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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/24/26 has been entered.
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) 1, 2, 3, 9-12, 18, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0365216 A1) in view of Alasti et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0259983 A1) in view of Ioffe et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2022/0345205 A1)
1, KIM teaches a method comprising: attempting, by a user equipment (UE) device, to connect to a wireless network; detecting, by the UE device, a base station signal from a terrestrial network (TN) base station[par 0003, 0011, 0012, various electronic devices (e.g., terminals, wearable devices), An electronic device, according to an example embodiment, may comprise: obtaining a value corresponding to a cell area included in a primary synchronization signal (PSS) received from a first base station, determining that the first base station is a base station supporting a terrestrial network based on the obtained value corresponding to the cell area being included in a first range, The electronic device according to various example embodiments of the disclosure may shorten the process of decoding a signal received from a cell (or base station) and quickly search for a network to which a connection is desired in a situation where non-terrestrial networks and terrestrial networks are mixed];
determining, by the UE device, that a connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful, and determining that the connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful [par 0097, 0098, 0103, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network. In operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. , the processor 120 may determine that a cell, which has been detected based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range, is a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No];
Kim fail to show designating, by the UE device, the UE device as an interfering UE device, based on detecting the base station signal from the TN base station, and connecting, by the UE device, to a non-terrestrial (NTN) base station using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as the interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show designating, by the UE device, the UE device as an interfering UE device, based on detecting the base station signal from the TN base station [par 0010, 0040, 0041, a computer-implemented method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN, acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. The location of the UE can be a geographic point or area where the UE is currently connected with or attempting to connect with a TN or NTN. At block 604, the process 600 includes assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. In some embodiments, the spectrum band coverage information can be obtained from an applicable component of the network core, a third party system or service, or active probing of TN or NTN stations. The coverage information can include a map or other applicable representation that indicates geographical coverage of one or more spectrum bands used by the TN or NTN];
and connecting, by the UE device, to a non-terrestrial (NTN) base station using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as the interfering UE device [fig 4, par 0033-0036, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
KIM and Alasti fail to show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and the NTN base station associated with a NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station, wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency band and is different than a portion of the shared frequency and used by TN base station
In an analogous art Ioffe show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and an NTN base station associated with the NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station [fig 5, par 0058, For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98],
wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency ban [par 0058, the terrestrial communication node 97 to establish a communication link to the non-terrestrial communication node 98. For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98]
and is different than a portion of the shared frequency band used by TN base station [par 0058, For example, the 1610-1626.5 megahertz (MHz), the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz, and 1668-1675 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 1980-2010 MHz sub-band of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for uplink or transmitting data to the non-terrestrial communication node 98, and the 1518-1559 MHz and the 1613.8-1626.5 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 2170-2200 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz sub-bands of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for downlink or receiving data from the non-terrestrial communication node 98].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe because the user equipment transmitter and/or receiver configuration may increase communication efficiency, and even enable operation of the user equipment) in the different geographical regions as the user equipment may be dynamically set to a more efficient or permissible configuration with respect to non-terrestrial transmission and reception. [Ioffe par 0037]
2, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe disclose the method of claim 1, wherein the UE device detecting the base station signal from the TN base station includes: performing a cell search to identify TN base stations [KIM par 0095, 0097, method for searching for a terrestrial network by an electronic device, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network];
and detecting a primary synchronization signal transmitted by the TN base station [KIM par 0098, 0099, operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. the processor 120 may receive a signal for a detected cell and perform primary synchronization signal (PSS) detection (or decoding). A signal for a cell may include information about a cell area and ID. The signal for the cell may be included in the primary synchronization signal (PSS)].
3, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe create the method of claim 1, wherein connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode includes: connecting the UE device to a satellite associated with the NTN base station [KIM, par 0074, 0075, The dedicated antenna may include an antenna that supports a non-terrestrial network. The dual-purpose antenna may include an antenna that supports both different types of networks and a non-terrestrial network. For example, the electronic device 101 may communicate with at least one satellite (e.g., a GNSS satellite, a satellite for emergency message service) using at least one non-terrestrial network dedicated antenna. A satellite may, for example, be referred to as the non-terrestrial wireless communication device 220, and although a satellite is referred to as providing wireless communication based on a specific radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., LTE) or a specific function (e.g., a base station), this is only an example and is not limited to the type].
9, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe convey the method of claim 1, further comprising: making, by the UE device, another attempt to connect to a wireless network; determining, by the UE device, that the base station signal from the TN base station was detected; making, by the UE device, another connection attempt to the TN base station[KIM par 0097, 0098, 0103, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network. In operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. , the processor 120 may determine that a cell, which has been detected based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range, is a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No) the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
determining, by the UE device, that the other connection attempt to the TN base station was successful [KIM par 0104, The processor 120 may perform secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection (or decoding) in operation 612 based on the detected signal being included in the first preset range (operation 610—Yes). The processor 120 may obtain the information about a cell ID within a specific area by performing decoding on the SSS. The processor 120 may detect a cell ID using the information about a cell area N.sub.ID.sup.(2) included in the PSS and the information about an ID within a cell area];
and terminating, by the UE device, an attempt to connect to the NTN base station, in response to determining that the other connection attempt to the TN base station was successful [KIM fig 6, par 0105, 0106, The processor 120 may use the received SIB to determine whether the searched cell supports the frequency band of a terrestrial network or the frequency band of a non-terrestrial network. he processor 120 may register the searched cell on a list of the terrestrial network in operation 618]
10. Kim discloses a user equipment (UE) device comprising: a processor configured to: attempt to connect to a wireless network; detect a base station signal from a terrestrial network (TN) base station[par 0003, 0012, various electronic devices (e.g., terminals, wearable devices), An electronic device, according to an example embodiment, may comprise: obtaining a value corresponding to a cell area included in a primary synchronization signal (PSS) received from a first base station, determining that the first base station is a base station supporting a terrestrial network based on the obtained value corresponding to the cell area being included in a first range, The electronic device according to various example embodiments of the disclosure may shorten the process of decoding a signal received from a cell (or base station) and quickly search for a network to which a connection is desired in a situation where non-terrestrial networks and terrestrial networks are mixed];
determine that a connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful based on detecting the base station signal from the TN base station and determining that the connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful [par 0097, 0098, 0103, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network. In operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. , the processor 120 may determine that a cell, which has been detected based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range, is a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No];
KIM fail to show designate the UE device as an interfering UE device, and connect to a non-terrestrial (NTN) wireless network using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as the interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show designate the UE device as an interfering UE device[par 0010, 0040, 0041, a computer-implemented method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN, acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. The location of the UE can be a geographic point or area where the UE is currently connected with or attempting to connect with a TN or NTN. At block 604, the process 600 includes assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. In some embodiments, the spectrum band coverage information can be obtained from an applicable component of the network core, a third party system or service, or active probing of TN or NTN stations. The coverage information can include a map or other applicable representation that indicates geographical coverage of one or more spectrum bands used by the TN or NTN];
and connect to a non-terrestrial (NTN) wireless network using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device[fig 4, par 0033, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
KIM and Alasti fail to show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and the NTN base station associated with the NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station, wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency band.
In an analogous art Ioffe show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and an NTN base station associated with the NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station [fig 5, par 0058, For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98],
wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency ban [par 0058, the terrestrial communication node 97 to establish a communication link to the non-terrestrial communication node 98. For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98]
and is different than a portion of the shared frequency band used by TN base station [par 0058, For example, the 1610-1626.5 megahertz (MHz), the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz, and 1668-1675 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 1980-2010 MHz sub-band of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for uplink or transmitting data to the non-terrestrial communication node 98, and the 1518-1559 MHz and the 1613.8-1626.5 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 2170-2200 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz sub-bands of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for downlink or receiving data from the non-terrestrial communication node 98].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe because the user equipment transmitter and/or receiver configuration may increase communication efficiency, and even enable operation of the user equipment) in the different geographical regions as the user equipment may be dynamically set to a more efficient or permissible configuration with respect to non-terrestrial transmission and reception. [Ioffe par 0037]
11. KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe create the UE device of claim 10, wherein, when detecting the base station signal from the TN base station, the processor is further configured to: perform a cell search to identify TN base stations[KIM par 0095, 0097, method for searching for a terrestrial network by an electronic device, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network];
and detect a primary synchronization signal transmitted by the TN base station[KIM par 0098, 0099, operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. the processor 120 may receive a signal for a detected cell and perform primary synchronization signal (PSS) detection (or decoding). A signal for a cell may include information about a cell area and ID. The signal for the cell may be included in the primary synchronization signal (PSS)].
12, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe provide the UE device of claim 10, wherein, when connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, the processor is further configured to: connect the UE device to a satellite associated with the NTN base station[KIM, par 0074, 0075, The dedicated antenna may include an antenna that supports a non-terrestrial network. The dual-purpose antenna may include an antenna that supports both different types of networks and a non-terrestrial network. For example, the electronic device 101 may communicate with at least one satellite (e.g., a GNSS satellite, a satellite for emergency message service) using at least one non-terrestrial network dedicated antenna. A satellite may, for example, be referred to as the non-terrestrial wireless communication device 220, and although a satellite is referred to as providing wireless communication based on a specific radio access technology (RAT) (e.g., LTE) or a specific function (e.g., a base station), this is only an example and is not limited to the type].
18. KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe display the UE device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: make another attempt to connect to a wireless network; determine that the base station signal from the TN base station was detected; make another connection attempt to the TN base station [KIM par 0097, 0098, 0103, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network. In operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. , the processor 120 may determine that a cell, which has been detected based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range, is a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No) the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
determine that the other connection attempt to the TN base station was successful[KIM par 0104, The processor 120 may perform secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection (or decoding) in operation 612 based on the detected signal being included in the first preset range (operation 610—Yes). The processor 120 may obtain the information about a cell ID within a specific area by performing decoding on the SSS. The processor 120 may detect a cell ID using the information about a cell area N.sub.ID.sup.(2) included in the PSS and the information about an ID within a cell area];
and terminate an attempt to connect to the NTN base station, in response to determining that the other connection attempt to the TN base station was successful [KIM fig 6, par 0078, 0105, 0106, Connection to the network may include, for example, at least some of preceding operations for registration into the network (e.g., a camp-on, a connection procedure (e.g., a random access (RA) procedure)) and/or registration operations into the network (e.g., attach, registration), but is not limited thereto. In case where disconnection from the network is necessary (e.g., movement to another network), the electronic device 101 may perform at least some of disconnection operations. The processor 120 may use the received SIB to determine whether the searched cell supports the frequency band of a terrestrial network or the frequency band of a non-terrestrial network. he processor 120 may register the searched cell on a list of the terrestrial network in operation 618].
19. Kim creates a non-transitory computer-readable memory device storing instructions executable by a processor of a user equipment (UE) device [par 0049, For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g., the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with or without using one or more other components under the control of the processor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include a code generated by a compiler or a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium],
the non-transitory computer-readable memory device comprising: one or more instructions to attempt to connect to a wireless network; one or more instructions to detect a base station signal from a terrestrial network (TN) base station[par 0003, 0011, 0012, various electronic devices (e.g., terminals, wearable devices), An electronic device, according to an example embodiment, may comprise: obtaining a value corresponding to a cell area included in a primary synchronization signal (PSS) received from a first base station, determining that the first base station is a base station supporting a terrestrial network based on the obtained value corresponding to the cell area being included in a first range, The electronic device according to various example embodiments of the disclosure may shorten the process of decoding a signal received from a cell (or base station) and quickly search for a network to which a connection is desired in a situation where non-terrestrial networks and terrestrial networks are mixed];
one or more instructions to determine that a connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful, and determining that the connection attempt to the TN base station was not successful [par 0097, 0098, 0103, a processor (e.g., the processor 120 in FIG. 1 or a communication processor) may begin searching a network for the purpose of establishing a communication connection with a terrestrial network. In operation 604, the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and search for a cell to establish a communication connection. , the processor 120 may determine that a cell, which has been detected based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range, is a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No];
KIM fail to show one or more instructions to designate the UE device as an interfering UE device, based on detecting the base station signal from the TN base station and one or more instructions to connect to a non-terrestrial (NTN) wireless network using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as the interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show one or more instructions to designate the UE device as an interfering UE device[par 0010, 0040, 0041, a computer-implemented method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN, acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. The location of the UE can be a geographic point or area where the UE is currently connected with or attempting to connect with a TN or NTN. At block 604, the process 600 includes assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based, at least in part, on the determined UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. In some embodiments, the spectrum band coverage information can be obtained from an applicable component of the network core, a third party system or service, or active probing of TN or NTN stations. The coverage information can include a map or other applicable representation that indicates geographical coverage of one or more spectrum bands used by the TN or NTN];
based on detecting the base station signal from the TN base station and one or more instructions to connect to a non-terrestrial (NTN) wireless network using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as the interfering UE device[par 0033, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
KIM and Alasti fail to show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and an NTN base station associated with the NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station, wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency band.
In an analogous art Ioffe show wherein the sub-band mode comprises communication between the UE device and an NTN base station associated with the NTN wireless network using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station[fig 5, par 0058, For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98],
wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency ban [par 0058, the terrestrial communication node 97 to establish a communication link to the non-terrestrial communication node 98. For example, the user equipment 96 may send a request (e.g., via the processor 12) to the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98]
and is different than a portion of the shared frequency band used by TN base station [par 0058, For example, the 1610-1626.5 megahertz (MHz), the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz, and 1668-1675 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 1980-2010 MHz sub-band of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for uplink or transmitting data to the non-terrestrial communication node 98, and the 1518-1559 MHz and the 1613.8-1626.5 MHz sub-bands of the L band and the 2170-2200 MHz and 2483.5-2500 MHz sub-bands of the S band may be used by the user equipment 96 for downlink or receiving data from the non-terrestrial communication node 98].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe because the user equipment transmitter and/or receiver configuration may increase communication efficiency, and even enable operation of the user equipment) in the different geographical regions as the user equipment may be dynamically set to a more efficient or permissible configuration with respect to non-terrestrial transmission and reception. [Ioffe par 0037]
Claim(s) 4, 13, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0365216 A1) in view of Alasti et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0259983 A1), Ioffe et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2022/0345205 A1) in further view of LIU et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2017/0019800 A1)
4, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe illustrate the method of claim 1, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show wherein connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode includes: applying a sub-band filter to signals sent from the UE device to the NTN base station or to signals received by the UE device from the NTN base station.
In an analogous art LIU show wherein connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode includes: applying a sub-band filter to signals sent from the UE device to the NTN base station or to signals received by the UE device from the NTN base station [par 0071, As conventional LTE uplink is limited to transmission on consecutive tones, a subband allocated to a UE may consist of consecutive unit subbands, with the guard bands in between those unit subbands used by the UE to transmit its own subband signal. The outputs from the subband filters corresponding to the unit subbands that comprise the subband are combined to obtain the subband signal of a UE. The subband filters may be designed such that, after the subband filter outputs are combined, the subband signal of the UE undergoes minimal distortion. Hence, the beamforming techniques presented herein may leverage good subband separation and subband combinability].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and LIU because this provides sufficient subband separation such that subband beamforming may be performed on a corresponding subband signal. [LIU, par 0069]
13. Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe reveal the UE device of claim 10, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show wherein, when connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, the processor is further configured to: apply a sub-band filter to signals sent to the NTN base station or to signals received from the NTN base station.
In an analogous art LIU show wherein, when connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, the processor is further configured to: apply a sub-band filter to signals sent to the NTN base station or to signals received from the NTN base station[par 0071, As conventional LTE uplink is limited to transmission on consecutive tones, a subband allocated to a UE may consist of consecutive unit subbands, with the guard bands in between those unit subbands used by the UE to transmit its own subband signal. The outputs from the subband filters corresponding to the unit subbands that comprise the subband are combined to obtain the subband signal of a UE. The subband filters may be designed such that, after the subband filter outputs are combined, the subband signal of the UE undergoes minimal distortion. Hence, the beamforming techniques presented herein may leverage good subband separation and subband combinability].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and LIU because this provides sufficient subband separation such that subband beamforming may be performed on a corresponding subband signal. [LIU, par 0069]
6. Claim(s) 5, 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0365216 A1), Alasti et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0259983 A1) in view of Ioffe et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2022/0345205 A1), in further view of Huang et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2023/0118586 A1).
5. Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe provide the method of claim 1, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show wherein connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode includes: selecting, by the UE device, an antenna beam that does not interfere with the TN base station.
In an analogous art Huang show wherein connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode includes: selecting, by the UE device, an antenna beam that does not interfere with the TN base station [par 0029, For example, the UE may select a UL beam that maximizes a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) of a first received signal while also ensuring that self-interference to a second received signal caused by a transmitted signal is less than a threshold. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may select a UL beam that minimizes a correlation coefficient between a transmission beam and the UL beam used to transmit the FD reference signal while also ensuring that self-interference to a received signal caused by the transmitted signal is less than a threshold. In this manner, the UE selects UL beams for transmission of FD reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRSs)) that improve UL gain and that reduce self-interference to DL signals at the UE].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe and Huang because this provides a process and techniques for determining UE reference signals, and the UL beams via which to transmit the reference signals, that reduce self-interference with DL signals at the UE[Huang par 0030].
14, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe provide the UE device of claim 10, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show wherein, when connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, the processor is further configured to: select an antenna beam that does not interfere with the TN base station.
In an analogous art Huang show wherein, when connecting to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, the processor is further configured to: select an antenna beam that does not interfere with the TN base station[par 0029, For example, the UE may select a UL beam that maximizes a signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) of a first received signal while also ensuring that self-interference to a second received signal caused by a transmitted signal is less than a threshold. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE may select a UL beam that minimizes a correlation coefficient between a transmission beam and the UL beam used to transmit the FD reference signal while also ensuring that self-interference to a received signal caused by the transmitted signal is less than a threshold. In this manner, the UE selects UL beams for transmission of FD reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRSs)) that improve UL gain and that reduce self-interference to DL signals at the UE].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe and Huang because this provides a process and techniques for determining UE reference signals, and the UL beams via which to transmit the reference signals, that reduce self-interference with DL signals at the UE[Huang par 0030].
8. Claim(s) 6-8, 15-17, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KIM (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0365216 A1) in view of Alasti et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2024/0259983 A1), Ioffe et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2022/0345205 A1) in further view of HWANG et al. (U.S. Pub No. 2021/0021355 A1).
6, Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe demonstrate the method of claim 1, further comprising: making another attempt, by the UE device, to connect to a wireless network; determining, by the UE device, that a base station signal from the TN base station was not detected [KIM fig 6, par 0103, a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No), the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show determining, by the UE device, that cross-link interference with another UE device was not detected; and that the cross-link interference with the other UE device was not detected
In an analogous art HWANG show determining by the UE device that cross-link interference with another UE device was not detected [abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value],
and that the cross-link interference with the other UE device was not detected [par 0159, 0160, A UE may detect a sounding reference signal (SRS) from an adjacent UE in order to measure interference. The UE may derive or determine Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) using the detected SRS. The UE may determine an interference value as in the following table based on a value of RSRP]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
KIM, HWANG, and Ioffe designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device, in response to determining that the base station signal from the TN station was not detected and that the cross-link interference with the other UE device was not detected; and connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using a full-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device in response to determining that the base station signal from the TN station was not detected; and connecting the UE device to the NTN base station using a full-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device [par 0061, 0042, claim 1, At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN. UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN; acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference; and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. Spectrum coexistence can be resolved in at least the following scenarios type 1, 4 , 5 will not create interference. Similar actions can be taken for TN-NTN spectrum overlap or spectrum coexistence for other bands such as: S-Band, L-Band, C-Band, Q/V Band, Ka Band, and Ku Band]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, HWANG, Ioffe, and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
7. Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising: making another attempt, by the UE device, to connect to a wireless network; determining, by the UE device, that a base station signal from a TN base station was not detected [KIM fig 6, par 0103, a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No), the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show detecting, by the UE device, cross-link interference with another UE device; designating, by the UE device, the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device;
In an analogous art HWANG show detecting, by the UE device, cross-link interference with another UE device[abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value],
the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device[par 0159, 0160, A UE may detect a sounding reference signal (SRS) from an adjacent UE in order to measure interference. The UE may derive or determine Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) using the detected SRS. The UE may determine an interference value as in the following table based on a value of RSRP]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
KIM, Ioffe and HWANG fail to show connecting, by the UE device, to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show connecting, by the UE device, to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device[par 0033, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, HWANG, Ioffe, and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
8, KIM, Alasti, Ioffe and HWANG disclose the method of claim 7, KIM, Ioffe, and Alasti fail to show wherein detecting, by the UE device, the cross-link interference with the other UE device includes: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the other UE device.
In an analogous art HWANG show wherein detecting, by the UE device, the cross-link interference with the other UE device includes: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the other UE device [abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value],
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
15. KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe provide the UE device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: make another attempt to connect to a wireless network; determine that a base station signal from the TN base station was not detected[KIM fig 6, par 0103, a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No), the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show determine that cross-link interference with another UE device was not detected; designate the UE device as a non-interfering UE device, and that the cross-link interference with the other UE device was not detected
In an analogous art HWANG show determine that cross-link interference with another UE device was not detected[abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value];
designate the UE device as a non-interfering UE device[par 0159, 0160, A UE may detect a sounding reference signal (SRS) from an adjacent UE in order to measure interference. The UE may derive or determine Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) using the detected SRS. The UE may determine an interference value as in the following table based on a value of RSRP]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
KIM, Ioffe, and HWANG fail to show in response to determining that the base station signal from the TN station was not detected; and connect to the NTN base station using a full-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show in response to determining that the base station signal from the TN station was not detected; and connect to the NTN base station using a full-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as a non-interfering UE device[par 0061, 0042, claim 1, At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN. UE location and spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN; acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference; and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. Spectrum coexistence can be resolved in at least the following scenarios type 1, 4 , 5 will not create interference. Similar actions can be taken for TN-NTN spectrum overlap or spectrum coexistence for other bands such as: S-Band, L-Band, C-Band, Q/V Band, Ka Band, and Ku Band]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Ioffe, HWANG, and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
16. KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe provide the UE device of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: make another attempt to connect to a wireless network; determine that a base station signal from a TN base station was not detected [KIM fig 6, par 0103, a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No), the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show detect cross-link interference with another UE device; designate the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device;
In an analogous art HWANG show detect cross-link interference with another UE device[abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value];
designate the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device[par 0159, 0160, A UE may detect a sounding reference signal (SRS) from an adjacent UE in order to measure interference. The UE may derive or determine Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) using the detected SRS. The UE may determine an interference value as in the following table based on a value of RSRP]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
KIM, Ioffe, and HWANG fail to show connect to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device.
In an analogous Alasti show connect to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device [par 0033, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Ioffe, HWANG, and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
17, KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG create the UE device of claim 16, KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show wherein, when detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device, the processor is further configured to: detect a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the other UE device.
In an analogous HWANG show wherein, when detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device, the processor is further configured to: detect a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the other UE device[abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value],
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
20. KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe define the non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 19, further comprising: one or more instructions to make another attempt to connect to a wireless network; one or more instructions to determine that a base station signal from a TN base station was not detected[KIM fig 6, par 0103, a cell that does not support the frequency band of the terrestrial network. Based on a matter that the detected signal is not included in the first preset range (operation 610-No), the processor 120 may select a specific frequency band and detect the cell signal again in operation 604];
KIM, Alasti, and Ioffe fail to show one or more instructions to detect cross-link interference with another UE device; one or more instructions to designate the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device;
In an analogous art HWANG show one or more instructions to detect cross-link interference with another UE device[abstract, A method performed for measuring Cross Link Interference (CLI), the method performed by a User Equipment (UE) and comprising: detecting a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) from the neighbor UE; measuring receiving sensitivity based on the SRS; transmitting a measurement report including interference value];
one or more instructions to designate the UE device as an interfering UE device based on detecting the cross-link interference with the other UE device[par 0159, 0160, A UE may detect a sounding reference signal (SRS) from an adjacent UE in order to measure interference. The UE may derive or determine Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) using the detected SRS. The UE may determine an interference value as in the following table based on a value of RSRP]
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Alasti, Ioffe, and HWANG because this provides a method of applying flexible duplex in order to increase system capacity using a DL/UL ratio in response to the amount of traffic more efficiently[HWANG par 0143]
KIM, Ioffe, and HWANG fail to show one or more instructions to connect to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device.
In an analogous art Alasti show one or more instructions to connect to the NTN base station using the sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device[par 0033, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE. Illustratively, the NTN operates in S-band, which has coexistence with TN n1 FDD. At block 606, the process 600 includes acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN based, at least in part, on the assessed potential interference. Acting on the UE's connection to the NTN or a request from the UE for connection to the NTN can include at least one of deregistering the UE connected to the NTN, maintaining the UE's connection to the NTN, rejecting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN, or accepting the request from the UE for connection to the NTN].
Before the effective filing date it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teachings of KIM, Ioffe, HWANG, and Alasti because provides a method for managing interference between a TN and an NTN includes determining a location of a UE, assessing potential interference between the TN and NTN based and updating the spectrum band coverage information of the TN and NTN. [Alasti par 0002]
Response to Arguments
Although loffe lists various frequency ranges within the L band and the S band that may be used by the user equipment 96 for communication with the non-terrestrial communication node 98, nothing in Ioffe discloses or suggests that any of those listed frequency ranges are within a frequency band shared by a TN base station and an NTN base station.
The examiner respectfully disagrees par 0058 specifically states, the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98, the paragraph shows the terrestrial node seeking a frequency channel for uplink and downlink to communicate with the non-terrestrial node.
Moreover, nothing in loffe discloses or suggests that the user equipment 96 communicates with the non-terrestrial communication node 98 using any sub-band of a shared frequency band in response to designating the user equipment 96 as the interfering UE device.
The examiner respectfully disagrees in Ioffe fig 5, there is communication link between user equipment 96, and the non-terrestrial node 98.
Ioffe contains no disclosure that any such request is, or could be, made "in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device," as required by amended claim 1, nor does the combination of Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe describe or suggest this feature.
The examiner respectfully disagrees designating the UE device as an interfering UE device is disclosed by secondary reference Alasti shows connecting, by the UE device, to a non-terrestrial (NTN) base station using a sub-band mode, in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device fig 4, par 0033-0036, 0042, FIG. 4, Interference Type 1 (i1) occurs when TN DL is an aggressor (e.g., the spectrum band causing interference) and NTN DL is a victim (e.g., the desired spectrum band for use) in its communication with a UE.
Amended claim 1 further recites that the defined portion (of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station) is different than a portion of the shared frequency band used by TN base station. loffe does not disclose or suggest this feature. Ioffe does not disclose or suggest that the TN base station (e.g., the terrestrial communication node 97) uses any different portion of the same frequency band used by the non-terrestrial communication node 98. Indeed, the L band and S band sub-band frequencies enumerated in paragraph 0058 of Ioffe are described in Ioffe as being used by the user equipment 96 only for satellite communications.
The examiner respectfully disagrees par 0058 specifically states, the terrestrial communication node 97 seeking an available uplink frequency channel and/or an available downlink frequency channel to establish communications with the non-terrestrial communication node 98. These channels may be within the L frequency band (e.g., a 1.6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band) and/or the S frequency band (e.g., a 2 GHz frequency band) that may be used for communication with satellites such as the non-terrestrial communication node 98, the paragraph shows the terrestrial node seeking a frequency channel for uplink and downlink to communicate with the non-terrestrial node.
Accordingly, nothing in Ioffe, alone or in combination with Kim and Alasti, discloses or suggests the recited sub-band mode features of amended claim 1, namely (i) communication using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station, (ii) wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency band, (iii) wherein a different portion of the shared frequency band is used by the TN base station, and (iv) in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device. The Final Office Action's proposed combination thus fails to teach or suggest each and every limitation of claim 1, amended as proposed.
The stated motivation to combine Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe in the manner alleged is also deficient. The Final Office Action combines the teachings of Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe because doing so would allegedly "increase communication efficiency, and even enable operation of the user equipment in the different geographical regions as the user equipment may be dynamically set to a more efficient or permissible configuration with respect to non-terrestrial transmission and reception." (Final Office Action - p. 6, citing Toffe paragraph 0037). Applicant respectfully disagrees.
The examiner respectfully disagrees the rationale to modify or combine the prior art does not have to be expressly stated in the prior art; the rationale may be expressly or impliedly contained in the prior art or it may be reasoned from knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art, established scientific principles, or legal precedent established by prior case law. Please review MPEP 2144 (I.). Ioffe disclose communication using a defined portion of a frequency band shared by the TN base station and the NTN base station, (ii) wherein the defined portion comprises less than an entirety of the shared frequency band, (iii) wherein a different portion of the shared frequency band is used by the TN base station.
In an analogous art Alasti show in response to designating the UE device as an interfering UE device.
The Final Office Action has not retracted, and the present After Final Amendment does not concede, the points previously made with respect to Alasti and Kim. Rather, those points remain part of the basis on which the deficiencies of the proposed Kim/Alasti/loffe combination should be evaluated, particularly in light of the present further clarifying amendment to claim 1.
For at least the foregoing reasons, Applicant respectfully submits that claim 1, as amended, is patentable over the combination of Kim, Alasti, and Toffe. Accordingly, reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of claim 1 under 35 U.S.C. § 103 are respectfully requested.
The examiner respectfully disagrees the applicant argument was deem moot because the applicant argument was directed toward Kim and Alasti in what each art didn’t teach in view of the claim amendment. The argument was deem moot because there introduction of new art Ioffe which didn’t apply to applicant’s arguments
Amended independent claims 10 and 19 recite features similar to, yet possibly of different scope than, features recited above with respect to amended claim 1. Therefore, claims 10 and 19 are patentable over the combination of Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe for at least reasons similar to the reasons given above with respect to amended claim 1.
The examiner respectfully disagrees in view of the office action.
Claim 4 depends from amended claim 1 and claim 13 depends from amended claim 10. Applicant submits that Liu fails to compensate for the deficiencies in the combination of Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe described above with respect to amended claims 1 and 10. Thus, at least by virtue of their dependency, claims 4 and 13 are not rendered obvious by the combination of Kim, Alasti, Ioffe, and Liu. Moreover, these claims are patentable over the combination of Kim, Alasti, Ioffe, and Liu for one or more additional reasons.
The examiner respectfully disagrees the examiner believes Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe anticipates the independent claims in view of the office action
Claim 5 depends from amended claim 1 and claim 14 depends from amended claim 10. Applicant submits that Huang fails to compensate for the deficiencies in the combination of Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe described above with respect to amended claims 1 and 10. Thus, at least by Rather, Hwang merely discloses that CLI may be measured by an adjacent UE. Hwang also does not disclose the further features of the sub-band mode added by way of the proposed amendment to claim 1,
The examiner respectfully disagrees the examiner believes Kim, Alasti, and Ioffe anticipates the independent claims in view of the office action
Conclusion
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/JASON A HARLEY/Examiner, Art Unit 2468
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