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 statement (IDS) submitted is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
Claims 13-34 are pending, and claims 1-12 are canceled according to preliminary claim amendment filed on 12/17/2024.
Claim Objections
Claim 33 is objected to because of the following informalities: claim 33 should end the claim with a period “.”.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 13 – 34 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-3, 5, 7, 9 – 18 and 20 – 24 of U.S. Patent No. US12127270B2 in view of Lei et al. US 20200383141 A1, hereinafter Lei, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/856,683, filed Jun. 3, 2019 hereinafter Lei’683.
Instant Application 18/909379
U.S. Patent No. US12127270B2, hereinafter Pat’270
13. A wireless device configured to communicate with a network node, the wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to:
trigger a random access (RA) process;
select a first beam from a plurality of beams for the RA process, the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration, a characteristic of the selected first beam being determined to meet a predefined threshold;
perform the RA process associated with the two-step RA configuration using the selected first beam;
determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed when there is an absence of a response to a message A (msgA); and
in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, perform one of:
re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
retransmitting an uplink shared channel portion of the msgA as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
1. A wireless device configured to communicate with a network node, the wireless device comprising:
processing circuitry configured to:
trigger a random access (RA) process;
select a first beam for the RA process, the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration, a characteristic of the selected first beam being determined to meet a predefined threshold;
perform a two-step RA process associated with the two-step RA configuration using the selected first beam;
determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to determining the step of the two-step RA process has failed, retransmit an uplink shared channel portion of a message A, msgA, of the two-step RA process as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Pat’ 270 does not explicitly teach: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt (Lei: para. [0201] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter≤α·M; Lei’683: para. [0194]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Pat’ 270. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
14. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive system information; and
determine whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration.
2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive system information; and
determine whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, configuration.
15. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein at least one of:
a subset of the plurality of beams is associated with the two-step RA configuration;
the characteristic of the selected first beam is a channel quality and the predefined threshold is a channel quality threshold; and
the retransmitting of the uplink shared channel portion of the msgA is performed based at least in part on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams, the reselection including using contention-free RA resources configured for one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a synchronization signal block (SSB).
3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the selected first beam is selected from a plurality of beams, a subset of the plurality of beams being associated with the two-step RA configuration.
5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the selected first beam is a channel quality and the predefined threshold is a channel quality threshold.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the retransmission is performed based on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams, the reselection includes using contention-free RA resources configured for one of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, and synchronization signal block, SSB.
16. The wireless device of claim 15, wherein at least one of:
the subset of the plurality of beams is one of a subset of SSB beams and a set of CSI-RS beams, the subset of SSBs beams being associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA;
at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration; and
at least one of the subset of the plurality of beams is associated with contention based RA, the contention free RA being prioritized over the contention based RA.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the subset of the plurality of beams are one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks, SSBs, beams and a set of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, beams.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the subset of SSBs beams are associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration.
17. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the step of the two-step RA process has failed based at least in part on one of:
the absence of a response to the msgA;
receiving a random access response (RAR) message that includes fallback information; and
receiving a message B (msgB) containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
18. The wireless device of claim 17, wherein one of:
the fallback information includes an indication that the step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
the first information is contention resolution information.
7. The wireless device of claim 6, wherein the determination that the step of the two-step RA process has failed based on one of:
an absence of a response to the msgA;
receiving a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information; and
receiving a message B, msgB, containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
19. A method implemented by a wireless device that is configured to communicate with a network node, the method comprising:
triggering a random access (RA) process;
selecting a first beam from a plurality of beams for the RA process, the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration, a characteristic of the selected first beam being determined to meet a predefined threshold;
performing the RA process associated with the two-step RA configuration using the selected first beam;
determining that a step of the two-step RA process has failed when there is an absence of a response to a message A (msgA); and
in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, perform one of:
re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
retransmitting an uplink shared channel portion of a msgA as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
9. A method implemented by a wireless device that is configured to communicate with a network node, the method comprising:
triggering a random access (RA) process;
selecting a first beam for the RA process, the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration, a characteristic of the selected first beam being determined to meet a predefined threshold;
performing a two-step RA process associated with the two-step RA configuration using the selected first beam;
determining that a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to determining the step of the two-step RA process has failed, retransmitting an uplink shared channel portion of a message A, msgA, of the two-step RA process as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Pat’ 270 does not explicitly teach: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt (Lei: para. [0201] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter≤α·M; Lei’683: para. [0194]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Pat’ 270. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
receiving system information; and
determining whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving system information; and
determining whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, configuration.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one of:
the characteristic of the selected first beam is a channel quality and the predefined threshold is a channel quality threshold; and
the retransmitting of the uplink shared channel portion of the msgA is performed based at least in part on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams, the reselection including using contention-free RA resources configured for one of channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) and synchronization signal blocks (SSB).
5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the selected first beam is a channel quality and the predefined threshold is a channel quality threshold.
15. The method of claim 11, wherein the retransmission is performed based on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams, the reselection includes using contention-free RA resources configured for one of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, and synchronization signal block, SSB.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of:
a subset of the plurality of beams is associated with the two-step RA configuration;
a subset of the plurality of beams is associated with the two-step RA configuration; and
the subset of the plurality of beams being one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) beams and a set of channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beams.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the selected first beam is selected from a plurality of beams, a subset of the plurality of beams being associated with the two-step RA configuration.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the subset of the plurality of beams are one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks, SSBs, beams and a set of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, beams.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein at least one of:
the subset of SSBs beams is associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA;
at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration; and
at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration and at least one of the plurality of beams is associated with contention based RA, the contention free RA being prioritized over the contention based RA.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the subset of SSBs beams are associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration.
24. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed based at least in part on one of:
the absence of a response to the msgA;
receiving a random access response (RAR) message that includes fallback information; and
receiving a message B (msgB) containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein:
the fallback information includes an indication that the step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
the first information is contention resolution information.
7. The wireless device of claim 6, wherein the determination that the step of the two-step RA process has failed based on one of:
an absence of a response to the msgA;
receiving a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information; and
receiving a message B, msgB, containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
26. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to:
associate a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access (RA) configurations, a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration; and
perform an RA process using the first beam based at least in part on the two-step RA configuration associated with the first beam; and
one of:
receive a re-attempt to perform the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
receive a transmitted uplink shared channel portion of a message A (msgA) as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
16. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, the network node comprising:
processing circuitry configured to:
associate a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access, RA, configurations, a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration;
perform a two-step RA process using the first beam based on the two-step RA configuration associated with the first beam;
determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to the failed step of the two-step RA process, receive a retransmission of uplink shared channel portion of a message A, msgA, of the two-step RA process as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Pat’ 270 does not explicitly teach: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt (Lei: para. [0201] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter≤α·M; Lei’683: para. [0194]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Pat’ 270. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
27. The network node of claim 26, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to transmit system information, the system information indicating the plurality of RA configurations, a subset of the plurality of beams being associated with the two-step RA configuration.
17. The network node of claim 16, wherein one of:
the processing circuitry is further configured to transmit system information, the system information indicating the plurality of RA configurations; and
a subset of the plurality of beams are associated with the two-step RA configuration.
28. The network node of claim 27, wherein at least one of:
the subset of the plurality of beams is one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) beams and a set of channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beams;
the subset of SSBs beams is associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA; and
at least one of the subset of the plurality of beams is associated with contention based RA, the contention free RA being prioritized over the contention based RA.
18. The network node of claim 16, wherein one of:
the subset of the plurality of beams are one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks, SSBs, beams and a set of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, beams; and
the subset of SSBs beams are associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA.
29. The network node of claim 26, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
determine that the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to the determination that the two-step RA process has failed, one of:
transmit a random access response (RAR) message that includes fallback information; and
transmit a message B (msgB) containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
20. The network node of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to
in response to the determination that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, one of:
transmit a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information; and
transmit a message B, msgB, containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
30. A method implemented by a network node that is configured to communicate with a wireless device, the method comprising:
associating a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access (RA) configurations, a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration;
performing an RA process using the first beam based at least in part on the two-step RA configuration associated with the first beam;
receiving a re-attempt to perform the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
receiving a transmitted uplink shared channel portion of a message A (msgA) as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
21. A method implemented by a network node that is configured to communicate with a wireless device, the method comprising:
associating a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access, RA, configurations, a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration;
performing a two-step RA process using the first beam based on the two-step RA configuration associated with the first beam;
determining a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to the failed step of the two-step RA process, receiving a retransmission of uplink shared channel portion of a message A, msgA, of the two-step RA process as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Pat’ 270 does not explicitly teach: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt (Lei: para. [0201] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter≤α·M; Lei’683: para. [0194]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Pat’ 270. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
31. The method of claim 30, further comprising transmitting system information, the system information indicating the plurality of RA configurations, a subset of the plurality of beams being associated with the two-step RA configuration.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising transmitting system information, the system information indicating the plurality of RA configurations.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one of:
the subset of the plurality of beams is one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) beams and a set of channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) beams, the subset of SSBs beams being associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA;
at least one of the subset of the plurality of beams is associated with contention based RA, the contention free RA being prioritized over the contention based RA; and
at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein a subset of the plurality of beams are associated with the two-step RA configuration; and wherein the subset of the plurality of beams are one of a subset of synchronization signal blocks, SSBs, beams and a set of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, beams.
33. The method of claim 30, further comprising:
determining that a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, one of:
transmitting a random access response (RAR) message that includes fallback information; and
transmitting a message B (msgB) containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed;
34. The method of claim 33, wherein the fallback information includes an indication that the step of the two-step RA process has failed and the first information is contention resolution information.
24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
in response to the determination that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, transmitting a fallback random access response, RAR.
25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
in response to the determination that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, one of:
transmitting a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information; and
transmitting a message B, msgB, containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
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.
Claim(s) 13-15, 17-21, 24-27, 29-31 and 33-34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi et al. US 20220022267 A1, hereinafter Shi, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application 201910252536.5, filed on Mar. 29, 2019. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties (Shi: para. [0001]) in view of Lei et al. US 20200383141 A1, hereinafter Lei, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/856,683, filed Jun. 3, 2019 hereinafter Lei’683.
Regarding claim 13, Shi teaches a wireless device configured to communicate with a network node, the wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to:
trigger a random access (RA) process;
(Shi: Summary and para. [0299] and FIG. 5 a structure of a terminal device and FIG. 1, terminal device 50 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input/output apparatus. The processor is mainly configured to process a communications protocol and communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute a software program, and process data of the software program. For example, the processor is configured to support the terminal device)
select a first beam from a plurality of beams for the RA process, a characteristic of the selected first beam being determined to meet a predefined threshold;
(Shi: para. [0142 & 0211] On a terminal side, during random access, the terminal device may select a beam based on a threshold of a beam configured by the network device. If there is a beam that meets the threshold, the terminal device selects the beam that meets the threshold, to perform the random access)
perform the RA process associated with the two-step RA configuration using the selected first beam;
(Shi: para. [0200] terminal device may send the first information to the network device by using a message b in the 2-step random access. Para. [0203-0206] and Fig. 3 second information may include type indication. The type indication is a type of the first information requested by the network device. Optionally, the type may include one or more of a beam type, a UL type, a 2-step RACH type)
determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed; and
(Shi: para. [0179 & 0193] The random access failure of the terminal device may include one or more of a 2-step random access failure)
in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, perform one of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
retransmitting an uplink shared channel portion of the msgA as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Shi does not explicitly teach: the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration; determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed when there is an absence of a response to a message A (msgA); and in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, perform one of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: the selected first beam being associated with a two-step RA configuration (Lei: para. [0229] The beam component 1145 may transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure have a same or different preamble sequence size based on a spatial separation of the transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure. Para. [0191] a UE 115 may determine an association between one or more respective directional beams carrying SBBs 650 and one or more additional respective directional beams carrying the random access message (e.g., msgA) based in part on a RO index of one or more ROs. In some examples, a UE 115 may determine an association between one or more respective directional beams carrying SBBs 650 and one or more additional respective directional beams carrying the random access message (e.g., msgA) based in part on a preamble sequence of a random access preamble of the random access message (e.g., msgA; Lei’683: para. [0222 & 0184]).
determine that a step of the two-step RA process has failed when there is an absence of a response to a message A (msgA); and
(Lei: para. [0166] UE 115-a may monitor the PDCCH for a random access message transmission from the base station 105-a during a random access response window, which may be fixed or variable in size. For example, if the UE 115-a does not detect and receive a random access message transmission from the base station 105-a, the random access attempt may be declared as a failure and the random access procedure in FIG. 2 may repeat. Lei’683: para. [0159])
in response to determining that the step of the two-step RA process has failed, perform one of: re-attempting the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
(Lei: para. [0201 & 0223-0225 & 0034 & 0045-0046] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter <α.Math.M, the UE 115-b may use resources in a first resource set X. Lei’683: para. [0194 & 0216-0218 & 0040 & 0053-0054]) Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claim 14, Shi and Lei teach the wireless device of claim 13, and Shi does not explicitly teach: wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive system information; and determine whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive system information; and determine whether the selected first beam is associated with the two-step RA configuration based at least on the system information, the two-step RA configuration corresponding to a mapping of the selected first beam to a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configuration (Lei: para. [0209] UE communications manager 915 may determine a mapping between SSBs and a random access message of a two-step random access procedure based on an indication in system information signaling or RRC signaling, the random access message including a random access preamble and a random access payload, determine, based on the mapping, an association between one or more beams carrying the SSBs and one or more additional beams carrying the random access preamble and the random access payload of the random access message, and perform the two-step random access procedure with a base station. Para. [0179] a two-step random access procedure, transmission of a random access preamble on a PRACH and transmission of a PUSCH carrying a random access payload may occur over one or more occasions. For example, transmission of a random access preamble on a PRACH may occur over a RO, which may include time and frequency resources. In other examples, transmission of a PUSCH carrying a random access payload may occur over a PO, which may include time and frequency resources (e.g., a PURSH resource unit (PRU) including PUSCH resources and DMRS resources) ; Lei’683: para. [0202 & 0172]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claim 15, Shi and Lei teach the wireless device of claim 14, wherein at least one of: the characteristic of the selected first beam is a channel quality and the predefined threshold is a channel quality threshold; and (Shi: para. [0211], the first threshold may be used to select a beam whose measurement result (for example, signal strength or power) meets a preset condition, to perform the random access. For example, when the terminal device performs the random access, the terminal device may compare measured signal strength (for example, RSRP) of beams (SSBs and/or CSI-RSs) with the first threshold)
Shi does not explicitly teach: a subset of the plurality of beams is associated with the two-step RA configuration; the retransmitting of the uplink shared channel portion of the msgA is performed based at least in part on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams, the reselection including using contention-free RA resources configured for one of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) and a synchronization signal block (SSB).
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: a subset of the plurality of beams is associated with the two-step RA configuration (Lei: para. [0209] UE communications manager 915 may determine a mapping between SSBs and a random access message of a two-step random access procedure based on an indication in system information signaling or RRC signaling, the random access message including a random access preamble and a random access payload, determine, based on the mapping, an association between one or more beams carrying the SSBs and one or more additional beams carrying the random access preamble and the random access payload of the random access message, and perform the two-step random access procedure with a base station. Para. [0143] A UE 115 may determine a mapping between SSBs and a random access message, for example, relating to a two-step random access procedure; Lei’683: para. [0202 & 0136]);
the retransmission is performed based on reselection of a beam from the plurality of beams (Lei: para. [0200-0202] and FIG. 4 within an association pattern period of a two-step random access procedure, the random access message 405 (e.g., a random access preamble and a random access payload of the random access message 405) may be retransmitted multiple times by the UE 115-bThe UE 115-b may retransmit the random access message 405 as long as a retransmission counter is below a threshold (e.g., a maximum value configured by the base station 105-b). The base station 105-b and the UE 115-b may support a beam switch, for example, switching a respective directional beam (e.g., a receive beam of the base station 105-b and a transmit beam of the UE 115-b) for the random access message 405 retransmission. Para. [0201] based on an RRC state (e.g., RRC idle state, RRC inactive state), resources (e.g., pre-configured in time domain, frequency domain, space domain, code domains) used for a transmission and a retransmission of the random access message 405 can be different. For example, if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure; Lei’683: para. [0193-0195]), the reselection includes using contention-free RA resources (Lei: para. [0194] base station 105-b may determine to configure RO sharing based on one or more of a UE capability of the UE 115-b, a random access procedure fallback capability of the UE 115-b, a load balancing capability (e.g., for more efficient RO sharing), or a multiplexing of CFRA and CBRA; Lei’683: para. [0187]) configured for one of channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS, and synchronization signal block, SSB (Lei: para. [0202 & 0200-0201] The base station 105-b and the UE 115-b may support beam switching for a random access fallback procedure or a random access switch procedure from a two-step random access procedure to a four-step random access procedure. For example, when fallback for switch happens, the new transmission can start with msg1 or msg3 of four-step random access procedure. In some examples, beam switch may be enabled for the random access fallback procedure or the random access switch procedure. For example, when the new transmission starts with msg3 of a four-step random access procedure, the beam switching can be ordered via downlink control information (DCI) by the base station 105-b. Alternatively, when the new transmission starts with msg1 of a four-step random access procedure, the beam switching can be pre-configured based on the association rule between SSB and RO; Lei’683: para. [0193-0195]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claim 17, Shi and Lei teach the wireless device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the step of the two-step RA process has failed (Shi: para. [0186 & 0193] The random access failure of the terminal device may include one or more of a 2-step random access failure, a 4-step random access failure, a dedicated random access channel (RACH) resource random access failure, or a common RACH resource random access failure. Para. [0193] The fallback indication information may be used to indicate the terminal device to fall back (fallback) from the 2-step random access to 4-step random access. For example, the terminal device first fails to perform the 2-step random access, and then falls back to perform the 4-step random access) based on one of: receiving a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information; and receiving a message B, msgB, containing first information indicating that the step of the two-step RA process has failed.
(Shi: para. [0193] fallback indication information may be used to indicate the terminal device to fall back (fallback) from the 2-step random access to 4-step random access. For example, the terminal device first fails to perform the 2-step random access, and then falls back to perform the 4-step random access)
and Shi does not explicitly teaches: an absence of a response to the msgA;
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: determine the step of the two-step RA process has failed based on one of: an absence of a response to the msgA (Lei: para. [0166] base station 105-a may transmit the random access message 210, which may be scheduled on a PDCCH using an identity reserved for random access messaging, for example, an RA-RNTI. The UE 115-a may monitor the PDCCH to detect and receive a random access message (e.g., the random access message 210). The UE 115-a may monitor the PDCCH for a random access message transmission from the base station 105-a during a random access response window, which may be fixed or variable in size. For example, if the UE 115-a does not detect and receive a random access message transmission from the base station 105-a, the random access attempt may be declared as a failure and the random access procedure in FIG. 2 may repeat; Lei’683: para. [0159]); receiving a random access response, RAR, message that includes fallback information;
(Lei: para. [0172] base station 105-b may transmit a single message, such as a random access response message 410 (also referred to herein as msgB) in response to the random access message 405. Para. [0173] base station 105-b and the UE 115-b may commence with one random access procedure (e.g., a two-step random access procedure) and fallback to another random access procedure (e.g., a four-step random access procedure), if needed. The base station 105-b may select or assign a priority to a random access procedure based on a condition (e.g., a traffic type, a network load). For example, the base station 105-b may configure to use a four-step random access procedure over a two-step random access procedure for certain scenarios (e.g., a traffic load, a link quality measurement, a system load, a quality of service (QoS), etc.) to reduce an overhead because the base station 105-b may have to provision for msgA resources for two-step random access that may involve a larger overhead compared to msg1 transmissions with a four-step random access procedure. Lei’683: para. [0165-0166]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claim 18, Shi and Lei teach the wireless device of claim 17, wherein one of:
the fallback information includes an indication that the step of the two-step RA process has failed; and (Shi: para. [0193] fallback indication information may be used to indicate the terminal device to fall back (fallback) from the 2-step random access to 4-step random access. For example, the terminal device first fails to perform the 2-step random access, and then falls back to perform the 4-step random access)
Shi does not explicitly teach: the first information is contention resolution information.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: the first information is contention resolution information. (Lei: para. [0167-0168 & 0206] random access message 210 may include a UE identifier for contention resolution. Lei’683: para. [0160-0161 & 0199]) Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claims 19-21 and 24-25, Shi teaches a method implemented by a wireless device that is configured to communicate with a network node, the method comprising: (Shi: Summary and para. [0299] and FIG. 5 a structure of a terminal device and FIG. 1, terminal device 50 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input/output apparatus. The processor is mainly configured to process a communications protocol and communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute a software program, and process data of the software program. For example, the processor is configured to support the terminal device), and Shi and Lei teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claims 13-15 and 17-18, and therefore method claims 19-21 and 24-25, are rejected using the same rationales.
Regarding claim 26, Shi teaches a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to:
(Shi: Summary and para. [0305-0307] base station 60 includes BBU 602 further includes a memory 6021 and a processor 6022)
a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration; and (Shi: para. [0205-0207] network device may carry the second information to a data frame by using a data plane, and send the second information to the terminal device. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. [0206] second information may include type indication. The type indication is a type of the first information requested by the network device. Optionally, the type may include one or more of a beam type, a UL type, a beam failure recovery (BFR) type, a 2-step RACH type, a 4-step RACH type, a dedicated RACH resource type, a common RACH resource type, an on demand system information (ondemandSI) type, or an RRC connection setup type)
perform an RA process using the first beam (Shi: para. [0142] For example, the beam is used as an example to describe the random access procedure. On a terminal side, during random access, the terminal device may select a beam based on a threshold of a beam configured by the network device. If there is a beam that meets the threshold, the terminal device selects the beam that meets the threshold, to perform the random access) based at least in part on the two-step RA configuration associated with the first beam; and (Shi: para. [0200] terminal device may send the first information to the network device by using a message b in the 2-step random access. Para. [0203-0206] and Fig. 3 second information may include type indication. The type indication is a type of the first information requested by the network device. Optionally, the type may include one or more of a beam type, a UL type, a 2-step RACH type)
one of:
receive a re-attempt to perform the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
receive a transmitted uplink shared channel portion of a message A (msgA) as an uplink shared channel message in a four step RA process.
It is noted that Shi does not explicitly teach: associate a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access (RA) configurations; and
one of:
receive a re-attempt to perform the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: associate a plurality of beams with a plurality of random access (RA) configurations, a first beam of the plurality of beams being associated with a two-step RA configuration; (Lei: para. [0229] The beam component 1145 may transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure have a same or different preamble sequence size based on a spatial separation of the transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure. Para. [0191] a UE 115 may determine an association between one or more respective directional beams carrying SBBs 650 and one or more additional respective directional beams carrying the random access message (e.g., msgA) based in part on a RO index of one or more ROs. In some examples, a UE 115 may determine an association between one or more respective directional beams carrying SBBs 650 and one or more additional respective directional beams carrying the random access message (e.g., msgA) based in part on a preamble sequence of a random access preamble of the random access message (e.g., msgA; Lei’683: para. [0222 & 0184]).
one of:
receive a re-attempt to perform the two-step RA process based at least in part on a counter that is incremented after each two-step RA re-attempt; and (Lei: para. [0201 & 0223-0225 & 0034 & 0045-0046] if the random access message 405 is allowed to be retransmitted M times within an association pattern period of the two-step random access procedure, when 1≤retx counter <α.Math.M, the UE 115-b may use resources in a first resource set X. Lei’683: para. [0194 & 0216-0218 & 0040 & 0053-0054]) Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Regarding claims 27 and 29, Shi and Lei teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claims 14 and 17, and therefore apparatus claims 27 and 29 are rejected using the same rationales.
Regarding claims 30-31 and 33-34, Shi teaches a method implemented by a network node that is configured to communicate with a wireless device, the method comprising: (Shi: Summary and para. [0305-0307] base station 60 includes BBU 602 further includes a memory 6021 and a processor 6022), and Shi and Lei teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claims 13-15 and 17-18, and therefore method claims 30-31 and 33-34, are rejected using the same rationales.
Claim(s) 16, 22-23, 28 and 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shi and Lei as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Jeon et al. US 20200351955 A1 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/842,344, filed May 2, 2019, hereinafter Jeon’344.
Regarding claim 16, Shi and Lei teach the wireless device of claim 15, wherein at least one of: the subset of the plurality of beams is one of a subset of SSB beams and a set of CSI-RS beams,
(Shi: para. [0158] identifier information of the associated beam may be used to distinguish whether the associated beam is an SSB beam and/or a CSI-RS beam)
Shi does not explicitly teach: at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration; and
at least one of the subset of the plurality of beams is associated with contention based RA, the contention free RA being prioritized over the contention based RA.
However, Lei from the same or similar fields of endeavor teaches the use of: at least one other beam of the plurality of beams is not associated with the two-step RA configuration; and (Lei: para. [0229 & 0032] beam component 1145 may transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure have a same or different preamble sequence size based on a spatial separation of the transmit beams mapped to the random access preamble of the two-step random access procedure and the random access message of the four-step random access procedure.; Lei’683: para. [0222 & 0037]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Lei in the apparatus of Shi. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for support robustness for beam association and improvement in random access messaging, among other advantages (Lei: para. [0149 & 0159, & 0161 & 0170 & 0185]), and improved resource usage and allocation for random access messaging, improved reliability for random access messaging and, in some examples, may promote low latency for random access procedures, among other benefits (Lei: para. [0006 & 0110]).
Shi and Lei do not explicitly teach: the subset of SSBs beams being associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA.
However, Jeon from the same or similar fields of endeavor teach the use of: the subset of SSBs beams being associated with contention free RA resources for contention free RA (Jeon: para. [0375] The mask may be valid for one or more SSB resources signaled in ssb-ResourceList. rach-ConfigGeneric may indicate a configuration of contention free random access occasions for the CFRA procedure. ssb-perRACH-Occasion may indicate a number of SSBs per RACH occasion. ra-PreambleIndex may indicate a preamble index that a wireless device may employ when performing CFRA upon selecting the candidate beams identified by this SSB. ssb in RACH-ConfigDedicated may indicate an identifier (e.g., ID) of an SSB transmitted by this serving cell; Jeon’344: para. [00223]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use Jeon in the apparatus of Shi and Lei. One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to do so for UE may change a location of receive and/or transmit bandwidths in a frequency domain, e.g. to increase scheduling flexibility. For example, a UE may change a subcarrier spacing, e.g. to allow different services (Jeon: para. [0264]).
Regarding claims 22-23, Shi, Lei and Jeon teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claim 16, and therefore method claims 22-23 are rejected using the same rationales.
Regarding claim 28, Shi, Lei and Jeon teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claim 16, and therefore apparatus claim 28 is rejected using the same rationales.
Regarding claim 32, Shi, Lei and Jeonr teach all the limitations as discussed in the rejection of claim 16, and therefore apparatus claim32 is rejected using the same rationales.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please also see PTO-892.
Yu et al. US 11483054 B2 teaches UE may determine a new candidate beam index for the first SCell based on the SCell BFR configuration. In one implementation, to determine the new candidate beam, the UE may determine the new candidate beam by selecting one NBI reference signal from the resource list for NBI based on a predetermined rule (e.g., based on an index of the NBI reference signals).
Murray et al. US 20200275319 A1 teaches select the best beam pair between a UE and its serving cell, which can be used for control signaling or data transmission. In some embodiments, the best beam pair may include a beam pair above a predetermined threshold.
Akoum et al. US 9949298 B1 teaches receiving, from a mobile device, a message indicating first beam information for a selected first beam of beams associated with the base station device, wherein the message is a first received message of a random access channel procedure.
Xiong et al. US 20220150956 A1 in para. [0099] teaches the two-step random access configuration information may include at least one of: [0100] a two-step PRACH configuration period (P_2STEPRACH); [0101] a two-step random access opportunity time unit index, such as a slot index, a symbol index, a subframe index.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WUTCHUNG CHU whose telephone number is (571)272-4064. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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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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/WUTCHUNG CHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2418
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