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 .
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.
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 1-8, 14, 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pocovi et al. (US20230354437A1) in view of Noh et al. (WO2025174143A1).
Regarding claim 1, Pocovi teaches a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more computer-executable instructions for controlling random access (RAR) preamble transmission; and at least one processor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, and configured to execute the one or more computer-executable instructions to cause the UE to (Paragraph [0108]: FIG. 11 further illustrates an example of an apparatus 20, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, apparatus 20 may be a node or element in a communications network or associated with such a network, such as a UE. Paragraph [0112]: Apparatus 20 may further include or be coupled to a memory 24 (internal or external), which may be coupled to processor 22, for storing information and instructions that may be executed by processor 22. For example, memory 24 can be comprised of any combination of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), static storage such as a magnetic or optical disk, hard disk drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable media. The instructions stored in memory 24 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor 22, enable the apparatus 20 to perform tasks as described herein. Paragraph [0006]: The method can further include performing random access transmission to the network on the selected set of symbols or slots based on one of the plurality of random access channel configurations. Paragraph [0032]: in a first step, the UE can first transmit a preamble in what is called message one (Msg1).)
receive, from a base station (BS), a message comprising a random access channel (RACH) resource configuration comprising: a first random access (RA) configuration comprising a first plurality of parameter sets for configuring legacy random access channel occasions (ROs) not within a subband full duplex (SBFD) region in time domain, and a second RA configuration comprising a second plurality of parameter sets for configuring additional ROs within the SBFD region in time domain (Paragraph [0026]: Certain embodiments relate to ways of handling inter-user equipment (UE) cross-link interference (CLI) in flexible duplexing (FDU). Paragraph [0028]: What is referred to as flexible duplexing may also be referred to as cross-division duplexing (xDD) or sub-band full duplex (SBFD). Paragraph [0046]: In certain embodiments, the UE may be provided with at least two RACH configurations, which may imply that RACH on FDU symbols/slots is possible. The first configuration can be used for UL slots whereas the second configuration can be used for FDU slots. Paragraph [0057]: In one alternative, when two RACH configurations are provided, in SIB1 message for SA or RRCConnectionReconfiguration for NSA, the UE can interpret that the first configuration provided is associated to ROs on UL slots/symbols whereas the second configuration is associated to ROs on FDU slots/symbols, or vice versa. In another alternative, the second RACH configuration may be explicitly associated to FDU slots/symbols, for example via a new IE type or new parameter inside the second RACH-ConfigGeneric.)
and at a time instant, select one of the first RA configuration or the second RA configuration for the RAR preamble transmission (Paragraph [0032]: For contention-based RA, the four steps may be as follows: in a first step, the UE can first transmit a preamble in what is called message one (Msg1). Paragraph [0049]: If a priority indication is not signalled, the UE may freely select between the two RACH configurations. Paragraph [0061]: Based on the received configuration, once a random access procedure is triggered at the UE at 810, the FDU-aware UE, yes path of 815, can proceed to determine a RO for Msg1 transmission. Paragraph [0094]: The method can also include, at 1090, transmitting a first message one transmission.)
Pocovi does not explicitly teach to determine a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determine a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets.
However, Noh teaches to determine a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determine a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets (Page 38, Paragraph 19-20: Figure 19 illustrates RO settings by legacy RACH settings and RO settings by additional RACH settings. Referring to FIG. 19, legacy ROs (ROs within non-SBFD symbols and/or ROs within SBFD symbols indicated by F (flexible)) are set /indicated by legacy RACH settings, and additional ROs (ROs within SBFD symbols) are set/indicated by additional RACH settings. Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5: According to the legacy RO group rules, if an RO group is formed based on a rule that specifies a valid RO, it naturally becomes RO group type 1. If the SBFD operation is performed by combining two RO sets configured/indicated through the legacy RACH setting and the additional RACH setting, RO group type 2 is formed/indicated according to the legacy RO group rules. Additionally, AdditionalRACH-Config and RACH-Config/RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA_R19 can indicate feature combinations via the FeatureCombinationPreamble IE. Since RACH partition configuration through RO configuration is performed through AdditionalRACH-Config and FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, and RACH partition configuration through preamble partitioning is performed through FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, AdditionalRACH-Config is grouped into Feature Combination. The preamble splitting operation can be performed, for example, as follows: Let us assume that preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31) are used by legacy UEs, and preambles X+1 (e.g., 32) to 63 are used by SBFD UEs. In this case, when SBFD operation and PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) are applied, the legacy UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs in non-SBFD symbols with preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31). On the other hand, the SBFD UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs configured in SBFD symbols with preambles X+1 (e. g., 32) to 63.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to determine a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determine a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets, as taught by Noh in the system of Pocovi, so that the UE can perform PRACH transmission using the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols or non-SBFD symbols based on whether it is a SBFD UE or legacy UE (Noh: Page 38, Paragraph 19-20; Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more computer-executable instructions to cause the UE to: (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches to transmit the RAR preamble using the selected RA configuration (Paragraph [0032]: For contention-based RA, the four steps may be as follows: in a first step, the UE can first transmit a preamble in what is called message one (Msg1). Paragraph [0049]: If a priority indication is not signalled, the UE may freely select between the two RACH configurations. Paragraph [0061]: Based on the received configuration, once a random access procedure is triggered at the UE at 810, the FDU-aware UE, yes path of 815, can proceed to determine a RO for Msg1 transmission. Paragraph [0094]: The method can also include, at 1090, transmitting a first message one transmission.)
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the message comprising the RACH resource configuration is received from the BS in radio resource control (RRC) signaling (Paragraph [0056]: FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram of operations according to certain embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates operations and a UE-gNB signaling diagram. As shown in FIG. 7 , first, the UE may be provided with two RACH configurations via RRC signaling. This may be achieved by providing a second RACH-ConfigGeneric IE as part of RACH-ConfigCommon.)
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 3 (see rejection for claim 3);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the RACH resource configuration is defined in an information element (IE) in the RRC signaling (Paragraph [0056]: FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram of operations according to certain embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates operations and a UE-gNB signaling diagram. As shown in FIG. 7 , first, the UE may be provided with two RACH configurations via RRC signaling. This may be achieved by providing a second RACH-ConfigGeneric IE as part of RACH-ConfigCommon.)
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 3 (see rejection for claim 3);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the RACH resource configuration is included in a system information block type 1 (SIB1) (Paragraph [0056]: FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram of operations according to certain embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates operations and a UE-gNB signaling diagram. As shown in FIG. 7 , first, the UE may be provided with two RACH configurations via RRC signaling. This may be achieved by providing a second RACH-ConfigGeneric IE as part of RACH-ConfigCommon. This information may be broadcast to all the UEs in the cell via a system information block one (SIB1) message.)
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the RAR preamble is a RAR msg1 (Paragraph [0032]: For contention-based RA, the four steps may be as follows: in a first step, the UE can first transmit a preamble in what is called message one (Msg1). Paragraph [0049]: If a priority indication is not signalled, the UE may freely select between the two RACH configurations. Paragraph [0061]: Based on the received configuration, once a random access procedure is triggered at the UE at 810, the FDU-aware UE, yes path of 815, can proceed to determine a RO for Msg1 transmission. Paragraph [0094]: The method can also include, at 1090, transmitting a first message one transmission.)
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the RAR preamble is a physical random access channel (PRACH) (Paragraph [0032]: For contention-based RA, the four steps may be as follows: in a first step, the UE can first transmit a preamble in what is called message one (Msg1). Paragraph [0058]: A RACH configuration, for example the second configuration associated with FDU resources, may include one or more parameters to steer the UE to select one or another RO. These parameters may include an indication to the FDU-aware UEs, which can detect the second RACH configuration, to prioritize PRACH/Msg1 transmissions on the FDU slots using the second RACH configuration. Paragraph [0070]: then at 845, the UE may transmit PRACH preamble.)
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches wherein the RACH resource configuration is a RACH-ConfigCommon information element (IE) (Paragraph [0038]: The UE behavior for random access can be based on the settings and values indicated in RACH-ConfigCommon and RACH-ConfigGeneric information elements (IEs). Paragraph [0041]: In a first step, the UE can receive the RACH configuration from the network, for example in RACH-ConfigCommon and RACH-ConfigGeneric. Paragraph [0056]: FIG. 7 illustrates a signaling diagram of operations according to certain embodiments. More specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates operations and a UE-gNB signaling diagram. As shown in FIG. 7 , first, the UE may be provided with two RACH configurations via RRC signaling. This may be achieved by providing a second RACH-ConfigGeneric IE as part of RACH-ConfigCommon.)
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi further teaches wherein: the RACH resource configuration comprises a set of one or more RA configurations other than the second RA configuration, each RA configuration in the set of one or more RA configurations comprising a plurality of parameter sets for configuring the additional ROs within the SBFD region in time domain (Paragraph [0046]: In certain embodiments, the UE may be provided with at least two RACH configurations, which may imply that RACH on FDU symbols/slots is possible. The first configuration can be used for UL slots whereas the second configuration can be used for FDU slots. Paragraph [0057]: In one alternative, when two RACH configurations are provided, in SIB1 message for SA or RRCConnectionReconfiguration for NSA, the UE can interpret that the first configuration provided is associated to ROs on UL slots/symbols whereas the second configuration is associated to ROs on FDU slots/symbols, or vice versa. In another alternative, the second RACH configuration may be explicitly associated to FDU slots/symbols, for example via a new IE type or new parameter inside the second RACH-ConfigGeneric.)
Regarding claim 15, Pocovi teaches a method of controlling random access (RAR) preamble transmission for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a base station (BS), a message comprising a random access channel (RACH) resource configuration comprising: a first random access (RA) configuration comprising a first plurality of parameter sets for configuring legacy random access channel occasions (ROs) not within a subband full duplex (SBFD) region in time domain, and a second RA configuration comprising a second plurality of parameter sets for configuring additional ROs within the SBFD region in time domain; and at a time instant, selecting one of the first RA configuration or the second RA configuration for the RAR preamble transmission (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi does not explicitly teach determining a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determining a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets.
However, Noh teaches determining a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determining a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets (see rejection for claim 1);
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide determining a preamble partitioning of the legacy ROs using a first parameter set in the first plurality of parameter sets; determining a preamble partitioning of the additional ROs using a second parameter set in the second plurality of parameter sets, as taught by Noh in the system of Pocovi, so that the UE can perform PRACH transmission using the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols or non-SBFD symbols based on whether it is a SBFD UE or legacy UE (Noh: Page 38, Paragraph 19-20; Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5).
Claims 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pocovi et al. (US20230354437A1) in view of Noh et al. (WO2025174143A1), and further in view of Kim (US20260039437A1).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
Pocovi does not explicitly teach wherein: the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, and the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises a different structure than the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE.
However, Noh teaches the RA configuration is a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE (Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5: According to the legacy RO group rules, if an RO group is formed based on a rule that specifies a valid RO, it naturally becomes RO group type 1. If the SBFD operation is performed by combining two RO sets configured/indicated through the legacy RACH setting and the additional RACH setting, RO group type 2 is formed/indicated according to the legacy RO group rules. Additionally, AdditionalRACH-Config and RACH-Config/RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA_R19 can indicate feature combinations via the FeatureCombinationPreamble IE. Since RACH partition configuration through RO configuration is performed through AdditionalRACH-Config and FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, and RACH partition configuration through preamble partitioning is performed through FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, AdditionalRACH-Config is grouped into Feature Combination. The preamble splitting operation can be performed, for example, as follows: Let us assume that preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31) are used by legacy UEs, and preambles X+1 (e.g., 32) to 63 are used by SBFD UEs. In this case, when SBFD operation and PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) are applied, the legacy UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs in non-SBFD symbols with preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31). On the other hand, the SBFD UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs configured in SBFD symbols with preambles X+1 (e. g., 32) to 63.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the RA configuration is a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, as taught by Noh in the system of Pocovi, so that feature combinations can be indicated via the FeatureCombinationPreambles IE (Noh: Paragraph 19-20; Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5).
The combination of Pocovi and Noh does not explicitly teach the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, and the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises a different structure than the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE.
However, Kim teaches the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, and the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises a different structure than the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE (Paragraph [0303]: RACH-ConfigCommon comprises RACH-ConfigGeneric (IE for RA generic configuration) and featureCombinationPreamblesList and other RA parameters. Paragraph [0305]: RA triggered for a specific feature combination uses specific subset of ROs determined from the set of ROs and specific subset of preambles. Those specific subset of ROs and specific subset of preambles are determined based on corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles IE and other IEs. Paragraphs [0307] - [0309]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList: >: If sbdfEnabled (A500) is comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, both default-RO(s) and sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA. >: If sbdfEnabled is not comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, only default-RO(s) are available for the RA. Paragraph [0310]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList2 (A400), only sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA. Also see Table 1 and Table 3.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, and the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises a different structure than the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, as taught by Kim in the combined system of Pocovi and Noh, so that the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles in the RA configuration can indicate based on whether the sbdfEnabled field is present or absent, which Ro(s) are available for the RA (Kim: Paragraphs [0303], [0305], [0307] - [0310], Table 1, Table 3).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Pocovi, Noh, and Kim teaches the UE of claim 9 (see rejection for claim 9);
Pocovi does not explicitly teach wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises an RA configuration indicator comprising one or more bits indicating whether the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs.
However, Noh teaches FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs (Page 38, Paragraph 19-20: Figure 19 illustrates RO settings by legacy RACH settings and RO settings by additional RACH settings. Referring to FIG. 19, legacy ROs (ROs within non-SBFD symbols and/or ROs within SBFD symbols indicated by F (flexible)) are set /indicated by legacy RACH settings, and additional ROs (ROs within SBFD symbols) are set/indicated by additional RACH settings. Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5: According to the legacy RO group rules, if an RO group is formed based on a rule that specifies a valid RO, it naturally becomes RO group type 1. If the SBFD operation is performed by combining two RO sets configured/indicated through the legacy RACH setting and the additional RACH setting, RO group type 2 is formed/indicated according to the legacy RO group rules. Additionally, AdditionalRACH-Config and RACH-Config/RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA_R19 can indicate feature combinations via the FeatureCombinationPreamble IE. Since RACH partition configuration through RO configuration is performed through AdditionalRACH-Config and FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, and RACH partition configuration through preamble partitioning is performed through FeatureCombinationPreamble IE, AdditionalRACH-Config is grouped into Feature Combination. The preamble splitting operation can be performed, for example, as follows: Let us assume that preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31) are used by legacy UEs, and preambles X+1 (e.g., 32) to 63 are used by SBFD UEs. In this case, when SBFD operation and PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) are applied, the legacy UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs in non-SBFD symbols with preambles 0 to X (e.g., 31). On the other hand, the SBFD UE performs PRACH transmission (including PRACH repetition) using only ROs configured in SBFD symbols with preambles X+1 (e. g., 32) to 63.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide that FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs, as taught by Noh in the system of Pocovi, so that the UE can perform PRACH transmission using the ROs configured in the SBFD symbols or non-SBFD symbols based on whether it is a SBFD UE or legacy UE (Noh: Page 38, Paragraph 19-20; Page 39, Paragraphs 1-5).
The combination of Pocovi and Noh does not explicitly teach wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises an RA configuration indicator comprising one or more bits indicating whether the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs.
However, Kim teaches wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises an RA configuration indicator comprising one or more bits indicating whether the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs (Paragraph [0410]: As a consequence of selecting set of random access resource, UE determines, for the random access procedure, a specific RACH-ConfigCommon and a specific featureCombinationPreambles. Based on the selected RACH-ConfigCommon and selected featureCombinationPreambles, UE determines ROs for preamble transmission. Paragraph [0412]: Each rectangular represents a RO. In case that the RACH-ConfigCommon comprises3 featureCombiantionPreambles, ROs associated with feature combinations occur as in E700. Paragraphs [0417] – [0424]: >: In case that: >>: the specific RACH-ConfigCommon is associated with additional-ROs (e.g. sbfd-RACH-Config is comprised); and >>: the specific featureCombinationPreamble is not allowed to use additional-ROs (e.g. sbfdEnabled is not comprised), >: only default-ROs are available for the set of random access resources (available for random access procedure for which the set of random access resources are selected). FC2 in the figure corresponds to this case. >: In case that: >>: the specific RACH-ConfigCommon is associated with additional-ROs (e.g. sbfd-RACH-Config is comprised); and >>: the specific featureCombinationPreamble is not allowed to use default-ROs (or allowed to use only additional ROs) (e.g. featureCombinationPreambles in the new list), >: only additional-ROs are available for the set of random access resources (available for random access procedure for which the set of random access resources are selected). FC3 in the figure corresponds to this case. UE.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises an RA configuration indicator comprising one or more bits indicating whether the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE is defining a preamble partitioning for the legacy ROs or the additional ROs, as taught by Kim in the combined system of Pocovi and Noh, so that Based on the selected featureCombinationPreambles, the UE can determine ROs for preamble transmission (Kim: Paragraphs [0410], [0412], [0417] - [0424]).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Pocovi, Noh, and Kim teaches the UE of claim 10 (see rejection for claim 10);
The combination of Pocovi and Noh does not explicitly teach wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE further comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index.
However, Kim teaches wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE further comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index (Paragraph [0305]: RA triggered for a specific feature combination uses specific subset of ROs determined from the set of ROs and specific subset of preambles. Those specific subset of ROs and specific subset of preambles are determined based on corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles IE and other IEs. Paragraph [0311]: Table 1˜4 explain parameters in the RACH-ConfigCommon.
Table 1:
totalNumberOfRA-Preambles Total number of preambles used for contention based and contention free 4-step or 2-step random access in the RACH resources defined in RACH-ConfigCommon, excluding preambles used for other purposes (e.g. for SI request). If the field is absent, all 64 preambles are available for RA. The setting should be consistent with the setting of ssb perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB, i.e. it should be a multiple of the number of SSBs per RACH occasion.
ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB The meaning of this field is twofold: the CHOICE conveys the information about the number of SSBs per RACH occasion. Value oneEighth corresponds to one SSB associated with 8 RACH occasions, value oneFourth corresponds to one SSB associated with 4 RACH occasions, and so on. The ENUMERATED part indicates the number of Contention Based preambles per SSB. Value n4 corresponds to 4 Contention Based preambles per SSB, value n8 corresponds to 8 Contention Based preambles per SSB, and so on. The total number of CB preambles in a RACH occasion is given by CB-preambles-per-SSB * max(1, SSB-per rach-occasion)
Table 3:
featureCombination Indicates which combination of features that the preambles indicated by this IE are associated with. The UE ignores a RACH resource defined by this FeatureCombinationPreambles if any feature within the featureCombination is not supported by the UE or if any of the spare fields within the featureCombination is set to true.
numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition It determines how many consecutive preambles are associated to the Feature Combination starting from the starting preamble(s) per SSB.
startPreambleForThisPartition It defines the first preamble associated with the Feature Combination)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE further comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index, as taught by Kim in the combined system of Pocovi and Noh, so that the number of contention based preambles available for the UE is determined from the set of ROs and specific set of preambles (Kim: Paragraphs [0305], [0311], Table 1, Table 3).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Pocovi, Noh, and Kim teaches the UE of claim 9 (see rejection for claim 9);
The combination of Pocovi and Noh does not explicitly teach wherein the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index.
HJowever, Kim teaches wherein the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index (Paragraph [0305]: RA triggered for a specific feature combination uses specific subset of ROs determined from the set of ROs and specific subset of preambles. Those specific subset of ROs and specific subset of preambles are determined based on corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles IE and other IEs. Paragraph [0306]: The specific subset of ROs may comprise only default-RO(s) or only sbfd-RO(s) or both default-RO(s) and sbfd-RO(s). Paragraphs [0307] - [0309]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList: >: If sbdfEnabled (A500) is comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, both default-RO(s) and sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA. >: If sbdfEnabled is not comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, only default-RO(s) are available for the RA. Paragraph [0310]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList2 (A400), only sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA. Paragraph [0311]: Table 1˜4 explain parameters in the RACH-ConfigCommon.
Table 1:
totalNumberOfRA-Preambles Total number of preambles used for contention based and contention free 4-step or 2-step random access in the RACH resources defined in RACH-ConfigCommon, excluding preambles used for other purposes (e.g. for SI request). If the field is absent, all 64 preambles are available for RA. The setting should be consistent with the setting of ssb perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB, i.e. it should be a multiple of the number of SSBs per RACH occasion.
ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB The meaning of this field is twofold: the CHOICE conveys the information about the number of SSBs per RACH occasion. Value oneEighth corresponds to one SSB associated with 8 RACH occasions, value oneFourth corresponds to one SSB associated with 4 RACH occasions, and so on. The ENUMERATED part indicates the number of Contention Based preambles per SSB. Value n4 corresponds to 4 Contention Based preambles per SSB, value n8 corresponds to 8 Contention Based preambles per SSB, and so on. The total number of CB preambles in a RACH occasion is given by CB-preambles-per-SSB * max(1, SSB-per rach-occasion)
Table 3:
featureCombination Indicates which combination of features that the preambles indicated by this IE are associated with. The UE ignores a RACH resource defined by this FeatureCombinationPreambles if any feature within the featureCombination is not supported by the UE or if any of the spare fields within the featureCombination is set to true.
numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition It determines how many consecutive preambles are associated to the Feature Combination starting from the starting preamble(s) per SSB.
startPreambleForThisPartition It defines the first preamble associated with the Feature Combination)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE comprises: a preamble start index IE indicating a starting RA preamble index reserved as contention-based random access (CBRA) for feature indication, and a number of preambles indicating a number of RA preambles reserved as CBRA for feature indication, starting from the starting RA preamble index, as taught by Kim in the combined system of Pocovi and Noh, so that the number of contention based preambles available for the UE is determined from the set of ROs and specific set of preambles (Kim: Paragraphs [0305], [0306], [0307] – [0309], [0311], Table 1, Table 3).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Pocovi and Noh teaches the UE of claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1);
The combination of Pocovi and Noh does not explicitly teach wherein: the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, a name of the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the legacy ROs, and a name of second first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the additional ROs.
However, Kim teaches wherein: the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, a name of the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the legacy ROs, and a name of second first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the additional ROs (Paragraph [0303]: RACH-ConfigCommon comprises RACH-ConfigGeneric (IE for RA generic configuration) and featureCombinationPreamblesList and other RA parameters. Paragraph [0305]: RA triggered for a specific feature combination uses specific subset of ROs determined from the set of ROs and specific subset of preambles. Those specific subset of ROs and specific subset of preambles are determined based on corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles IE and other IEs. Paragraphs [0307] - [0309]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList: >: If sbdfEnabled (A500) is comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, both default-RO(s) and sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA. >: If sbdfEnabled is not comprised in the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles, only default-RO(s) are available for the RA. Paragraph [0310]: For FeatureCombinationPreambles in featureCombinationPreambleList2 (A400), only sbfd-RO(s) are available for the RA.
Table 1:
FeatureCombinationPreambles The IE FeatureCombinationPreambles associates a set of preambles with a feature combination.
Table 3:
featureCombination Indicates which combination of features that the preambles indicated by this IE are associated with. The UE ignores a RACH resource defined by this FeatureCombinationPreambles if any feature within the featureCombination is not supported by the UE or if any of the spare fields within the featureCombination is set to true.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein: the first RA configuration is a first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, the second RA configuration is a second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE, a name of the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the legacy ROs, and a name of second first FeatureCombinationPreambles IE identifying the second FeatureCombinationPreambles IE as a FeatureCombinationPreambles IE associated with the additional ROs, as taught by Kim in the combined system of Pocovi and Noh, so that the corresponding FeatureCombinationPreambles in the RA configuration can determine which Ro(s) are available for the RA (Kim: Paragraphs [0303], [0305], [0307] - [0310], Table 1, Table 3).
Conclusion
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/L.C./Examiner, Art Unit 2461
/HUY D VU/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2461
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