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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1-11, 13-14, and 16-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1-3, 7-9, 13, 16-17, and 19-20, “receive opportunity” should read “reception opportunity.
In claims 1-8, 10-11, 13-14, and 16-20, “receive opportunities” should read “reception opportunities.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-12, 14, 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites “… said comprises selecting …” Claim 3 recites “… said comprises selecting …” Claim 4 recites “… said determining further comprises determining …” Claim 5 recites “… said selecting … said determining indicating …” Claim 6 recites “… said controlling discontinuous operation comprising to extend …” Claim 7 recites “… said determining comprises …” Claim 8 recites “… said determining and said selecting are …” Claim 9 recites “… said receiving and decoding …” Claim 10 recites “… response to said receiving and decoding receiving updated information …” Claim 11 recites “… said determining determines said current valid time period …” There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in claims 2-11 and are rejected. The rejection may be overcome by removing “said.”
Claims 2 recites “An apparatus according to …” and claims 3-12 have similar deficiencies. The rejection for claim 2 may be overcome by replacing “An apparatus …” by “The apparatus …” to clearly indicate. Similarly, the remedy can be applied to the rest of the claims 3-12 to overcome.
Claim 14 recites “A method according to …” and claims 16-19 have similar deficiencies. The rejection for claim 14 may be overcome by replacing “A method …” by “The method …” to clearly indicate. Similarly, the remedy can be applied to the rest of the claims, 16-19 to overcome.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 20 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li Chai et. al. (USPub. No.: US 20250070859 A1, hereinafter “Chai”) in a view of Zhi Yan et. al. (USPub. No: US 20240340074 A1, hereinafter, “Yan”).
Regarding claim 1, Chai teaches that an apparatus, comprising at least one processor: and at least one memory storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus at least to: (Chai, in Fig. 11 and in Paragraphs [0246]-[0247], teaches that as shown in Fig. 11, a terminal device including a bus 1101, a transceiver 1102, an antenna 1103, a bus interface 1104, a processor 1105, and a memory 1106, where the program is executed by the processor and various processes of the operation determination method of a terminal device are implemented.) Control discontinuous operation of said apparatus to control said apparatus to transition between an operational mode and a low power mode; (Chai, in Fig. 2 and in Paragraph [0106], teaches that when the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is received and the PDCCH indicated a new data transmission (operation mode), the terminal device enters a dormant state (inactive state: low power mode) when the DRX inactive timer overtimes. During the operation of the drx-InactivityTimer, if a duration nonB1 in which no beam is available is greater than or equal to a first duration k1, the terminal device enters the dormant state, and the timer is not reset and keeps operating. After the nonB1 ends the terminal device wakes up and enters an On duration state (active state: operational mode). During the operation of the drx-Inactivity Timer, if a duration nonB1 in which no beam is available is less than the first duration k1, the terminal device does not enter the dormant state and maintains the current On Duration state. Therefore, the terminal device performs state switching based on both the DRX inactive timer and the network assistance information.) receive and decode system information, said system information comprising satellite assistance information indicative of at least one of the following: location, direction, speed of a satellite or a valid time period indicative of a time period during which at least one of said satellite assistance information is valid; (Chai, in Paragraphs [0043]-[0053], teaches that the network assistance information (considered as satellite assistance information including ephemeris information) includes the position information of NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network), the orbit information of NTN, beam information for NTN (direction information), and the effective time period and/or the update cycle of the network assistance information of NTN (that represents valid time period to obtain the network assistance information). As described in [0076]-[0079], the terminal receives the short message that incudes the identifier to indicate whether the network assistance information of NTN exists and based on the identifier, the terminal obtains and reads the network assistance information broadcasted in the system message (system information message such as SIB (system information block) described in paragraphs [0080]-[0099]) by the network node.)
Chai does not explicitly teach that determine broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; select at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receive and decode to receive said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity.
Yan teaches that determine broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; (Yan, in Fig. 3 and 4 and in Paragraphs [0069]-[0071], teaches as shown in the example of Fig. 3, BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) modification period is determined by the system information and SFN values of H-SFN (Hyper-System Frame Number). Within the BCCH modification period, the system information is transmitted (broadcast) a number of times with the same contents, as defined by its scheduling. Further, In Fig. 4 and 6 and in Paragraph [0094], as an example, two BCCH modification periods, the period (n) and the period (n+1), are shown and each BCCH modification periods includes SI (System Information) windows with SI periodicity, where the SI periodicity is twice of the length of SI window. SIBx is transmitted and received in the SI windows 1 and 3 and the SIBx includes updated UL synchronization information such as updated satellite ephemeris information (considered as the satellite assistance information) and /or common TA (Timing Advance) information (including initial common TA and common TA drift rate). SIBx in each modification period can be different. As described in Paragraph [0096], at the end of BCCH modification period (n), the synchronization validity timer is started. The length of the synchronization validity timer is N, which is a fixed value that can be configured by the BS. Here, the synchronization validity timer and BCCH modification period, and SI window define the valid time period and during this period, the apparatus is in the operational mode.) select at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receive and decode to receive said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity. (Yan, in Fig. 6 and 7 and in Paragraphs [0094], [0096], and [0114]-[0117], teaches that UE receives and decodes (detects) a SIB (or SIBx) in a SI window selected in the BCCH modification window (period) and UE determines information of a synchronization validity timer based on the SI window and the BCCH modification window. Here, the SIB (SIBx) may include updated satellite ephemeris information and/or common TA information.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of determine broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; select at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receive and decode to receive said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 2, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yan further teaches that wherein said comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that is closest to an end of said valid time period (Yan, in Fig. 6-7, teaches that as shown in Fig. 6 and 7, within SI window that is one of the valid time periods (described in Paragraph [0094] and [0096]), the SI information can be received as one of reception opportunities near the end of the SI window.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of wherein said comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that is closest to an end of said valid time period of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 3, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yan further teaches that wherein said comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that are within a predetermined time of an end of said valid time period (Yan, in Fig. 6-7, teaches that as shown in Fig. 6 and 7, within SI window that is one of the valid time periods (described in Paragraph [0094] and [0096]), the SI information can be received as one of reception opportunities at the predetermined time by the scheduling (as described in Fig. 3 and in Paragraph [0069]) near the end of the SI window.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of wherein said comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that is closest to an end of said valid time period of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 12, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Chai further teaches that wherein said apparatus comprises a user equipment (Chai, in Paragraphs [0038], teaches the network assistance information (satellite assistance information) and the first state parameter are sent to the terminal device (UE) by the network device. After obtaining the network assistance information and the first state parameter, the terminal device can determine the operation of the terminal device based on the network assistance information and the first state parameter. Thus, the apparatus comprises UE.)
Regarding claim 13, Chai teaches that a method comprising: controlling discontinuous operation of an apparatus by controlling said apparatus to transition between an operational mode and a low power mode; (Chai, in Fig. 2 and in Paragraph [0106], teaches that when the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is received and the PDCCH indicated a new data transmission (operation mode), the terminal device enters a dormant state (inactive state: low power mode) when the DRX inactive timer overtimes. During the operation of the drx-InactivityTimer, if a duration nonB1 in which no beam is available is greater than or equal to a first duration k1, the terminal device enters the dormant state, and the timer is not reset and keeps operating. After the nonB1 ends the terminal device wakes up and enters an On duration state (active state: operational mode). During the operation of the drx-Inactivity Timer, if a duration nonB1 in which no beam is available is less than the first duration k1, the terminal device does not enter the dormant state and maintains the current On Duration state. Therefore, the terminal device performs state switching based on both the DRX inactive timer and the network assistance information.) receiving and decoding system information said system information comprising satellite assistance information indicative of at least one of the following: location, direction, speed of a satellite or a valid time period indicative of a time period during which at least one of said satellite assistance information is valid; (Chai, in Paragraphs [0043]-[0053], teaches that the network assistance information (considered as satellite assistance information including ephemeris information) includes the position information of NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network), the orbit information of NTN, beam information for NTN (direction information), and the effective time period and/or the update cycle of the network assistance information of NTN (that represents valid time period to obtain the network assistance information). As described in [0076]-[0079], the terminal receives the short message that incudes the identifier to indicate whether the network assistance information of NTN exists and based on the identifier, the terminal obtains and reads the network assistance information broadcasted in the system message (system information message such as SIB (system information block) described in paragraphs [0080]-[0099]) by the network node.)
Chai does not explicitly teach that determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receiving said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity.
Yan teaches that determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; (Yan, in Fig. 3 and 4 and in Paragraphs [0069]-[0071], teaches as shown in the example of Fig. 3, BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) modification period is determined by the system information and SFN values of H-SFN (Hyper-System Frame Number). Within the BCCH modification period, the system information is transmitted (broadcast) a number of times with the same contents, as defined by its scheduling. Further, In Fig. 4 and 6 and in Paragraph [0094], as an example, two BCCH modification periods, the period (n) and the period (n+1), are shown and each BCCH modification periods includes SI (System Information) windows with SI periodicity, where the SI periodicity is twice of the length of SI window. SIBx is transmitted and received in the SI windows 1 and 3 and the SIBx includes updated UL synchronization information such as updated satellite ephemeris information (considered as the satellite assistance information) and /or common TA (Timing Advance) information (including initial common TA and common TA drift rate). SIBx in each modification period can be different. As described in Paragraph [0096], at the end of BCCH modification period (n), the synchronization validity timer is started. The length of the synchronization validity timer is N, which is a fixed value that can be configured by the BS. Here, the synchronization validity timer and BCCH modification period, and SI window define the valid time period and during this period, the apparatus is in the operational mode.) selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receiving said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity. (Yan, in Fig. 6 and 7 and in Paragraphs [0094], [0096], and [0114]-[0117], teaches that UE receives and decodes (detects) a SIB (or SIBx) in a SI window selected in the BCCH modification window (period) and UE determines information of a synchronization validity timer based on the SI window and the BCCH modification window. Here, the SIB (SIBx) may include updated satellite ephemeris information and/or common TA information.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and receiving said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 16, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 13, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yan further teaches that wherein said step of selecting comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that is closest to an end of said valid time period (Yan, in Fig. 6-7, teaches that as shown in Fig. 6 and 7, within SI window that is one of the valid time periods (described in Paragraph [0094] and [0096]), the SI information can be received as one of reception opportunities near the end of the SI window.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of wherein said step of selecting comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that is closest to an end of said valid time period of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 17, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 13, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Yan further teaches that wherein said step of selecting comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that are within a predetermined time of an end of said valid time period (Yan, in Fig. 6-7, teaches that as shown in Fig. 6 and 7, within SI window that is one of the valid time periods (described in Paragraph [0094] and [0096]), the SI information can be received as one of reception opportunities at the predetermined time by the scheduling (as described in Fig. 3 and in Paragraph [0069]) near the end of the SI window.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of wherein said step of selecting comprises selecting said at least one receive opportunity as at least one of said receive opportunities that are within a predetermined time of an end of said valid time period of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Regarding claim 20, Chai teaches A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: (Chai, in Fig. 11 and in Paragraphs [0317], teaches that as shown in Fig. 11, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the various processes of the operation determination method embodiment are implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved.) decoding received system information said system information comprising satellite assistance information indicative of at least one of location, direction, speed of a satellite and a valid time period indicative of a time period during which at least one of said satellite assistance information is valid; (Chai, in Paragraphs [0043]-[0053], teaches that the network assistance information (considered as satellite assistance information including ephemeris information) includes the position information of NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network), the orbit information of NTN, beam information for NTN (direction information), and the effective time period and/or the update cycle of the network assistance information of NTN (that represents valid time period to obtain the network assistance information). As described in [0076]-[0079], the terminal receives the short message that incudes the identifier to indicate whether the network assistance information of NTN exists and based on the identifier, the terminal obtains and reads the network assistance information broadcasted in the system message (system information message such as SIB (system information block) described in paragraphs [0080]-[0099]) by the network node.)
Chai does not explicitly teach that determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and controlling the receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity.
Yan teaches that determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; (Yan, in Fig. 3 and 4 and in Paragraphs [0069]-[0071], teaches as shown in the example of Fig. 3, BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) modification period is determined by the system information and SFN values of H-SFN (Hyper-System Frame Number). Within the BCCH modification period, the system information is transmitted (broadcast) a number of times with the same contents, as defined by its scheduling. Further, In Fig. 4 and 6 and in Paragraph [0094], as an example, two BCCH modification periods, the period (n) and the period (n+1), are shown and each BCCH modification periods includes SI (System Information) windows with SI periodicity, where the SI periodicity is twice of the length of SI window. SIBx is transmitted and received in the SI windows 1 and 3 and the SIBx includes updated UL synchronization information such as updated satellite ephemeris information (considered as the satellite assistance information) and /or common TA (Timing Advance) information (including initial common TA and common TA drift rate). SIBx in each modification period can be different. As described in Paragraph [0096], at the end of BCCH modification period (n), the synchronization validity timer is started. The length of the synchronization validity timer is N, which is a fixed value that can be configured by the BS. Here, the synchronization validity timer and BCCH modification period, and SI window define the valid time period and during this period, the apparatus is in the operational mode.) selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and controlling the receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity (Yan, in Fig. 6 and 7 and in Paragraphs [0094], [0096], and [0114]-[0117], teaches that UE receives and decodes (detects) a SIB (or SIBx) in a SI window selected in the BCCH modification window (period) and UE determines information of a synchronization validity timer based on the SI window and the BCCH modification window. Here, the SIB (SIBx) may include updated satellite ephemeris information and/or common TA information.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai and Yan to include the technique of determining broadcast times during which further system information is broadcast during said valid time period and receive opportunities where said broadcast times coincide with time periods during which said apparatus is in operational mode; selecting at least one of said determined receive opportunities; and controlling the receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity of Yan in the system of Chai to provide solutions for determining a synchronization validity timer, which may address issues including misunderstanding of expiration time between a BS and a UE in wireless communication including NTN communication system. (Yan, see Paragraphs [0001]-[0002] and [0004])).
Claims 4-5, 8-10, and 14 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li Chai et. al. (USPub. No.: US 20250070859 A1, hereinafter “Chai”) in a view of Zhi Yan et. al. (USPub. No: US 20240340074 A1, hereinafter, “Yan”) and further in a view of Khan, Talha (Int. Pub. No: WO 2024035965 A1, hereinafter, “Khan”)
Regarding claim 4, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teaches wherein said determining further comprises determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities.
Khan teaches that wherein said determining further comprises determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities (Khan, in Paragraphs [0244]- [0247], teaches that as described in Paragraphs [0245] and [0247], for the NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) SIB decoding, if the UE can estimate the number of NTN SIBs "X" (X can be considered as the estimated (required) number of reception of NTN SIBs) that it may need to accumulate based on the previous successful acquisition of NTN SIBs or of SIBs other than the NTN SIB, and/or other information related to coverage such as RSRP/RSRQ levels, and/or SI configuration parameters. The UE may begin the decoding process with its assessment of "X" and only combine up to X SI windows or at least X SI windows. If its decoding attempts fail, it may increment the number X until successful decoding. Based on this observation, among valid SI windows to acquire the NTN SIB, in this application, in up to X (the estimated number of receipts of NTN SIBs) SI windows, NTN SIBs are received and accumulated for the decoding. Thus, the estimated number of receptions (accumulation) for NTN SIB decoding is less than the valid possible number of reception opportunities or the number of valid possible SI windows.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of wherein said determining further comprises determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Regarding claim 5, combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan teaches the feature defined in the claim 4, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Khan further teaches that wherein said selecting is responsive to said determining indicating that said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities to select an estimated required number of said receive opportunities (Khan, in Paragraphs [0244]- [0247], teaches that as described in Paragraphs [0245] and [0247], for the NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) SIB decoding, if the UE can estimate the number of NTN SIBs "X" (X can be considered as the estimated (required) number of reception of NTN SIBs) that it may need to accumulate based on the previous successful acquisition of NTN SIBs or of SIBs other than the NTN SIB, and/or other information related to coverage such as RSRP/RSRQ levels, and/or SI configuration parameters, where the X can be determined based on these information. The UE may begin the decoding process with its assessment of "X" and only combine up to X SI windows or at least X SI windows. If its decoding attempts fail, it may increment the number X until successful decoding. Based on this observation, among valid SI windows to acquire the NTN SIB, in this application, in up to X (the estimated number of receipts of NTN SIBs) SI windows, NTN SIBs are received and accumulated for the decoding. Thus, the estimated number of receptions (accumulation) for NTN SIB decoding is less than the valid possible number of reception opportunities or the number of valid possible SI windows. According to the results of the decoding, the number of accumulations of SI can be increased.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of wherein said selecting is responsive to said determining indicating that said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities to select an estimated required number of said receive opportunities of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Regarding claim 8, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teach that wherein said determining and said selecting are responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to decoding of said further system information, said further system information comprising an updated location of said satellite and an updated valid time period to determine and select receive opportunities within said updated valid time period.
Khan teaches that wherein said determining and said selecting are responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to decoding of said further system information, (Khan, in Paragraphs [0234]-[0238], teaches that if the network uses the epoch time indication, the validity timer value will be determined for each SIB, according to the validity timer granularity and SI periodicity. Therefore, the reception, accumulation, and decoding can be determined based on the validity timer value.) said further system information comprising an updated location of said satellite and an updated valid time period to determine and select receive opportunities within said updated valid time period (Khan, in Paragraph [0238], teaches that the satellite orbit determines whether the validity timer indicated in the NTN SIB can be assumed to be constant for NTN SIB accumulation, where the satellite orbit information or the satellite location information can be included in the ephemeris data as described in Paragraphs [0032]-[0036]. Further, according to the valid timer value determined by the epoch time, the reception opportunities in the valid time period are determined or selected.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of wherein said determining and said selecting are responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to decoding of said further system information, said further system information comprising an updated location of said satellite and an updated valid time period to determine and select receive opportunities within said updated valid time period of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Regarding claim 9, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Chai further teaches to indicate to said at least one processor for controlling discontinuous operation to control said apparatus to transition to operational mode during a time period encompassing a subsequent predetermined number of broadcast times during which said further system information is to be broadcast, (Chai, in Paragraphs [0106], teaches that as described in Paragraph [0106], during the discontinuous reception, the drx-Inactivity timer and On duration timer control the transition between the dormant state and the operational mode (active state). According to these timers, in the active state, the system information can be broadcasted as described in Paragraph [0078]-[0079].)
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teaches wherein said receiving and decoding is responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to being unable to decode said further system information, wherein said predetermined number comprises an estimated required number of receipts of said further system information to allow reliable decoding of said system information.
Khan teaches wherein said receiving and decoding is responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to being unable to decode said further system information, wherein said predetermined number comprises an estimated required number of receipts of said further system information to allow reliable decoding of said system information, wherein said predetermined number comprises an estimated required number of receipts of said further system information to allow reliable decoding of said system information (Khan, in Paragraph [0247], teaches that the UE may use additional information about coverage to aid this decoding process. If the UE can estimate the number of NTN SIBs "X" that it may need to accumulate based on the previous successful acquisition of NTN SIBs or of SIBs other than the NTN SIB, and/or other information related to coverage such as RSRP/RSRQ levels, and/or SI configuration parameters. Thus, X is predetermined required number of SI reception to allow the successful decoding. The UE may begin the decoding process with its assessment of "X" and only combine up to X SI windows or at least X SI windows. If its decoding attempts fail, it may increment the number X until successful decoding. This is the remedy when being unable to decode successfully.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique wherein said receiving and decoding is responsive to receipt of said further system information during said selected at least one receive opportunity and to being unable to decode said further system information, wherein said predetermined number comprises an estimated required number of receipts of said further system information to allow reliable decoding of said system information, wherein said predetermined number comprises an estimated required number of receipts of said further system information to allow reliable decoding of said system information of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Regarding claim 10, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teach that said apparatus being configured in response to said receiving and decoding receiving updated information providing satellite location and validity information from a network node to determine and select receive opportunities within an updated valid time period derived from said received updated information.
Khan teaches that said apparatus being configured in response to said receiving and decoding receiving updated information providing satellite location and validity information from a network node to determine and select receive opportunities within an updated valid time period derived from said received updated information (Khan, in Paragraphs [0234]-[0238], teaches that in Paragraph [0238], the satellite orbit determines whether the validity timer indicated in the NTN SIB can be assumed to be constant for NTN SIB accumulation and as described in Paragraph [0032]-[0035], the satellite orbit information is included in the ephemeris data. Thus, when updating the ephemeris information, the validity timer value can be updated.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique said apparatus being configured in response to said receiving and decoding receiving updated information providing satellite location and validity information from a network node to determine and select receive opportunities within an updated valid time period derived from said received updated information of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Regarding claim 14, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 13, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teach that further comprising determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities.
Khan teaches that further comprising determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities (Khan, in Paragraphs [0244]- [0247], teaches that as described in Paragraphs [0245] and [0247], for the NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) SIB decoding, if the UE can estimate the number of NTN SIBs "X" (X can be considered as the estimated (required) number of reception of NTN SIBs) that it may need to accumulate based on the previous successful acquisition of NTN SIBs or of SIBs other than the NTN SIB, and/or other information related to coverage such as RSRP/RSRQ levels, and/or SI configuration parameters. The UE may begin the decoding process with its assessment of "X" and only combine up to X SI windows or at least X SI windows. If its decoding attempts fail, it may increment the number X until successful decoding. Based on this observation, among valid SI windows to acquire the NTN SIB, in this application, in up to X (the estimated number of receipts of NTN SIBs) SI windows, NTN SIBs are received and accumulated for the decoding. Thus, the estimated number of receptions (accumulation) for NTN SIB decoding is less than the valid possible number of reception opportunities or the number of valid possible SI windows. According to the results of the decoding, the number of accumulation of SI can be increased.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of wherein said determining further comprises determining an estimated number of receipts of said further information required to decode said system information and determining whether said estimated required number of receipts is less than or equal to said number of receive opportunities of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Claims 6-7 and 18-19 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li Chai et. al. (USPub. No.: US 20250070859 A1, hereinafter “Chai”) in a view of Zhi Yan et. al. (USPub. No: US 20240340074 A1, hereinafter, “Yan”) and further in a view of Khan, Talha (Int. Pub. No: WO 2024035965 A1, hereinafter, “Khan”) and further in a view of Bharat Shrestha et. al. (USPub. No: US 20220353794 A1, hereinafter, “Shrestha”)
Regarding claim 6, combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan teaches the feature defined in the claim 4, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Khan further teaches that wherein in response to determining that said estimated required number of receipts is greater than said receive opportunities, (Khan, in Paragraph [0247], teaches that in this case, the required number of SI window to decode may not be received fully, (namely, the number of SI windows received, X SI windows, is less than the number the required number of SI windows to decode) its decoding attempts may fail and then, the SI window reception is extended (namely, it may increment the number X) until successful decoding, as described in [0247].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of wherein in response to determining that said estimated required number of receipts is greater than said receive opportunities, of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan does not explicitly teach that to determine by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and to transmit at least one indication of at least one operational mode extension to the at least one processor for controlling discontinuous operation;
said controlling discontinuous operation comprising to extend said at least one operational mode in response to receipt of said at least one indication.
Shrestha teaches to determine by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and to transmit at least one indication of at least one operational mode extension to the at least one processor for controlling discontinuous operation; (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the reference time and the update timer length for a particular system information parameter ( e.g., a TAC (Tracking Area Code) or ephemeris data (Satellite assistance information)) and/or cell status (e.g., a cell to be switched off and/or added to the NTN) may generally
indicate the expiration time for the system information parameter and/or cell status. The update timer
length may indicate a duration that a value of a system information parameter and/or a cell status is considered valid, starting from the reference time. In Paragraph [0074], the update timer length may be based on a combination of an integer multiple of the number of radio frames in an SFN wrap-around period and an integer multiple of another time duration, such as a system information modification period, a system information period, a system information scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle. Based on this observation, the extension of the operational mode can be determined by the update timer length that is determined by various cycle or periods such as the system information modification period, SI scheduling window, or paging DRX cycle, even with the discontinuous operation including the low power mode.) said controlling discontinuous operation comprising to extend said at least one operational mode in response to receipt of said at least one indication (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the operation mode extension can be determined by the update timer length, based on the system information period, the system information modification period (extension), SI scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle, where the length is determined by the number of radio frames in an SFN (System Frame Number) wrap-around period.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha to include the technique of to determine by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and to transmit at least one indication of at least one operational mode extension to the at least one processor for controlling discontinuous operation;
said controlling discontinuous operation comprising to extend said at least one operational mode in response to receipt of said at least one indication of Shrestha in the system of combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan to provide methods and apparatuses associated with a system information parameter update time in a NTN for the communication manager to determine a reference time for updating one or more system information parameters associated with an NTN or to update a cell status associated with the NTN. (Shrestha, see Paragraph [0036])).
Regarding claim 7, combination of Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha teaches the feature defined in the claim 6, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Khan further teaches that wherein said determining comprises to determine an additional number of receive opportunities required for said receive opportunities to equal said estimated required number of receipts and to select at least one operational mode to extend in order to provide said estimated additional required number of receive opportunities, (Khan, in Paragraph [0247], teaches that in this claim case, the required number of SI window to decode may not be received fully, (namely, the number of SI windows received, X SI windows, is less than the number the required number of SI windows to decode) its decoding attempts may fail and then, the SI window reception is extended (namely, it may increment the number X) until successful decoding, as described in [0247]. Thus, the extension of the reception opportunity makes X to equal the required number of the SI window (system information reception) to decode SI successfully.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan and Shrestha to include the technique of wherein said determining comprises to determine an additional number of receive opportunities required for said receive opportunities to equal said estimated required number of receipts and to select at least one operational mode to extend in order to provide said estimated additional required number of receive opportunities of Khan in the system of combination of Chai, Yan and Shrestha to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Shrestha further teaches said at least one operational mode being selected in dependence upon at least one of the following: a length of time of said extension; or a proximity of said additional receive opportunity to an end of said validity period (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the reference time and the update timer length for a particular system information parameter ( e.g., a TAC (Tracking Area Code) or ephemeris data (Satellite assistance information)) and/or cell status (e.g., a cell to be switched off and/or added to the NTN) may generally
indicate the expiration time for the system information parameter and/or cell status. The update timer
length may indicate a duration that a value of a system information parameter and/or a cell status is considered valid, starting from the reference time. In Paragraph [0074], the update timer length may be based on a combination of an integer multiple of the number of radio frames in an SFN wrap-around period and an integer multiple of another time duration, such as a system information modification period, a system information period, a system information scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle. Based on this observation, the extension of the operational mode (system information reception) can be determined by the update timer length that is determined by various cycle or periods such as the system information modification period, SI scheduling window, or paging DRX cycle and since this length indicates the valid period of the system information, it determine the number of additional reception opportunities within a valid time period.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha to include the technique of said at least one operational mode being selected in dependence upon at least one of the following: a length of time of said extension; or a proximity of said additional receive opportunity to an end of said validity period of Shrestha in the system of combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan to provide methods and apparatuses associated with a system information parameter update time in a NTN for the communication manager to determine a reference time for updating one or more system information parameters associated with an NTN or to update a cell status associated with the NTN. (Shrestha, see Paragraph [0036])).
Regarding claim 18, combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan teaches the feature defined in the claim 14, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Khan further teaches that following determining that said estimated required number of receipts is greater than said receive opportunities, (Khan, in Paragraph [0247], teaches that in this case, the required number of SI window to decode may not be received fully, (namely, the number of SI windows received, X SI windows, is less than the number the required number of SI windows to decode) its decoding attempts may fail and then, the SI window reception is extended (namely, it may increment the number X) until successful decoding, as described in [0247].
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan and Khan to include the technique of following determining that said estimated required number of receipts is greater than said receive opportunities, of Khan in the system of combination of Chai and Yan to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan does not explicitly teach that said method determines by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and extends said at least one operational mode by that amount.
Shrestha teaches said method determines by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the reference time and the update timer length for a particular system information parameter ( e.g., a TAC (Tracking Area Code) or ephemeris data (Satellite assistance information)) and/or cell status (e.g., a cell to be switched off and/or added to the NTN) may generally indicate the expiration time for the system information parameter and/or cell status. The update timer length may indicate a duration that a value of a system information parameter and/or a cell status is considered valid, starting from the reference time. In Paragraph [0074], the update timer length may be based on a combination of an integer multiple of the number of radio frames in an SFN wrap-around period and an integer multiple of another time duration, such as a system information modification period, a system information period, a system information scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle. Based on this observation, the extension of the operational mode can be determined by the update timer length that is determined by various cycle or periods such as the system information modification period, SI scheduling window, or paging DRX cycle, even with the discontinuous operation including the low power mode extends said at least one operational mode by that amount (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the operation mode extension can be determined by the update timer length, based on the system information period, the system information modification period (extension), SI scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle, where the length is determined by the number of radio frames in an SFN (System Frame Number) wrap-around period.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha to include the technique of said method determines by how much at least one operational mode might need to be extended to coincide with a broadcast time currently coinciding with a low power mode and extends said at least one operational mode by that amount of Shrestha in the system of combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan to provide methods and apparatuses associated with a system information parameter update time in a NTN for the communication manager to determine a reference time for updating one or more system information parameters associated with an NTN or to update a cell status associated with the NTN. (Shrestha, see Paragraph [0036])).
Regarding claim 19, combination of Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha teaches the feature defined in the claim 18, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Khan further teaches that said method further comprises determining an additional number of receive opportunities required for said receive opportunities to equal said estimated required number of receipts and selects at least one operational mode to extend in order to provide said estimated additional required number of receive opportunities, (Khan, in Paragraph [0247], teaches that in this claim case, the required number of SI window to decode may not be received fully, (namely, the number of SI windows received, X SI windows, is less than the number the required number of SI windows to decode) its decoding attempts may fail and then, the SI window reception is extended (namely, it may increment the number X) until successful decoding, as described in [0247]. Thus, the extension of the reception opportunity makes X to equal the required number of the SI window (system information reception) to decode SI successfully.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan and Shrestha to include the technique of said method further comprises determining an additional number of receive opportunities required for said receive opportunities to equal said estimated required number of receipts and selects at least one operational mode to extend in order to provide said estimated additional required number of receive opportunities of Khan in the system of combination of Chai, Yan and Shrestha to provide methods and signaling to facilitate NTN SIB accumulation in NTN to allow operation in coverage limited condition and to avoid decoding error when NTN SIB contents change frequently for both implicit and explicit epoch time indication. (Khan, see Paragraphs [0189] and [0193])).
Shrestha further teaches said at least one operational mode being selected in dependence upon at least one of the following: a length of time of said extension; or a proximity of said additional receive opportunity to an end of said validity period (Shrestha, in Fig. 5A and 5B and in Paragraphs [0071]-[0074], teaches that the reference time and the update timer length for a particular system information parameter ( e.g., a TAC (Tracking Area Code) or ephemeris data (Satellite assistance information)) and/or cell status (e.g., a cell to be switched off and/or added to the NTN) may generally
indicate the expiration time for the system information parameter and/or cell status. The update timer
length may indicate a duration that a value of a system information parameter and/or a cell status is considered valid, starting from the reference time. In Paragraph [0074], the update timer length may be based on a combination of an integer multiple of the number of radio frames in an SFN wrap-around period and an integer multiple of another time duration, such as a system information modification period, a system information period, a system information scheduling window, or a paging DRX cycle. Based on this observation, the extension of the operational mode (system information reception) can be determined by the update timer length that is determined by various cycle or periods such as the system information modification period, SI scheduling window, or paging DRX cycle and since this length indicates the valid period of the system information, it determine the number of additional reception opportunities within a valid time period.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha to include the technique of said at least one operational mode being selected in dependence upon at least one of the following: a length of time of said extension; or a proximity of said additional receive opportunity to an end of said validity period of Shrestha in the system of combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan to provide methods and apparatuses associated with a system information parameter update time in a NTN for the communication manager to determine a reference time for updating one or more system information parameters associated with an NTN or to update a cell status associated with the NTN. (Shrestha, see Paragraph [0036])).
Claims 11 are rejected under U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li Chai et. al. (USPub. No.: US 20250070859 A1, hereinafter “Chai”) in a view of Zhi Yan et. al. (USPub. No: US 20240340074 A1, hereinafter, “Yan”) and further in a view of Bharat Shrestha et. al. (USPub. No: US 20220353794 A1, hereinafter, “Shrestha”)
Regarding claim 11, combination of Chai and Yan teaches the feature defined in the claim 1, -refer to the indicated claim for reference(s).
Combination Chai and Yan does not explicitly teach that wherein said determining determines said current valid time period is to expire during a low power mode of operation and that an expected duration of said low power mode exceeds a subsequent valid time period determined from said further system information, not to determine or select receive opportunities during said subsequent valid time period.
Shrestha teaches that wherein said determining determines said current valid time period is to expire during a low power mode of operation and that an expected duration of said low power mode exceeds a subsequent valid time period determined from said further system information, not to determine or select receive opportunities during said subsequent valid time period (Shrestha, in Paragraphs [0072]-[0074], teaches that in Paragraph [0072], the reference time and the update timer length may indicate the expiration time for the system information parameter and/or cell status such that the UE may reacquire the SIB that indicates the most recent value of the system information parameter for one or more cells after the expiration time, where the update timer length indicates a duration that a value of a system information parameter and/or a cell status is considered valid, starting from the reference time. Thus, after the expiration time (out of valid time period for the current system information), it is needed to refresh or update the system information to determine or select the reception opportunities. The system information parameters, as described in Paragraph [0073], expires after one or multiple system information modification periods, as an integer multiple of a system information period such that the system information parameter expires after one or multiple system information periods, as an integer multiple of a system information scheduling window, or as an integer multiple of a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle (thus, the system information parameters can be expired during the low power mode in DRX cycle).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine Chai, Yan, Khan, and Shrestha to include the technique of wherein said determining determines said current valid time period is to expire during a low power mode of operation and that an expected duration of said low power mode exceeds a subsequent valid time period determined from said further system information, not to determine or select receive opportunities during said subsequent valid time period of Shrestha in the system of combination of Chai, Yan, and Khan to provide methods and apparatuses associated with a system information parameter update time in a NTN for the communication manager to determine a reference time for updating one or more system information parameters associated with an NTN or to update a cell status associated with the NTN. (Shrestha, see Paragraph [0036])).
Conclusion
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/JAEYOUNG KWAK/Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/KEVIN T BATES/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472