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 statements submitted on 03/25/2024 and 10/02/2024 have been considered by the Examiner and made of record in the application file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Feng et al. (US 2023/0422296 Al, hereinafter Feng).
Regarding claim 8, Feng discloses, a base station (BS) (see e.g., Fig. 3, Base Station 20) comprising:
a transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 3, Transceiver 23) configured to: transmit one or more random access (RA) configurations for a cell “performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE, wherein a UE type of the UE is identified in the RA procedure by the base station”, [0135]),
transmit a contention free random access (CFRA) configuration related to a RA procedure (see e.g., “the RA procedure comprises a…contention-free random access procedure (CFRA)”, [0138] and/or “performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE, wherein a UE type of the UE is identified in the RA procedure by the base station”, [0135]); and
a processor operatively coupled to the transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 3, Processor 21 and Transceiver 23), the processor configured to perform the RA procedure with a user equipment (UE) in the cell (see e.g., “when the configuration associated with the UE is processed by the UE, the method further comprises performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE”, [0135]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 10, 14 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng et al. (US 2023/0422296 Al, hereinafter Feng), in view of TAHERZADEH BOROUJENI et al. (US 2023/0037319 Al, hereinafter Taherzadeh).
Regarding Claim 1, Feng discloses, a user equipment (UE) (see e.g., Fig. 3, User Equipment 10) comprising:
a transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 3, Transceiver 13) configured to: receive one or more random access (RA) configurations for a cell, and receive a contention free random access (CFRA) configuration related to a RA procedure (see e.g., “performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE, wherein a UE type of the UE is identified in the RA procedure by the base station”, [0135] and/or “the RA procedure comprises a…contention-free random access procedure (CFRA)”, [0138]); and
a processor operatively coupled to the transceiver (see e.g., Fig. 3, Processor 11 and Transceiver 13), the processor configured to: select a bandwidth part (BWP) of the cell for performing the RA procedure (see e.g., “the UE selects an initial UL BWP corresponding to the respective UE type to transmit the preamble”, [0073 and/or “the configuration associated with the UE comprises at least one of followings: a configuration of first physical random access channel (PRACH) resources…a configuration of a first random access (RA) preamble”, [0010]);
select a four step RA as a type for the RA procedure (see e.g., “when CFRA resources for 4-step RA type are configured, UE performs random access with 4-step RA type”, Fig. 1, [0126] and/or “the UE decodes SI(s) (or RRC) and acquires the contents including preamble configurations (e.g. numberOfRA-PreamblesGroupA totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and new fields). Based on its device type and other information, the UE selects a suitable preamble, then transmits the preamble to the gNB”, [0160]);
perform the RA procedure in the cell according to a result of the determination (see e.g., “when the configuration associated with the UE is processed by the UE, the method further comprises performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE”, [0135]).
Fang fails to explicitly disclose, determine whether the CFRA configuration for the RA procedure includes a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions.
In the same field of endeavor, Taherzadeh discloses, determine whether the CFRA configuration for the RA procedure includes a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions (see e.g., “The UE 120 can transmit a RACH message such as msg1 including a preamble”, [0064] and/or “the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the configuration information may indicate a first set of preambles for requesting repetition of the PUSCH, and a second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition.”, [0067]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Taherzadeh, in order to reach early identification of the UE, realize coverage compensation, provide different schedules for different UE types, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability (please see Taherzadeh, para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 3, Feng and Taherzadeh combined discloses, when the CFRA configuration does not include the parameter indicating the number of Msg1 repetitions (see Feng e.g., “the configuration associated with the UE is provided to the UE on a system information or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the system information or the RRC signaling comprises a new information element (IE) or a field of an existing IE, the system information comprises a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB), and the new IE or the field of the existing IE comprises RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA and/or MSGA-ConfigCommon and/or numberOfRA-PreamblesGroupA and/or totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and/or MsgA-ConfigCommon IE and/or MsgA-PUSCH-Config IE”, [0139]), the processor is further configured to select a second RA configuration from the one or more RA configurations corresponding to the selected BWP (see Feng e.g., “the preambles of each cell are divided into 3 sections (group A, group B, and CFRA preambles) by two fields of RACH-ConfigCommon and RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA”, [0152]);
In the same field of endeavor, Taherzadeh discloses, the second RA configuration is not associated with Msg1 repetitions (see Taherzadeh e.g., “wherein the configuration information indicates a second configuration associated with a second preamble for transmitting the uplink shared channel without repetition.”, [0122] and/or “the random access response may indicate the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079]); and
the transceiver is further configured to transmit Msg1 without repetitions according to the second RA configuration (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the random access response may indicate the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the default configuration may use a PUSCH transmission without repetition and may not permit the UE 120 to request repetition of the PUSCH”, [0069] and/or “…second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition”, [0067]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Taherzadeh, in order to reach early identification of the UE, realize coverage compensation, provide different schedules for different UE types, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability (please see Taherzadeh, para. [0006]).
Regarding claim 10, Feng fails to explicitly discloses, the CFRA configuration does not include a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions; and the transceiver is further configured to receive a Msg1 without repetitions.
In the same field of endeavor, Taherzadeh discloses, the CFRA configuration does not include a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions (see e.g., “The UE 120 can transmit a RACH message such as msg1 including a preamble”, [0064] and/or “wherein the configuration information indicates a second configuration associated with a second preamble for transmitting the uplink shared channel without repetition.”, [0122] and/or “the random access response may indicate the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the configuration information may indicate a first set of preambles for requesting repetition of the PUSCH, and a second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition.”, [0067]); and
the transceiver is further configured to receive a Msg1 without repetitions (see e.g., “the configuration information may indicate a first set of preambles for requesting repetition of the PUSCH, and a second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition.”, [0067] and/or “the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the UE 120 may transmit a third message, which may be referred to as message 3, msg3, MSG3, or a third message of a four-step random access procedure. The third message may include a PUSCH. As further shown, the UE 120 may transmit multiple repetitions of the third message”, [0081] and/or “a configuration for requesting repetition for an uplink shared channel transmitted after receiving a CFRA message”, [0006]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Taherzadeh, in order to reach early identification of the UE, realize coverage compensation, provide different schedules for different UE types, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability (please see Taherzadeh, para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 14, Feng discloses, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) (see e.g., Fig. 3, User Equipment 10), the method comprising:
receiving one or more random access (RA) configurations for a cell, and receive a contention free random access (CFRA) configuration related to a RA procedure (see e.g., “performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE, wherein a UE type of the UE is identified in the RA procedure by the base station”, [0135]);
receiving a contention free random access (CFRA) configuration related to a RA procedure (see e.g., “the RA procedure comprises a…contention-free random access procedure (CFRA)”, [0138] and/or “performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE, wherein a UE type of the UE is identified in the RA procedure by the base station”, [0135] ); and
selecting a bandwidth part (BWP) of the cell for performing the RA procedure (see e.g., “the UE selects an initial UL BWP corresponding to the respective UE type to transmit the preamble”, [0073 and/or “the configuration associated with the UE comprises at least one of followings: a configuration of first physical random access channel (PRACH) resources…a configuration of a first random access (RA) preamble”, [0010]);
selecting a four step RA as a type for the RA procedure (see e.g., “when CFRA resources for 4-step RA type are configured, UE performs random access with 4-step RA type”, Fig. 1, [0126] and/or “the UE decodes SI(s) (or RRC) and acquires the contents including preamble configurations (e.g. numberOfRA-PreamblesGroupA totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and new fields). Based on its device type and other information, the UE selects a suitable preamble, then transmits the preamble to the gNB”, [0160]);
performing the RA procedure in the cell according to a result of the determination (see e.g., “when the configuration associated with the UE is processed by the UE, the method further comprises performing, by the UE, a random access (RA) procedure using the configuration associated with the UE”, [0135]).
Fang fails to explicitly disclose, determining whether the CFRA configuration for the RA procedure includes a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions.
In the same field of endeavor, Taherzadeh discloses, determining whether the CFRA configuration for the RA procedure includes a parameter indicating a number of message 1 (Msg1) repetitions (see e.g., “The UE 120 can transmit a RACH message such as msg1 including a preamble”, [0064] and/or “the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the configuration information may indicate a first set of preambles for requesting repetition of the PUSCH, and a second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition.”, [0067]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Taherzadeh, in order to reach early identification of the UE, realize coverage compensation, provide different schedules for different UE types, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability (please see Taherzadeh, para. [0006]).
Regarding Claim 16, Feng and Taherzadeh combined discloses, when the CFRA configuration does not include the parameter indicating the number of Msg1 repetitions (see Feng e.g., “the configuration associated with the UE is provided to the UE on a system information or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the system information or the RRC signaling comprises a new information element (IE) or a field of an existing IE, the system information comprises a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB), and the new IE or the field of the existing IE comprises RACH-ConfigCommon and/or RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA and/or MSGA-ConfigCommon and/or numberOfRA-PreamblesGroupA and/or totalNumberOfRA-Preambles and/or MsgA-ConfigCommon IE and/or MsgA-PUSCH-Config IE”, [0139]), the method further comprising: selecting a second RA configuration from the one or more RA configurations corresponding to the selected BWP (see Feng e.g., “the preambles of each cell are divided into 3 sections (group A, group B, and CFRA preambles) by two fields of RACH-ConfigCommon and RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA”, [0152]);
In the same field of endeavor, Taherzadeh discloses, transmitting Msg1 without repetitions according to the second RA configuration (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the random access response may indicate the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079] and/or “the default configuration may use a PUSCH transmission without repetition and may not permit the UE 120 to request repetition of the PUSCH”, [0069] and/or “…second set of preambles to indicate a PUSCH transmission without repetition”, [0067], wherein the second RA configuration is not associated with Msg1 repetitions (see Taherzadeh e.g., “wherein the configuration information indicates a second configuration associated with a second preamble for transmitting the uplink shared channel without repetition.”, [0122] and/or “the random access response may indicate the detected random access preamble identifier (e.g., received from the UE 120 in msg1)”, [0079]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Taherzadeh, in order to reach early identification of the UE, realize coverage compensation, provide different schedules for different UE types, provide a good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability (please see Taherzadeh, para. [0006]).
Claims 2 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of Taherzadeh, and further in view of JIANG (US 2025/0331028 Al, hereinafter Jiang).
Regarding Claim 2, Feng and Taherzadeh combined discloses, when the CFRA configuration includes the parameter indicating the number of Msg1 repetitions (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the configuration may indicate to request repetition of the PUSCH by repeating a RACH message. For example, the configuration may indicate to repeat a PRACH over two (or more) RACH occasions”, [0065] and/or “A RACH occasion (sometimes referred to as a PRACH occasion) is a resource on which the UE 120 can transmit a RACH message such as msg1 including a preamble”, [0064] and/or “the request and configuration for the repetition of the PUSCH associated with the CFRA procedure can provide reduced overhead relative…”, [0057]), the processor is further configured to select a first RA configuration from the one or more RA configurations corresponding to the selected BWP (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the two (or more) RACH occasions may be selected from a set of RACH occasions configured by the base station 110 (such as via the configuration information shown by reference number 305) as usable to request repetition of the PUSCH”, [0065]);
Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, the first RA configuration corresponds to the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions; and the transceiver is further configured to transmit the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions according to the first RA configuration.
In the same field of endeavor, Jiang discloses, the first RA configuration corresponds to the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions (see e.g., “The number of the multiple PRACH transmissions corresponding to the terminal device can be configured according to each terminal device, and different terminal devices can correspond to different numbers of transmissions; the number of the multiple PRACH transmissions corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) where the multiple PRACH transmissions reside may be configured according to the BWP, and the number of PRACH transmissions in different BWPs can be different”, [0366] and/or “the configuration resource determined by the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions can be configured to perform the multiple PRACH transmissions”, [0367]); and
the transceiver is further configured to transmit the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions according to the first RA configuration (see e.g., “a configuration resource for the multiple PRACH transmissions is determined according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions”, Fig. 2, [0078] and/or “the terminal device can perform the multiple PRACH transmissions on the configuration resource determined according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions”, [0120]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Jiang, in order to determine configuration resource for multiple PRACH transmissions according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions and performing the multiple PRACH transmissions on the configuration resource (please see Jiang, paras. [0006-0007]).
Regarding Claim 15, Feng and Taherzadeh combined discloses, when the CFRA configuration includes the parameter indicating the number of Msg1 repetitions (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the configuration may indicate to request repetition of the PUSCH by repeating a RACH message. For example, the configuration may indicate to repeat a PRACH over two (or more) RACH occasions”, [0065] and/or “A RACH occasion (sometimes referred to as a PRACH occasion) is a resource on which the UE 120 can transmit a RACH message such as msg1 including a preamble”, [0064] and/or “the request and configuration for the repetition of the PUSCH associated with the CFRA procedure can provide reduced overhead relative…”, [0057]), the processor is further configured to select a first RA configuration from the one or more RA configurations corresponding to the selected BWP (see Taherzadeh e.g., “the two (or more) RACH occasions may be selected from a set of RACH occasions configured by the base station 110 (such as via the configuration information shown by reference number 305) as usable to request repetition of the PUSCH”, [0065]);
Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, transmitting the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions according to the first RA configuration, wherein the first RA configuration corresponds to the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions.
In the same field of endeavor, Jiang discloses, transmitting the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions according to the first RA configuration (see e.g., “a configuration resource for the multiple PRACH transmissions is determined according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions”, Fig. 2, [0078] and/or “the terminal device can perform the multiple PRACH transmissions on the configuration resource determined according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions”, [0120]), wherein the first RA configuration corresponds to the indicated number of Msg1 repetitions (see e.g., “The number of the multiple PRACH transmissions corresponding to the terminal device can be configured according to each terminal device, and different terminal devices can correspond to different numbers of transmissions; the number of the multiple PRACH transmissions corresponding to a bandwidth part (BWP) where the multiple PRACH transmissions reside may be configured according to the BWP, and the number of PRACH transmissions in different BWPs can be different”, [0366] and/or “the configuration resource determined by the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions can be configured to perform the multiple PRACH transmissions”, [0367]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Jiang, in order to determine configuration resource for multiple PRACH transmissions according to the RACH configuration information for the multiple PRACH transmissions and performing the multiple PRACH transmissions on the configuration resource (please see Jiang, paras. [0006-0007]).
Claims 4 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of Taherzadeh, and further in view of KIM et al. (US 2022/0287107 Al, hereinafter Kim-107).
Regarding Claim 4, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, to select an uplink (UL) carrier from one of a supplementary uplink (SUL) or a normal uplink (NUL) carrier of the cell, and the RA procedure is performed on the selected UL carrier.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-107 discloses, to select an uplink (UL) carrier from one of a supplementary uplink (SUL) or a normal uplink (NUL) carrier of the cell (see e.g., “the configuration information includes a first value of a threshold value corresponding to a supplementary uplink (SUL) and a second value of the threshold value corresponding to a normal uplink (NUL),”, [0018] and/or “determining whether to use an SUL carrier or an NUL carrier for random access preamble transmission”, [0235]), and
the RA procedure is performed on the selected UL carrier (see e.g., “determining whether to use a supplementary uplink (SUL) and determining a random access type in a wireless communication”, [0236] and/or “the terminal 120 may determine to perform the RACH in the SUL carrier.”, [0240]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-107, in order to determining whether to use a supplementary uplink (SUL) and determining a random access type in a wireless communication (please see Kim, para. [0036]).
Regarding Claim 17, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, selecting an uplink (UL) carrier from one of a supplementary uplink (SUL) or a normal uplink (NUL) carrier of the cell, wherein the RA procedure is performed on the selected UL carrier.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-107 discloses, selecting an uplink (UL) carrier from one of a supplementary uplink (SUL) or a normal uplink (NUL) carrier of the cell (see e.g., “the configuration information includes a first value of a threshold value corresponding to a supplementary uplink (SUL) and a second value of the threshold value corresponding to a normal uplink (NUL),”, [0018] and/or “determining whether to use an SUL carrier or an NUL carrier for random access preamble transmission”, [0235]), wherein the RA procedure is performed on the selected UL carrier (see e.g., “determining whether to use a supplementary uplink (SUL) and determining a random access type in a wireless communication”, [0236] and/or “the terminal 120 may determine to perform the RACH in the SUL carrier.”, [0240]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-107, in order to determining whether to use a supplementary uplink (SUL) and determining a random access type in a wireless communication (please see Kim, para. [0036]).
Claims 5-6 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of Taherzadeh, and further in view of KIM et al. (US 2024/0147328 Al, provisional application no. 63/421,978, Nov. 2, 2022, hereinafter Kim-328).
Regarding Claim 5, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, the cell is a special cell (SpCell); and the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is received in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE).
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, the cell is a special cell (SpCell) (see e.g., “The RRC reconfiguration message may comprise a configuration of a master cell group (masterCellGroup). The master cell group may be associated with a SpCell (SpCellConfig)”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407]); and
the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is received in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE) (see e.g., “a base station may transmit, and/or a wireless device may receive, a RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration-IEs) indicating an RRC connection modification… The reconfiguration with sync (reconfigurationWithSync) may comprise cell common…”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407] and/or “the reconfigurationWithSync IE comprises a dedicated RACH resource indicated by a rach-ConfigDedicated IE…a rach-ConfigDedicated IE comprises a contention free RA resource indicated by a cfra IE.”, Fig. 22, [0391], prov. [0408-0409])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407).
Regarding Claim 6, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, select a synchronization signal block (SSB), and select a set of physical random access channel (PRACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB; and the transceiver is further configured to transmit a Msg1 in each PRACH occasion from the selected set during a RA attempt.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, select a synchronization signal block (SSB), and select a set of physical random access channel (PRACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB (see e.g., “when the plurality of resources for the CFRA configured in the reconfigurationWithSync IE are associated with SSBs, the resources (resources IE) comprise the SSB IE. The SSB IE comprises a list of CFRA SSB resources (ssb-ResourceList) and an indication of PRACH occasion mask index (ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Each of the list of CFRA SSB resources comprises a SSB index, a RA preamble index and etc. The ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex indicates a PRACH mask index for RA resource selection”, Fig. 22, [0392], prov. [0410]); and
the transceiver is further configured to transmit a Msg1 in each PRACH occasion from the selected set during a RA attempt (see e.g., “The one or more RACH parameters provided/configured/comprised in the configuration message 1310 may indicate one or more PRACH occasions available for transmission of the first message (e.g., Msg 1 1311)”, [0164], prov. [0166]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407]).
Regarding Claim 18, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, the cell is a special cell (SpCell); and the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is received in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE).
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, the cell is a special cell (SpCell) (see e.g., “The RRC reconfiguration message may comprise a configuration of a master cell group (masterCellGroup). The master cell group may be associated with a SpCell (SpCellConfig)”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407]); and
the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is received in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE) (see e.g., “a base station may transmit, and/or a wireless device may receive, a RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration-IEs) indicating an RRC connection modification… The reconfiguration with sync (reconfigurationWithSync) may comprise cell common…”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407] and/or “the reconfigurationWithSync IE comprises a dedicated RACH resource indicated by a rach-ConfigDedicated IE…a rach-ConfigDedicated IE comprises a contention free RA resource indicated by a cfra IE.”, Fig. 22, [0391], prov. [0408-0409])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407).
Regarding Claim 19, Feng and Taherzadeh combined fails to explicitly disclose, selecting a synchronization signal block (SSB); selecting a set of physical random access channel (PRACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB; and transmitting a Msg1 in each PRACH occasion from the selected set during a RA attempt.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, selecting a synchronization signal block (SSB); selecting a set of physical random access channel (PRACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB (see e.g., “when the plurality of resources for the CFRA configured in the reconfigurationWithSync IE are associated with SSBs, the resources (resources IE) comprise the SSB IE. The SSB IE comprises a list of CFRA SSB resources (ssb-ResourceList) and an indication of PRACH occasion mask index (ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Each of the list of CFRA SSB resources comprises a SSB index, a RA preamble index and etc. The ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex indicates a PRACH mask index for RA resource selection”, Fig. 22, [0392], prov. [0410]); and
transmitting a Msg1 in each PRACH occasion from the selected set during a RA attempt (see e.g., “The one or more RACH parameters provided/configured/comprised in the configuration message 1310 may indicate one or more PRACH occasions available for transmission of the first message (e.g., Msg 1 1311)”, [0164], prov. [0166]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Taherzadeh with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407]).
Claims 7 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of Taherzadeh, in view of KIM-328, and further in view of LIN et al. (US 2023/0180300 Al, hereinafter Lin).
Regarding Claim 7, Feng, Taherzadeh and Kim-328 combined fails to explicitly disclose, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the selected set correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration.
In the same field of endeavor, Lin discloses, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the selected set correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration (see e.g., “UE 102 receives first and second physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations,”, Fig. 15, [0160] and/or “the UE 102 selects a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration from a group including at least a first PRACH configuration associated with a first group and a second PRACH configuration associated with a second group”, Fig. 15, [0161] and/or “the UE 102 transmits a random access preamble in accordance with the selected PRACH configuration as part of a contention free random access procedure”, [0170] and/or “The time resources and preamble format for the Msg1 transmission is configured by a PRACH configuration index”, [0015] and/or “the network node may signal at least two different Msg1/MsgA configurations. In some aspects, different physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations may be mapped to different groups (e.g., for different UE priority levels, different service priority levels, different UE types, different service types, and/or different network slices). In some aspects, a UE may select which PRACH configuration to use for its random-access preamble transmission based on the UE's current group (e.g., based on the UE's current priority, type, service priority, service type, and/or network slice.”, [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng, Taherzadeh and Kim-328 with Lin, in order for a UE to select Random Access Preambles for PRACH transmission (please see Lin, para. [0036]).
Regarding Claim 20, Feng, Taherzadeh and Kim-328 combined fails to explicitly disclose, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the selected set correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration.
In the same field of endeavor, Lin discloses, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the selected set correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration (see e.g., “UE 102 receives first and second physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations,”, Fig. 15, [0160] and/or “the UE 102 selects a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration from a group including at least a first PRACH configuration associated with a first group and a second PRACH configuration associated with a second group”, Fig. 15, [0161] and/or “the UE 102 transmits a random access preamble in accordance with the selected PRACH configuration as part of a contention free random access procedure”, [0170] and/or “The time resources and preamble format for the Msg1 transmission is configured by a PRACH configuration index”, [0015] and/or “the network node may signal at least two different Msg1/MsgA configurations. In some aspects, different physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations may be mapped to different groups (e.g., for different UE priority levels, different service priority levels, different UE types, different service types, and/or different network slices). In some aspects, a UE may select which PRACH configuration to use for its random-access preamble transmission based on the UE's current group (e.g., based on the UE's current priority, type, service priority, service type, and/or network slice.”, [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng, Taherzadeh and Kim-328 with Lin, in order for a UE to select Random Access Preambles for PRACH transmission (please see Lin, para. [0036]).
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of Kim-328.
Regarding Claim 11, Feng a fails to explicitly disclose, the cell is a special cell (SpCell); and the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is transmitted in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE).
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, the cell is a special cell (SpCell) (see e.g., “The RRC reconfiguration message may comprise a configuration of a master cell group (masterCellGroup). The master cell group may be associated with a SpCell (SpCellConfig)”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407]); and
the one or more RA configurations and CFRA configuration for the SpCell is transmitted in a RRCReconfiguration message including a reconfiguration with sync information element (IE) (see e.g., “a base station may transmit, and/or a wireless device may receive, a RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration-IEs) indicating an RRC connection modification… The reconfiguration with sync (reconfigurationWithSync) may comprise cell common…”, Fig. 21, [0390], provi. [0407] and/or “the reconfigurationWithSync IE comprises a dedicated RACH resource indicated by a rach-ConfigDedicated IE…a rach-ConfigDedicated IE comprises a contention free RA resource indicated by a cfra IE.”, Fig. 22, [0391], prov. [0408-0409])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407).
Regarding Claim 12, Feng fails to explicitly disclose, during a RA attempt, receive a message 1 (Msg1) in each physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion from a set of PRACH occasions selected by the UE, the set of PRACH occasions corresponding to a synchronization signal block (SSB) selected by the UE.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim-328 discloses, select a synchronization signal block (SSB), and select a set of physical random access channel (PRACH) occasions corresponding to the SSB (see e.g., “when the plurality of resources for the CFRA configured in the reconfigurationWithSync IE are associated with SSBs, the resources (resources IE) comprise the SSB IE. The SSB IE comprises a list of CFRA SSB resources (ssb-ResourceList) and an indication of PRACH occasion mask index (ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex). Each of the list of CFRA SSB resources comprises a SSB index, a RA preamble index and etc. The ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex indicates a PRACH mask index for RA resource selection”, Fig. 22, [0392], prov. [0410] and/or “The one or more RACH parameters provided/configured/comprised in the configuration message 1310 may indicate one or more PRACH occasions available for transmission of the first message (e.g., Msg 1 1311)”, [0164], prov. [0166]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng with Kim-328, in order to provide wireless device with measurement configuration, mobility control, radio resource configuration and AS security configuration for handover purposes (please see Kim-328, para. [0390], prov. [0407]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Feng, in view of KIM-328, and further in view of Lin.
Regarding Claim 13, Feng and Kim-328 combined fails to explicitly disclose, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the set of PRACH occasions selected by the UE correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration.
In the same field of endeavor, Lin discloses, wherein a number of PRACH occasions in the selected set correspond to the number of Msg1 repetitions indicated in the CFRA configuration (see e.g., “UE 102 receives first and second physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations,”, Fig. 15, [0160] and/or “the UE 102 selects a physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration from a group including at least a first PRACH configuration associated with a first group and a second PRACH configuration associated with a second group”, Fig. 15, [0161] and/or “the UE 102 transmits a random access preamble in accordance with the selected PRACH configuration as part of a contention free random access procedure”, [0170] and/or “The time resources and preamble format for the Msg1 transmission is configured by a PRACH configuration index”, [0015] and/or “the network node may signal at least two different Msg1/MsgA configurations. In some aspects, different physical random access channel (PRACH) configurations may be mapped to different groups (e.g., for different UE priority levels, different service priority levels, different UE types, different service types, and/or different network slices). In some aspects, a UE may select which PRACH configuration to use for its random-access preamble transmission based on the UE's current group (e.g., based on the UE's current priority, type, service priority, service type, and/or network slice.”, [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine teachings of Feng and Kim-328 with Lin, in order for a UE to select Random Access Preambles for PRACH transmission (please see Lin, para. [0036]).
Conclusion
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/FARID SEYEDVOSOGHI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2645