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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on December 27, 2024, and September 3, 2025, are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Applicant should note that the large number of references in the attached IDSs have been considered by the examiner in the same manner as other documents in Office search files are considered by the examiner while conducting a search of the prior art in a proper field of search. See MPEP 609.05(b). Applicant is invited to point out any particular reference(s) in the IDS that they believe may be of particular relevance to the instant claimed invention in response to this Office Action. It is desirable to avoid the submission of long lists of documents if it can be avoided. If a long list is submitted, highlight those documents which have been specifically brought to applicant’s attention and/or are known to be of most significance. See Penn Yan Boats, Inc. v. Sea Lark Boats, Inc., 359 F. Supp. 948, 175 USPQ 260 (S.D. Fla. 1972), aff ’d, 479 F.2d 1338, 178 USPQ 577 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 874 (1974). But cf. Molins PLC v. Textron Inc., 48 F.3d 1172, 33 USPQ2d 1823 (Fed. Cir. 1995).
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.
Claim(s) 34-35 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 34 recites the limitation “receiving, from the network device, second information comprising … " in line 2. Claim 34 depends from independent claim 28, which is directed to a method performed by a network device. However, claim 34 recites the step of “receiving, from the network device…” This creates a contradiction and ambiguity because the network device (the performing entity of the method) is recited as receiving information from itself. Consequently, it is unclear whether the claimed method is being performed by the network device or a terminal device, rendering the metes and bounds of the claim indefinite.
Claim 35 depend from claim 34, thus carry the same issues as described above, and therefore are rejected on the same grounds discussed above.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 20-24, 28-32, and 36-39 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (2) as being anticipated by Shibaike et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20250150979, hereinafter “Shibaike”).
Examiner’s note: in what follows, references are drawn to Shibaike unless otherwise mentioned.
With respect to independent claims:
Regarding Claim 20, Shibaike teaches A method, performed by a terminal device (para [0008]: A terminal …determines a plurality of pieces of transmission power corresponding to the plurality of respective resources, based on the one or more pathloss reference signals; and a transmitting section that transmits a plurality of repetitions of the physical random access channel in the plurality of resources.), the method comprising:
receiving, from a network device, first information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order (para [0106]: the DCI format 1_0 is for a random access procedure initiated by the PDCCH order) (para [0116]: The random access procedure is initiated by the PDCCH order,) (para [0122]: If the random access procedure is initiated by the PDCCH order, the UE, if requested by a higher layer, transmits PRACH within the selected PRACH occasion as described in the specification if the time between the last symbol of the PDCCH order reception and the first symbol of the PRACH transmission), and
determining transmission power of a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission based on the first information (para [0149]: The UE determines (actual) transmit power PPRACH,b,f,c(i) of the PRACH on the active UL BWP b of a carrier f of a serving cell c based on the DL RS for the serving cell c in a transmission occasion i as follows: P PRACH,b,f,c(i)=min{P CMAX,f,c(i),P PRACH,target,f,c +PL b,f,c} [dBm]) (para [0150]: PCMAX,f,c(i) is the maximum output power configured to the UE for the carrier f of the serving cell c in the transmission occasion i. PPRACH,target,f,c is the PRACH target received power PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER provided by a higher layer for the active UL BWP b of the carrier f of the serving cell c. PLb,f,c is the path loss for the active UL BWP b of the carrier f based on the DL RS associated with the PRACH transmission on the active DL BWP of the serving cell c, calculated by the UE as (reference signal power (referenceSignalPower, ss-PBCH-BlockPower) [dBm]—higher-layer filtered RSRP [dBm]) [dB]. If the active DL BWP is the initial DL BWP and is for multiplexing pattern 2 or 3 of the SS/PBCH block and CORESET, the UE determines PLb,f,c based on the SS/PBCH block associated with the PRACH transmission.) (para [0151]: The DL RS used in the path loss calculation may be called pathloss (PL)-RS, a pathloss reference RS, or the like.) (para [0223]: The UE may determine a path loss PLb,f,c based on a PL-RS. The PL-RS may be an SSB or a CSI-RS.) (para [0233]: The PL-RS may be specified individually for each RO by the PDCCH order (PDCCH that triggers RA).),
wherein the PDCCH order comprises a field indicating a reference signal for path loss estimation for determining the transmission power of the PRACH transmission (para [0226]: The PL-RS may be an SSB or CSI-RS with an explicit SSB index or CSI-RS index specified by a PDCCH order (interpreted as “a field indicating a reference signal for path loss estimation for determining the transmission power of the PRACH transmission”) (PDCCH that triggers the RA).) (para [0233]: The PL-RS may be specified individually for each RO by the PDCCH order (PDCCH that triggers RA).).
Regarding Claim 28, Shibaike teaches A method, performed by a network device, the method comprising:
transmitting, to a terminal device, first information of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order(para [0106]: the DCI format 1_0 is for a random access procedure initiated by the PDCCH order) (para [0116]: The random access procedure is initiated by the PDCCH order,), and
receiving a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission (para [0122]: If the random access procedure is initiated by the PDCCH order, the UE, if requested by a higher layer, transmits PRACH within the selected PRACH occasion as described in the specification if the time between the last symbol of the PDCCH order reception and the first symbol of the PRACH transmission),
wherein transmission power of the PRACH transmission is determined based on the first information (para [0149]: The UE determines (actual) transmit power PPRACH,b,f,c(i) of the PRACH on the active UL BWP b of a carrier f of a serving cell c based on the DL RS for the serving cell c in a transmission occasion i as follows: P PRACH,b,f,c(i)=min{P CMAX,f,c(i),P PRACH,target,f,c +PL b,f,c} [dBm]) (para [0150]: PCMAX,f,c(i) is the maximum output power configured to the UE for the carrier f of the serving cell c in the transmission occasion i. PPRACH,target,f,c is the PRACH target received power PREAMBLE_RECEIVED_TARGET_POWER provided by a higher layer for the active UL BWP b of the carrier f of the serving cell c. PLb,f,c is the path loss for the active UL BWP b of the carrier f based on the DL RS associated with the PRACH transmission on the active DL BWP of the serving cell c, calculated by the UE as (reference signal power (referenceSignalPower, ss-PBCH-BlockPower) [dBm]—higher-layer filtered RSRP [dBm]) [dB]. If the active DL BWP is the initial DL BWP and is for multiplexing pattern 2 or 3 of the SS/PBCH block and CORESET, the UE determines PLb,f,c based on the SS/PBCH block associated with the PRACH transmission.) (para [0151]: The DL RS used in the path loss calculation may be called pathloss (PL)-RS, a pathloss reference RS, or the like.) (para [0223]: The UE may determine a path loss PLb,f,c based on a PL-RS. The PL-RS may be an SSB or a CSI-RS.) (para [0233]: The PL-RS may be specified individually for each RO by the PDCCH order (PDCCH that triggers RA).), and
wherein the PDCCH order comprises a field indicating a reference signal for path loss estimation for determining the transmission power of the PRACH transmission (para [0226]: The PL-RS may be an SSB or CSI-RS with an explicit SSB index or CSI-RS index specified by a PDCCH order (interpreted as “a field indicating a reference signal for path loss estimation for determining the transmission power of the PRACH transmission”) (PDCCH that triggers the RA).) (para [0233]: The PL-RS may be specified individually for each RO by the PDCCH order (PDCCH that triggers RA).).
Regarding claim 36, it is a terminal device claim corresponding to the method claim 20, except limitations “a memory” and “a processor” (para [0394] of Shibaike: the user terminals 20 is implemented, for example, by allowing certain software (programs) to be read on hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, and by allowing the processor 1001 to perform calculations to control communication via the communication apparatus 1004…) and is therefore rejected for the similar reasons set forth in the rejection of claim 20.
With respect to dependent claims:
Regarding Claim 21, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, wherein
the reference signal is among multiple reference signals for the path loss estimation (para [0151]: The DL RS used in the path loss calculation may be called pathloss (PL)-RS, a pathloss reference RS, or the like.) (para [0226]: The PL-RS may be an SSB or CSI-RS with an explicit SSB index or CSI-RS index specified by a PDCCH order).
Regarding Claims 29 and 37, Claims 29 and 37 have similar limitation as of Claim(s) 21, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 21.
Regarding Claim 22, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, wherein
the PDCCH order is downlink control information (DCI) format 1_0 (para [0106]: the DCI format 1_0 is for a random access procedure initiated by the PDCCH order).
Regarding Claims 30 and 38, Claims 30 and 38 have similar limitation as of Claim(s) 22, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 22.
Regarding Claim 23, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, wherein
the PDCCH order further comprises a random access preamble index field, a synchronization signal/physical broadcast channel (SS/PBCH) index field, and a PRACH mask index field (para [0106]: The DCI format 1_0 includes a DCI format identifier field, a bit field that is always set to 1, and a frequency domain resource assignment field. If the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI format 1_0 is scrambled by the C-RNTI and the frequency domain resource assignment field is all 1, then the DCI format 1_0 is for a random access procedure initiated by the PDCCH order, and the remaining fields are a random access preamble, a UL/supplementary Uplink (SUL) indicator, a SS/PBCH index (SSB index), a PRACH mask index, and reserved bits (12 bits).)
Regarding Claims 31 and 39, Claims 31 and 39 have similar limitation as of Claim(s) 23, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 23.
Regarding Claim 24, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, wherein
the reference signal corresponds to quasi co-location (QCL) information for the PDCCH order (para [0133]: … the UE may assume that the PDCCH including the DCI format 1_0 and the PDCCH order have the same DMRS antenna port QCL properties. If the UE attempts to detect the DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the corresponding RA-RNTI in response to a PRACH transmission initiated by the PDCCH order triggering a CFRA procedure for the secondary cell, the UE may assume the DMRS antenna port QCL properties of the CORESET associated to the Type 1-PDCCH CSS set for reception of the PDCCH including the DCI format 1_0. ) (para [0132]: … the UE may assume the same DMRS antenna port QCL properties for the SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS resource that the UE uses for PRACH association, regardless of whether the UE is provided with a TCI-State for the CORESET in which it receives the PDCCH with that DCI format 1_0.)
Examiner’s note: By linking the explicit disclosures of paragraphs [0132] and [0133], it is explicitly disclosed that the reference signal (SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS) corresponds exactly to the QCL properties of the PDCCH order, since both share the same QCL properties with the RAR PDCCH.
Regarding Claim 32, Claim 32 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 24, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 24.
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.
Claim(s) 25 and 33 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibaike in view of Jeon et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20210235388, hereinafter “Jeon”)
Regarding Claim 25, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, wherein
Shibaike discloses determining transmission power for a random access procedure initiated by a PDCCH which includes obtaining reference signal power for path loss estimation (see Shibaike, paras [0106], [0116], and [0149]-[0150]: “… calculated by the UE as (reference signal power…—higher-layer filtered RSRP…). Further, Shibaike discloses that the random access procedure of the SCell (a cell different from the primary serving cell) is initiated by the PDCCH order (see para [0116] of Shibaike).
However, Shibaike does not explicitly discloses that the reference signal power for path loss estimation is obtained from a first cell different from a serving cell, in a case where the PDCCH order is associated with the first cell.
Jeon discloses a method for controlling uplink transmission power in a multi-cell or carrier aggregation environment, wherein when a PDCCH order triggers a random access procedure for a first cell different from a scheduling serving cell, the reference signal power for path loss estimation is obtained from the first cell associated with the PDCCH order (para [0186] of Jeon: An eNB may initiate an RA procedure, via a PDCCH order, for an activated SCell. The PDCCH order may be sent on a scheduling cell of this SCell. If cross carrier scheduling is configured for a cell, the scheduling cell may be different than the cell that is employed for preamble transmission, and the PDCCH order may include an SCell index. At least a non-contention based RA procedure may be supported for SCell(s) assigned to sTAG(s).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the transmission power control method of Shibaike by incorporating the cell-specific path loss estimation mechanism of Jeon. The motivation for this combination is to ensure accurate path loss estimation that reflects the actual radio channel conditions of the target cell, thereby optimizing the PRACH transmission power and mitigating intra-cell/inter-cell interference in a multi-carrier or multi-TRP deployment.
Regarding Claim 33, Claim 33 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 25, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 25.
Claim(s) 26-27 and 34-35 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibaike in view of Liu et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20230397193, hereinafter “Liu”)
Regarding Claim 26, Shibaike teaches The method of claim 20, comprising:
Shibaike discloses a general method for uplink transmission including PUSCH power control, but does not explicitly disclose receiving, from the network device, second information comprising a first indication of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and a second indication corresponding to a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI), and determining one of the first indication and the second indication for determining transmission power of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission.
However, Liu discloses:
receiving, from the network device, second information comprising a first indication of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state and a second indication corresponding to a sounding reference signal resource indicator (SRI) (para [0046] of Liu: … the TX beam for a PUSCH transmission can be directly indicated in a DCI scheduling the PUSCH transmission. In particular, the TX beam can be indicated by a UL TCI field contained in the DCI. The UL TCI field contains a value that is a TCI codepoint. The TCI codepoint may point to one TCI state (in a scenario of single-TRP) or two TCI states (in a scenario of multi-TRP (e.g. two TRPs) where multi-beam PUSCH repetition can be configured). For ease of discussion, “a TCI codepoint of the UL TCI field points to TCI state(s)” may be referred to as “the UL TCI field points to TCI state(s)”.) (para [0051] of Liu: The UE determines the TX beam for the PUSCH transmission according to existing method defined in NR Release 15. That is, the UE determines the TX beam(s) for the PUSCH transmission according to the spatialRelationInfo configured for the SRS resource(s) indicated by the SRI field contained in the DCI (DCI format 0_1 or DCI format 0_2) scheduling the PUSCH transmission.), and
determining one of the first indication and the second indication for determining transmission power of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission (para [0058] of Liu: In addition, beam-specific power control is supported in NR Release 15 and NR Release 16. UE can track up to 4 PL-RSs for all UL signals. Therefore, the PL-RS or even all power control parameters including P0, alpha, closed loop index and PL-RS should be associated with each activated TCI state for the dynamic TX beam indication for PUSCH. P0 is used to configure the target receive power of gNB. Alpha (0<alpha<=1) is a power compensation factor. Closed loop index is used to indicate one index of two close loops. PL-RS is used to indicate a DL RS for the UE for DL pathloss estimation. That is, the TCI state activation/deactivation MAC CE is further enhanced to support beam-specific power control for PUSCH transmission.) (para [0059] of Liu: … a power control parameter set that includes parameters of P0, alpha, closed loop index and PL-RS is associated with each activated TCI state that can be pointed to by UL TCI codepoint. SRI-PUSCH-PowerControl defined in NR Release 15 or 16 as shown in Table 1 can be used as the power control parameter set indication.) (para [0108] of Liu: The TCI state activation/deactivation MAC CE according to the first sub-embodiment applies to the scenario of single TRP based PDSCH and PUSCH transmission. When the TCI states are activated by the TCI state activation/deactivation MAC CE according to the first sub-embodiment, the UL TCI field in a DCI scheduling a PUSCH transmission points to one activated TCI state identified by a TCI state ID n field, the QCL-typeD RS contained in the one activated TCI state and the power control parameter set identified by the associated power control parameter set ID n are used to determine the TX beam and the TX power for the scheduled PUSCH transmission.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the method of Shibaike by incorporating the unified TCI-based power control mechanism of Liu. The motivation for this modification would be to provide a unified framework for both DL and UL beam management, thereby ensuring that the PUSCH transmission power accurately reflects the pathloss and spatial filter of the dynamically indicated TCI state, while reducing signaling overhead and resolving potential conflicts between concurrent TCI and SRI indications.
Regarding Claim 34, Claim 34 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 26, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 26.
Regarding Claim 27, Shibaike and Liu teach The method of claim 26, wherein
the first indication has a higher priority than that of the second indication for determining the transmission power of the PUSCH transmission
Liu teaches utilizing the legacy SRI-PUSCH-PowerControl parameters as the power control parameter set associated with the activated TCI state (see para [0059] and Table 1 of Liu) Furthermore, Liu discloses determining the transmission parameters (e.g., TX beam and power) based on the TCI state if the TCI field is present in the DCI. Whereas if the TCI field is not present, the transmission parameters are determined according to the spatial relation configured for the SRS resource indicated by the SRI field (see paras [0050]-[0051], [0108] of Lie).
Regarding Claim 35, Claim 35 has similar limitation as of Claim(s) 27, therefore it is rejected under the same reasons as Claim(s) 27.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WON JUN CHOI whose telephone number is (703)756-1695. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 08:00 - 17:00.
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/WON JUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2411
/DERRICK W FERRIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2411
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