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 .
Claims 17-28 are pending in this office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amendment filed 04/22/2026 have been considered but are moot in view of new grounds of rejection.
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 17-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xu et al (US 2023/0261738 A1) in view of Ntsonde et al (US 2006/0135091 A1).
Regarding claim 17, Xu teaches an apparatus, comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions, the at least one memory and the instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause a network device (Xu: Fig. 2:160-1, satellite 160/network device), which provides a first radio cell (Xu: Fig. 2:210-1, cell 210-1/first cell).
Xu does not explicitly disclose the network device broadcast to at least one terminal device, a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell.
Ntsonde teaches the network device broadcast to at least one terminal device a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell (Ntsonde: Fig. 1; [0019]; [0043], satellite SC broadcast information about secondary coverage areas of base stations N1/further network device).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Xu wherein the network device broadcasts to a least one terminal device a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell as disclosed by Ntsonde to provide a system for managing priority information for radio communication terminal in a hybrid network comprising cellular network and satellite network (Ntsonde: [0014]).
Regarding claim 23, Xu teaches a method comprising: a network device (Xu: Fig. 2:160-1, satellite 160/network device), which provides a first radio cell (Xu: Fig. 2:210-1, cell 210-1/first cell).
Xu does not explicitly disclose the network device broadcasting to at least one terminal device a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell.
Ntsonde teaches the network device broadcasting to at least one terminal device a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell (Ntsonde: Fig. 1; [0019]; [0043], satellite SC broadcast information about secondary coverage areas of base stations N1/further network device).
It would have been obvious to a person having an ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Xu wherein the network device broadcasts to at least terminal device a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell as disclosed by Ntsonde to provide a system for managing priority information for radio communication terminal in a hybrid network comprising cellular network and satellite network (Ntsonde: [0014]).
Regarding claim 18, Xu teaches wherein at least one of the network device and the at least one further network device is a mobile network device, for example a non- terrestrial network device (Xu: Fig. 2; [0053], satellite is a mobile NTN).
Regarding claims 19 and 25, Xu teaches wherein the first information comprises at least one of: a) first position information) characterizing at least one position of the at least one further network device (Xu: Fig. 2; [0053], orbital location/position of the satellite), b) a timestamp (TIM) characterizing a time and/or date on which the at least one further network device is at the at least one position (POS- 1), c) second position information (POS-2) characterizing at least one center position of the at least one further radio cell (C-2), d) a time difference (TIM-DIFF) between two points in time, wherein each of the two points in time is associated with a respective position of the at least one further network device or a respective center position of the at least one further radio cell (C-2), e) an estimated coverage radius (COV-RAD) of the at least one further radio cell (C-2), f) a first indicator (IND-1) indicating that an estimated coverage radius (COV-RAD) of the at least one further radio cell (C-2) is at least similar to a coverage radius of the first radio cell (C-1), g) first angle-based position information (POS-3a) characterizing at least one angle at which a trajectory of the at least one further network device passes a circle centered at at least one of a center of the first radio cell (C-1) or a current position of the network device, h) second angle-based positioninformation (POS-3b) characterizing at least one angle at which a trajectory of the at least one further network device leaves a circle centered at at least one of a center of the first radio cell (C- 1) or a current position of the network device.
Regarding claim 20, Xu teaches wherein the first information characterizes at least one of: a) a radio coverage of a predetermined first number of further radio cells of the at least one further network device, which will at least temporarily cover the neighbor area (NA) of the first radio cell within a predetermined first time interval (TI-1) (Xu: Fig. 2; [0053]-[0058]), b) a radio coverage of a predetermined second number of further radio cells of the at least one further network device, which will at least temporarily cover the neighbor area (NA) of the first radio cell within a predetermined second time interval following the first time interval.
Regarding claim 21, Xu teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the network device to indicate a change of the first information (Xu: Fig. 2; [0052], [0061], gateway indicating to the base station changes in satellite location information).
Regarding claims 22 and 26, Xu teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the network device to: receive a request for transmission of the first information (Xu: Fig. 2; [0073], base station communicates/request with the gateway to update the satellite information).
Regarding claim 24, Xu teaches an apparatus, comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions, the at least one memory and the instructions configured to, with the at least one processor, cause a terminal device served by a first network device in a first radio cell to receive a first information characterizing a radio coverage of at least one further radio cell of at least one further network device, which at least temporarily and at least partially covers a neighbor area of the first radio cell (Xu: Fig. 2; [0073], base station communicates/request with the gateway to update the satellite information).
Regarding claim 27, Xu teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the terminal device to perform, based at least partially on the first information, at least one of: a) controlling an operation of the terminal device (Xu: Fig. 2; [0053]-[0554], initiate a paging procedure of the UEs), b) entering a sleep state, c) waking up from a sleep state.
Regarding claim 28, Xu teaches wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the terminal device to: determine one or more time windows with radio coverage provided by at least one of a) the network device and/or b) the at least one further network device (Xu: Figs. 2 and 5; [0053], [0064], [0081] determining coverage at a given time).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KODZOVI ACOLATSE whose telephone number is (571)270-1999. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 10 am to 6pm.
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/KODZOVI ACOLATSE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2478
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