [0195]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide a payload indicating random access information as taught by Lee to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide that radio communication signals can be more efficiently transmitted and/or received. Therefore, overall throughput of a radio communication system can be improved. Lee: ¶ [0014].
Even though, Muller in view of Lee teaches the information or message including the Random Access Preamble and the temporary ID (Muller: ¶ [0008] and Lee: Abstract), neither of them states the information is based on location information.
However, Arunachalam teaches the information is based on location information (Arunachalam: the set of random access preamble sequences…on which the set of random access preamble sequences is to be transmitted, is a function of an identity of the wireless communication device (e.g., subscriber identity such as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), or the like)… , the length of the random access preamble pattern is dynamic and is based on one or more parameters such as, but not limited to: distance (i.e., location based information) between the wireless communication device and the radio access node, where the distance can be indicated by any suitable parameter such as, e.g., a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement performed by the wireless communication device with respect to the radio access node. ¶ [0078] and ¶ [0082]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to provide that the information is based on location information as taught by Arunachalam to have incorporated in the system of Muller, so that it would provide efficient transmission of data embedded in the random access procedure even in scenarios where up to many thousands of devices are served by one cell. Arunachalam:
Abstract.
[Office’s Note: Because of the alternative claim language such as “at least one or more of…”, only one of the alternative limitations has been analyzed by the examiner].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 26, and 36 are objected to as being dependent upon the rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tang et al. (US 2023/0345543 A1 to discuss Release-18 Support of Two Timing Advances for Single Cell).
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/SAI AUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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