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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This communication is in response to Applicant's response filed under 37 C.F.R. § 1.111 in response to a Non-Final Office Action. Claims 56, 59, 61, 64, 66, and 69 have been amended; No claims have been added; Claim 58, 63, and 68 has been canceled by the present amendments; Claims 1-55 were canceled previously. Claims 56-57, 59-62, 64-67 and 69-70 are subject to examination.
Acknowledgement is made to this application's amendment to claim 61 to obviate the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection to claim 61-65. The previous 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection to claim 61-65 is hereby withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 61 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 61 recites “performing a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, in a case where a beam failure is on at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs”. It is recommended to amend claim 61 to recite “performing a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, in a case where a beam failure is detected on at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs”. Appropriate correction is required.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
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.
Claim 56-57, 59, 61-62, 64, 66-67, and 69 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HARADA et al. (HARADA hereinafter) (US 20240155387 A1) in view of Wu et al. (Wu hereinafter) (US 20240340068 A1).
Regarding claim 56 and claim 66, HARADA teaches, A method, performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:
receiving, from a network device, a first set of reference signals (RSs) and a second set of RSs for a serving cell for beam failure detection (HARADA; in FIG. 8, in step S101, the base station 200 (the communicator 210) that manages the cell 250 including N TRPs 201 transmits, to the UE 100, the RRC message including the BFD configuration list which is a list for configuring N BFD resource sets, Par. 0100; one cell includes a plurality of TRPs ... The TRP may be referred to as a panel or an antenna panel, Par. 0003);
performing a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, in a case where a beam failure is detected on at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs (HARADA; In step S451, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for the BFD resource set 521 #0 associated with the TRP 201 #0 and initiates BFR with BFR MAC CE transmission. In step S452, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for the BFD resource set 521 #1 associated with the TRP 201 #1 and initiates BFR with BFR MAC CE transmission, Par. 0161-0162); and
performing a random access procedure on the serving cell for beam failure recovery, in a case where the serving cell is a primary cell (HARADA; The SpCell may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), Par. 0068; the random access procedure on the SpCell for beam recovery, Par. 0173), a first BFR is triggered for the first set of RSs, a second BFR is triggered for the second set of RSs, and the BFR procedure is not successfully completed for any of the first set of RSs and the second set of RSs (HARADA; In step S455, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for all of the N BFD resource sets 521, and initiates the random access procedure for the cell 250 (SpCell) in response to the fact that no recovery for beam failure has occurred for any of the BFD resource sets 521, Par. 0165; Here, the UE 100 selects an appropriate beam (for example, the beam #1) for performing the BFR. When the random access procedure is completed, the BFR is completed, Par. 0070),
wherein a procedure other than the random access procedure is performed for beam failure recovery, in a case where a BFR is triggered for only one of the first set of RSs and the second set of RSs (HARADA; step 451, 452 Fig. 23; In response to the reception of the PDCCH, the controller 120 resets the count value (BFI_COUNTER_BFD_RS) associated with the one BFD resource set (BFD Resource Set) 521, considers that BFR has succeeded, Par. 0194; Here, the UE 100 selects a beam (for example, the beam #1) suitable for the SCell, and indicates the selected beam information together with information regarding the beam failure by the BFR MAC CE, Par. 0067).
wherein the preforming the BFR procedure comprises transmitting a BFR Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) to the network device (HARADA; the UE 100 triggers beam failure recovery (BFR) by initiating transmission of a beam failure recovery MAC control element (BFR MAC CE), Par. 0067)
HARADA failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the BFR MAC CE comprises:
a first field indicating a number of sets of RSs on which the beam failure is detected for the serving cell;
a second field indicating an index of the first set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the first set of RSs; and
a third field indicating an index of the second set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the second set of RSs.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wu teaches,
wherein the BFR MAC CE comprises (Wu; TRP based BFR MAC CE as shown in FIG. 8, Par. 0092):
a first field indicating a number of sets of RSs on which the beam failure is detected for the serving cell (Wu; This P.sub.i field indicates the total number of TRP in which a beam failure is detected, Par. 0096);
a second field indicating an index of the first set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the first set of RSs (Wu; TRP (e.g., “TRP” as shown in the ninth row to the bottom row of FIG. 8): This field indicates TRP ID in which a beam failure for this TRP is detected. TRP ID can be identified by BFD-RS set, Par. 0095); and
a third field indicating an index of the second set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the second set of RSs (Wu; TRP (e.g., “TRP” as shown in the ninth row to the bottom row of FIG. 8): This field indicates TRP ID in which a beam failure for this TRP is detected. TRP ID can be identified by BFD-RS set, Par. 0095).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HARADA to include the use of MAC CE fields as taught by Wu in order to convey TRP based beam failure indications (Wu; Par. 0092).
Regarding claim 61, HARADA teaches, A method, performed by a network device, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a terminal device, a first set of reference signals (RSs) and a second set of RSs for a serving cell for beam failure detection (HARADA; in FIG. 8, in step S101, the base station 200 (the communicator 210) that manages the cell 250 including N TRPs 201 transmits, to the UE 100, the RRC message including the BFD configuration list which is a list for configuring N BFD resource sets, Par. 0100; one cell includes a plurality of TRPs ... The TRP may be referred to as a panel or an antenna panel, Par. 0003);
performing a beam failure recovery (BFR) procedure, in a case where a beam failure is on at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs (HARADA; In step S451, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for the BFD resource set 521 #0 associated with the TRP 201 #0 and initiates BFR with BFR MAC CE transmission. In step S452, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for the BFD resource set 521 #1 associated with the TRP 201 #1 and initiates BFR with BFR MAC CE transmission, Par. 0161-0162); and
performing a random access procedure on the serving cell for beam failure recovery, in a case where the serving cell is a primary cell (HARADA; The SpCell may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), Par. 0068; the random access procedure on the SpCell for beam recovery, Par. 0173), a first BFR is triggered for the first set of RSs, a second BFR is triggered for the second set of RSs, and a BFR procedure is not successfully completed for any of the first set of RSs and the second set of RSs (HARADA; In step S455, the UE 100 (the controller 120) detects beam failure for all of the N BFD resource sets 521, and initiates the random access procedure for the cell 250 (SpCell) in response to the fact that no recovery for beam failure has occurred for any of the BFD resource sets 521, Par. 0165; Here, the UE 100 selects an appropriate beam (for example, the beam #1) for performing the BFR. When the random access procedure is completed, the BFR is completed, Par. 0070),
wherein a procedure other than the random access procedure is performed for beam failure recovery, in a case where a BFR is triggered for only one of the first set of RSs and the second set of RSs (HARADA; step 451, 452 Fig. 23; In response to the reception of the PDCCH, the controller 120 resets the count value (BFI_COUNTER_BFD_RS) associated with the one BFD resource set (BFD Resource Set) 521, considers that BFR has succeeded, Par. 0194; Here, the UE 100 selects a beam (for example, the beam #1) suitable for the SCell, and indicates the selected beam information together with information regarding the beam failure by the BFR MAC CE, Par. 0067),
wherein the preforming the BFR procedure comprises receiving a BFR Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE) at the network device (HARADA; the UE 100 triggers beam failure recovery (BFR) by initiating transmission of a beam failure recovery MAC control element (BFR MAC CE), Par. 0067)
HARADA failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the BFR MAC CE comprises:
a first field indicating a number of sets of RSs on which the beam failure is detected for the serving cell;
a second field indicating an index of the first set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the first set of RSs; and
a third field indicating an index of the second set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the second set of RSs.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wu teaches,
wherein the BFR MAC CE comprises (Wu; TRP based BFR MAC CE as shown in FIG. 8, Par. 0092):
a first field indicating a number of sets of RSs on which the beam failure is detected for the serving cell (Wu; This P.sub.i field indicates the total number of TRP in which a beam failure is detected, Par. 0096);
a second field indicating an index of the first set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the first set of RSs (Wu; TRP (e.g., “TRP” as shown in the ninth row to the bottom row of FIG. 8): This field indicates TRP ID in which a beam failure for this TRP is detected. TRP ID can be identified by BFD-RS set, Par. 0095); and
a third field indicating an index of the second set of RSs in a case where the beam failure is detected on the second set of RSs (Wu; TRP (e.g., “TRP” as shown in the ninth row to the bottom row of FIG. 8): This field indicates TRP ID in which a beam failure for this TRP is detected. TRP ID can be identified by BFD-RS set, Par. 0095).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HARADA to include the use of MAC CE fields as taught by Wu in order to convey TRP based beam failure indications (Wu; Par. 0092).
Regarding claim 57 and claim 67, HARADA-Wu teaches, The method of claim 56 and The terminal device of claim 66 respectively, wherein the beam failure is detected in a case where:
a beam failure indication for the at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs is received from lower layers (HARADA; the physical layer periodically outputs the beam failure instance indication to the MAC layer along with the BFD resource set identifier (bfd-ResourceSetId) of the BFD resource set, Par. 0119),
a beam failure indication counter for the at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs is incremented by 1 (HARADA; increments (that is, add 1 to) the counter corresponding to the BFD resource set identifier (bfd-ResourceSetId), Par. 0122), and
the beam failure indication counter is equal to or larger than a maximum beam failure counter for the at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs (HARADA; When the count value of the counter becomes greater than or equal to the specified number of times before the expiration of the timer, the MAC layer detects beam failure for the BFD resource set corresponding to the counter, Par. 0122).
Regarding claim 59 and claim 69, HARADA-Wu teaches, The method of claim 56 and The terminal device of claim 66 respectively, the method further comprising:
in a case where the serving cell is a secondary cell (SCell) and the SCell is deactivated (HARADA; As illustrated in FIG. 23, in a case where one or more BFD resource sets (BFD Resource Sets) 521 are configured for each serving cell for which BFD is configured (step S501), Par. 0168; in a case where the SCell is deactivated (step S519), Par. 0181),
setting a beam failure indication counter to 0 (HARADA; In step S520, the MAC entity sets (resets) the count value (BFI_COUNTER_BFD_RS) to 0, Par. 0182), and
considering the first beam failure recovery procedure and the second beam failure recovery procedure successfully completed and cancelling all the triggered BFRs for the serving cell (HARADA; In step S521, the MAC entity determines that BFR is successfully completed and cancels all triggered BFRs for the current BFD resource set (BFD Resource Set) 521, Par. 0183).
Regarding claim 62, HARADA-Wu teaches, The method of claim 61, wherein the beam failure is detected in a case where:
a beam failure indication counter is equal to or larger than a maximum beam failure counter for the at least one of the first set of RSs or the second set of RSs (HARADA; When the count value of the counter becomes greater than or equal to the specified number of times before the expiration of the timer, the MAC layer detects beam failure for the BFD resource set corresponding to the counter, Par. 0122).
Regarding claim 64, HARADA-Wu teaches, The method of claim 61, the method further comprising:
in a case where the serving cell is a secondary cell (SCell) and the SCell is deactivated (HARADA; As illustrated in FIG. 23, in a case where one or more BFD resource sets (BFD Resource Sets) 521 are configured for each serving cell for which BFD is configured (step S501), Par. 0168; in a case where the SCell is deactivated (step S519), Par. 0181),
a beam failure indication counter is set to 0 (HARADA; In step S520, the MAC entity sets (resets) the count value (BFI_COUNTER_BFD_RS) to 0, Par. 0182), and
the first beam failure recovery procedure and the second beam failure recovery procedure are considered to be successfully completed and all the triggered BFRs for the serving cell are cancelled (HARADA; In step S521, the MAC entity determines that BFR is successfully completed and cancels all triggered BFRs for the current BFD resource set (BFD Resource Set) 521, Par. 0183).
Claim 60, 65, and 70 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HARADA-Wu in view of AGIWAL et al. (AGIWAL hereinafter) (US 20220046441 A1).
Regarding claim 60, claim 65, and claim 70, HARADA-Wu teaches, The method of claim 59, The method of claim 64, and The terminal device of claim 69 respectively.
HARADA-Wu fails to explicitly teach,
wherein the beam failure indication counter is associated with a first beam failure indication counter for the first set of RSs and a second beam failure indication counter for the second set of RSs.
However, in the same field of endeavor, AGIWAL teaches,
wherein the beam failure indication counter is associated with a first beam failure indication counter for the first set of RSs and a second beam failure indication counter for the second set of RSs (AGIWAL; only one timer and counter is maintained per serving cell irrespective of number of TRPs in a serving cell, Par. 0493).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HARADA-Wu to include the use of one counter per serving cell as taught by AGIWAL in order to perform beam failure detection (AGIWAL; Par. 0490).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARMIN CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-6419. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached at 5712705630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SHARMIN CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
Prosecution Insights