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 January 6, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicants’ assertion-Sengupta fails to disclose the technical means described in claim 19 of the present application, where the terminal determines the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on ready-for-delivery information. In other words, the terminal knows the waiting duration in advance-that is, before sending the ready-for-delivery information-the waiting duration is a waiting duration subsequent to sending the ready-for-delivery information and prior to monitoring response information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information by the terminal. Based on that, the target waiting duration determined from the N waiting durations by the terminal based on the ready-for-delivery information can be adaptive to a propagation delay between the terminal and the satellite, thereby reducing a waiting duration of the terminal, and reducing a random-access delay of the terminal. Thus, claim 19 is not anticipated by Sengupta-for the same reasons detailed in the Office Action dated October 6, 2025. The UE of Sengupta receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087). The UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141). The UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), these windows occur subsequent to the transmission of said preambles and prior to monitoring for responses to said preambles. Sengupta therefore teaches the limitations in question.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 19, 25, 26, 32, 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Sengupta et al. (US 2022/0015148)
Regarding Claim 19, Sengupta teaches a waiting duration determination method, applied to a terminal and comprising: receiving configuration information, wherein the configuration information comprises N waiting durations corresponding to N location intervals of a satellite, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (UE receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087), the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141)); and determining a target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on ready-for- delivery information, wherein the target waiting duration is a waiting duration subsequent to sending the ready-for-delivery information and prior to monitoring response information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information by the terminal (the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), these windows occur subsequent to the transmission of said preambles and prior to monitoring for responses to said preambles).
Regarding Claim 26, Sengupta teaches a waiting duration determination apparatus, applied to a terminal and comprising: a memory, a processor and a computer program, wherein the computer program is stored in the memory, the processor, by executing the computer program, is configured to: receive configuration information, wherein the configuration information comprises N waiting durations corresponding to N location intervals of a satellite, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (UE receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087), the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), typical UEs comprise processors with memory that stores executable code run by said processors); and determine a target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on ready-for-delivery information, wherein the target waiting duration is a waiting duration subsequent to sending the ready-for-delivery information and prior to monitoring response information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information by the terminal (the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), these windows occur subsequent to the transmission of said preambles and prior to monitoring for responses to said preambles).
Regarding Claim 33, Sengupta teaches a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, stored a computer program, and a processor, when executing the computer program, is configured to: receive configuration information, wherein the configuration information comprises N waiting durations corresponding to N location intervals of a satellite, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2 (UE receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087), the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), typical UEs comprise processors with memory that stores executable code run by said processors); and determine a target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on ready-for-delivery information, wherein the target waiting duration is a waiting duration subsequent to sending the ready-for-delivery information and prior to monitoring response information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information by the terminal (the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), these windows occur subsequent to the transmission of said preambles and prior to monitoring for responses to said preambles).
Regarding Claim 25, 32, Sengupta teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 19, 26. Sengupta further teaches radio resource control signaling (Section 0089); wherein a ranking sequence of the N waiting durations corresponds to a ranking sequence of the N location intervals (UE receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087), the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), there can thus be a plurality of windows and plurality of time-frequency locations which leads to a sequence of windows and sequence of time-frequency locations), and the ranking sequence of the N waiting durations corresponds to a motion trajectory of the satellite (UE receives random access parameters (Section 0006), which comprise preambles (Section 0079) corresponding to time-frequency locations for NTN random access (Sections 0080, 0087), the UE transmits said preambles and then waits for finite periods of time or windows, which are the waiting durations, for responses to said preambles (Sections 0140, 0141), there can thus be a plurality of windows and plurality of time-frequency locations which leads to a sequence of windows and sequence of time-frequency locations, since the UE communicates with the NTN or satellite, which moves the plurality of windows will correspond to the motion trajectory of the satellite).
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.
Claim(s) 20 – 22, 24, 27 – 29, 31, 34 – 36, 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sengupta et al. (US 2022/0015148) in view of Ye et al. (US 2023/0156804).
Regarding Claim 20, 27, 34, Sengupta teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 19, 26, 33. Sengupta does not teach wherein the determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on the ready-for-delivery information comprises: determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on first information of the ready-for-delivery information.
Ye, which also teaches the use of random-access procedures in NTNs, teaches determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on first information of the ready-for-delivery information (Section 0076, indication of RAR window size, which reads on first information).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta with the above features of Ye for the purpose of enhancing the RACH procedure for NTNs via compensating for delays as taught by Ye.
Regarding Claim 21, 28, 35, The above Sengupta combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 20, 27, 34. Sengupta does not teach wherein the first information is any of the following information: first temporal information comprising a sending time of the ready-for-delivery information and a first receiving time of the configuration information; second temporal information comprising a sending time of the ready-for-delivery information and a second receiving time of first indication information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate a starting waiting duration corresponding to a starting index in the N waiting durations; and second indication information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the target waiting duration.
Ye, which also teaches the use of random-access procedures in NTNs, teaches second indication information corresponding to the ready-for-delivery information, wherein the second indication information is used to indicate the target waiting duration (Section 0076, indication of RAR window size, which is a waiting duration).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta with the above features of Ye for the purpose of enhancing the RACH procedure for NTNs via compensating for delays as taught by Ye.
Regarding Claims 22, 29, 36, The above Sengupta combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 21, 28, 35. Sengupta does not teach wherein the first information is the first temporal information, and the configuration information further comprises an update cycle; the determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on the first information of the ready-for-delivery information comprises: determining an update period corresponding to each waiting duration based on the first receiving time and the update cycle; and determining the target waiting duration based on the sending time and the update period corresponding to each waiting duration, wherein the sending time is within the update period corresponding to the target waiting duration.
Ye, which also teaches the use of random-access procedures in NTNs, teaches wherein the first information is the first temporal information (RAR window size is temporal information (Sections 0075, 0076), and the configuration information further comprises an update cycle (Section 0075, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle); the determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on the first information of the ready-for-delivery information comprises: determining an update period corresponding to each waiting duration based on the first receiving time and the update cycle (Section 0075, differential delay renders a particular receiving time and sending time, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle); and determining the target waiting duration based on the sending time and the update period corresponding to each waiting duration, wherein the sending time is within the update period corresponding to the target waiting duration (Section 0075, differential delay renders a particular receiving time and sending time, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle) .
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta with the above features of Ye for the purpose of enhancing the RACH procedure for NTNs via compensating for delays as taught by Ye.
Regarding Claims 24, 31, 38, The above Sengupta combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 21, 28, 35. Sengupta does not teach wherein the second indication information is comprised in any of the following information: a media access control signaling and downlink control information, wherein the media access control signaling and the downlink control information are received after the terminal receives the configuration information.
Ye, which also teaches the use of random-access procedures in NTNs, teaches downlink control information are received after the terminal receives the configuration information (Section 0076, DCI signaling, RAR window size is received at a later time thus rendering a scenario wherein said RAR window size is received after the terminal receives configuration information).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta with the above features of Ye for the purpose of enhancing the RACH procedure for NTNs via compensating for delays as taught by Ye.
Claim(s) 23, 30, 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sengupta et al. (US 2022/0015148) in view of Ye et al. (US 2023/0156804) in view of Wang et al. (US 2020/0351918) and in further view of Jeon et al. (US 2019/0069258)
Regarding Claims 23, 30, 37, The above Sengupta combination teaches all of the claimed limitations recited in Claims 21, 28, 35. Sengupta combination does not teach wherein the first information is the second temporal information, and the configuration information further comprises an update cycle; the determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on the first information of the ready-for-delivery information comprises: determining, based on the second receiving time and the update cycle, an update period corresponding to each waiting duration between the starting waiting duration corresponding to the starting index and an ending waiting duration, wherein the ending waiting duration is a last- ranked waiting duration of the N waiting durations ranked based on a ranking sequence of the N waiting durations; and determining the target waiting duration based on the sending time and the update period corresponding to each waiting duration between the starting waiting duration and the ending waiting duration, wherein the sending time is within the update period corresponding to the target waiting duration; wherein the first indication information is comprised in any of the following information: a media access control signaling and a radio resource control signaling, wherein the media access control signaling and the radio resource control signaling are received after the terminal receives the configuration information.
Ye, which also teaches the use of random-access procedures in NTNs, teaches wherein the first information is the first temporal information is the second temporal information (RAR window size is temporal information (Sections 0075, 0076), and the configuration information further comprises an update cycle (Section 0075, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle); the determining the target waiting duration from the N waiting durations based on the first information of the ready-for-delivery information comprises: determining, based on the second receiving time and the update cycle, an update period corresponding to a waiting duration (Section 0075, differential delay renders a particular receiving time and sending time, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle); determining the target waiting duration based on the sending time and the update period corresponding to each waiting duration, wherein the sending time is within the update period corresponding to the target waiting duration (Section 0075, differential delay renders a particular receiving time and sending time, there can be updating of the RAR window size when there is a change in the type of satellite thus rendering an update cycle); wherein the first indication information is comprised in a control signaling, wherein the control signaling is received after the terminal receives the configuration information (Section 0076, RAR window size is received at a later time thus rendering a scenario wherein said RAR window size is received after the terminal receives configuration information).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta with the above features of Ye for the purpose of enhancing the RACH procedure for NTNs via compensating for delays as taught by Ye.
Sengupta combination does not teach the starting waiting duration corresponding to the starting index and an ending waiting duration, wherein the ending waiting duration is a last- ranked waiting duration of the N waiting durations ranked based on a ranking sequence of the N waiting durations
Wang, which also teaches the use RAR windows, teaches the starting waiting duration corresponding to the starting index and an ending waiting duration, wherein the ending waiting duration is a last- ranked waiting duration of the N waiting durations ranked based on a ranking sequence of the N waiting durations (Section 0058, plurality of different RAR window start times leads to a plurality of different RAR windows, the first RAR window of the plurality of RAR windows is the start waiting duration and the last RAR window of the plurality of RAR windows is the last start duration).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Sengupta combination with above features of Wang for the purpose of conserving processing resources as taught by Wang.
Sengupta combination does not teach media access control signaling for transmission RAR window information
Jeong, which also teaches the use of RAR windows, teaches media access control signaling for transmission RAR window information (Section 0256 the signaling used for MAC RARs is media access control signaling).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of the Sengupta combination with the above features of Jeong for the purpose of providing improved spectral efficiency which is a benefit of beam indication in RACH as taught by Jeong.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/RAYMOND S DEAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645 Raymond S. Dean
February 5, 2026