DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Priorities and Examiner Remarks
This application is a Continuation of PCT/CN2022/114140 (filed 08/23/2022), which claims foreign priority to application of CHINA: 202210130601.9 (filed
02/11/2022).
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(B) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 18, 22, and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 18 line 2, the term “A” in the phrase “A frequency domain resources” is unclear and ambiguous and also confusing. For one example, what is the reason it is capitalized? For another example, “a frequency domain resources” that is plural. Clarification or correction is requested. Similar problem appears in several places of claim 18, 22, and 28.
Claim 18 line 18, the phrase “a is a positive greater than 0” is unclear and ambiguous as to what it is representing. Similar problem appears in claims 22 and 28.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claims 16-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TSAI et al. (US 20210076445 A1, hereinafter TSAI), in view of WU et al. (US 20230088011 A1, hereinafter WU).
Regarding claim 16,
TSAI teaches a method, comprising (in general, see section “PRACH Operation for BWP” including but not limited to paragraphs 185-205, note that the section includes many figures for various examples):
determining a random access resource, wherein a quantity of frequency domain resources of the random access resource is greater than a quantity of frequency domain resources of a maximum transmission bandwidth of a terminal device (TSAI, see at least para. 202-203, for one non-limiting example, “...FIG. 22C illustrates a multiple allocated PRACH frequency resources when SIi≠SIj for i≠j. According to this embodiment, a narrow band UE includes a supported BW denoted as BWUE. If a narrow band UE, e.g., BWUE<BWCC, has multiple allocated PRACH resources for transmitting PRACH, when SIi=SIj for i≠j, then UE may choose a PRACH resource based on a Cell ID and RA-RNTI, or alternatively, can randomly choose one of the allocated PRACH resources.
TSAI does not teach sending a physical random access channel (PRACH) on the random access resource.
WU teaches sending a physical random access channel (PRACH) on the random access resource (WU, in general, see section of Embodiment 5, in particular, see at least para. 162-163, “...Each of the N second frequency domain resources may be used to transmit a first physical uplink channel, and the first physical uplink channel may include at least one of a physical random access channel PRACH...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate WU into TSAI to reduce access delay (para. 70).
Regarding claim 17,
TSAI in view of WU teaches claim 16.
TSAI does not teach wherein determining the random access resource comprises: determining the random access resource based on a first parameter and a first reference point, wherein the first reference point is a carrier resource, a point, a common resource block (CRB), or a bandwidth part (BWP) resource of the terminal device; and the first parameter indicates: an offset value between the random access resource and the first reference point, or a location relationship between the random access resource and the first reference point.
WU teaches wherein determining the random access resource comprises: determining the random access resource based on a first parameter and a first reference point, wherein the first reference point is a carrier resource, a point, a common resource block (CRB), or a bandwidth part (BWP) resource of the terminal device; and the first parameter indicates: an offset value between the random access resource and the first reference point, or a location relationship between the random access resource and the first reference point (WU, see at least para. 169, “...the terminal device determines the frequency domain position of the PRACH resource (also referred to as RO, RACH Occasion or RACH transmission opportunity) according to the PRACH resource frequency domain starting position configuration parameter (for example, the high-level parameter msg1-FrequencyStart or msgA-RO-FrequencyStart) notified by the network device. Specifically, the frequency domain starting position configuration parameter is used to indicate the frequency domain offset of the first PRACH resource in the frequency domain in the uplink BWP (such as the uplink initial BWP or the uplink activated BWP) relative to the first PRB (i.e., PRB 0) of the uplink BWP...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate WU into TSAI to reduce access delay (para. 70).
Regarding claim 18,
TSAI in view of WU teaches claim 16.
TSAI further teaches wherein:
a bandwidth part (BWP) of the terminal device does not comprise A frequency domain resources with highest sequence numbers in a carrier, a start resource of the random access resource is the same as a start resource of the BWP, and an end resource of the random access resource is after an end resource of the BWP; or
the BWP of the terminal device comprises A frequency domain resources with highest sequence numbers in the carrier, the start resource of the random access resource is before the start resource of the BWP, and the end resource of the random access resource is the same as the end resource of the BWP; or
the BWP of the terminal device does not comprise A frequency domain resources with lowest sequence numbers in the carrier, the start resource of the random access resource is before the start resource of the BWP, and the end resource of the random access resource is the same as the end resource of the BWP; or
the BWP of the terminal device comprises A frequency domain resources with lowest sequence numbers in the carrier, the start resource of the random access resource is the same as the start resource of the BWP, and the end resource of the random access resource is after the end resource of the BWP, wherein a is a positive integer greater than 0 (TSAI, see at least para. 204 in view of para. 208, for one non-limiting example, fig. 23B shows PRACH4 is not within UL BWP).
Regarding claim 19,
TSAI in view of WU teaches claim 16.
TSAI further teaches wherein:
the quantity of frequency domain resources of the random access resource comprises a quantity of frequency domain resources of a first resource and a quantity of frequency domain resources of a second resource (TSAI, see at least para. 204, “...FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B illustrate an example where 2 UEs perform initial access from RRC_IDLE mode. For each UE, BWUE<BWCC and SI indicates more than one allocated PRACH resources...”),
a random access preamble sequence is carried on the PRACH (TSAI, see at least para. 205, “...PRACH resources including allocated frequency resources and PRACH preamble configuration...”)),
and
wherein: a first part of the random access preamble sequence is carried on the first PRACH, a second part of the random access preamble sequence is carried on the second PRACH, and the first part and the second part are at least a portion of the random access preamble sequence (TSAI, see at least para. 186, “... the PRACH resources include two major parts. The first part is the UL PRACH transmission resource (e.g., UL BWP and preambles). The second part is the DL RA response (RAR) resources (e.g., DL BWP)...”, in other words, sequence of random access including preamble sending and RAR receiving).
TSAI does not teach sending the PRACH on the random access resource comprises: sending a first PRACH on a frequency domain resource corresponding to the quantity of frequency domain resources of the first resource, and sending a second PRACH on a frequency domain resource corresponding to the quantity of frequency domain resources of the second resource.
WU teaches sending the PRACH on the random access resource comprises: sending a first PRACH on a frequency domain resource corresponding to the quantity of frequency domain resources of the first resource, and sending a second PRACH on a frequency domain resource corresponding to the quantity of frequency domain resources of the second resource (WU, see at least para. 162-163 in view of fig. 2C for one example, note that fig. 2C discloses two PRACHs in respective resources)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate WU into TSAI to reduce access delay (para. 70).
Regarding claim 20,
TSAI in view of WU teaches claim 16.
TSAI further teaches wherein: the random access resource comprises a first resource and a second resource; the quantity of frequency domain resources of the random access resource comprises a quantity of frequency domain resources of the first resource and a quantity of frequency domain resources of the second resource (TSAI, see at least para. 204, for one non-limiting example, “...FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B illustrate an example where 2 UEs perform initial access from RRC_IDLE mode. For each UE, BWUE<BWCC and SI indicates more than one allocated PRACH resources. In this case, UE 1 and UE 2 have 2 PRACH resources for transmitting PRACH. FIG. 23A illustrates an example of PRACH resource(s) associated with SI1 and SI2 and when SIi=SIj for i≠j. FIG. 23B illustrates an example of PRACH resource(s) associate with SI1 and SI2 and where SIi≠SIj for i≠j...”).
TSAI does not teach a difference between a time domain resource of the first resource and a time domain resource of the second resource is k time units; and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1.
WU teaches a difference between a time domain resource of the first resource and a time domain resource of the second resource is k time units; and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1 (WU, see at least para. 152, “...For example, the PRACH resources may include a first PRACH resource set and a second PRACH resource set, wherein the PRACH resources included in the first PRACH resource set and the second PRACH resource set are different in at least one aspect of the time domain...”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate WU into TSAI to reduce access delay (para. 70).
Regarding claim 21, this claim is rejected for the same reasoning as claim 16. To be more specific, although reciting subject matters slightly different, one skilled in the art would have known claim 21 performs reverse (or corresponding) procedures of claim 16. For example, it would be an apparatus of claim 21 that performs the reverse (or corresponding) receiving from and transmitting to another apparatus of claim 16. Hence, examiner applies the same rejection reasoning as set forth in claim 16.
Regarding claims 22, 23, 24, and 25, in view of claim 21 above, these claims are rejected for the same reasoning as claims 17, 18, 19, and 20, respectively,
Regarding claims 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, these claims are rejected for the same reasoning as claims 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, respectively, except each of these claims is in apparatus claim format.
To be more specific, TSAI in view of WU also teaches a same or similar apparatus comprising processor, transceiver, and memory (TSAI, see at least fig. 1), which are well known in the art and commonly used for providing and enabling robust and reliable data communication hardware and software.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEE F LAM whose telephone number is (571)270-7577. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm. 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, Ayman Abaza can be reached on 571-270-0422. 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.
/YEE F LAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2465
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