DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is a response to an application filed on July 25, 2024. A preliminary amendment filed on the even date is acknowledged and entered. Prior to the preliminary amendment, claims 1-44 as originally filed were pending. By the preliminary amendment, claims 1, 5, 10, 12, 34 and 35 were amended; claims 4, 7-9, 11, 13-33 and 36-44 were canceled; and claims 45-55 were newly added. Accordingly, claims 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 34, 35 and 45-55 are currently pending and ready for examination.
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 .
Relevant Technical Information Submittal Requirement
Requirement — Overview
The applicant is required to submit copies of non-patent literature and relevant technical information as set forth below.
Basis for Requirement
35 U.S.C. § 131 provides:
The Director shall cause an examination to be made of the application and the alleged new invention; and if on such examination it appears that the applicant is entitled to a patent under the law, the Director shall issue a patent therefor.
37 C.F.R. § 1.105(a) provides:
In the course of examining or treating a matter in a pending or abandoned application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111 or 371 (including a reissue application), in a patent, or in a reexamination proceeding, the examiner or other Office employee may require the submission, from individuals identified under § 1.56(c), or any assignee, of such information as may be reasonably necessary to properly examine or treat the matter, for example:
….
(iii) Related information: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign), by any of the inventors, that relates to the claimed invention.
(iv) Information used to draft application: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign) that was used to draft the application.
(v) Information used in invention process: A copy of any non-patent literature, published application, or patent (U.S. or foreign) that was used in the invention process, such as by designing around or providing a solution to accomplish an invention result.
…
(viii) Technical information known to applicant. Technical information known to applicant concerning the related art, the disclosure, the claimed subject matter, other factual information pertinent to patentability, or concerning the accuracy of the examiner’s stated interpretation of such items.
Background
The applicant has stated in a publicly available European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) record that the published Chinese patent application No. CN116567815A, which is a foreign priority parent application of the present application, Application No. 18/833,069 (“the Application”), “may be or may become ESSENTIAL in relation to at least the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the attached IPR Information Statement Annex.”1
Necessity for this Requirement.
This Requirement is issued pursuant to the Director’s duty and authority to examine patent applications. See 35 U.S.C. § 131; 37 C.F.R. § 1.105(a). The ETSI record indicates the applicant likely possesses information relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) that is necessary for a more complete understanding of the invention and its context. See MPEP § 704.11. Such information may include non-patent literature and technical materials (e.g., contribution papers or Tdocs) authored, generated, or submitted by the applicant or others that form the basis of, or resulted from, the claimed invention.
Applicant is Required to Submit:
Copies of any non-patent literature relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the ETSI record for the Application, which satisfies any of the following criteria:
Authored by any of the inventors and related to the claimed invention,
Used to draft the present application, or
Used in the invention process (for example, used to design around prior art or to provide a solution that enabled the claimed invention); and
Any technical information known to the applicant relating to the ETSI Work Item(s), STANDARD(S) and/or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION(S) identified in the ETSI record for the Application, which concerns the related art, the disclosure, the claimed subject matter, other factual information pertinent to patentability, or the accuracy of the examiner’s stated interpretation of such items.
Instructions to Applicant
A complete reply to this Requirement is a reply to each enumerated requirement for information giving either the information required or a statement that the information required to be submitted is unknown and/or is not readily available to the applicant. There is no requirement for the applicant to show that the required information was not, in fact, readily attainable, but the applicant is required to make a good faith attempt to obtain the information and to make a reasonable inquiry once the information is requested. See MPEP § 704.12(b).
This Requirement is subject to the provisions of 37 CFR §§ 1.134, 1.135 and 1.136 and is accorded the same period for reply as the action on the merits sent with this Requirement. See MPEP § 704.13 (third paragraph). EXTENSIONS OF THIS TIME PERIOD MAY BE GRANTED UNDER 37 CFR 1.136 (a).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on July 25, 2024, July 11, 2025 and on March 3, 2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 –
(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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section151, 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
Claims 1-3, 10, 12, 34, 45, 46, 49 and 50 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0414773).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a communication method (See, e.g., Fig. 2), the method being applied to a communication apparatus (Fig. 2, #110-1 “TERMINAL DEVICE”) and comprising:
obtaining first configuration information (¶[0034], a “set of PRACH occasions” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the first configuration information comprises physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion (RO) information (See, ¶[0034], “The first PRACH repetition pattern comprises a first list of resource sets. For example, the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition.”), and the RO information is used to determine at least a target RO group (E.g., a group including “the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam.” See, e.g., Fig. 3B; ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam, emphasis added;” Fig. 2, #s2030 and 2040; ¶[0035], “The RRC configuration can indicate a first threshold power….. for example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB; ¶[0037], “if there is a SSB with SS-RSRP above the first power threshold, the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB;” ¶[0036], The system information can indicate a second threshold power…[f]or example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition…smaller than the first threshold power;” and ¶[0038], “the terminal device 110-1 determines …whether the power of at least one resource set exceeds the second threshold power…..performs …repetitions for at least one PRACH”); and
transmitting a first message (The first message corresponds to a repetition of the RA preamble. See, Fig. 2, #2050; ¶[0038], “The terminal device 110-1 performs 2050 repetitions for at least one PRACH.” See, also, Fig. 5, #530; ¶[0060], At block 530, the terminal device 110-1 performs repetitions for at least one PRACH;” and ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), according to the target RO group (E.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], the 2 “PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6,” which “are on the second beam”) and first target repetition number (E.g., the first target repetition number = 2. See, e.g., ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N, a preamble M, a starting PRACH occasion S and a delta D. In this case, the terminal device 110-1 may transmit the preamble M on each PRACH occasion S+i×D, where i can be from 0 to N−1.” “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2, the starting PRACH occasion S is 2 and the delta D is 4. In this case, the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), wherein the target RO group corresponds to a target synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block (SSB) (See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams. For example, ….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam;” and ¶[0039], “the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”), number of ROs in the target RO group is N (E.g., N=2, i.e., there are 2 PRACH occasions “on the second beam.” See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034]), the first target repetition number (=2, see, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0047], “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2……the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6”) is less than or equal to N (the number of repetition is 2, which is equal to the number of ROs on the second beam, which is also 2 (i.e., the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6)), and N is an integer greater than 0 (The number of ROs on the second beam, i.e., the target RO group, is 2, which is greater than 0.).
Regarding claim 2/1, Wang discloses a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that, prior to transmitting the first message according to the target RO group and the first target repetition number (See, Fig. 2, #2010 preceding #2050; ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1. The first PRACH repetition pattern comprises a first list of resource sets.”); and ¶[0038], “the terminal device 110-1 determines 2040 whether the power of at least one resource set exceeds the second threshold power. The terminal device 110-1 performs 2050 repetitions for at least one PRACH based on the determination,” emphasis added), the method further comprises:
obtaining second configuration information (“the maximum number of repetitions N” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the second configuration information indicates at least one first repetition number (any number of repetitions up to “the maximum number of repetitions N,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N”), and the first target repetition number (E.g., the maximum number of repetitions N=2, see, ¶[0047], “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) is one of the at least one first repetition number (Compare, ¶[0037], “the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB,” emphasis added, i.e., the number of the repetition being N = 1).
Regarding claim 3/2, Wang discloses a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 2 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the number of ROs in the target RO group (i.e., two (2) in the example shown and described in Fig. 3B and ¶[0034], i.e., the two “PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 [that] are on the second beam”) is the same value as maximum repetition number (See, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N,” “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) among the at least one first repetition number (Accordingly, the number of ROs in the group, which is 2 is the same as the maximum number of repetition, which is also 2).
Regarding claim 10/1, Wang discloses a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the target RO group (“the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6,” see, ¶[0034]) corresponds to at least one SSB (See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams. For example,….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam”), wherein the at least one SSB comprises the target SSB (“the second beam,” See, e.g., ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B,…the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam;” ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6;” and ¶[0039], “the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”) and the at least one SSB is at least one SSB in an SSB candidate set (See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams,: emphasis added) transmitted by another communication apparatus (See, Fig. 2, #2020; and ¶[0036], “The network device 120 may transmit 2020 system information to the terminal device 110-1.”).
Regarding claim 12/1, Wang discloses a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the target RO group (“the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6”) is determined according to the target SSB (“the second beam,” see, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, ….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam”), and the target SSB is an SSB of which signal quality is greater than a preset threshold in measurement results of SSBs (See, ¶[0035], “The term “rsrp-ThresholdSSB” used herein can refer to a RSRP threshold for the selection of the synchronization signal (SS)/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB).;” and ¶[0039], “if there is at least one SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition, the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”) in an SSB candidate set (See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams,: emphasis added) transmitted to the first communication apparatus by another communication apparatus (See, Fig. 2, #2020; and ¶[0036], “The network device 120 may transmit 2020 system information to the terminal device 110-1.”).
Regarding claim 34, Wang discloses a communication (Figs. 1, and 2, #110-1, “TERMINAL DEVICE;” Fig. 7, #700; and ¶[0102], “the device 700 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the terminal device 110”) apparatus comprising:
a transceiver (Fig. 7, #740; and ¶[0103], “a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740”);
a processor (Fig. 7, #710) coupled to the transceiver (See, ¶[0103], “a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740 coupled to the processor 710”); and
a memory (Fig. 7, #720) storing a computer program (Fig. 7, #730) which, when executed by the processor, causes the communication apparatus to (See, ¶[0104], “The program 730 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 710, enable the device 700 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure”):
obtain first configuration information (¶[0034], a “set of PRACH occasions” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the first configuration information comprises physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion (RO) information (See, ¶[0034], “The first PRACH repetition pattern comprises a first list of resource sets. For example, the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition.”), and the RO information is used to determine at least a target RO group (E.g., a group including “the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam.” See, e.g., Fig. 3B; ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam, emphasis added;” Fig. 2, #s2030 and 2040; ¶[0035], “The RRC configuration can indicate a first threshold power….. for example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB; ¶[0037], “if there is a SSB with SS-RSRP above the first power threshold, the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB;” ¶[0036], The system information can indicate a second threshold power…[f]or example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition…smaller than the first threshold power;” and ¶[0038], “the terminal device 110-1 determines …whether the power of at least one resource set exceeds the second threshold power…..performs …repetitions for at least one PRACH”); and
transmit a first message (The first message corresponds to a repetition of the RA preamble. See, Fig. 2, #2050; ¶[0038], “The terminal device 110-1 performs 2050 repetitions for at least one PRACH.” See, also, Fig. 5, #530; ¶[0060], At block 530, the terminal device 110-1 performs repetitions for at least one PRACH;” and ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), according to the target RO group (E.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], the 2 “PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6,” which “are on the second beam”) and first target repetition number (E.g., the first target repetition number = 2. See, e.g., ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N, a preamble M, a starting PRACH occasion S and a delta D. In this case, the terminal device 110-1 may transmit the preamble M on each PRACH occasion S+i×D, where i can be from 0 to N−1.” “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2, the starting PRACH occasion S is 2 and the delta D is 4. In this case, the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), wherein the target RO group corresponds to a target synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block (SSB) (See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams. For example, ….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam;” and ¶[0039], “the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”), number of ROs in the target RO group is N (E.g., N=2, i.e., there are 2 PRACH occasions “on the second beam.” See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034]), the first target repetition number (=2, see, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0047], “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2……the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6”) is less than or equal to N (the number of repetition is 2, which is equal to the number of ROs on the second beam, which is also 2 (i.e., the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6)), and N is an integer greater than 0 (The number of ROs on the second beam, i.e., the target RO group, is 2, which is greater than 0.).
Regarding claim 45/34, Wang discloses a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 34 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the computer program is further executed by the processor to cause the communication apparatus to (See, ¶[0104):
obtain second configuration information (“the maximum number of repetitions N” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the second configuration information indicates at least one first repetition number (any number of repetitions up to “the maximum number of repetitions N,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N”), and the first target repetition number (E.g., the maximum number of repetitions N=2, see, ¶[0047], “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) is one of the at least one first repetition number (Compare, ¶[0037], “the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB,” emphasis added, i.e., the number of the repetition being N = 1).
Regarding claim 46/45, Wang discloses a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 45 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the number of ROs in the target RO group (i.e., two (2) in the example shown and described in Fig. 3B and ¶[0034], i.e., the two “PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 [that] are on the second beam”) is the same value as maximum repetition number (See, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N,” “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) among the at least one first repetition number (Accordingly, the number of ROs in the group, which is 2 is the same as the maximum number of repetition, which is also 2).
Regarding claim 49/34, Wang discloses a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 34 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the target RO group (“the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6,” see, ¶[0034]) corresponds to at least one SSB (See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams. For example,….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam”), wherein the at least one SSB comprises the target SSB (“the second beam,” See, e.g., ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B,…the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam;” ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6;” and ¶[0039], “the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”) and the at least one SSB is at least one SSB in an SSB candidate set (See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams,: emphasis added) transmitted by another communication apparatus (See, Fig. 2, #2020; and ¶[0036], “The network device 120 may transmit 2020 system information to the terminal device 110-1.”).
Regarding claim 50/34, Wang discloses a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 34 as discussed above.
Wang further discloses that the target RO group (“the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6”) is determined according to the target SSB (“the second beam,” see, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, ….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam”), and the target SSB is an SSB of which signal quality is greater than a preset threshold in measurement results of SSBs (See, ¶[0035], “The term “rsrp-ThresholdSSB” used herein can refer to a RSRP threshold for the selection of the synchronization signal (SS)/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB).;” and ¶[0039], “if there is at least one SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition, the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”) in an SSB candidate set (See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams,: emphasis added) transmitted to the first communication apparatus by another communication apparatus (See, Fig. 2, #2020; and ¶[0036], “The network device 120 may transmit 2020 system information to the terminal device 110-1.”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. §103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 5, 6, 35, 47, 48 and 51-55 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Wang in view of Sakhnini et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2022/0369385) (hereinafter “Sakhnini”).
Regarding claim 5/1, Wang teaches a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 1 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the target RO group (the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam, see, ¶[0034]) is one of at least one RO group (Wang teaches an example that includes a four (4) RO groups. See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam.”);, and the at least one RO group is obtained according to the RO information and N (See, ¶[0034]. “the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition,” i.e., the RO information; and compare, e.g., Fig. 3A (showing 2 RO groups associated with respective 2 beams, each group having 6 ROs. See, ¶[0034]) with Fig. 3B (showing 4 RO groups associated with respective 4 beams, each group having 2 ROs. See, ¶[0034]. Accordingly, Wang teaches the RO grouping is determined in relation to the number of ROs in a group, i.e., the claimed “N”.).
Wang, however, fails to teach explicitly2 that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs in the target RO group are consecutive in time domain.
Sakhnini teaches that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs (See, Fig. 8, #s 812 (RO1), 814 (RO2), 816 (RO3) and 818 (RO4)) in the target RO group (See, Fig. 10, #1016, indicating the 4 ROs, RO1, RO2, RO3 and RO4, are allocated to a beam, i.e., the “first beam”) are consecutive in time domain (See, Fig. 8, OFDM symbol numbers 0-3 of PRACH slot 806, showing ROs, RO1-RO4, being consecutive in time domain.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang (i.e., RO scheduling shown in its Fig. 3B) to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., scheduling ROs allocated to the same SSB consecutively in time domain, in order to avoid wasting of resources that may result from beam switching (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0136]).
Regarding claim 6/5, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication method comprising all elements recited in claim 5 as discussed above.
Sakhnini further teaches that the at least one RO group is an RO group within an association period between SSBs and ROs (See, ¶[0123], “An association period may be defined as a minimum number of RACH configuration periods (i.e., the period of repetition of a set of one or more RACH slots) such that all SSB beams are mapped into ROs. In other words, the association period may represent the minimum time, in terms of the RACH configuration period, for all the SSBs to be associated with (mapped into) ROs.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., the definition of the term, “association period,” in order to provide a technical term for specifying the time period of association between the ROs and the SSBs (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0123]).
Regarding claim 35, Wang teaches a communication apparatus (Figs. 1, and 2, #120, “NETWORK DEVICE;” Fig. 7, #700; and ¶[0102], “the device 700 can be implemented at or as at least a part of …the network device 120”) comprising:
a transceiver (Fig. 7, #740; and ¶[0103], “a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740”);
a processor (Fig. 7, #710) coupled to the transceiver (See, ¶[0103], “a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 740 coupled to the processor 710”); and
a memory (Fig. 7, #720) storing a computer program (Fig. 7, #730) which, when executed by the processor, causes the communication apparatus to (See, ¶[0104], “The program 730 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 710, enable the device 700 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure”):
transmit first configuration information (¶[0034], a “set of PRACH occasions” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the first configuration information comprises physical random access channel (PRACH) occasion (RO) information (See, ¶[0034], “The first PRACH repetition pattern comprises a first list of resource sets. For example, the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition.”), and the RO information is used to determine at least a target RO group (E.g., a group including “the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam.” See, e.g., Fig. 3B; ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam, emphasis added;” Fig. 2, #s2030 and 2040; ¶[0035], “The RRC configuration can indicate a first threshold power….. for example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB; ¶[0037], “if there is a SSB with SS-RSRP above the first power threshold, the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB;” ¶[0036], The system information can indicate a second threshold power…[f]or example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition…smaller than the first threshold power;” and ¶[0038], “the terminal device 110-1 determines …whether the power of at least one resource set exceeds the second threshold power…..performs …repetitions for at least one PRACH”);
receive a first message (The first message corresponds to a repetition of the RA preamble. See, Fig. 2, #2050; ¶[0038], “The terminal device 110-1 performs 2050 repetitions for at least one PRACH.” See, also, Fig. 5, #530; ¶[0060], At block 530, the terminal device 110-1 performs repetitions for at least one PRACH;” and ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), wherein the first message is carried in the target RO group (E.g., a group including “the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam;” and ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6,” emphasis added), number of ROs in the target RO group is N (E.g., N=2, i.e., there are 2 PRACH occasions “on the second beam.” See, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034]), and N is an integer greater than 0 (The number of ROs on the second beam, i.e., the target RO group, is 2, which is greater than 0.);
determine a target synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) block (SSB) according to the target RO group, wherein the target SSB corresponds to the target RO group (See, ¶[0047], “the PRACH occasions for the PRACH transmission can be PRACH occasion 320-2 and PRACH occasion 320-6;” and ¶[0034], “the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam).
Wang, however, fails to explicitly3 teach the network device transmit[ting] a second message according to the target SSB.
Sakhnini teaches a network device transmit[ting] a second message (See, Fig. 4, #408 (“Random Access Response (msg2) sent by the base station 402 to the UE 404;” and ¶[0082]) according to the target SSB (See, ¶[0081], “The RACH preamble message 406 may further be communicated on a beam selected by the UE 404 based on beam measurements (e.g., RSRP/RSRQ/SINR) performed by the UE 404. The beam may correspond, for example, to an SSB beam;” and ¶[0082], “The PDCCH in the RAR message 408 (msg2) may be scrambled with the RA-RNTI, which is a function of a RACH occasion (RO) (e.g., time-frequency resources allocated for RACH msg1) that the UE 404 used to send the RACH preamble message 406 (msg1),” emphasis added. Accordingly, Sakhnini teaches a base station sending an RAR message, i.e., the claimed “second message,” to a UE, in accordance with the RO (and thus with the target SSB to which such RO is assigned.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., the base station sending a random access response (RAR) message” in order to implement a well-known 4-step random access procedure, which is also contemplated by Wang (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0080]; and Wang, ¶¶[0051] and [0053]).
Regarding claim 47/34, Wang teaches a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 34 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the target RO group (the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam, see, ¶[0034]) is one of at least one RO group (Wang teaches an example that includes a four (4) RO groups. See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam.”);, and the at least one RO group is obtained according to the RO information and N (See, ¶[0034]. “the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition,” i.e., the RO information; and compare, e.g., Fig. 3A (showing 2 RO groups associated with respective 2 beams, each group having 6 ROs. See, ¶[0034]) with Fig. 3B (showing 4 RO groups associated with respective 4 beams, each group having 2 ROs. See, ¶[0034]. Accordingly, Wang teaches the RO grouping is determined in relation to the number of ROs in a group, i.e., the claimed “N”.).
Wang, however, fails to teach explicitly4 that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs in the target RO group are consecutive in time domain.
Sakhnini teaches that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs (See, Fig. 8, #s 812 (RO1), 814 (RO2), 816 (RO3) and 818 (RO4)) in the target RO group (See, Fig. 10, #1016, indicating the 4 ROs, RO1, RO2, RO3 and RO4, are allocated to a beam, i.e., the “first beam”) are consecutive in time domain (See, Fig. 8, OFDM symbol numbers 0-3 of PRACH slot 806, showing ROs, RO1-RO4, being consecutive in time domain.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang (i.e., RO scheduling shown in its Fig. 3B) to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., scheduling ROs allocated to the same SSB consecutively in time domain, in order to avoid wasting of resources that may result from beam switching (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0136]).
Regarding claim 48/47, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 47 as discussed above.
Sakhnini further teaches that the at least one RO group is an RO group within an association period between SSBs and ROs (See, ¶[0123], “An association period may be defined as a minimum number of RACH configuration periods (i.e., the period of repetition of a set of one or more RACH slots) such that all SSB beams are mapped into ROs. In other words, the association period may represent the minimum time, in terms of the RACH configuration period, for all the SSBs to be associated with (mapped into) ROs.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., the definition of the term, “association period,” in order to provide a technical term for specifying the time period of association between the ROs and the SSBs (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0123]).
Regarding claim 51/35, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 35 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the computer program is further executed by the processor to cause the communication apparatus to (See, Fig. 7, #730; and ¶[0104]):
transmit second configuration information (“the maximum number of repetitions N” included in the “FIRST PRACH REPETITION,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N;” Fig. 2, #2010; and ¶[0034], “The network device 120 transmits 2010 a first PRACH repetition pattern to the terminal device 110-1.”), wherein the second configuration information indicates at least one first repetition number (any number of repetitions up to “the maximum number of repetitions N,” see, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N”), and the first target repetition number (E.g., the maximum number of repetitions N=2, see, ¶[0047], “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) is one of the at least one first repetition number (Compare, ¶[0037], “the terminal device 110-1 may select the SSB and perform the single transmission on the SSB,” emphasis added, i.e., the number of the repetition being N = 1).
Regarding claim 52/51, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 51 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the number of ROs in the target RO group (i.e., two (2) in the example shown and described in Fig. 3B and ¶[0034], i.e., the two “PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 [that] are on the second beam”) is the same value as maximum repetition number (See, ¶[0047], “the first PRACH repetition pattern may indicate: the maximum number of repetitions N,” “as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of repetitions N is 2”) among the at least one first repetition number (Accordingly, the number of ROs in the group, which is 2 is the same as the maximum number of repetition, which is also 2).
Regarding claim 53/35, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 35 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the target RO group (the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 on the second beam, see, ¶[0034]) is one of at least one RO group (Wang teaches an example that includes a four (4) RO groups. See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], “as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions … associated with 4 beams. For example, the PRACH occasions 320-1 and 320-5 are on the first beam, the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam, the PRACH occasions 320-3 and 320-7 are on the third beam, and the PRACH occasions 320-4 and 320-8 are on the fourth beam.”);, and the at least one RO group is obtained according to the RO information and N (See, ¶[0034]. “the first PRACH repetition pattern may comprise a set of PRACH occasions for the PRACH repetition,” i.e., the RO information; and compare, e.g., Fig. 3A (showing 2 RO groups associated with respective 2 beams, each group having 6 ROs. See, ¶[0034]) with Fig. 3B (showing 4 RO groups associated with respective 4 beams, each group having 2 ROs. See, ¶[0034]. Accordingly, Wang teaches the RO grouping is determined in relation to the number of ROs in a group, i.e., the claimed “N”.).
Wang, however, fails to teach explicitly5 that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs in the target RO group are consecutive in time domain.
Sakhnini teaches that [the] resources corresponding to the N ROs (See, Fig. 8, #s 812 (RO1), 814 (RO2), 816 (RO3) and 818 (RO4)) in the target RO group (See, Fig. 10, #1016, indicating the 4 ROs, RO1, RO2, RO3 and RO4, are allocated to a beam, i.e., the “first beam”) are consecutive in time domain (See, Fig. 8, OFDM symbol numbers 0-3 of PRACH slot 806, showing ROs, RO1-RO4, being consecutive in time domain.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang (i.e., RO scheduling shown in its Fig. 3B) to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., scheduling ROs allocated to the same SSB consecutively in time domain, in order to avoid wasting of resources that may result from beam switching (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0136]).
Regarding claim 54/53, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 53 as discussed above.
Sakhnini further teaches that the at least one RO group is an RO group within an association period between SSBs and ROs (See, ¶[0123], “An association period may be defined as a minimum number of RACH configuration periods (i.e., the period of repetition of a set of one or more RACH slots) such that all SSB beams are mapped into ROs. In other words, the association period may represent the minimum time, in terms of the RACH configuration period, for all the SSBs to be associated with (mapped into) ROs.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the above teachings of Wang to incorporate the above teaching of Sakhnini, i.e., the definition of the term, “association period,” in order to provide a technical term for specifying the time period of association between the ROs and the SSBs (See, e.g., Sakhnini, ¶[0123]).
Regarding claim 55/35, Wang in view of Sakhnini teach a communication apparatus comprising all elements recited in claim 35 as discussed above.
Wang further teaches that the target RO group (“the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6”) is determined according to the target SSB (“the second beam,” see, Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, ….the PRACH occasions 320-2 and 320-6 are on the second beam”), and the target SSB is an SSB of which signal quality is greater than a preset threshold in measurement results of SSBs (See, ¶[0035], “The term “rsrp-ThresholdSSB” used herein can refer to a RSRP threshold for the selection of the synchronization signal (SS)/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB).;” and ¶[0039], “if there is at least one SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition, the terminal device 110-1 may select an SSB or the best SSB with SS-RSRP above rsrp-ThresholdSSB-repetition for PRACH repetition.”) in an SSB candidate set (See, e.g., Fig. 3B; and ¶[0034], as shown in FIG. 3B, there are 8 PRACH occasions and the 8 PRACH occasions are associated with 4 beams,: emphasis added) transmitted to the first communication apparatus by another communication apparatus (See, Fig. 2, #2020; and ¶[0036], “The network device 120 may transmit 2020 system information to the terminal device 110-1.”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
1) Li et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2023/0199735) teaches multiple RSRP thresholds for application for differing coverage enhancement levels (See, e.g., ¶[0207]);
2) Matsumura et al. (US Published Patent Application No. US 2025/0024509) teaches various aspects of RA preamble repetition and RO/SSB mapping (See, e.g., ¶¶[0069], [0108], [0131], [0134], [0148], [0157] and [0168]);
3) Yan (US Published Patent Application No. US 2024/0196442) teaches various aspects of RA preamble repetition and RO/SSB mapping (See, e.g., Fig. 8; and the description thereof); and
4) The following 3GPP technical documents (Tdoc) teach various proposals and discussions relating to coverage enhancements including repetition of random access signaling:
i) R1-1901041; ii) R1-1901032; iii) R1-2102646; iv) R1-1702663; v) R1-2005397; vi) R1-1901028; vii) R2-153717; and viii) R-1912390.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KI S KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-9141. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:00AM - 5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Moo R Jeong can be reached at (571) 272-9617. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.S.K./Examiner, Art Unit 2418 July 7, 2026
/Moo Jeong/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2418
1 See Spreadtrum Communications (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.’s IPR Information Statement and IPR Licensing Declaration and IPR Information Statement Annex, ISLD-202510-026, pp 1 & 4 (Disclosure No. 31, listing the Chinese Application publication CN116567815A), Retrieved from the Internet<URL: https://ipr.etsi.org/IPRDetails.aspx?IPRD_ID=9792&IPRD_TYPE_ID=2&MODE=2&sessionkey=88bdb7> (Year: 2025). A copy of the ISLD-202510-026 is being provided herewith.
2 Wang does teach an example, in which the ROs allocated to the same SSB are scheduled consecutively in time domain. See, Fig. 3A and ¶[0034], the PRACH occasions 310-1, 310-3., 310-5, 310-7, 310-[9] and 310-11 are on the first beam.” Fig. 3A shows the 6 ROs being consecutive in time domain. Wang, however, does not teach, for the embodiment shown in its Fig. 3B, upon which this rejection of claim 5/1 relies, that the ROs are consecutive in time domain.
3 Wang does suggest, as is well known in the art, a terminal device, i.e., a UE, monitoring for, and “detecting,” a random access response (RAR) that includes PDCCH (DCI) with RA-RNTI scrambling corresponding to the RA preamble received from the terminal device. See, e.g., ¶¶[0051] and [0053].
4 See footnote 2 above.
5 See footnote 2 above.
Prosecution Insights