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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/19/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, applicant argues that the cited prior art do not disclose wherein the on-times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced. However, the examiner respectfully disagrees. The first cited prior art, Scipione et al, teaches the UT 602 receives the duty cycle schedule 622 determined based on configuration parameters from the SNP 604 and/or the satellite 606 or generate a duty cycle schedule for itself based on duty cycle configuration information received from the satellite 606 and/or the SNP 604, the UT 602 may then send a transmission 626 based on the duty cycle schedule 622 via the satellite 606 to the SNP 604 using a return feeder link a duty cycle schedule 622 is received or generated by the processor of the UT 602 for each beam, if a satellite generates multiple beams, a schedule can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations, e.g., latitudes and longitudes, of beam coverage as the satellite moves, the duty cycle schedule specifies a percentage of temporal elements defined according to temporal boundaries to be used for later signal transmissions from the UE, the dynamic duty cycle management could be performed by SNPs and/or other suitable system components, where, e.g. upon detecting a satellite or beam failure, the duty cycle for another satellite or beam may be changed, the definition of the duty cycles may be managed by an inner control loop and an outer control loop, e.g. the inner control loop could be based on a priori calculations directed to the power radiated at different locations, e.g. latitudes and longitudes, and the outer control loop could be based on tracking of satellite failure, satellite drift, variations in operating conditions, satellite status satellite configuration, or other factors that affect the power radiated on the earth's surface over time, the apparatus transmits signals according to the duty cycle schedule, which implies the on/off times of the duty cycles of the beams can be dynamically managed by the SNP, satellite, and/or user terminal to intersperse or arranged in an alternating manner based on satellite conditions and/or other factors as discussed above (paras. [0099], [0105]-[0114], [0123]-[0127], [0169]-[0173]; Figs. 8, 9, 11, 14). In the same field of endeavor, the cited prior art, Biderman et al, teach the on times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced (the system controller configures and changes the duty cycle parameter, i.e. setting the duty cycles of each beam out of the at least one beam to be on/off at different times in an alternately or interspersed manner to avoid the intersection/convergence of two or more beams in the transmission space which would effectively reduce interference between the beams (paras. [0032], [0083], abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to diversify the on-time of duty cycles of each of the beams by turning on/off the beams at different times to save power and to reduce interference between the beams as suggested by Biderman (¶ [0032], abstract). As a result, given the broadest reasonable interpretation according to MPEP 2111, the cited prior art still read on the current claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 10, 12, 14, 21, 25-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978; hereinafter Scipione) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492; hereinafter Azizi) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445; hereinafter Tang) further in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269; hereinafter Biderman).
Regarding claim 1 and 21, Scipione disclose a communication apparatus and its method implemented in a user equipment (UE), the communication apparatus comprising: a processor (1116, 1310; Figs. 11, 13), the method comprising:
obtaining, by a processor (1116, 1310; Figs. 11, 13) of an apparatus implemented in a user equipment (1102, 1300) (the processor 1116, 1310 of user terminal 1102, 1300 may obtain information related to the duty cycle configuration or duty cycle schedule of each satellite that could radiate beams onto the designated cell area from the processor 1108 of the SNP 1104; paras. [0036], [0116], [0140]), a duty cycle configuration with respect to a duty cycle of one or more beams of a set of beams of a cell in non-terrestrial satellite network communications (duty cycle information regarding the configuration of each satellite that could radiate onto each designated area, e.g. the ephemeris information for the satellite constellation to identify the satellite and the particular beams of the satellite that are expected to radiate onto that designated cell area where the area may corresponds to a particular location of the UE using specific latitude and longitude information, the times that the beams are expected to radiate onto the designated area, and whether the multiple beams would radiate onto the area at the same time, or information that indicates the default transmit power that would be used for a particular beam when radiating onto the designated location using particular latitude and longitude information, the UE 1102 obtains duty cycle information from the satellite network portal 1104, e.g. a duty cycle schedule that specifies the duty cycle to be used, i.e. information corresponding to the desired reduction to the default satellite transmit power, at each area to ensure the regulatory limits are met or duty cycle management using an inner and outer control loop based on calculations directed to power radiated at each location using particular latitude and longitude information, satellite configuration, and other factors that affect the power that is radiated, the duty cycle schedule 622 which is based on various types of information, e.g. configuration information of one or more beams for each satellite and the limit for power radiated onto a designated cell location, is used to control transmission of a composite transmit signal, e.g., one or more beams, from a satellite to the UE within the coverage of the satellite, a schedule can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations of beam coverage as the satellite moves, the duty cycle schedule specifies a percentage of temporal elements defined according to temporal boundaries to be used for later signal transmissions from the UE; paras. [0107]-[0117], [0122]-[0123], [0169]-[0170]; Figs. 8, 11, 14), and
performing, by the processor, a task according to the duty cycle configuration (the UT 602 could receive the duty cycle schedule 622 determined based on configuration parameters from the SNP 604 and/or the satellite 606 or generate a duty cycle schedule for itself based on duty cycle configuration information received from the satellite 606 and/or the SNP 604; in some implementations, the SNP 604 sends the duty cycle schedule 622 to the UE 602 in the system 600, the UE 602 may then send a transmission 626 based on the duty cycle schedule 622 via the satellite 606 to the SNP 604 via a return feeder link; paras. [0097]-[0105], [0127], [0171]-[0173]; Figs. 6, 9, 16). Scipione do not explicitly disclose a cell in non-terrestrial network communications. However, the examiner takes official notice that the beams radiated towards a specific designated area where the area may correspond to a particular location of the user equipment wherein the duty cycle is determined on a location basis in a non-terrestrial satellite network as taught by Scipione (paras. [0107]-[0117]) would be considered as specific beams of a cell in a non-terrestrial network wherein a satellite communicates with a user equipment located in a designated terrestrial cell or base station, or a satellite transmitting and receiving data and wireless links with another satellite, a satellite network portal (SNP), or a user equipment in non-terrestrial network communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to have a satellite to ground communication network that facilitate smooth and uninterrupted transmission and reception of wireless links and data between the satellites, the satellite network portal, and the user terminals. Scipione do not explicitly disclose performing of the task according to the duty cycle configuration comprises performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, outside an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams. In the same field of endeavor, Azizi disclose performing of the task according to the duty cycle configuration comprises performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, outside an on-time of the duty cycle of the duty cycle of at least one beam from the network node (the user device sends an uplink random access signal during the inactive phase/off-period of the duty cycle in response to the duty cycle configuration information of the network node; paras. [0783], [0813]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to avoid load independent power consumption during the inactive phases of the duty cycle to reduce overall power consumption as suggested by Azizi
(¶ [0783]). Scipione disclose the satellite generates multiple beams and a schedule can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations of beam coverage as the satellite moves, and a duty cycle is defined for each beam, the status of a particular satellite beam may be taken into account when setting the transmit power or duty cycle for another satellite beam or the satellite status may relate to the position of the satellite, wherein this information can be used to fine tune the timing adjustments to the transmit power or duty cycle for a satellite beam, i.e. beamforming by adjusting the timing or phase differences in the emitting of signals from antennas in a desired direction, since any deviations from the location indicated by the ephemeris information can be accounted for based on the actual satellite position, the apparatus calculates the maximum transmit power for each beam of each satellite based on a cumulative distribution function (CDF) for the area, e.g. at a given spot on earth, a CDF can be calculated based on the power that may be transmitted to that spot and the regulatory limits (paras. [0102], [0106], [0114], [0116], [0117]). Scipione do not explicitly disclose the transmission of others of the set of beams are minimized. In the same field of endeavor, Tang disclose the terminal device uses the determined transmitting beam corresponding to the random access preamble which is correctly received by the network device to perform information transmission with the network device while transmission in the other beams is reduced or minimized (paras. [0008], [0016]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so since Scipione suggested beamforming is done by adjusting the timing difference to direct the signals of the selected satellite beam towards user terminals in the specific direction and thus the transmit power of others of the set of beams are minimized to suppress noise or interference from other directions is well known in the art and Tang teach transmitting uplink signals in the selected beam while reducing transmission in the other beams in the set of beams in order to maximize the transmission power in the desired direction of the selected beam and attenuate the noise or interference in the other non-selected beams of the set of beams to a minimal level so as to provide enhanced performance with a much lower amount of power being used by user terminal.
Although Scipione disclose a duty cycle schedule 622 is determined based on configuration parameters from the SNP 604 and/or the satellite 606 and can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations, e.g., latitudes and longitudes, of beam coverage as the satellite moves, the duty cycle schedule specifies a percentage of temporal elements defined according to temporal boundaries to be used for later signal transmissions from the UE, the dynamic duty cycle management, could be performed by SNPs and/or other suitable system components, where, e.g. upon detecting a beam failure, the duty cycle for another beam may be changed, the definition of the duty cycles may be managed by an inner control loop and an outer control loop which implies the on/off times of the duty cycles of the beams can be dynamically managed by the SNP, satellite, and/or user terminal to intersperse or arranged in an alternating manner based on satellite conditions and/or other factors as discussed above (paras. [0099], [0105]-[0114], [0123]-[0127], [0169]-[0173]; Figs. 8, 9, 11, 14). Scipione, Azizi, and Tang do not explicitly disclose the on times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced. In the same field of endeavor, the cited prior art, Biderman et al, teach the on times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced (the system controller configures and changes the duty cycle parameter, i.e. setting the duty cycles of each beam out of the at least one beam to be on/off at different times in an alternately or interspersed manner to avoid the intersection or convergence of two or more beams in the transmission space which would effectively reduce interference between the beams (paras. [0032], [0083], abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to diversify the on-time of duty cycles of each of the beams by turning on/off the beams at different times to save power and to reduce interference between the beams as suggested by Biderman (¶ [0032], abstract).
Regarding claim 10 and 25, Scipione and Azizi disclose the method and communication apparatus of claim 1 and 21 respectively, wherein the performing of the task according to the duty cycle configuration comprises performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, during an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams (the UT 1102 sends a duty cycled waveform transmission on the uplink to the satellite, transmission of this waveform is based on the duty cycle configuration or schedule information, the UE may transmit a duty cycled waveform 1124 in only X% of a subframe, that is, during an on-period/on-time of the duty cycle, for the return uplink transmission, wherein reducing the average power by 10% could be accomplished by transmitting in only 90% of the subframe, and reducing the average power by 50% could be accomplished by transmitting in only 50% of the subframe, and so on; Scipione; paras. [0141], [0034]). Scipione do not explicitly disclose an on-time of the duty cycle. However, the examiner interpreted that a duty cycled waveform transmission would transmit during the active/on period/time of the duty cycle as equivalently transmitting during the X%, e.g. 50%, of a subframe and reducing average power by 50%. Azizi also teach performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, during an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams (the data traffic for transmission and reception are scheduled during the active period or on-time of the duty cycle; para. [0861]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to save power during the off-time or inactive period of the duty cycled waveform transmission and also to reduce signal interference.
Regarding claims 12 and 27, Scipione and Azizi disclose the method and communication apparatus of claim 1 and 21 respectively, further comprising performing a non-connected task during an on-time/active-period of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams (performing DRX cycle during active period of the duty cycle; Azizi; paras. [0811], [0861]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to reduce power consumption and lower operating costs during the inactive period.
Regarding claim 14, Scipione and Azizi disclose the method and communication apparatus of claim 1 and 21 respectively, wherein the method further comprising: exchanging, by the processor, data with a network node of a wireless network using a first beam of the set of beams outside an on-time of the duty cycle of the first beam (the terminal device send packet data in the uplink direction, using a first beam that is steered to cover a designated area occupied by the serving cell, to the network access node during inactive phase/off-time of the duty cycle, and the network node processes uplink or downlink data traffic with the network processing infrastructure in a high power state during the active phase of the duty cycle and in a low power state during the inactive phase of the duty cycle; Azizi; paras. [0819], [0823], [5783]-[5784]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to allow the terminal device to communicate with the network node when it needs to send or receive data even in the inactive phase/off-time of the duty cycle since it can buffer data in the uplink and downlink direction in case of data queue overflow during the inactive phase/off-time of the duty cycle.
Regarding claim 26 and 28, Scipione and Azizi disclose the communication apparatus and method of claim 1 and 10 respectively, wherein the processor is configured to: enter the communication apparatus into an operational mode to perform the task during an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams; and enter the apparatus into a low-power mode during an off-time of the duty cycle of the at least one beam of the set of beams (the UT 1102 sends a duty cycled waveform transmission on the uplink to the satellite, transmission of this waveform is based on the duty cycle configuration or schedule information, the UE may transmit a duty cycled waveform 1124 in only X% of a subframe, i.e. during an on-period/on-time of the duty cycle, for the return uplink transmission, wherein reducing the average power by 10% could be accomplished by transmitting in only 90% of the subframe, and reducing the average power by 50% could be accomplished by transmitting in only 50% of the subframe, and so on; paras. [0141], [0034]). Scipione do not explicitly disclose an on-time of the duty cycle. However, the examiner interpreted that a duty cycled waveform transmission would transmit during the active/on period/time of the duty cycle as equivalently transmitting during the X%, e.g. 50%, of a subframe and reducing average power by 50%. Azizi also teach enter the communication apparatus into an operational mode to perform the task during an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams (sending uplink or downlink signals in a high power state during the active phase or on-time of the duty cycle; paras. [2904]-[2905]; and enter the communication apparatus into a low-power mode during an off-time of the duty cycle of the at least one beam of the set of beams (enter the device into a low power state during the inactive phase or off-time of the duty cycle; paras. [2904]-[2905]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to save power during the low power mode of the duty cycled waveform transmission and also to reduce signal interference.
Claims 2 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Gilson et al (US 2017/0,251,440; hereinafter Gilson).
Regarding claim 2 and 22, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method and communication apparatus of claim 1 and 21 respectively, wherein they do not disclose the duty cycle configuration indicates duty cycle information comprising at least one of: a periodicity of a duty transmit time, an offset of the duty transmit time, or a duration of the duty transmit time. In the same field of endeavor, Gilson disclose duty cycle information comprising at least one of: a periodicity of a duty transmit time, an offset of the duty transmit time, and a duration of the duty transmit time (reduced functionality comprise time durations, periodicity and/or other information related to reduced functionality mode or duty cycle mode, and time offset which can be set by identifying corresponding information in the second timing information; ¶ [0041]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to determine information such as the frequency and how long the duty transmission should be based on the duty cycle schedule to reduce power consumption in the UE (Gilson; ¶ [0024]).
Claims 4-5 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Freda et al (US 9,049,708; hereinafter Freda).
Regarding claim 4, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 1, wherein they do not disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration in a master information block (MIB) broadcasted by a wireless network. In the same field of endeavor, Freda the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration in a master information block (MIB) broadcasted by a wireless network (duty cycle configuration in a master information block, MIB, broadcasted by eNB; col 31, lines 51-55; col 61, line 66 – col 62, line 2, col 30, lines 36-39). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to provide the duty cycle configuration in a master information block message to be signaled from a network node such as a base station to the UE or to a plurality of UEs simultaneously to help a mobile device synchronize with the base station and start decoding other system information to access the network.
Regarding claim 5, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 1, wherein they do not disclose obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration in a system information block (SIB) broadcasted by a wireless network. In the same field of endeavor, Freda disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration in a system information block (SIB) broadcasted by a wireless network (duty cycle information sent in a SIB broadcasted by an eNB; col 30, lines 9-13; col 61, line 66 – col 62, line 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to provide the duty cycle information in a specific message format to be signaled from a network node such as a base station to transmit necessary system level parameters to the user devices essential for the user device to connect, camp on a cell, and communicate efficiently.
Regarding claim 24, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the communication apparatus of claim 21, wherein they do not disclose the processor is configured to obtain the duty cycle configuration by one of: receiving the duty cycle configuration in a master information block (MIB) broadcasted by a wireless network; receiving the duty cycle configuration in a system information block (SIB) broadcasted by a wireless network; receiving the duty cycle configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a wireless network; retrieving the duty cycle configuration from a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the apparatus; or obtaining the duty cycle configuration from a signaling previously received on a neighboring cell. In the same field of endeavor, Freda disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration in a system information block (SIB) broadcasted by a wireless network (duty cycle information sent in a SIB broadcasted by an eNB; col 30, lines 9-13; col 61, line 66 – col 62, line 2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to provide the duty cycle information in a specific message format to be signaled from a network node such as a base station to transmit necessary system level parameters to the user devices essential for the user device to connect, camp on a cell, and communicate efficiently.
Claims 29 and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Freda et al (US 9,049,708; hereinafter Freda) further in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269).
Regarding claim 29, Scipione disclose a method, comprising:
obtaining, by a processor (1116, 1310; Figs. 11, 13) of an apparatus implemented in a user equipment (1102, 1300) (the processor 1116, 1310 of user terminal 1102, 1300 may obtain information related to the duty cycle configuration or duty cycle schedule of each satellite that could radiate beams onto the designated cell area from the processor 1108 of the SNP 1104; paras. [0036], [0116], [0140]), a duty cycle configuration with respect to a duty cycle of one or more beams of a set of beams of a cell in non-terrestrial satellite network communications, wherein the duty cycle configuration comprises a configuration of a set of beams of a satellite or base station with the duty cycle (duty cycle information regarding the configuration of each satellite that could radiate onto each designated area, e.g. the ephemeris information for the satellite constellation to identify the satellite and the particular beams of the satellite that are expected to radiate onto that designated cell area where the area may corresponds to a particular location of the UE using specific latitude and longitude information, the times that the beams are expected to radiate onto the designated area, and whether the multiple beams would radiate onto the area at the same time, or information that indicates the default transmit power that would be used for a particular beam when radiating onto the designated location using particular latitude and longitude information, the UE 1102 obtains duty cycle information from the satellite network portal 1104, e.g. a duty cycle schedule that specifies the duty cycle to be used, i.e. information corresponding to the desired reduction to the default satellite transmit power, at each area to ensure the regulatory limits are met or duty cycle management using an inner and outer control loop based on calculations directed to power radiated at each location using particular latitude and longitude information, satellite configuration, and other factors that affect the power that is radiated, the duty cycle schedule 622 which is based on various types of information, e.g. configuration information of one or more beams for each satellite and the limit for power radiated onto a designated cell location, is used to control transmission of a composite transmit signal, e.g., one or more beams, from a satellite to the UE within the coverage of the satellite, a schedule can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations of beam coverage as the satellite moves, the duty cycle schedule specifies a percentage of temporal elements defined according to temporal boundaries to be used for later signal transmissions from the UE; paras. [0107]-[0117], [0122]-[0123], [0169]-[0170]; Figs. 8, 11, 14); and performing, by the processor, a task according to the duty cycle configuration (the UT 602 could receive the duty cycle schedule 622 determined based on configuration parameters from the SNP 604 and/or the satellite 606 or generate a duty cycle schedule for itself based on duty cycle configuration information received from the satellite 606 and/or the SNP 604; in some implementations, the SNP 604 sends the duty cycle schedule 622 to the UE 602 in the system 600, the UE 602 may then send a transmission 626 based on the duty cycle schedule 622 via the satellite 606 to the SNP 604 via a return feeder link; paras. [0097]-[0105], [0127], [0171]-[0173]; Figs. 6, 9, 16). Scipione do not explicitly disclose a cell in non-terrestrial network communications. However, the examiner takes official notice that the beams radiated towards a specific designated area where the area may correspond to a particular location of the user equipment wherein the duty cycle is determined on a location basis in a non-terrestrial satellite network as taught by Scipione (paras. [0107]-[0117]) would be considered as specific beams of a cell in a non-terrestrial network wherein a satellite communicates with a user equipment located in a designated terrestrial cell or base station, or a satellite transmitting and receiving data and wireless links with another satellite, a satellite network portal (SNP), or a user equipment in non-terrestrial network communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to have a satellite to ground communication network that facilitate smooth and uninterrupted transmission and reception of wireless links and data between the satellites, the satellite network portal, and the user terminals. Scipione do not explicitly disclose performing of the task according to the duty cycle configuration comprises performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, outside an on-time of the duty cycle of at least one beam of the set of beams. In the same field of endeavor, Azizi disclose performing of the task according to the duty cycle configuration comprises performing a downlink (DL) transmission or an uplink (UL) transmission, or both, outside an on-time of the duty cycle of the duty cycle of at least one beam from the network node (the user device sends an uplink random access signal during the inactive phase/off-period of the duty cycle in response to the duty cycle configuration information of the network node; paras. [0783], [0813]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to avoid load independent power consumption during the inactive phases of the duty cycle to reduce overall power consumption as suggested by Azizi
(¶ [0783]). Scipione and Azizi do not disclose the duty cycle configuration broadcast as part of a master information block (MIB) or other system information blocks. In the same field of endeavor, Freda disclose the duty cycle configuration broadcast as part of a master information block (MIB) or other system information blocks (duty cycle configuration is broadcasted in a master information block (MIB); col 31, lines 51-55; col 61, line 66 – col 62, line 2; col 64, lines 8-12). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to provide the duty cycle information in a master information block message to help a mobile device synchronize with the base station and start decoding other system information to access the network. Although Scipione disclose a duty cycle schedule 622 is determined based on configuration parameters from the SNP 604 and/or the satellite 606 and can be created for each beam if the beam patterns are deterministic, for a given beam, the schedule indicates the duty cycle to be used at different positions of the satellite corresponding to the different locations, e.g., latitudes and longitudes, of beam coverage as the satellite moves, the duty cycle schedule specifies a percentage of temporal elements defined according to temporal boundaries to be used for later signal transmissions from the UE, the dynamic duty cycle management, could be performed by SNPs and/or other suitable system components, where, e.g. upon detecting a beam failure, the duty cycle for another beam may be changed, the definition of the duty cycles may be managed by an inner control loop and an outer control loop which implies the on/off times of the duty cycles of the beams can be dynamically managed by the SNP, satellite, and/or user terminal to intersperse or arranged in an alternating manner based on satellite conditions and/or other factors as discussed above (paras. [0099], [0105]-[0114], [0123]-[0127], [0169]-[0173]; Figs. 8, 9, 11, 14). Scipione, Azizi do not explicitly disclose the on times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced. In the same field of endeavor, the cited prior art, Biderman et al, teach the on times of duty cycles of the set of beams are interlaced (the system controller configures and changes the duty cycle parameter, i.e. setting the duty cycles of each beam out of the at least one beam to be on/off at different times in an alternately or interspersed manner to avoid the intersection/convergence of two or more beams in the transmission space which would effectively reduce interference between the beams (paras. [0032], [0083], abstract). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to diversify the on-time of duty cycles of each of the beams by turning on/off the beams at different times to save power and to reduce interference between the beams as suggested by Biderman (¶ [0032], abstract).
Regarding claim 31, Scipione, Biderman, Azizi, and Freda disclose the method of claim 29, wherein the UE, when connected, is configured to exchange data with the satellite or base station using the beam outside an on-time of the duty cycle (Azizi; paras. [0783], [0813]).
Claim 30 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Freda et al (US 9,049,708) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Nammi et al (US 2012/0,044,842).
Regarding claim 30, Scipione, Azizi, Freda, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 29, wherein the on-time duty cycle is used to enable the UE to perform initial cell access, paging, a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and cell reselection (terminal device 13602 performs paging, DRX cycle, and cell reselection during active period of duty cycle, wherein initial cell access is i.e. when terminal device 13602 initially establish a radio access connection with the cell of serving base station 13610; Azizi; paras. [0588], [0995], [0811], [0861], [1219]). Scipione, Azizi, Biderman, and Freda do not explicitly disclose the non-connected task comprises initial cell access. In the same field of endeavor, Nammi disclose non-connected task comprises initial cell access during the active period portion of the duty cycle (¶ [0034]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to conserve power.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Su et al (US 2019/0,281,504; hereinafter Su).
Regarding claim 6, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 1, wherein they do not disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises receiving the duty cycle configuration via a radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a wireless network. In the same field of endeavor, Su disclose during an RRC signaling, the cellular base station may provide an indication of a set of possible communication duty cycle configuration information to the wireless device; ¶ [0084]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to provide the duty cycle information via a wireless link that may include configuring various parameters for communication between the wireless device and the cellular base station, establishing context information for the wireless device, and/or any of various other possible features, e.g., relating to establishing an air interface for the wireless device to perform cellular communication with a cellular network associated with the cellular base station (Su; ¶ [0083]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Lucidarme et al (US 6,615,035; hereinafter Lucidarme).
Regarding claim 7, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 1, wherein they do not disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises retrieving the duty cycle configuration, e.g. ITU EPFD limit information, from a memory of the apparatus to determine the duty cycle schedule (Scipione; paras. [0101], [0103]). Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman do not disclose retrieving the duty cycle configuration from a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the apparatus. In the same field of endeavor, Lucidarme disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises retrieving the duty cycle configuration from a subscriber identity module (SIM) of the apparatus (the duty cycle information is written to the SIM as an additional parameter in the SIM that can be later retrieved using the reader of the user equipment; col 6, line 59 – col 7, line 21). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to obtain duty cycle information that is already stored in the subscriber identity module of the user equipment for more secure, easier, and faster access to the duty cycle information.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492;) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Liberg et al (US 2021/0,297,918; hereinafter Liberg).
Regarding claim 8, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 1, wherein they do not disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises obtaining the duty cycle configuration from a signaling previously received on a neighboring cell. In the same field of endeavor, Liberg disclose the obtaining of the duty cycle configuration comprises obtaining the duty cycle configuration from a signaling previously received on a neighboring cell (the UE receiving, from a serving cell, broadcast information indicating the respective duty cycle budget for the serving cell and one or more neighbor cells; ¶ [0055]; step 302; Fig. 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to broadcast duty cycle information to the UE regarding neighboring base station in order for the UE to perform base station selection based on the received duty cycle budget information for power conserving purposes (Liberg; ¶ [0055]).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scipione et al (US 2017/0,078,978) in view of Azizi et al (US 2019/0,364,492;) in view of Tang et al (US 2020/0,077,445) in view of Biderman et al (US 2021/0,075,269) further in view of Nammi et al (US 2012/0,044,842).
Regarding claim 13, Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman disclose the method of claim 12, wherein the on-time of the duty cycle is used to enable to UE to perform initial cell access, paging, a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and cell reselection (terminal device 13602 performs paging, DRX cycle, and cell reselection during active period of duty cycle, wherein initial cell access is i.e. when terminal device 13602 initially establish a radio access connection with the cell of serving base station 13610; Azizi; paras. [0588], [0995], [0811], [0861], [1219]). Scipione, Azizi, Tang, and Biderman do not explicitly disclose initial cell access. In the same field of endeavor, Nammi disclose initial cell access during the active period portion of the duty cycle (¶ [0034]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to do so in order to conserve power.
Conclusion
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/LANA N LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2648