DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
1. Applicant's arguments filed 13 March 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant asserts, on pages 9-10 of Remarks, that “As clearly seen above, [0070] of the You reference only states that RTT (round trip time) is determined by the terminal (UE). This statement in You does not in any way teach or suggest that a determined RTT could or should be included in an MDT log that is generated by the UE based on measurements collected at the UE, as recited in independent claim 1. As seen above, 1
[0072] of You only states that "when the network side device is a satellite, a communication range of the satellite on the ground covers a cell." This statement does not in any way teach or suggest the claimed feature of a UE "generating an MDT log based on measurements collected at the UE, the MDT log including non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell information comprising at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay."”
You is relied on for disclosing the claim 1 limitation “the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay.” You states, in paragraph [0070]: “In an embodiment of the present disclosure, two methods for determining the RTT of the wireless signal are provided. That is, the RTT is determined by the network side device, and the RTT is determined by the terminal, respectively.” [emphasis added]. You states, in paragraph [0072]: “Moreover, when the network side device is a satellite, a communication range of the satellite on the ground covers a cell.” [emphasis added]. Therefore, You discloses that a terminal determines the round-trip time to a satellite. This corresponds to “the NTN cell information comprises at least one of … NTN cell round trip delay”.
In response to applicant's argument that the examiner's conclusion of obviousness is based upon improper hindsight reasoning, it must be recognized that any judgment on obviousness is in a sense necessarily a reconstruction based upon hindsight reasoning. But so long as it takes into account only knowledge which was within the level of ordinary skill at the time the claimed invention was made, and does not include knowledge gleaned only from the applicant's disclosure, such a reconstruction is proper. See In re McLaughlin, 443 F.2d 1392, 170 USPQ 209 (CCPA 1971). Paragraph [0004] of You reads: “It is precisely because the NTN technologies have many unique advantages that the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has begun to carry out research work on integration of the satellite communications and the terrestrial communications. In the integration process of the satellite communications and the terrestrial communications, functions or protocols of the fifth-generation mobile communications technology (5G) new radio (NR) suitable for the terrestrial communications need to be adjusted appropriately so as to adapt to the NTN technologies. For example, the NTN technologies may cause a relatively long propagation delay. If a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism suitable for the terrestrial communications is still used, burden on communication devices may be increased.” [emphasis added]. It can be seen here that the secondary reference, You, provides a motivation for adapting the 5G network disclosed by Ramachandra to the constraints of NTN communications.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
5. Claims 1, 3-4, 9-11, 17-19, 25, and 27-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0406760 (hereinafter Ramachandra), in view of You, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0200741 (hereinafter You).
Regarding claim 1, Ramachandra discloses a method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) (disclosed is a communication method performed by a wireless communication device, according to [0006]), comprising:
receiving a logging measurement message comprising a logged measurement configuration from a network device (the UE receives, in an RRC message from a network, MDT configurations that enable MDT measurement logging by said UE, according to [0072]-[0073]);
initiating a minimization of drive test (MDT) session in response to receiving the logging measurement message (after receiving the MDT configurations, the UE performs MDT logging, according to [0072], [0074]);
generating an MDT log based on measurements collected at the UE, the MDT log including non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell information (the UE generates an MDT log based on UE measurements that were performed when the UE was being served by a cell of an NTN, according to Abstract, [0005]-[0006], [0046]-[0047], [0076]-[0077]); and
transmitting, to the network device, the MDT log after completing the MDT session (the UE transmits an MDT measurement report, comprising the logged MDT measurements, to the network, according to Abstract, [0006], [0017], [0045], Fig. 1).
Ramachandra does not expressly disclose that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay.
You discloses that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay (a terminal determines RTT (round trip travel time) to a satellite in a satellite cellular network [“NTN cell round trip delay”], according to [0070], [0072]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra with You such that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to adapt 5G NR communications to the relatively long propagation delays associated with NTN technologies (You: [0003]-[0004]).
Regarding claim 9, Ramachandra discloses a method of wireless communication by a network device (disclosed is a communication method performed by a network node in a wireless communication network, according to [0018]), comprising:
transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a logging measurement message comprising a logged measurement configuration that requests non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell information (a UE receives, in an RRC message from the network, MDT configurations that enable MDT measurement logging by said UE, whereby said MDT configurations solicit MDT logging and reporting from the UE for an NTN cell, according to [0072]-[0073]); and
receiving a minimization of drive test (MDT) log based on measurements collected at the UE and the logged measurement configuration, the MDT log including the non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell information (the UE generates, and transmits, an MDT log based on UE measurements that were performed when the UE was being served by a cell of an NTN, according to Abstract, [0005]-[0006], [0045]-[0047], [0076]-[0077], Fig. 1).
Ramachandra does not expressly disclose that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay.
You discloses that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay (a terminal determines RTT (round trip travel time) to a satellite in a satellite cellular network [“NTN cell round trip delay”], according to [0070], [0072]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra with You such that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell mobility history, NTN cell timing advance (TA) average, or NTN cell round trip delay.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to adapt 5G NR communications to the relatively long propagation delays associated with NTN technologies (You: [0003]-[0004]).
Claim 17 recites the apparatus, comprising a memory and at least one processor coupled to said memory (disclosed is a UE that comprises a memory and a processor coupled to said memory, according to [0149], Fig. 6 [elements 600, 610, and 630]), that performs the method recited in claim 1, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 1.
Claim 25 recites the apparatus, comprising a memory and at least one processor coupled to said memory (disclosed is a network node that comprises a memory and a processor coupled to said memory, according to [0150], Fig. 7 [elements 700, 710, and 730]), that performs the method recited in claim 1, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 9.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Ramachandra discloses that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: terrestrial network cell visibility, NTN cell visibility, NTN cell mean access time, NTN cell coverage gap time, NTN usable bandwidth, or mean non-access stratum (NAS) round trip signaling delay (the UE logs channel bandwidth information, including the lower edge and upper edge in frequency, for an NTN cell [“NTN usable bandwidth”], according to [0100]).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, Ramachandra discloses that the logged measurement configuration requests the NTN cell information (the MDT configurations solicit MDT logging and reporting from the UE for an NTN cell, according to [0072]-[0077]).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 9. Additionally, Ramachandra discloses that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: NTN cell type, NTN cell mobility type, or NTN beam information (the UE logs measurement information for various specific NTN network types [“NTN cell type”], according to [0085]).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 9. Additionally, Ramachandra discloses that the NTN cell information comprises at least one of: terrestrial network cell visibility, NTN cell visibility, NTN cell mean access time, NTN cell coverage gap time, NTN usable bandwidth, or mean non-access stratum (NAS) round trip signaling delay (the UE logs channel bandwidth information, including the lower edge and upper edge in frequency, for an NTN cell [“NTN usable bandwidth”], according to [0100]).
Claim 18 does not differ substantively from claim 10, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 10.
Claim 19 does not differ substantively from claim 11, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 11.
Claim 27 does not differ substantively from claim 3, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 3.
Claim 28 does not differ substantively from claim 4, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 4.
6. Claims 5, 13, 21, and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra in view of You as applied to claims 1, 9, 17, and 25 above, further in view of Sharma et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2023/0268990 (hereinafter Sharma).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly discloses receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report.
Sharma discloses receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report (an NTN capable UE receives, from a gNB, a configuration to report nearby NTN cells, according to [0130], whereby the report of nearby NTN cells comprises handover related measurements, according to [0139]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Sharma by receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide a high quality, low latency communication link to users (Sharma: [0101]).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 9.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly discloses transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report; and receiving the NTN cell handoff report.
Sharma discloses transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report (an NTN capable UE receives, from a gNB, a configuration to report nearby NTN cells, according to [0130], whereby the report of nearby NTN cells comprises handover related measurements, according to [0139]); and
receiving the NTN cell handoff report (the UE sends the NTN cell report to the network, according to [0139]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Sharma by transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report; and receiving the NTN cell handoff report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide a high quality, low latency communication link to users (Sharma: [0101]).
Regarding claim 21, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 17.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly discloses that the at least one processor is further configured to receive a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report.
Sharma discloses that the at least one processor is further configured to receive a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report (an NTN capable UE receives, from a gNB, a configuration to report nearby NTN cells, according to [0130], whereby the report of nearby NTN cells comprises handover related measurements, according to [0139]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Sharma such that the at least one processor is further configured to receive a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide a high quality, low latency communication link to users (Sharma: [0101]).
Regarding claim 29, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 25.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly discloses that the at least one processor is further configured: to transmit a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report; and to receive the NTN cell handoff report.
Sharma discloses that the at least one processor is further configured:
to transmit a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report (an NTN capable UE receives, from a gNB, a configuration to report nearby NTN cells, according to [0130], whereby the report of nearby NTN cells comprises handover related measurements, according to [0139]); and
to receive the NTN cell handoff report (the UE sends the NTN cell report to the network, according to [0139]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Sharma such that the at least one processor is further configured: to transmit a UE information request for an NTN cell handoff report; and to receive the NTN cell handoff report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to provide a high quality, low latency communication link to users (Sharma: [0101]).
7. Claims 6, 14, 22, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra in view of You in view of Sharma as applied to claims 5, 13, 21 and 29 above, further in view of Bellamkonda et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0261197 (hereinafter Bellamkonda).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Ramachandra, You, and Sharma discloses all the limitations of claim 5.
Neither Ramachandra, You, nor Sharma expressly discloses that the NTN cell handoff report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each handover and a duration associated with the interruptions.
Bellamkonda discloses that the NTN cell handoff report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each handover and a duration associated with the interruptions (the number of unsuccessful handover attempts (which may occur in a satellite communication system, according to [0050]) within a particular time period are counted, according to [0112]-[0113]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You as modified by Sharma with Bellamkonda such that the NTN cell handoff report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each handover and a duration associated with the interruptions.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to remove neighbors, from a neighbor list, that are associated with a high number of unsuccessful handover attempts (Bellamkonda: [0112]-[0113]).
Claims 14, 22, and 30 do not differ substantively from claim 6, and are therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 6.
8. Claims 7, 15, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra in view of You as applied to claims 1, 9, and 17 above, further in view of Dash et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication 2024/0259897 (hereinafter Dash).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly discloses receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report.
Dash discloses receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report (UE history information in relation to NTN handovers is requested, according to [0088]-[0089], [0113]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Dash by receiving a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to facilitate intelligent traffic steering (Dash: [0010]).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Ramachandra and You discloses all the limitations of claim 9.
Neither Ramachandra nor You expressly disclose transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report; and receiving the NTN cell reselection history report.
Dash discloses transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report; and receiving the NTN cell reselection history report (UE history information in relation to NTN handovers is requested, according to [0088]-[0089], [0113]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You with Dash by transmitting a UE information request for an NTN cell reselection history report; and receiving the NTN cell reselection history report.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to facilitate intelligent traffic steering (Dash: [0010]).
Claim 23 does not differ substantively from claim 7, and is therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 7.
9. Claim 8, 16, and 24 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ramachandra in view of You in view of Dash as applied to claims 7, 15, and 23 above, further in view of Bellamkonda.
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Ramachandra, You, and Dash discloses all the limitations of claim 7.
Neither Ramachandra, You, nor Dash expressly discloses that the NTN cell reselection history report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each reselection and a duration associated with the interruptions.
Bellamkonda discloses that the NTN cell reselection history report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each reselection and a duration associated with the interruptions (the number of unsuccessful handover attempts (which may occur in a satellite communication system, according to [0050]) within a particular time period are counted, according to [0112]-[0113]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ramachandra as modified by You as modified by Dash with Bellamkonda such that the NTN cell reselection history report indicates a quantity of interruptions that have occurred for each reselection and a duration associated with the interruptions.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to remove neighbors, from a neighbor list, that are associated with a high number of unsuccessful handover attempts (Bellamkonda: [0112]-[0113]).
Claims 16 and 24 do not differ substantively from claim 8, and are therefore rejected on the same grounds as claim 8.
Conclusion
10. 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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/MATTHEW W GENACK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2645