DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
Information disclosure statement filed on 5/20/2026 is under compliance and has/have been accepted.
Response to Amendment
In response to amendment filed on 7/30/2026, claims 1, 4, 10- 11, 13, 16 and 19- 20 are amended and claims 8- 9 are cancelled. Claims 1- 7, 10- 20 are pending for examinations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) filed in the remarks on 7/30/2026 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant has changed the limitations of independent claims hence examiner believes that the scope has been changed. Therefore new reference MolavianJazi et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0385381 A1), hereafter Mola have been considered. Mola teaches the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; in context with [0123- 0129] please refer to [0154] The UE calculates the PRACH transmit power for a PRACH retransmission based on a most recent pathloss estimate and a value of a power ramping counter. If prior to a PRACH retransmission, a UE (such as the UE 116) changes the spatial domain transmission filter, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the power ramping counter. If the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, or if the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, due a CA/DC power allocation, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. Further see [0297] for condition a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; Mola states in [0297] about If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, or due to slot format determination, or due to the PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmission occasions are in the same slot or the gap between a PRACH transmission and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS transmission is small, the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries 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.
Claim(s) 1- 2, 4- 7, 10, 14- 17, 19- 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nan et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0337988 A1) in view of MolavianJazi et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0385381 A1), hereafter Mola.
Regarding claim 1, Nan teaches a PRACH transmission method (see Title PHYSICAL RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL ENHANCED TRANSMISSION METHOD, NETWORK DEVICE, AND TERMINAL ), comprising:
determining, by a terminal, a sending power of a physical random access channel (PRACH) repeated transmission according to a target indication, wherein the target indication is used for indicating whether sending powers of PRACH transmissions in the PRACH repeated transmission are the same (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358] after the UE determines that level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is the n.sup.th level of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE directly performs a preamble sending attempt according to a dedicated power value of the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, which avoids an error caused when the transmit power is calculated according to a path loss estimated by the UE. Further, on a same time-frequency resource, the UE sends preambles of different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and if dedicated power values used by the preambles of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission are different, power values of the preambles that are of the different level information (i.e. target indication) of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect; further see [0377].. the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the path loss between the network device and the UE. A base station or another network device presets a lowest path loss or path loss threshold and a highest path loss or path loss threshold for determining the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and the path loss between the network device and the UE is divided into X ranges according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold, and each path loss range is corresponding to one level of PRACH enhanced transmission, so that the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold.) and
performing, by the terminal, PRACH repeated transmission according to the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission (in context of discussed above (see [0358]) pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission. For different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, quantities of repetition times for sending a preamble by the UE are different.).
But Nan is silent about the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed.
However Mola teaches the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; in context with [0123- 0129] please refer to [0154] The UE calculates the PRACH transmit power for a PRACH retransmission based on a most recent pathloss estimate and a value of a power ramping counter. If prior to a PRACH retransmission, a UE (such as the UE 116) changes the spatial domain transmission filter, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the power ramping counter. If the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, or if the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, due a CA/DC power allocation, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. Further see [0297] for condition a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; Mola states in [0297] about If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, or due to slot format determination, or due to the PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmission occasions are in the same slot or the gap between a PRACH transmission and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS transmission is small, the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Mola with the teachings of Nan to make system more effective. Having a mechanism wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; greater way resources can be managed/utilized in the communication system.
Regarding claim 2, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 1, wherein Nan teaches about the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission meets at least one of the following:
each PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission has a same sending power (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358]... power values of the preambles that are of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect…; now pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission.);
PRACH transmissions associated with a same reference signal in the PRACH repeated transmission have same sending powers; and
PRACH transmissions associated with different reference signals in the PRACH repeated transmission have different sending powers.
Regarding claim 4, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 1, wherein the determining the sending power of the physical random access channel (PRACH) repeated transmission comprises:
determining the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission through power ramping; Nan in context with [0010] please refer to [0148]… the UE increases a repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level, and performs a preamble sending attempt according to a quantity of repetition times for an increased repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, if the UE has already performed multiple preamble sending attempts at an original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, and performs power ramping in each preamble sending attempt, that is, transmit power is increased by powerRampingStep (dB), and random access is not completed after the multiple preamble sending attempts, the UE increases the original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level..
Regarding claim 5, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 4, wherein the determining the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission through power ramping comprises one of the following:
performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission (Nan; in context with [0010] please refer to [0148]… the UE increases a repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level, and performs a preamble sending attempt according to a quantity of repetition times for an increased repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, if the UE has already performed multiple preamble sending attempts at an original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, and performs power ramping in each preamble sending attempt, that is, transmit power is increased by powerRampingStep (dB), and random access is not completed after the multiple preamble sending attempts, the UE increases the original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level.);
performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission according to a configuration of a network side device, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission; or
performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission according to an expected transmission power of a network side device for the PRACH repeated transmission, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission.
Regarding claim 6, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 5, wherein Nan teaches about the performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission according to a configuration of a network side device, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission comprises: performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission in a case that the network side device configures a power ramping step, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission; in context with [0010] please refer to [0148]… the UE increases a repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level, and performs a preamble sending attempt according to a quantity of repetition times for an increased repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, if the UE has already performed multiple preamble sending attempts at an original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, and performs power ramping in each preamble sending attempt, that is, transmit power is increased by powerRampingStep (dB), and random access is not completed after the multiple preamble sending attempts, the UE increases the original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level; now refer to [0205].. . An initial value of PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER is 1, and a value of the counter is increased by 1 each time preamble resending is performed. When the UE resends the random access preamble, transmit power is gradually increased in a ramping manner until a maximum value P.sub.CMAX,c(i) of the transmit power is reached. In each time of preamble sending, a value of increased power is a power ramping step powerRampingStep, and this parameter is configured by the base station for the UE by using the SIB2.
Regarding claim 7, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 5, wherein Nan teaches about the performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission according to an expected transmission power of a network side device for the PRACH repeated transmission, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission comprises: performing power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission in a case that the expected transmission power of the network side device for each PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission is different, to determine the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission; as discussed above pls see in context with claim 6’s citations ([0010, 0148, 0205]]); now refer to [0313].. the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission that is determined by the UE is the first level of PRACH enhanced transmission, the preamble initial received target power PREAMBLE_INITIAL_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER corresponding to the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission that is determined by the UE is preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower, where preambleInitialReceivedTargetPower is preamble initial received target power configured by the base station by using the SIB2, or the preamble initial received target power corresponding to the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission that is determined by the UE is a sum of preamble initial received target power and a power ramping step that are corresponding to PRACH transmission, where the power ramping step is a value of (PREAMBLE_TRANSMISSION_COUNTER−1)*powerRampingStep of the preamble sending performed for the last time during PRACH transmission (a preamble is not re-sent) performed before PRACH enhanced transmission, or the preamble initial received target power corresponding to the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission that is determined by the UE is a sum of preamble initial received target power and a power ramping step that are corresponding to PRACH transmission+a fixed power offset value.
Regarding claim 10, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 9, wherein the another transmission comprises a PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, or an SRS transmission; see claim 9 its “OR” limitations.
Regarding claim 14, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 1, wherein the target indication is a protocol specified indication, indicating that each time of PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission has a same sending power; Nan see [0150]... f on a same time resource and a same frequency resource, the UE sends random access preambles at different repetition levels of PRACH enhanced transmission, that is, resource multiplexing is performed on the random access preambles at the different repetition levels of PRACH enhanced transmission in a CDM (code division multiplexing) manner, and if the random access preambles at the different repetition levels of PRACH enhanced transmission use same transmit power,..
Regarding claim 15, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 14, wherein a transmission quantity of random access of the terminal is the maximum quantity of the PRACH transmissions; Nan see [0020]... characteristic parameter corresponding to level information that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is one level lower than the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the at least one parameter included in the second characteristic parameter corresponding to the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, where the third characteristic parameter is at least one of preamble initial received target power, a power ramping step, a fixed power offset value, and a maximum quantity of preamble transmission attempt times..; further see [0025, 0057, 0177].
Regarding claim 16, Nan teaches a terminal, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instructions executable on the processor, and the program or the instructions, when executed by the processor, implement (see Title PHYSICAL RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL ENHANCED TRANSMISSION METHOD, NETWORK DEVICE, AND TERMINAL ):
determining, by a terminal, a sending power of a physical random access channel (PRACH) repeated transmission according to a target indication, wherein the target indication is used for indicating whether sending powers of PRACH transmissions in the PRACH repeated transmission are the same (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358] after the UE determines that level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is the n.sup.th level of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE directly performs a preamble sending attempt according to a dedicated power value of the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, which avoids an error caused when the transmit power is calculated according to a path loss estimated by the UE. Further, on a same time-frequency resource, the UE sends preambles of different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and if dedicated power values used by the preambles of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission are different, power values of the preambles that are of the different level information (i.e. target indication) of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect; further see [0377].. the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the path loss between the network device and the UE. A base station or another network device presets a lowest path loss or path loss threshold and a highest path loss or path loss threshold for determining the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and the path loss between the network device and the UE is divided into X ranges according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold, and each path loss range is corresponding to one level of PRACH enhanced transmission, so that the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold.) and
performing, by the terminal, PRACH repeated transmission according to the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission (in context of discussed above (see [0358]) pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission. For different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, quantities of repetition times for sending a preamble by the UE are different.).
But Nan is silent about the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed.
However Mola teaches the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; in context with [0123- 0129] please refer to [0154] The UE calculates the PRACH transmit power for a PRACH retransmission based on a most recent pathloss estimate and a value of a power ramping counter. If prior to a PRACH retransmission, a UE (such as the UE 116) changes the spatial domain transmission filter, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the power ramping counter. If the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, or if the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, due a CA/DC power allocation, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. Further see [0297] for condition a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; Mola states in [0297] about If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, or due to slot format determination, or due to the PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmission occasions are in the same slot or the gap between a PRACH transmission and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS transmission is small, the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Mola with the teachings of Nan to make system more effective. Having a mechanism wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; greater way resources can be managed/utilized in the communication system.
Regarding claim 17, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 16, wherein the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission meets at least one of the following:
each PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission has a same sending power (Nan in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358]... power values of the preambles that are of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect…; now pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission.);
PRACH transmissions associated with a same reference signal in the PRACH repeated transmission have same sending powers; and
PRACH transmissions associated with different reference signals in the PRACH repeated transmission have different sending powers.
Regarding claim 19, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 16, Nan teaches about wherein the determining the sending power of the physical random access channel (PRACH) repeated transmission comprises:
determining the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission through power ramping; in context with [0010] please refer to [0148]… the UE increases a repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level, and performs a preamble sending attempt according to a quantity of repetition times for an increased repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, if the UE has already performed multiple preamble sending attempts at an original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission, and performs power ramping in each preamble sending attempt, that is, transmit power is increased by powerRampingStep (dB), and random access is not completed after the multiple preamble sending attempts, the UE increases the original repetition level of PRACH enhanced transmission by one level..
Regarding claim 20, Nan teaches a chip, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to execute a program or instructions, that when executed by the processor, implement (see Title PHYSICAL RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL ENHANCED TRANSMISSION METHOD, NETWORK DEVICE, AND TERMINAL ):
determining a sending power of a physical random access channel (PRACH) repeated transmission according to a target indication, wherein the target indication is used for indicating whether sending powers of PRACH transmissions in the PRACH repeated transmission are the same (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358] after the UE determines that level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is the n.sup.th level of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE directly performs a preamble sending attempt according to a dedicated power value of the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, which avoids an error caused when the transmit power is calculated according to a path loss estimated by the UE. Further, on a same time-frequency resource, the UE sends preambles of different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and if dedicated power values used by the preambles of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission are different, power values of the preambles that are of the different level information (i.e. target indication) of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect; further see [0377].. the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the path loss between the network device and the UE. A base station or another network device presets a lowest path loss or path loss threshold and a highest path loss or path loss threshold for determining the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, and the path loss between the network device and the UE is divided into X ranges according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold, and each path loss range is corresponding to one level of PRACH enhanced transmission, so that the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission is determined according to the lowest path loss or path loss threshold and the highest path loss or path loss threshold.) and
performing the PRACH repeated transmission according to the sending power of the PRACH repeated transmission (in context of discussed above (see [0358]) pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission. For different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, quantities of repetition times for sending a preamble by the UE are different.).
But Nan is silent about the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed.
However Mola teaches the limitations, wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; in context with [0123- 0129] please refer to [0154] The UE calculates the PRACH transmit power for a PRACH retransmission based on a most recent pathloss estimate and a value of a power ramping counter. If prior to a PRACH retransmission, a UE (such as the UE 116) changes the spatial domain transmission filter, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the power ramping counter. If the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, or if the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, due a CA/DC power allocation, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. Further see [0297] for condition a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; Mola states in [0297] about If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, or due to slot format determination, or due to the PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmission occasions are in the same slot or the gap between a PRACH transmission and PUSCH/PUCCH/SRS transmission is small, the UE does not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 notifies higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC or NE-DC or NR-DC operation, the UE transmits a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter.
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Mola with the teachings of Nan to make system more effective. Having a mechanism wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a first preset condition, a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission suspends counting; wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following: a priority order of allocating power to uplink channels referred by the next PRACH transmission does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; power allocation in an EN-DC operation or an NR-DC operation does not allow the power ramping counter to increase a count; a slot format is not allowed to be used in the next PRACH transmission; the next PRACH transmission is in a same slot with another transmission; and in a case that a gap between the next PRACH transmission and the another transmission is less than a preset threshold, the next PRACH transmission is not performed; greater way resources can be managed/utilized in the communication system.
Claim(s) 3, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nan et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0337988 A1) in view of MolavianJazi et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0385381 A1), hereafter Mola and further in view of Jeon et al. (US Pub. No. 12010634 B2).
Regarding claim 3, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 2, wherein in a case that each PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission has the same sending power (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358]... power values of the preambles that are of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect…; now pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission..).
But Nan is silent about a reference signal used for estimating a path loss is indicated by using downlink control information DCI of a PDCCH; however Leon states in lines 38- 67 of col 82 to line 1- 2 of col. 83 regarding PL.sub.f,c(q.sub.d) may be a downlink path-loss estimate in dB determined (e.g., calculated) by the wireless device using a reference signal (RS) resource q.sub.d for carrier f of serving cell c, in which the wireless device may be configured with a quantity (e.g., number) of RS resources by one or more parameters (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, num-pusch-pathlossReference-rs) and a respective set of RS configurations for the number of RS resources may be provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, pusch-pathloss-Reference-rs that may comprise one or both of a set of SS/PBCH block indexes provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, pusch-pathlossReference-SSB) and a set of CSI-RS configuration indexes provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, e.g., pusch-pathlossReference-CSI-RS)…. a mapping between a set of SRS resources and a set of RS resources for obtaining a downlink path-loss estimate, the wireless device may employ the RS resources indicated by a value of a field (e.g., a SRI field) in one or more DCI formats, e.g., DCI format 0_0 or DCI format 0_1, that may schedule the PUSCH transmission to obtain the downlink path-loss estimate. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Leon with the teachings of Nan in view of Mola to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism wherein a reference signal used for estimating a path loss is indicated by using downlink control information DCI of a PDCCH; greater way standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Regarding claim 18, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 17, wherein in a case that each PRACH transmission in the PRACH repeated transmission has the same sending power (in context of [0148 and 0150] please refer to [0358]... power values of the preambles that are of the different level information of PRACH enhanced transmission and that arrive at a base station are approximately the same, which avoids impact of a near-far effect…; now pls refer to [0158].. UE determines the level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, the UE resends, according to a quantity of repetition times corresponding to the determined level information of PRACH enhanced transmission, a preamble on a resource that is of PRACH enhanced transmission and that is included in the resource set of PRACH enhanced transmission..).
But Nan is silent about a reference signal used for estimating a path loss is indicated by using downlink control information DCI of a PDCCH; however Leon states in lines 38- 67 of col 82 to line 1- 2 of col. 83 regarding PL.sub.f,c(q.sub.d) may be a downlink path-loss estimate in dB determined (e.g., calculated) by the wireless device using a reference signal (RS) resource q.sub.d for carrier f of serving cell c, in which the wireless device may be configured with a quantity (e.g., number) of RS resources by one or more parameters (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, num-pusch-pathlossReference-rs) and a respective set of RS configurations for the number of RS resources may be provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, pusch-pathloss-Reference-rs that may comprise one or both of a set of SS/PBCH block indexes provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, pusch-pathlossReference-SSB) and a set of CSI-RS configuration indexes provided by (e.g., configured by, indicated by, etc.) a parameter (e.g., a higher layer parameter such as, for example, e.g., pusch-pathlossReference-CSI-RS)…. a mapping between a set of SRS resources and a set of RS resources for obtaining a downlink path-loss estimate, the wireless device may employ the RS resources indicated by a value of a field (e.g., a SRI field) in one or more DCI formats, e.g., DCI format 0_0 or DCI format 0_1, that may schedule the PUSCH transmission to obtain the downlink path-loss estimate. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Leon with the teachings of Nan in view of Mola to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism wherein a reference signal used for estimating a path loss is indicated by using downlink control information DCI of a PDCCH; greater way standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Claim(s) 11- 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nan et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0337988 A1) in view of MolavianJazi et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0385381 A1), hereafter Mola and further in view of Tsai (US Pub. No. 2018/0331728 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 1, but Nan fails to state about wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if the next PRACH transmission of the current PRACH transmission meets a second preset condition, a power ramping counter increases a count; however Tsai states in [0007] regarding .. or beam switching, the UE simply switches to a different Tx beam (or called a spatial domain transmission filter) to perform the PRACH retransmission, without increasing the transmission power. For power ramping, the UE increases the transmission power to perform the PRACH retransmission on the same Tx beam (i.e., using the same spatial domain transmission filter), causing the power ramping counter to be incremented by one. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Tsai with the teachings of Nan in view of Mola to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism wherein in a case that the terminal performs power ramping on the PRACH repeated transmission, if a next PRACH transmission of a current PRACH transmission meets a second preset condition, a power ramping counter increases a count; greater way standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Regarding claim 12, Nan in view of Mola and Tsai teaches as per claim 11, wherein the second preset condition comprises: compared with the current PRACH transmission, a spatial domain transmission filter of the next PRACH transmission remains unchanged; Tsai [0007] regarding .. or beam switching, the UE simply switches to a different Tx beam (or called a spatial domain transmission filter) to perform the PRACH retransmission, without increasing the transmission power. For power ramping, the UE increases the transmission power to perform the PRACH retransmission on the same Tx beam (i.e., using the same(i.e. unchanged can be a condition) spatial domain transmission filter), causing the power ramping counter to be incremented by one.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nan et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0337988 A1) in view of MolavianJazi et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0385381 A1), hereafter Mola and further in view of Lee et al. (US Pub. No. 2016/0353440 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Nan in view of Mola teaches as per claim 1, but Nan fails to state about wherein a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission has a same count as a power ramping counter configured for PRACH retransmission; however Lee states in [0200] regarding .. The WTRU may maintain the same power (e.g., not increment by the ramping step) for each repetition or may ramp (e.g., increment by the ramping step) the power for each (or each of a group) of repetitions. As another example, a WTRU may apply the power ramping value to the preamble transmission power for each initial preamble re-transmission attempt and may apply the same PRACH preamble transmission power to each repetition in the preamble attempt. The WTRU may apply the power ramping value to both preamble repetition and preamble re-transmission attempts in conjunction.. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to consider the teachings of Lee with the teachings of Nan in view of Mola to make system more standardized. Having a mechanism wherein a power ramping counter configured for the PRACH repeated transmission has a same count as a power ramping counter configured for PRACH retransmission; greater way standardized approach can be carried out in the communication system.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see PTO-892 form for considered prior arts for record.
Reference Jeon et al. (US Pub. No. 20200351801 A1) teaches in [0538] about If, due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, due to an LBT indicating a channel occupied, and/or due to power allocation in EN-DC operation, the wireless device may not transmit a PRACH in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter. If due to power allocation to PUSCH/PUCCH/PRACH/SRS transmissions, or due to power allocation in EN-DC, the UE may transmit a PRACH with reduced power in a transmission occasion, Layer 1 may notify higher layers to suspend the corresponding power ramping counter.
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.
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PARTH PATEL
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Art Unit 2479
/PARTH PATEL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2479
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