DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to an application filing received January 03, 2025. The Application Data Sheet received on January 03, 2025, has been considered.
Claim 1 is pending.
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 filed January 03, 2025, fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered. This objection specifically refers to all the Non-Patent Literature documents and Foreign Patent Documents that are lined through and were not considered because they did not have a copy.
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.
Claim 1, of Instant Application are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, of U.S. Patent No. 12,225,592.
Regarding claim 1, the claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12, 225,592 discloses
the claim 1. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claim 1 is anticipated by claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 12, 225,592.
U.S. Patent No. 12,225,592.
Instant Application
1. A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving, from a base station, random access configuration information;
determining a preamble for a random access message from a preamble group for a random access occasion (RO),
wherein the random access message comprises a MsgA of a 2-step random access procedure;
determining one or more physical uplink shared channel resource unit (PRU) resource sets for the random access message based on the preamble and a mapping based on the random access configuration information,
wherein the random access configuration information maps the preamble in the preamble group to a first PRU at a first frequency and a second PRU at a second frequency based on a frequency hop for the MsgA; and
transmitting, to the base station, the random access message including the preamble and a payload,
wherein the payload is transmitted using one or more PRU groups of the one or more PRU resource sets based on the mapping.
1. A method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising:
receiving, from a base station, random access configuration information;
determining a preamble for a random access message from a preamble group for a random access occasion (RO);
determining one or more physical uplink shared channel resource unit (PRU) resource sets for the random access message based on the preamble and a mapping based on the random access configuration information,
wherein the random access configuration information maps the preamble to the one or more PRU resource sets; and
transmitting, to the base station, the random access message including the preamble and a payload,
wherein the payload is transmitted using one or more PRU groups of the one or more PRU resource sets based on the mapping.
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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xiong et al., US 20200245373 A1, (hereinafter Xiong) in view of Qiu et al., US 20220015120 A1, (hereinafter Qiu).
Regarding claim 1, Xiong teaches a method of wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), comprising (see Fig. 3, UE 105, AN 110, 305 – Msg A, 310 – Msg B;
¶ [0009], ¶ [0052], FIG. 3 illustrates a two-step RACH procedure 300,):
receiving, from a base station, random access configuration information (see ¶ [0134], decoding, upon reception of a configuration message from the AN, an indication of the configured slot offset, which indicates a time distance from a boundary of the PRACH occasion to the associated MsgA PUSCH resource; see ¶ [0106], Where n.sub.PRU is the PRU index for each PUSCH occasion; n.sub.AP is the DMRS AP index; n.sub.SCID is the DMRS sequence index; and N.sub.AP is the number of DMRS AP, which is configured for a MsgA PUSCH configuration);
determining a preamble for a random access message from a preamble group for a random access occasion (RO) (see ¶ [0097], Where I.sub.preamble is the preamble index, N.sub.AP.sup.DMRS is the total number of DMRS APs for one PUSCH occasion, which may be predefined in the specification or configured by higher layers. Note that this may apply for the case when one PRACH occasion is associated with one PUSCH occasion. When more than one PRACH occasion are associated with a single PUSCH occasion, one or more groups of PRACH preamble indexes within one PRACH occasion may be associated with one subset of DMRS APs for PUSCH transmission.);
determining one or more physical uplink shared channel resource unit (PRU) resource sets for the random-access message based on the preamble and a mapping based on the random access configuration information, wherein the random access configuration information maps the preamble to the one or more PRU resource sets (see ¶ [0106], with respect to the association between preamble and PUSCH resource unit (PRU), … Where n.sub.PRU is the PRU index for each PUSCH occasion; n.sub.AP is the DMRS AP index; n.sub.SCID is the DMRS sequence index; and N.sub.AP is the number of DMRS AP, which is configured for a MsgA PUSCH configuration); and
transmitting, to the base station, the random access message including the preamble, (see Fig. 3, 305. MsgA: PRACH + PUSCH (Msg. 3); ¶ [0052] In this two – step RACH procedure, the UE 105 may transmit a first message (e.g., a MsgA 305 ) that may include a PRACH / PRACH preamble and PUSCH; ¶ [0089], the UE 105 may skip or not select the PUSCH resource(s) whose supported transport block size is smaller than corresponding MsgA payload size.),
wherein the MsgA is transmitted using one or more PRU groups of the one or more PRU resource sets based on the mapping (see ¶ [0053] - [0054], according to the two - step RACH
procedure, the first step may involve one or more mapping or association rules with respect to the transmission of PRACH or PRACH preamble and the MsgA PUSCH … One of those rules may define a MsgA PUSCH resource set or pool, which may include one or more MsgA
PUSCH resources.),
however, it does not explicitly teach the random access message including a payload.
Qui teaches random access message including a payload (see FIG. 10, element MsgA (preamble+payload), ¶ [0060], In a third step, the UE transmits MsgA including preamble and payload to the gNB.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective
filing date of the claimed invention to have modified random access message of Xiong to incorporate the teachings of Qui to include a payload. Doing so would facilitate in achieving indication of the time-frequency resources used for transmission of preamble part in MsgA for the two-step RACH procedure as suggested by Qui (see ¶ [0056], e.g., timing indication information can be an index of the system frame number (SFN) and the slot index within the SFN. It can be included in the payload of MsgA to indicate the time-frequency resources used for transmission of preamble part in MsgA. Or timing indication information can be other sequence representing an absolute timing. It can be included in payload of MsgA to indicate absolute timing when transmitting preamble part in MsgA.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20220015156 A1 issued to XU.
US 20220141877 A1 issued to KO.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to POONAM SHARMA whose telephone number is (571)272-6579. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru 8:30-5:30 pm, ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Kevin Bates can be reached at (571) 272-3980. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/POONAM SHARMA/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KEVIN T BATES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472
