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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR
1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's
submission filed on 02/13/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s submission filed on 02/13/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-2, 4, 6-10, 16-17, 25-26, 28, 32 and 40 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-2, 4, 6-10, 16-17, 25-26, 28, 32 and 40 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6-10, 16-17, 25-26, 28, 32 and 40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 2023/0056778 A1), hereinafter “LIN” in view of Hong (US_11,910,468_B2), hereinafter “HONG” in view of Gao et al. (US 2022/0053321 A1), hereinafter “GAO”.
Regarding claim 1, LIN teaches, ‘A random access method, performed by a user equipment (UE)
and comprising:’ (Paragraph [0009], …a method performed by a terminal device such as a user equipment (UE). The method comprises determining a RO [random access occasion] based at least in part on RA [random access] configuration information):
‘receiving a random access related message transmitted by a terrestrial cell;’ (Paragraph [0017], the RA configuration information may be received from the network node by the terminal device);
‘a cell group identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (Paragraph [0120], …SSBs to PRACH occasions is the smallest value in the set determined by the PRACH configuration period according to certain PRACH configuration such that NTxSSB SSBs are mapped at least once (Note: SSBs define cell groups));
LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘a time advance group (TAG) identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 35-39, The random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource),… and a TAC (time alignment command));
‘or cell indication information corresponding to an uplink and/or downlink resource allocated by a random access response message.’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 35-39, The random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource),… and a TAC (time alignment command. Col. 10, lines 47-50, The random access response may be indicated by a random access identifier on the PDCCH, i.e., a random access-radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
LIN and HONG do not explicitly teach but GAO teaches, ‘and determining a cell type corresponding to the random access related message, wherein the cell type is the terrestrial cell or a satellite cell;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type, in which case, the length of RNTI used for a certain type of cell is explicitly specified in specs. The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell);
‘wherein the determining the cell type corresponding to the random access related message comprises:’ (GAO- Paragraph [0112], The combination of special value of multiple existing signaling field can be used to indicate the length of RNTI (Note: linking identity to cell parameters)):
‘determining the cell type corresponding to the random access related message through indication information contained in the random access related message;’ (GAO- Paragraph [0108], …the long C-RNTI along with an indication inform the UE that the long C-RNTI will be used in the subsequent procedures);
‘wherein the indication information comprises at least one of the following:’ (GAO- Paragraph [0119], the indication can be an one-bit indication to indicate whether the long RNTI will be used or
the indication can be a bitmap in which each bit may be linked to one kind of RNTI):
‘a cell identity and/or a frequency point identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0114], The length of RNTI is linked to frequency band… explicitly specified in specs);
‘a cell type identity to which the random access related message corresponds; (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type… The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell);
‘a radio network temporary identity (RNTI) used when the random access related message is transmitted;’ Paragraph [0016], Radio network temporary identifiers are used in the network to identify a certain UE within a cell during… a random access procedure);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of GAO with LIN and HONG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of GAO into LIN and HONG is that GAO provides receiving, by a user device, from a network device, a configuration information including an indication on a long identifier having a length greater than that of a short identifier; and applying the long identifier in a communication with the network device occurring after
the receiving the configuration information. (See paragraphs [0006], GAO)
Regarding claims 2 and 26, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 1, LIN does not explicitly teach, but HONG teaches, ‘wherein the random access related message comprises:’ (HONG - Col. 27, lines 51-58, the random access procedure may be a contention based random access procedure as described in FIG. 6):
‘a Msg2 and/or a Msg4 of four-step contention-based random access;’ (HONG - Col. 27, lines 51-
58, the four step procedure is performed with the MSG 1 for the random access preamble transmission of the UE, the MSG2 for the random access response transmission (RAR) by the base station, the MSG 3 for the transmission according to the uplink grant included in the RAR, and the MSG 4 for the contention resolution);
‘or a MsgB of two-step contention-based random access;’ (HONG - Col. 17, lines 16-55, FIG. 14,
two-step random access process … The UE monitors whether the MSG B is received while the
response timer is running, and receives the MSG B at S1430. For example, the MSG B includes some or all of the random access response message and MSG 4 information in FIG. 13. When the MSG B is received, the UE stops the response timer and ends the random access procedure at S1440);
‘or a Msg0 and a Msg2 of four-step contention-free random access.’
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claims 4 and 28, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 1, LIN
does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘wherein the indication information contained in the random access related message comprises:’ (HONG - Col. 10, lines 36-39, The random access response [Msg2] may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource), a temporary C-RNTI (temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier), and a TAC (time alignment command)):
‘and/or indication information contained in the Msg4 of the four-step contention-based random access;’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 59-60, Lastly, the UE receives a downlink message [Msg4] to resolve the contention. Col. 17, lines 4-6, UE receives a message 4 (MSG 4) including information for the contention resolution);
‘or indication information contained in the Msg0 of the four-step contention-free random
access,’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 31-33, a non-contention-based random access procedure is performed when the UE performs random access for beam failure recovery (BFR)),
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
LIN and HONG do not explicitly teach but GAO teaches, ‘indication information contained in a media access control (MAC) subheader or a payload portion in a random access response media access control protocol data unit (RAR MAC PDU) corresponding to the Msg2 of the four-step contention-based random access, (GAO – Paragraph [0128], the reception side can distinguish the two types of C-RNTI MAC CE based on the logical channel ID in the MAC subheader. Paragraph [0125], Based on the length of C-RNTI determined… the UE further determine the format or type of C-RNTI MAC CE which will be received in the RACH procedure [payload portion].
‘or indication information contained in an MAC subheader or a payload portion in an RAR MAC
PDU corresponding to the MsgB of the two- step contention-based random access;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0125], Based on the length of C-RNTI determined or based on the configuration parameters which can be used to determine the length of C-RNTI, the UE further determine the format or type of C-RNTI MAC CE which will be received [payload portion] in the RACH procedure.
‘and/or indication information contained in an MAC subheader or a payload portion in an RAR MAC PDU corresponding to the Msg2 of the four-step contention-free random access.’ (GAO – Paragraph [0132], before the transmission of… Msg2, the network device determines the formula used for RA-RNTI calculation [indication information] based on the length of RA-RNTI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of GAO with LIN and HONG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of GAO into LIN and HONG is that GAO provides receiving, by a user device, from a network device, a configuration information including an indication on a long identifier having a length greater than that of a short identifier; and applying the long identifier in a communication with the network device occurring after
the receiving the configuration information. (See paragraphs [0006], GAO)
Regarding claim 6, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 1, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, further comprising: ‘receiving a first contention resolution timer used for contention resolution of contention-based random access of the satellite cell and a second contention resolution timer used for contention resolution of contention-based random access of the terrestrial cell, which are both configured by a network apparatus,’ (HONG – Col. 19, lines 28-30, a value applied to the parameter used in the MAC procedure may be configured to be distinguished from the terrestrial network. Col. 19, lines 45-48, the base station configures the… value… according to the type of non-terrestrial network (e.g., LEO satellite, MEO satellite, GEO satellite, HAPs, etc.).
‘wherein a time length of the first contention resolution timer is the same as or different from a time length of the second contention resolution timer,’ (HONG – Col. 21, lines 12-16, In order to consider the various round trip delays of the NTN, the… parameter value… may be indicated to the UE with a range set of different DRX parameters for each NTN type/satellite altitude/round trip delay),
‘and/or a starting time of the first contention resolution timer is different from a starting time of the second contention resolution timer.’ (HONG – Col. 34, lines 46-49, starts a timer for contention resolution when the time corresponding to the reference round trip delay offset elapses after the message is transmitted. Col. 35, lines 61-64, starts a timer for contention resolution when a time according to the reference round trip delay offset information elapses after transmission of the
message 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 7, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 1, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, further comprising: ‘transmitting a Msg3 of four-step contention-based random access to the satellite cell, wherein the Msg3 carries a cell-radio network temporary identity (C- RNTI) used by the UE in the satellite cell;’ (HONG - Col. 16, lines 36-col. 17, line 15, referring to FIG. 13, the UE transmits a random access preamble to access a non-terrestrial network cell at S1310. If the random access response message identified by a temporary identifier related to random access preamble transmission is received within the random access response window, the UE receives the random access response message. Thereafter, the UE transmits a message 3 (MSG 3) including request information for requesting an RRC connection at S1330. Col. 10, lines 34-line 60, the random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource), a temporary C-RNTI (temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier), and a TAC (time alignment command));
‘and/or determining that a contention resolution succeeds when the random access related message comprises at least one of the following: an uplink and/or downlink resource allocated to the UE by a base station to which the satellite cell belongs and used by the UE in the satellite cell or a C-RNTI used by the UE in the satellite cell.’ (HONG - Col. 10, lines 51-60, upon receiving a valid random access response, the UE processes information included in the random access response and performs scheduled transmission to the base station. For example, the UE applies the TAC and stores the temporary C-RNTI. In addition, the UE transmits, to the base station, data stored in the buffer of the UE or newly generated data using the UL Grant. In this case, information for identifying the UE must be included in the data. Lastly, the UE receives a downlink message to resolve the contention).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 8, LIN further teaches, ‘determining a terrestrial cell accessed by a user equipment (UE);’ (Paragraph [0005], A communication system such as NR system may be configured to support various networks such as terrestrial networks (TN) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN));
‘a cell group identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (Paragraph [0111], there may be an association between an SSB and a PRACH occasion (Note: SSBs are used to distinguish cell groups in NR/NTN));
LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘A random access method, performed by a base station to which a satellite cell belongs and comprising:’ (HONG – Col. 13, lines 25-29, a configuration for performing communication with the UE in connection with the core network is described as a network node or a base station, but this may mean the above described airborne vehicle or spaceborne vehicle):
‘a time advance group (TAG) identity to which the random access related message corresponds; (HONG – Col. 10, lines 35-39, The random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource),… and a TAC (time alignment command);
‘or cell indication information corresponding to an uplink and/or downlink resource allocated by a random access response message.’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 47-50, The random access response may be indicated by a random access identifier on the PDCCH, i.e., a random access-radio network temporary
identifier (RA-RNTI).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
LIN and HONG do not explicitly teach but GAO teaches, ‘and transmitting a random access related message to the UE through the terrestrial cell, and indicating that a cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type, in which case, the length of RNTI used for a certain type of cell is explicitly specified in specs. The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell);
‘wherein the indicating that the cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell comprises:’ (GAO – Paragraph [0112], The combination of special value of multiple existing signaling field can be used to indicate the length of RNTI):
‘indicating that the cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell through indication information contained in the random access related message;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0108], in the reconfigurationwithsync message, the long C-RNTI along with an indication inform the UE that the long C-RNTI will be used in the subsequent procedures);
‘wherein the indication information comprises at least one of the following:’ (GAO – Paragraph [0119], the indication can be an one-bit indication to indicate whether the long RNTI will be used or
the indication can be a bitmap in which each bit may be linked to one kind of RNTI):
‘a cell identity and/or a frequency point identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0114], The length of RNTI is linked to frequency band, in which case, the length of RNTI used for a certain frequency band is explicitly specified in specs);
‘a cell type identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type... The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell);
‘a radio network temporary identity (RNTI) used when the random access related message is transmitted; (GAO – Paragraph [0016], Radio network temporary identifiers are used in the network
to identify a certain UE within a cell during… a random access procedure);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of GAO with LIN and HONG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of GAO into LIN and HONG is that GAO provides receiving, by a user device, from a network device, a configuration information including an indication on a long identifier having a length greater than that of a short identifier; and applying the long identifier in a communication with the network device occurring after
the receiving the configuration information. (See paragraphs [0006], GAO)
Regarding claim 9, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 8, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘wherein in a condition that the terrestrial cell and the satellite cell belong to different base stations, the transmitting the random access related message to the UE through the terrestrial cell, and indicating that the cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell comprise:’ (HONG - Col. 13, lines 34-48, the network node or the base station refers to an apparatus that transmits and receives data to and from the UE in the non-terrestrial network structure, and the network node or the base station also refers to an apparatus that controls an access procedure and a data transmission/reception procedure of the UE. Accordingly, when the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle device performs some or all of the functions of the base station, the network node or the base station may mean the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle device. In contrast, when the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle plays a role of relaying a signal from a separate ground base station, the network node or the base station may mean a ground base station. Col. 16, lines 36-col. 17, line 15, referring to FIG. 13, the UE transmits a random access preamble to access a non-terrestrial network cell at S1310. If the random access response message identified by a temporary identifier related to random access preamble transmission is received within the random access response window, the UE receives the random access response message. Thereafter, the UE transmits a message 3 (MSG 3) including request information for requesting an RRC connection at S1330. Col. 10, lines 34-line 60, the random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource), a temporary C-RNTI (temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier), and a TAC (time alignment command)):
‘exchanging part or all of a content of the random access related message with the terrestrial cell through an inter-base-station interface.’ (HONG - See Fig. 10, 1040 and Col. 6, lines 43-44, the gNBs or the gNB and the ng-eNB are connected to each other through Xn interfaces (corresponds to inter-base-station interface between relay node and satellite)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 10, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 9, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘wherein the exchanging the part or all of the content of the random access related message with the terrestrial cell through the inter-base-station interface comprises:’ (HONG - See Fig. 10, 1040 and Col. 6, lines 43-44, the gNBs or the gNB and the ng-eNB are connected to each other through Xn interfaces (corresponds to inter-base-station interface between relay node and satellite)):
‘generating a complete random access related message, and transmitting the generated random
access related message to the terrestrial cell through the inter-base-station interface;’ (HONG - Col. 10, lines 51-60, upon receiving a valid random access response, the UE processes information included in the random access response and performs scheduled transmission to the base station. For example, the UE applies the TAC and stores the temporary C-RNTI. In addition, the UE transmits, to the base station, data stored in the buffer of the UE or newly generated data using the UL Grant. In this case, information for identifying the UE must be included in the data. Lastly, the UE receives a downlink message to resolve the contention. See Fig. 10, 1040 and col. 6, lines 43-44, the gNBs or the gNB and the ng-eNB are connected to each other through Xn interfaces (corresponds to inter-base-station interface between relay node and satellite));
‘or transmitting all or part of the content of the random access related message to the
terrestrial cell, wherein a base station to which the terrestrial cell belongs generates a complete random access related message.’
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 16, LIN teaches, ‘A random access method, performed by a base station to which a terrestrial cell belongs and comprising:’ (Paragraph [0024], According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a network node such as a base station (e.g., a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB)):
‘receiving a random access related message transmitted by a satellite cell and for a user equipment (UE);’ (Paragraph [0024], receiving, within the preamble receiving window, a preamble transmitted from a terminal device in the NTN);
‘a cell group identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (Paragraph [0111], …there may be an association between an SSB and a PRACH occasion (Note: SSBs are used to distinguish cell groups in NR/NTN));
LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘a time advance group (TAG) identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 35-39, The random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant,… and a TAC (time alignment command));
‘or cell indication information corresponding to an uplink and/or downlink resource allocated by a random access response message.’ (HONG – Col. 10, lines 47-50, The random access response may be indicated by a random access identifier on the PDCCH, i.e., a random access-radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
LIN and HONG do not explicitly teach but GAO teaches, ‘and transmitting the random access related message to the UE, and indicating that a cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell,’ (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type, in which case, the length of RNTI used for a certain type of cell is explicitly specified in specs. The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell),
‘wherein the indicating that the cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell comprises:’ (GAO – Paragraph [0112], The combination of special value of multiple existing signaling field can be used to indicate the length of RNTI (Note: Linking identity to cell type)):
‘indicating that the cell type corresponding to the random access related message is the satellite cell through indication information contained in the random access related message;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0108], …in the reconfigurationwithsync message, the long C-RNTI along with an indication inform the UE that the long C-RNTI will be used in the subsequent procedures);
‘wherein the indication information comprises at least one of the following: (GAO – Paragraph [0119], …the indication can be an one-bit indication to indicate whether the long RNTI will be used or the indication can be a bitmap in which each bit may be linked to one kind of RNTI):
‘a cell identity and/or a frequency point identity to which the random access related message corresponds; (GAO – Paragraph [0114], The length of RNTI is linked to frequency band, in which case, the length of RNTI used for a certain frequency band is explicitly specified in specs);
‘a cell type identity to which the random access related message corresponds;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0116], The length of RNTI is linked to cell type… The cell type refers to NTN cell or TN cell);
‘a radio network temporary identity (RNTI) used when the random access related message is transmitted;’ (GAO – Paragraph [0016], Radio network temporary identifiers are used in the network
to identify a certain UE within a cell during… a random access procedure);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of GAO with LIN and HONG because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of GAO into LIN and HONG is that GAO provides receiving, by a user device, from a network device, a configuration information including an indication on a long identifier having a length greater than that of a short identifier; and applying the long identifier in a communication with the network device occurring after
the receiving the configuration information. (See paragraphs [0006], GAO)
Regarding claim 17, LIN, HONG and GAO teach, the method according to claim 16, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘wherein in a condition that the terrestrial cell and the satellite cell belong to different base stations, the receiving the random access related message transmitted by the satellite cell and for the UE comprises:’ (HONG - Col. 13, lines 34-48, the network node or the base station refers to an apparatus that transmits and receives data to and from the UE in the non-terrestrial network structure, and the network node or the base station also refers to an apparatus that controls an access procedure and a data transmission/reception procedure of the UE. Accordingly, when the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle device performs some or all of the functions of the base station, the network node or the base station may mean the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle device. In contrast, when the airborne vehicle or the spaceborne vehicle plays a role of relaying a signal from a separate ground base station, the network node or the base station may mean a ground base station. Col. 16, lines 36-col. 17, line 15, referring to FIG. 13, the UE transmits a random access preamble to access a non-terrestrial network cell at S1310. If the random access response message identified by a temporary identifier related to random access preamble transmission is received within the random access response window, the UE receives the random access response message. Thereafter, the UE transmits a message 3 (MSG 3) including request information for requesting an RRC connection at S1330. Col. 10, lines 34-line 60, the random access response may include a random access preamble identifier (ID), UL Grant (uplink radio resource), a temporary C-RNTI (temporary cell-radio network temporary identifier), and a TAC (time alignment command)):
‘exchanging part or all of a content of the random access related message with the satellite cell through an inter-base-station interface.’ (HONG - See Fig. 10, 1040 and Col. 6, lines 43-44, the gNBs or the gNB and the ng-eNB are connected to each other through Xn interfaces (corresponds to inter-base-station interface between relay node and satellite)).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 25, LIN, HONG and GAO teach claim 1, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘A random access device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein:’ (HONG - Col. 36, lines 4-19, random access procedure… the UE may. Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘the memory is configured for storing a computer program;’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means);
‘and the processor is configured for:’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘reading the computer program from the memory to perform the method according to claim 1.’
(HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 32, LIN, HONG and GAO teach claim 8, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘A random access device, applied to a satellite cell and comprising a memory and a processor, wherein:’ (HONG - Col. 15, lines 6-49, random access procedure in the non-terrestrial network cell at S1220. Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘the memory is configured for storing a computer program;’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means);
‘and the processor is configured for:’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘reading the computer program from the memory to perform the method according to claim 8.’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Regarding claim 40, LIN, HONG and GAO teach claim 16, LIN does not explicitly teach but HONG teaches, ‘A random access device, applied to a terrestrial cell and comprising a memory and a processor, wherein:’ (HONG - Col. 5, lines 6-14, a base station or a cell in the present specification refers to an end that communicates with a UE through a network and encompasses various coverage regions such as … a relay node). Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘the memory is configured for storing a computer program;’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means);
‘and the processor is configured for:’ (HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means):
‘reading the computer program from the memory to perform the method according to claim16.’
(HONG - Col. 37, lines 4-12, software code may be stored in a memory unit, and may be driven by the processor. The memory unit may be provided inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by any of various well known means).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have known to combine the teachings of HONG with LIN because both are in the same/similar field of endeavor. The advantage of incorporating the above limitation(s) of HONG into LIN is that HONG provides transmitting system information comprising reference round trip delay offset information of a non-terrestrial network cell; performing a random access procedure with the UE in the non-terrestrial network cell; and transmitting configuration information that is necessary to perform communication by using the non-terrestrial network cell. (See Col. 2 lines 9-19, HONG)
Conclusion
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/HAESHIL JESSICA CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2479 /JAE Y LEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2479