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
a. Claims 1-26 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA :
- claims 1, 7, and 20 are amended
- claims 11, 14-19, and 24 are canceled
b. This is a final action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 04/24/2026.
Response to Arguments
Regarding Independent claims 1, 7, and 20 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's arguments, see “The Office Action relies on Liu as teaching the claimed partial overlap between pools of preambles. Liu describes, with respect to Figure 5A, two different sets of preambles respectively associated with a single feature A and a single feature B and describes preambles Qc that correspond to a joint feature C, which is a combination of features A and B. While the preambles Qc of Liu are partially overlapping with both the preambles of feature A and feature B, these are partial overlaps of single-feature preambles (A or B) with joint-feature preambles (C). Nothing in Liu describes a partial overlap between a pool of joint-feature preambles with another pool of different joint-feature preambles, as clarified in the proposed amendment above.” on page 10, filed on 04/24/2026, with respect to He et al. US Pub 2023/0038191 (hereinafter “He”), and in view of Liu et al. US Pub 2024/0349347 (hereinafter “Liu”), have been fully considered but are moot, over the limitations of “when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature”. Said limitations are newly added to the amended Claims 1, 7, and 20 and have been addressed in instant office action, as shown in section 35 USC 103 rejection below, with newly identified prior art teaching from newly found reference Bergstrom et al. US Pub 2023/0388971, claiming provisional application 63191141 priority 2021-05-20 (hereinafter “Bergstrom”), in combination with previously applied reference He, thus rendering said Applicant’s arguments moot.
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 of this title, 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.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4-8, 12-13, 20-21, and 25-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He et al. US Pub 2023/0038191 (hereinafter “He”), and in view of Bergstrom et al. US Pub 2023/0388971, claiming provisional application 63191141 priority 2021-05-20 (hereinafter “Bergstrom”).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended)
He discloses a first device (“base station 110” in Fig. 2; [0076]), comprising:
at least one processor (“controller/processor 240” in Fig. 2; [0050]); and
at least one memory (“memory 242” in Fig. 2; [0051]) including computer program code (“the memory 242 and/or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication” [0051]);
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:
reserve a first pool of preambles (i.e. “preamble grouping RACH feature” [0076] and furthermore “preamble group A/B)” [0088]) for a first feature combination including a first communication feature and a second communication feature (“As shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 510, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, random access configuration information that indicates multiple RACH partitions that are each associated with a combination of one or more RACH features configured by the base station 110 and PRACH resources associated with the configured combinations of RACH features.” [0076]) and reserve a second pool of preambles for a second feature combination including the first communication feature and a third communication feature (“As shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 510, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, random access configuration information that indicates multiple RACH partitions that are each associated with a combination of one or more RACH features configured by the base station 110 and PRACH resources associated with the configured combinations of RACH features.” [0076]);
transmit, to a second device (“UE 120” in Fig. 5A; [0076]), a first set of indications (i.e. ”first RACH partition” [0081]) of the first pool of preambles and a second set of indications (i.e. ”second RACH partition” [0081]) of the second pool of preambles (“As shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 510, the base station 110 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, random access configuration information that indicates multiple RACH partitions that are each associated with a combination of one or more RACH features configured by the base station 110 and PRACH resources associated with the configured combinations of RACH features.” [0076]), wherein the first set of indications is partially overlapping with the second set of indications (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition (e.g., where the first RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, four-step RACH, and coverage enhancement RACH features, and the second RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, and four-step RACH features). In such cases, the base station 110 may configure the ROs for the first RACH partition to be a subset of the ROs for the second RACH partition. Accordingly, in some aspects, the base station 110 may configure a PRACH mask to indicate a hierarchical configuration of PRACH resources (e.g., ROs that can be used to transmit a preamble and/or the preambles that can be transmitted in an RO). For example, in cases where a combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition are a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition, and the two RACH partitions share the same PRACH configuration, the base station 110 can use the PRACH mask to indicate a subset of ROs and/or preambles allocated to the second RACH partition that are configured for the first RACH partition. In this way, using the PRACH mask to indicate the hierarchical configuration for RACH partitions that share a PRACH configuration may reduce signaling overhead, which may be particularly useful in practice because RACH configurations are typically signaled in SIB1, which is currently at or approaching a capacity limit” [0081]) such that one or more first preambles are included in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature and in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature (“each RACH partition configured by the base station 110 may be associated with a PRACH configuration for a combination of one or more RACH features (e.g., one RACH partition may be associated with a separate PRACH configuration for a particular RACH feature and/or associated with a joint configuration between or among multiple RACH features). Furthermore, in cases where a RACH partition is associated with a combination of multiple (two or more) RACH features, the RACH features may generally be compatible with one another.” [0078]); and
receive, from the second device (“UE 120” in Fig. 5A; [0076]), a preamble for random access (“Referring again to FIG. 5A, as shown by reference number 570, the UE 120 may transmit a preamble to initiate a RACH procedure that supports the combination of RACH features associated with the selected RACH partition. For example, as described above, a RACH partition may be associated with a PRACH configuration, which may include a set of ROs and/or a set of preambles that can be used to initiate a RACH procedure associated with a particular combination of RACH features. Accordingly, the UE 120 may select a preamble to be transmitted based on the set of preambles that are allocated to the RACH partition selected by the UE 120, and the UE 120 may transmit the selected preamble in an RO allocated to the RACH partition selected by the UE 120.” [0092]), the preamble determined based at least on a combination of communication features (“each RACH partition configured by the base station 110 may be associated with a PRACH configuration for a combination of one or more RACH features (e.g., one RACH partition may be associated with a separate PRACH configuration for a particular RACH feature and/or associated with a joint configuration between or among multiple RACH features). Furthermore, in cases where a RACH partition is associated with a combination of multiple (two or more) RACH features, the RACH features may generally be compatible with one another.” [0078]) to be performed by the second device and based on at least one of the transmitted first set of indications and second set of indications (“the base station 110 can use the PRACH mask to indicate a subset of ROs and/or preambles allocated to the second RACH partition that are configured for the first RACH partition” [0081]), wherein the combination of communication features to be performed by the second device comprises at least the first communication feature (“RACH features that may be associated with a configured RACH partition may include an uplink selection RACH feature (e.g., NUL versus SUL), a UE type RACH feature (e.g., RedCap versus non-RedCap), a network slicing RACH feature (e.g., where dedicated PRACH resources are allocated to a particular network slice or slice group), a RACH procedure type RACH feature (e.g., four-step RACH versus two-step RACH), a coverage enhancement RACH feature, an SDT RACH feature, and/or a preamble grouping RACH feature, among other examples.” [0076]).
He does not specifically teach when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature; one or more second preambles are included only in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature, and one or more third preambles are included only in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature.
In an analogous art, Bergstrom discloses when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature (“FIG. 13 is an illustration of preamble index ranges associated with three different features and the overlaps between them that enables signaling of combinations of any two features as well as the combination of all the three features, in accordance with one example embodiment of the present disclosure;” [0082] and furthermore “In a further, even more complicated example, three features share a common PRACH resource and all possible feature combinations (i.e., even the combination of all three features) should be possible to signal. How this can be achieved is indicated in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is an illustration of preamble index ranges associated with three different features and the overlaps between them that enables signaling of combinations of any two features as well as the combination of all the three features.” [0227]); one or more second preambles are included only in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature, and one or more third preambles are included only in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature (“In another example embodiment with the same input data (with signaling of all feature combinations supported), the rule says that there are the following three preamble range partitions and feature associations: [0280] Partition 1: Preamble index 0-24 and 60-63, associated with feature X; [0281] Partition 2: Preamble index 20-44 and 60-63, associated with feature Y; [0282] Partition 3: Preamble index 40-63 and 0-4, associated with feature Z; Note that the preamble range partitions for feature X and Y overlap on preamble indexes 20-24. These preamble indexes are hence used for signaling of the combination of feature X and Y. Similarly, the preamble range partitions for feature Y and Z overlap on preamble indexes 40-44. These preamble indexes are hence used for signaling of the combination of feature Y and Z. Furthermore, the preamble range partitions for feature X and Z overlap on preamble indexes 0-4. These preamble indexes are hence used for signaling of the combination of feature X and Z. In addition, the preamble range partitions of all three features overlap on preamble indexes 60-63. These preamble indexes are hence used for signaling of the combination of feature X, Y and Z.” [0279]).
Bergstrom clearly discloses in Fig. 13 a first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature (i.e. combined features X+Y) is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature (i.e. combined features Y+Z). It is reasonable for one skilled in the art to adapt Bergstrom’s teaching to implement the claimed features “when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature; one or more second preambles are included only in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature, and one or more third preambles are included only in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature”.
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify He’s method for RACH partitioning to support different features, to include Bergstrom’s method for signaling of features via PRACH partitioning, in order to efficiently utilize available resources (Bergstrom [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Bergstrom’s method for signaling of features via PRACH partitioning into He’s method for RACH partitioning to support different features since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 2
He, as modified by Bergstrom, previously discloses the first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:
He further discloses transmit, to the second device (“UE 120” in Fig. 5A; [0076]), a first indication (i.e. “first RACH partition” [0081]) of a first association between the first pool of preambles (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition (e.g., where the first RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, four-step RACH, and coverage enhancement RACH features, and the second RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, and four-step RACH features).” [0081]) and the first feature combination (“the base station may provide one or more random access configurations to support RACH features such as a small data transfer (SDT) to transfer small data payloads to and/or from the UE during the RACH procedure, radio access network (RAN) slices or slice groups (e.g., a network architecture model in which logically distinct network slices using common network infrastructure operate as isolated end-to-end networks customized to satisfy different service requirements), enhanced coverage in wireless environments with poor network conditions (e.g., using multiple msg3 repetitions), reduced capability (RedCap) UEs to improve access by UEs that may have a reduced feature set relative to a premium UE, and/or preamble groupings to indicate different preamble sequences to be selected depending on the size of uplink data to be sent by a UE and/or network conditions associated with the UE, among other examples.” [0072]) and a second indication (i.e. “second RACH partition” [0081]) of a second association between the second pool of preambles (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition (e.g., where the first RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, four-step RACH, and coverage enhancement RACH features, and the second RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, and four-step RACH features).” [0081]) and the second feature combination (“the base station may provide one or more random access configurations to support RACH features such as a small data transfer (SDT) to transfer small data payloads to and/or from the UE during the RACH procedure, radio access network (RAN) slices or slice groups (e.g., a network architecture model in which logically distinct network slices using common network infrastructure operate as isolated end-to-end networks customized to satisfy different service requirements), enhanced coverage in wireless environments with poor network conditions (e.g., using multiple msg3 repetitions), reduced capability (RedCap) UEs to improve access by UEs that may have a reduced feature set relative to a premium UE, and/or preamble groupings to indicate different preamble sequences to be selected depending on the size of uplink data to be sent by a UE and/or network conditions associated with the UE, among other examples.” [0072]).
Regarding claim 4
He, as modified by Bergstrom, previously discloses the first device of claim 1, wherein the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:
He further discloses in response to receiving the preamble for random access from the second device as an overlapping preamble in the first pool of preambles and the second pool of preambles (“Referring again to FIG. 5A, as shown by reference number 570, the UE 120 may transmit a preamble to initiate a RACH procedure that supports the combination of RACH features associated with the selected RACH partition. For example, as described above, a RACH partition may be associated with a PRACH configuration, which may include a set of ROs and/or a set of preambles that can be used to initiate a RACH procedure associated with a particular combination of RACH features. Accordingly, the UE 120 may select a preamble to be transmitted based on the set of preambles that are allocated to the RACH partition selected by the UE 120, and the UE 120 may transmit the selected preamble in an RO allocated to the RACH partition selected by the UE 120. Furthermore, in some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit the preamble using one or more RACH transmission parameters that are configured for the selected RACH partition and/or inherited from a closest parent of the selected RACH partition.” [0092]), determine that the communication to be performed by the second device has a combination of the first, second, and third communication features (“As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 580, the UE 120 and the base station 110 may then further communicate one or more remaining messages associated with the RACH procedure based on the selected RACH partition. For example, based on the preamble and/or RO used by the UE 120 to initiate the RACH procedure, the base station 110 may determine the particular combination of RACH features associated with the RACH feature such that subsequent messages of the RACH procedure can be subject to any special handling associated with the particular combination of RACH features.” [0093]).
Regarding claim 5
He, as modified by Bergstrom, previously discloses the first device of claim 1,
He further discloses wherein the first and second pools of preambles (“the preamble group A/B RACH feature may partition preamble sequences into Group A, which are selected when uplink data to be sent has a relatively small payload size or when the UE 120 has poor coverage, and into Group B, which are selected when uplink data to be sent has a relatively large payload size or when the UE 120 has good coverage.” [0088]) comprise at least one preamble for a random access (“receiving a preamble on PRACH resources associated with a RACH partition, from the multiple RACH partitions, wherein the preamble is received from a UE that satisfies one or more criteria for the combination of one or more RACH features associated with the RACH partition.” [0013]).
Regarding claim 6
He, as modified by Bergstrom, previously discloses the first device of claim 1,
He further discloses wherein at least one of the first, second, and third communication features comprises at least one of: Coverage Enhancement (CE), Small Data Transmission (SDT), Reduced Capability (RedCap) or slicing (“the base station may provide one or more random access configurations to support RACH features such as a small data transfer (SDT) to transfer small data payloads to and/or from the UE during the RACH procedure, radio access network (RAN) slices or slice groups (e.g., a network architecture model in which logically distinct network slices using common network infrastructure operate as isolated end-to-end networks customized to satisfy different service requirements), enhanced coverage in wireless environments with poor network conditions (e.g., using multiple msg3 repetitions), reduced capability (RedCap) UEs to improve access by UEs that may have a reduced feature set relative to a premium UE, and/or preamble groupings to indicate different preamble sequences to be selected depending on the size of uplink data to be sent by a UE and/or network conditions associated with the UE, among other examples.” [0072]).
Regarding claim 7 (Currently Amended)
He discloses a second device (“UE 120” in Fig. 2; [0046]), comprising:
at least one processor (“controller/processor 280” in Fig. 2; [0046]); and
at least one memory (“memory 282” in Fig. 2; [0049]) including computer program code;
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to (“the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication” [0051]), with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:
receive, from a first device, a first set of indications of a first pool of preambles for a first feature combination including a first communication feature and a second communication feature and receive a second set of indications of a second pool of preambles for a second feature combination including the first communication feature and a third communication feature, wherein the first set of indications is partially overlapping with the second set of indications when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature such that one or more first preambles are included in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature and in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature, one or more second preambles are included only in the first pool of preambles, and one or more third preambles are included only in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature;
determine a preamble based at least on a combination of communication features to be performed by the second device and based on at least one of the received first and second set of preambles, wherein the combination of communication features comprises the first communication feature; and
perform a random access using the determined preamble.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 7 are reciprocal to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 7 corresponds to apparatus claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 8
The second device of claim 7, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:
receive, from the first device, a first indication of a first association between the first pool of preambles and the first feature combination, and a second indication of a second association between the second pool of preambles and the second feature combination.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 8 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 2. Therefore apparatus claim 8 corresponds to apparatus claim 2 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 2 rejection above.
Regarding claim 12
The second device of claim 7, wherein the first and second pools of preambles comprise at least one preamble for the random access.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 12 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 5. Therefore apparatus claim 12 corresponds to apparatus claim 5 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 5 rejection above.
Regarding claim 13
The second device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third communication features comprises at least one of: Coverage Enhancement (CE), Small Data Transmission (SDT), Reduced Capability (RedCap) or slicing.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 13 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 6. Therefore apparatus claim 12 corresponds to apparatus claim 6 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 6 rejection above.
Regarding claim 20 (Currently Amended)
A method implemented in a second device, comprising:
receiving, from a first device, a first set of indications of a first pool of preambles for a first feature combination including a first communication feature and a second communication feature and receiving a second set of indications of a second pool of preambles for a second feature combination including the first communication feature and a third communication feature, wherein the first set of indications is partially overlapping with the second set of indications when the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature is partially overlapping with the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature such that one or more first preambles are included in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature and in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature, one or more second preambles are included only in the first pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the second communication feature, and one or more third preambles are included only in the second pool of preambles associated with the first communication feature and the third communication feature;
determining a preamble based at least on a combination of communication features to be performed by the second device and based on at least one of the received first and second set of preambles, wherein the combination of communication features comprises at least the first communication feature; and
performing a random access using the determined preamble.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 20 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 7. Therefore method claim 20 corresponds to apparatus claim 7 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 7 rejection above.
Regarding claim 21
The method of claim 20, further comprises:
receiving, from the first device, a first indication of a first association between the first pool of preambles and the first feature combination and a second indication of a second association between the second pool of preambles and the second feature combination.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 21 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 8. Therefore method claim 21 corresponds to apparatus claim 8 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 8 rejection above.
Regarding claim 25
The method of claim 20, wherein the first pool of preambles comprises at least one preamble for a random access.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 25 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 12. Therefore method claim 25 corresponds to apparatus claim 12 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 12 rejection above.
Regarding claim 26
The method of claim 20, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third communication features comprises at least one of: Coverage Enhancement (CE), Small Data Transmission (SDT), Reduced Capability (RedCap) or slicing.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 26 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 13. Therefore method claim 25 corresponds to apparatus claim 12 and is rejected for the same reasons of anticipation as used in claim 13 rejection above.
Claims 3, 9-10, and 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over He et al. US Pub 2023/0038191 (hereinafter “He”), and in view of Zhang et al. US Pub 2021/0051628 (hereinafter “Zhang”).
Regarding claim 3
He, as modified by Bergstrom, previously discloses the first device of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:
He does not specifically teach transmit, to the second device, a third indication whether the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles.
transmit, to the second device, a third indication whether the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles.
In an analogous art, Zhang discloses transmit, to the second device (i.e. “wireless devices 10”), a third indication (i.e. “SCI”) whether the first pool of resources overlaps with the second pool of resources (“In case the network configuration is such that the two or more different pools are allocated for second mode (equivalent to “second communication feature”) and first mode (equivalent to “first communication feature”) use and that these two or more pools are partly overlapping, the wireless devices 10 of the first mode that are capable of announcing their transmission intention will announce in the SCI only if the wireless device 10 is scheduled in resources that overlap with the pool of resources in which wireless devices are capable of reading the SCI with resource reservation indication. Similarly, wireless devices of the second mode, which wireless devices are capable to read the SCI with new reservation field indication, will only monitor this field if they scheduled transmissions on resources overlapping with the pool of resources where wireless device of the first mode, e.g. capable of signaling the SCI, may transmit.” [0075]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify He’s method for RACH partitioning to support different features, to include Zhang’s method for selecting appropriate radio resources pool based on specific mode/feature, in order to efficiently utilize available resources (Zhang [Abstract]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate Zhang’s method for selecting appropriate radio resources pool based on specific mode/feature into He’s method for RACH partitioning to support different features since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 9
The second device of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:
receive, from the first device, a third indication whether the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 9 are similar to the scope and subject matter as claimed in apparatus claim 3. Therefore apparatus claim 9 corresponds to apparatus claim 3 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 3 rejection above.
Regarding claim 10
He, as modified by Zhang, previously discloses the second device of claim 9,
He further discloses wherein the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition” [0081]), and the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to:
based on at least one of following:
the received first and second sets of indications (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition (e.g., where the first RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, four-step RACH, and coverage enhancement RACH features, and the second RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, and four-step RACH features).” [0081]) and the second communication feature (e.g. “the base station 110 may have configured a first RACH partition for RedCap UEs and a second RACH partition for non-RedCap UEs at the next level under the NUL.” [0091]),
the received first and the second indications (“the combination of RACH features in a first RACH partition may be a superset of the combination of RACH features in a second RACH partition (e.g., where the first RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, four-step RACH, and coverage enhancement RACH features, and the second RACH partition is configured to support a combination of NUL, RedCap, and four-step RACH features).” [0081]) and the second communication feature (e.g. “the base station 110 may have configured a first RACH partition for RedCap UEs and a second RACH partition for non-RedCap UEs at the next level under the NUL.” [0091]) , and
in accordance with determination that the second device is to perform the first, second, and third communication features, determine an overlapping preamble in the first pool of preambles and in the second pool of preambles as the determined preamble (“Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 110 may configure multiple RACH partitions to share a PRACH configuration. For example, in some aspects, two or more RACH partitions that share a PRACH configuration may each be allocated a non-overlapping set of ROs. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of contention-based preambles allocated to the PRACH configuration may be split among the two or more RACH partitions that share the PRACH configuration.” [0080]).
Regarding claim 22
The method of claim 20, further comprises: receiving, from the first device, a third indication whether the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 22 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 9. Therefore method claim 22 corresponds to apparatus claim 9 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 9 rejection above.
Regarding claim 23
The method of claim 22, wherein the first pool of preambles overlaps with the second pool of preambles, the method further comprises:
based on at least one of following:
the received first and second sets of indications,
the received first and the second indications, and
the received third indication,
in accordance with determination that the second device is to perform the first, second, and third communication features, determining an overlapping preamble in the first pool of preambles and in the second pool of preambles as the determined preamble.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 23 is drawn to the method of using the corresponding apparatus claimed in claim 10. Therefore method claim 23 corresponds to apparatus claim 10 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 10 rejection above.
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 CHUONG M NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8184. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm.
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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