DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 17 is objected to because of the following informalities: In line 7, “times tamp” should read --time stamp--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 18 is 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 18 recites the limitations “the first reception time” in line 2, “the second reception time” in line 2, “the user device” in line 2, “the first downlink signal” in line 3 and “the second downlink signal” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Medeiros et al. (Medeiros), WO 2023/147850 A1.
Regarding claim 17, Medeiros discloses a base station (BS) (The RAN node 170 is a base station that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to a wireless network.) (0028) suitable for an NTN (embodiments herein relate generally to terrestrial networks (TNs), such as cellular systems, and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) such as satellite communication systems) (0001), comprising: a memory (The RAN node 170 includes circuitry comprising one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155) (0029) disposed to store an ephemeris data; a network interface (The RAN node 170 includes circuitry comprising…one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F(s))) (0029) connecting a satellite control center and a satellite channel emulator (The NTN device 20 may be an emulator that emulates GNSS signals. Further, the NTN device 20 may be an emulator that emulates NTN communication signals.) (0033), and disposed to receive the ephemeris data from the satellite control center (a sequence of ephemeris positions (e.g., a vector of data) is pre-stored, either by collecting real data from a satellite control center) (00199); and a processor coupled to the memory and the network interface to obtain the ephemeris data (The RAN node 170 includes circuitry comprising one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F(s))) (0029) and adjusting a timestamp in the ephemeris data forward or backwards (using timing advance and timing offset data) (0048, 0051) to generate an adjusted ephemeris data (error information introduced into the ephemeris values for the simulated satellite) (00299).
Medeiro discloses using a timing offset value used to help calculate the timing advance which is used in generating the adjusted ephemeris data as described above (N.sub.TA, common is network-controlled common TA, and may include any timing offset considered necessary by the network. N.sub.TA, offset is .sup.a fixed offset used to calculate the timing advance.”) (0048, 0051).
Medeiro, however, fails to specifically disclose the base station receiving the timing offset value from the satellite emulator in a broadcast.
The examiner contends, however, that the before the effective filing date, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Medeiro to receive the timing offset value from the emulator in a broadcast. The motivation would have been to help improve the positioning (setting ephemeris values for the base station for the simulated satellite and causing the ephemeris values to be broadcasted toward the user equipment, wherein the ephemeris values represent positioning of the simulated satellite through which the signals are supposed to travel) (00292).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The present invention discloses a method for measuring a broadcast time offset value of satellite signals by calculating time difference. Methods and apparatuses for calculating time offset values in a satellite system is not an unknown technique in the art. However, the closest prior art of record taken solely or in combination, fails to suggest or render obvious the present invention as a whole.
Specifically, Regarding independent claims 1 and 10, Krishnamurthy does not disclose or render obvious using a known interval time as a unit time length to calculate a plurality of satellite distance difference values corresponding to a plurality of the unit time lengths through a satellite distance function, obtaining a plurality of satellite movement time variations through dividing the plurality of satellite distance difference values by an electromagnetic wave propagation speed, generating a satellite movement function based on each of a plurality of sampling times and each of the plurality of satellite movement time variations corresponding to each of the plurality of sampling times; wherein the satellite distance function is a function of the plurality of sampling times corresponding to a plurality of receiving distances between the user device and the satellite; using the reception time difference variation to calculate the corresponding sampling time through the satellite movement function as a downlink signal reception time; obtaining a current distance between the user device and the satellite at the second reception time according to an ephemeris data, and using the current distance as the receiving distance of the satellite distance function to calculate the corresponding sampling time as an ephemeris broadcast time; and calculating a broadcast time offset value, wherein the broadcast time offset value is the downlink signal reception time plus the known interval time minus the ephemeris broadcast time.
Regarding claim 8, Krishnamurthy does not disclose or render obvious obtaining a first reception time when the network interface receives the first downlink signal, and obtaining a second reception time when the network interface receives the second downlink signal, wherein the first downlink signal and the second downlink signal are signals with a known interval time wherein the second reception time minus the first reception time and the known interval time is a reception time difference variation; transmitting the first reception time, the second reception time and the reception time difference variation to the satellite channel emulator through the network interface; receiving the broadcast time offset value from through the network interface; and calculating a satellite position according to an ephemeris data and determining an uplink timing advance or retard time based on the broadcast time offset value.
Claim 18 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable (for reasons as indicated above) if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lee et al. U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2022/0291394, discloses a method and apparatus for handling ephemeris information for a NTN cell in a wireless communication system.
Agrawal, U.S. Patent No. 8,675,635 discloses master terminal synchronization for mesh satellite communication.
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/TEMICA M BEAMER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646