CTNF 18/748,872 CTNF 95519 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA) 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – 07-08-aia AIA (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15 AIA Claim (s) 1-4 and 6-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1) and (a)(2 ) as being anticipated by Rastegardoost (US 2020/0296635 A1) . Rastegardoost teaches a random access procedure handover in which a UE is in communication with a first base station (i.e. serving base station in a serving cell) and being handed over to a second base station (i.e. non-serving base station in a non-serving cell). See Fig. 17 and Fig. 26, recreated below, for an exemplary network and an exemplary handover procedure respectively. PNG media_image1.png 709 994 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 850 672 media_image2.png Greyscale Regarding Claim 1 , Rastegardoost teaches the below limitation(s): receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information of physical random access channel (PRACH) (Rastegardoost [0275] a base station may transmit, to a UE, a RACH configuration 1210 that may comprise one or more parameters associated with PRACH (i.e. "PRACH information"); [0407] target base station may dynamically provide PRACH resources (e.g. preamble, RACH occasion, etc.) to a wireless device for a handover procedure, which is being interpreted as configuration for a non-serving cell; Fig 26 receive RRC message(s) from a first base station indicating handover to a second cell (i.e. non-serving cell) of a second base station) of one or more non-serving cells (Fig 17 neighboring cells 1-3 which are interpreted as one or more non-serving cells) ; receiving, by the terminal device, a control signaling, wherein the control signaling indicates the terminal device to transmit PRACH information to a first non-serving cell of the one or more non-serving cells (Fig 26 receive DCI (i.e. "control signaling") from the second base station (i.e. non-serving base station in a non-serving cell); [0407] target base station (i.e. non-serving base station in non-serving cell) may transmit a DCI to the wireless device to dynamically schedule RACH occasions and/or trigger a random access procedure) ; determining, by the terminal device, a PRACH preamble and a PRACH occasion according to the configuration information ([0407] wherein PRACH resources provided to wireless device (interpreted as configuration information) may comprise a preamble (i.e. PRACH preamble) and a RACH occasion (i.e. PRACH occasion); Fig 26 determine random access occasion of the second cell based on DCI) ; and transmitting, by the terminal device, the PRACH preamble in the PRACH occasion ([0407] wireless device may transmit at least one preamble to the target cell (i.e. non-serving cell) in response to receiving the DCI; Fig 26 transmit a preamble to the second base station via the random access occasion) . Regarding Claim 2 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 1. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the PRACH preamble in the PRACH occasion are transmitted to a serving base station ([0312] a random access procedure may comprise one or more transmissions of a random access preamble (e.g. Msg1) in one or more PRACH occasions; Fig 12 step 1220 Msg1 transmitted from UE 110 to serving BS 120) . Regarding Claim 3 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 2. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the terminal device receives the configuration information of PRACH of the one or more non-serving cells from the serving base station (Fig 26 receive DCI (i.e. "control signaling") from the second base station (i.e. non-serving base station in a non-serving cell); [0407] target base station (i.e. non-serving base station in non-serving cell) may transmit a DCI to the wireless device to dynamically schedule RACH occasions and/or trigger a random access procedure) . Regarding Claim 4 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 2. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the terminal device receives the control signaling from the serving base station (Fig 21 source base station (i.e. serving base station) transmits control information to wireless device; [0241] a base station may transmit DCI/control signaling via PDCCH; [0275] base station may transmit, to a UE, a RACH configuration 1210 wherein the RACH configuration comprises one or more parameters associated with PRACH) . Regarding Claim 6 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 2. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the PRACH preamble is used for the serving base station to determine the first non-serving cell ([0338] UE is required to report the TD(s) to the serving cell or transmit to the serving cell in Msg1 or MsgA the PRACH preambles associated with the non-serving cell PCI, which is interpreted as transmitting a PRACH preamble identifying the first non-serving cell to the base station; see also [0275] Base station may transmit PRACH resources (e.g. cells) to UE for selection, which is interpreted as the base station determining available but non-serving cells for cell selection) . Regarding Claim 7 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 1. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the control signaling includes a downlink control information (DCI) ([0241] a base station may transmit DCI/control signaling via PDCCH; see also Fig 26 DCI) . Regarding Claim 8 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 7. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the DCI is in a DCI format containing one or more of the following bit fields: an indicator to indicate an identification (ID) of the first non-serving cell; an indicator of a SS/PBCH of the first non-serving cell; an indicator of a random access preamble index, indicating one PRACH preamble for the terminal device to transmit; or an indicator of a PRACH mask index, indicating a Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion for PRACH transmission ([0323] DCI format 1_0 may comprise at least one of the following fields: one or more RA preamble index, SS/PBCH index, PRACH mask index, UL/SUL indicator, etc.) . Regarding Claim 9 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 8. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): determining, by the terminal device, the RACH occasion for the PRACH transmission based on the SS/PBCH of the first non-serving cell ([0317] one or more random access parameters may provide a wireless device with a first number of one or more downlink reference signals (e.g. SS/PBCH blocks) that may be associated with a first PRACH occasion … first SS/PBCH block may be mapped to at least one consecutive valid PRACH occasion) . Regarding Claim 10 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 8. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): determining, by the terminal device, an uplink transmission configuration for transmitting the PRACH preamble based on the SS/PBCH of the first non-serving cell ([0190] wireless device may receive a DCI via PDCCH indicating an uplink grant, wherein the UL grant may indicate uplink resources for transmission; [0227] UE may assume a band-specific sub-carrier spacing (e.g. UL transmission configuration) for an SS/PBCH unless a radio network has configured a UE to assume a different sub-carrier spacing) , wherein the uplink transmission configuration comprises a spatial transmit filter and/or an uplink transmit power ([0279] UE may determine a transmit power (i.e. "uplink transmit power") for a transmission of a selected RA preamble at least based on an initial preamble power and a power-ramping factor) . Regarding Claim 11 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 1. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the control signaling includes a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) message ([0191] teaches a base station transmitting control signaling in the form of MAC CE) . Regarding Claim 12 , Rastegardoost teaches the below limitation(s): transmitting, by a base station, configuration information of physical random access channel (PRACH) (Rastegardoost [0275] a base station may transmit, to a UE, a RACH configuration 1210 that may comprise one or more parameters associated with PRACH (i.e. "PRACH information"); [0407] target base station may dynamically provide PRACH resources (e.g. preamble, RACH occasion, etc.) to a wireless device for a handover procedure, which is being interpreted as configuration for a non-serving cell; Fig 26 receive RRC message(s) from a first base station indicating handover to a second cell (i.e. non-serving cell) of a second base station) of one or more non-serving cells to a terminal device (Fig 17 neighboring cells 1-3 which are interpreted as one or more non-serving cells) ; and transmitting, by the base station, a control signaling to the terminal device, wherein the control signaling indicates the terminal device to transmit PRACH information to a first non-serving cell of the one or more non-serving cells ([0407] target base station (i.e. non-serving cell) may transmit a downlink control signal (DCI) to the wireless device to dynamically schedule RACH occasions and/or trigger a random access procedure; Fig 26 receive DCI from the second base station) ; wherein the configuration information is used for the terminal device to determine a PRACH preamble and a PRACH occasion and to transmit the PRACH preamble in the PRACH occasion ([0407] wherein PRACH resources provided to wireless device (interpreted as configuration information) may comprise a preamble (i.e. PRACH preamble) and a RACH occasion (i.e. PRACH occasion); Fig 26 determine random access occasion of the second cell based on DCI) . Regarding Claim 13 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 12. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): transmitting, by the base station, a timing advance command to the terminal device ([0191] base station may transmit one or more MAC CEs indicating one or more timing advance values for one or more Timing Advance Groups (TAGs)) , wherein the timing advance command includes a first timing advance for an uplink transmission toward the first non-serving cell ([0282] UE may adjust an uplink transmission timing based on a timing advanced command indicated by a random access response) ; transmitting, by the base station, a control command to indicate the terminal device to switch to the first non-serving cell (Fig 26 receive RRC message(s) from a first base station (i.e. serving base station), indicating a handover (i.e. switch) from a first cell of the first base station to a second cell (i.e. non-serving cell) of a second base station) . Regarding Claim 14 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 12. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the control signaling includes a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) message ([0191] teaches a base station transmitting control signaling in the form of MAC CE) . Regarding Claim 15 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 12. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): determining, by the base station, the first non-serving cell from two or more non-serving cells according to the PRACH preamble ([0338] UE is required to report the TD(s) to the serving cell or transmit to the serving cell in Msg1 or MsgA the PRACH preambles associated with the non-serving cell PCI, which is interpreted as transmitting a PRACH preamble identifying the first non-serving cell to the base station; see also [0275] Base station may transmit PRACH resources (e.g. cells) to UE for selection, which is interpreted as the base station determining available but non-serving cells for cell selection) . Regarding Claim 16 , Rastegardoost teaches the below limitation(s): a processor; and a memory storing instructions (Rastegardoost Fig 3 wireless device 110 comprising processor(s) 314 and memory 315 storing instructions 316) which, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to: receive configuration information of physical random access channel (PRACH) ([0275] a base station may transmit, to a UE, a RACH configuration 1210 that may comprise one or more parameters associated with PRACH (i.e. "PRACH information"); [0407] target base station may dynamically provide PRACH resources (e.g. preamble, RACH occasion, etc.) to a wireless device for a handover procedure, which is being interpreted as configuration for a non-serving cell; Fig 26 receive RRC message(s) from a first base station indicating handover to a second cell (i.e. non-serving cell) of a second base station) of one or more non-serving cells (Fig 17 neighboring cells 1-3 which are interpreted as one or more non-serving cells) ; receive a control signaling, wherein the control signaling indicates the terminal device to transmit PRACH information to a first non-serving cell of the one or more non-serving cells ([0407] target base station (i.e. non-serving cell) may transmit a downlink control signal (DCI) to the wireless device to dynamically schedule RACH occasions and/or trigger a random access procedure; Fig 26 receive DCI from the second base station) ; determine a PRACH preamble and a PRACH occasion according to the configuration information ([0407] wherein PRACH resources provided to wireless device (interpreted as configuration information) may comprise a preamble (i.e. PRACH preamble) and a RACH occasion (i.e. PRACH occasion); Fig 26 determine random access occasion of the second cell based on DCI) ; and transmit the PRACH preamble in the PRACH occasion ([0407] wireless device may transmit at least one preamble to the target cell (i.e. non-serving cell) in response to receiving the DCI; Fig 26 transmit a preamble to the second base station via the random access occasion) . Regarding Claim 17 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 16. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the terminal device receives the configuration information of PRACH of the one or more non-serving cells from a serving base station (Fig 26 receive DCI (i.e. "control signaling") from the second base station (i.e. non-serving base station in a non-serving cell); [0407] target base station (i.e. non-serving base station in non-serving cell) may transmit a DCI to the wireless device to dynamically schedule RACH occasions and/or trigger a random access procedure) . Regarding Claim 18 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 16. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the PRACH preamble is used for a serving base station to determine the first non-serving cell ([0338] UE is required to report the TD(s) to the serving cell or transmit to the serving cell in Msg1 or MsgA the PRACH preambles associated with the non-serving cell PCI, which is interpreted as transmitting a PRACH preamble identifying the first non-serving cell to the base station; see also [0275] Base station may transmit PRACH resources (e.g. cells) to UE for selection, which is interpreted as the base station determining available but non-serving cells for cell selection) . Regarding Claim 19 , Rastegardoost teaches the limitation(s) of Claim 16. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s): wherein the control signaling includes a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) message ([0191] teaches a base station transmitting control signaling in the form of MAC CE) . Regarding Claim 20 , Rastegardoost teaches the below limitation(s): A base station, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions (Rastegardoost Fig 3 base station 120 comprising processor(s) 321 and memory 322 storing instructions 323) which, when executed by the processor, cause the base station to perform the method of claim 12 (see Claim 12 above) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rastegardoost (US 2020/0296635 A1) in view of Zhu (US 2022/0210825 A1) . Regarding Claim 5 , Rastegardoost disclose the limitation(s) of Claim 2. Rastegardoost further teaches the below limitation(s) receiving, by the terminal device, the uplink timing from the serving base station (Rastegardoost [0241] a base station may transmit DCI/control signaling via PDCCH and DCI may indicate one or more timing information) . Rastegardoost does not disclose the below limitation(s): wherein the PRACH preamble is used for the serving base station to determine an uplink timing of the terminal device toward the first non-serving cell, and In the same field of endeavor of random access procedure(s) in 5G NR, Zhu does disclose the below limitation(s): wherein the PRACH preamble is used for the serving base station to determine an uplink timing of the terminal device toward the first non-serving cell (Zhu [0337] UE could be configured by the serving cell gNB (i.e. "serving base station") to autonomously determine and apply the UL TA/timing adjustment for the non-serving cell, which is interpreted as determining uplink timing based on a PRACH preamble) , It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the aforementioned method to include determining an uplink timing at a base station using information from a PRACH preamble as taught by Zhu . The suggestion/motivation to do so would have been to dynamically adjust uplink timing for a non-serving cell in order to provide synchronization between a serving base station and a non-serving cell in a random access procedure. Therefore, it would have been obvious to combine Rastegardoost and Zhu to obtain the invention, as specified in the instant claim . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yerramalli (US 2021/0368538 A1) is directed to the same field of invention as the instant invention, namely random access procedure(s) in 5G NR. Yerramalli Fig. 12 (recreated below) and Fig. 13 teaches an exemplary random access procedure in which a UE exchanges random access messages with both a serving BS and one or more non-serving BS(s). While Yerramalli is not relied upon to reject the instant claims, it is in the same field of invention and could have been used as prior art . PNG media_image3.png 764 698 media_image3.png Greyscale Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAWN D MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-8599. The examiner can normally be reached M-TR 8-5. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Charles C Jiang can be reached at (571) 270-7191. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SHAWN D MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 2 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 3 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 4 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 5 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 6 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 7 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 8 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 9 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 10 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 11 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 12 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 13 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 14 Art Unit: 2412 Application/Control Number: 18/748,872 Page 15 Art Unit: 2412
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