DETAILED ACTION
This action is a response to an application filed on 3/27/2024 in which claims 1-8 and 17-28 are pending.
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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 26 and 28 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claim 19. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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(s) 1-4, 7, 8, 17-19, 21-23 and 25-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (WO 2021/016773 A1), herein Lu and Shin et al. (Pub. No.: 2019/0373646), herein Shin.
As to claim 1, Lu teaches a method for determining a random access response window, comprising:
obtaining a round-trip time (RTT) between a first device and a second device (Lu [0113] The terminal device with the positioning capability may estimate a distance between the location of the terminal device and the network device based on its own positioning capability, to determine the RTT); and
determining a start position of the random access response window (Lu [0133]
Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset)
Lu does not teach
obtaining a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH)
However Shin does teach
obtaining a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) (Shin [0802] The processor of the UE controls the receiver to receive NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling. The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lu and Shin, because Shin teaches us [0497] When the corresponding method is used, it is advantageous in that since the preamble is continuously repeatedly transmitted by the pre-configured repetition number regardless of the number of invalid UL subframes which exist in the NPRACH resource, initially anticipated performance is maintained in terms of the NPRACH reliability.
As to claim 17, Lu teaches a communication device, and one or more processors that are communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to:
obtain a round-trip time (RTT) between a first device and a second device (Lu [0113] The terminal device with the positioning capability may estimate a distance between the location of the terminal device and the network device based on its own positioning capability, to determine the RTT); and
determine a start position of a random access response window (Lu [0133]
Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset)
Lu does not teach
obtain a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH)
However Shin does teach
obtain a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) (Shin [0802] The processor of the UE controls the receiver to receive NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling. The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lu and Shin for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 18, Lu teaches a communication device comprising:
one or more processors (Lu Fig. 16); and
an interface circuit (Lu Fig. 16);
wherein the interface circuit is configured to receive code instructions and transmitting the code instructions to at least one of the one or more processors (Lu Fig. 16); and
wherein the one or more processors are collectively configured to:
obtain around-trip time (RTT) between a first device and a second device (Lu [0113] The terminal device with the positioning capability may estimate a distance between the location of the terminal device and the network device based on its own positioning capability, to determine the RTT); and
determine a start position of a random access response window (Lu [0133]
Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset)
Lu does not teach
obtain a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH)
However Shin does teach
obtain a number of repeated transmissions of a narrowband physical random access channel (NPRACH) (Shin [0802] The processor of the UE controls the receiver to receive NPRACH configuration information including control information for the number of repeated NPRACH preambles including symbol groups from the eNB through upper layer signaling. The upper layer signaling may be RRC signaling);
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lu and Shin for the same reasons stated in claim 1.
As to claim 2, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 1, wherein determining the start position of the random access response window comprises: determining the start position of the random access response window according to the RTT, wherein the number of repeated transmissions of the NPRACH is less than a preset threshold (Lu [0133]
Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset)
Claim 21 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 2.
As to claim 3, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 1, wherein determining the start position of the random access response window comprises: obtaining a preset value (Lu [0133] Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset); and determining the start position of the random access response window based on the RTT and the preset value, wherein the number of repeated transmissions of the NPRACH is greater than or equal to a preset threshold (Lu [0133] Step S602: The terminal device determines the start time of the RAR time window based on the offset)
Claim 22 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 3.
As to claim 4, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 2, wherein the start position of the random access response window is: a subframe n+ the RTT, the n being an integer (Lu [0134] The start time is a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH occasion after a reference time, and the reference time is an offset after a time delay of sending a random access request by the terminal device.
Claim 23 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 4.
As to claim 7, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device (Lu [0113] The terminal device with the positioning capability may estimate a distance between the location of the terminal device and the network device based on its own positioning capability, to determine the RTT);
As to claim 8, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 1, wherein the first device is a network device and the second device is a terminal device (Lu [0113] The terminal device with the positioning capability may estimate a distance between the location of the terminal device and the network device based on its own positioning capability, to determine the RTT);
As to claim 19, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions which, the instructions when the instructions are executed by a processors, cause the processor to execute the method according to claim 1 (Lu Fig. 16)
As to claim 25, the combination of Lu and Shin teach the wireless system for determining a random access response window, the system comprising the communication device according to claim 17 (Lu Fig. 16)
As to claim 26, the combination of Lu and Shin teach a non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to claim 1 (Lu Fig. 16)
As to claim 27, the combination of Lu and Shin teach a chip system, comprising: at least one processor and interfaces, the chip system being configured to perform the method according to claim 1 (Lu Fig. 16)
As to claim 28, the combination of Lu and Shin teach a non-transitory computer program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to claim 1 (Lu Fig. 16)
Claim(s) 5 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu, Shin and Miao et al. (Pub. No.: 2022/0386263), herein Miao.
As to claim 5, Shin and Lu teach the method according to claim 3,
Lu nor Shin teach
wherein the start position of the random access response window is: a subframe n+ max {the RTT, the preset value}, the n being an integer
However Miao does teach
wherein the start position of the random access response window is: a subframe n+ max {the RTT, the preset value}, the n being an integer (Miao Fig. 9 and The starting time of the RAR window is a moment after delaying a sending moment of a random access preamble (Msg1 message) sent by the terminal by at least a reference RTT time length, and the duration of the RAR window is equal to a sum of a difference value between a maximum RTT and a reference RTT and a processing delay of a base station)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lu, Shin and Miao, because Miao teaches us [0126] In order to facilitate comparison, in an example, a terminal (terminal 1) closest to the base station and a terminal (terminal 2) furthest from the base station send the Msg1 message at the same moment. An RAR message (shown as Msg2_1 in the figure) sent to the terminal 1 by the base station and an RAR message (shown as Msg2_2 in the figure) sent to the terminal 2 by the base station are inconsistent in arrival time. A time length between a moment of sending the Msg2_1 message to the terminal 1 by the base station and a moment of sending the Msg1 message by the terminal 1 is roughly a sum of a time length of a minimum RTT and a processing delay of a the base station, and a time length between a moment of sending the Msg2_2 message to the terminal 2 by the base station and a moment of sending the Msg1 message by the terminal 2 is roughly a sum of a time length of a maximum RTT and a processing delay of a base station.
Claim 24 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 5.
Claim(s) 6 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu, Shin and Shin2 et al. (Pub. No.: 2021/0314925), herein Shin2
As to claim 6, Lu and Shin teach the method according to claim 4,
Lu nor Shin teach
Wherein a last subframe comprising a repeated transmission of the NPRACH is the subframe n
However Shin2 does teach
Wherein a last subframe comprising a repeated transmission of the NPRACH is the subframe n (Shin2 [0409] The time window (or RAR window) starts at subframe (SF)+3 subframe (SF) of a last preamble)
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Lu, Shin and Shin2, because Shin2 teaches us [0410] When the preamble transmission is unsuccessful, for example, when the associated RAR message is not received, the UE transmits another preamble. Such an operation is performed up to a maximum number, and the maximum number depends on a CE level. When the RAR is not received even though the preamble is transmitted at the maximum number, the UE performs the corresponding operation at a next (i.e., higher) CE level. When the total number of access attempt is reached, the associated failure is reported to the RRC. Through the RAR, the UE acquires a temporary C-RNTI, a timing advance command, etc. The MSG3 is temporally aligned and required for transmission through the NPUSCH. The RAR provides a UL grant including all related data for transmission of the MSG3.
Claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons stated in claim 6.
Conclusion
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AYANAH S. GEORGE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2467
/AYANAH S GEORGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2467