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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, 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, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shrestha et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2022/0132383) in view of Wigard et al. (U.S. Patent Application Number: 2022/0061004).
Consider claim 1; Shrestha discloses a method performed by a user equipment (UE) for a non- terrestrial network (NTN), the method comprising:
receiving [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15)], from a base station [“… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “The satellite 405 and/or 415 may include a base station 110 (par. 70, lines 9-10)], system information including first type information of a neighbouring cell for a cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20)], wherein the first type information indicates that the neighbouring cell is an NTN [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)];
performing [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)], based on the system information [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], a measurement on the neighbouring cell for the cell reselection [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)]; and
performing the cell reselection based on the measurement [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)].
Shrestha discloses the claimed invention except: wherein the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell,
wherein the system information further includes at least one of:
information on time when the neighbouring cell that is the NTN becomes available for a service; or
information on a location including location threshold information, and
wherein performing the measurement comprises:
initiating the measurement on the neighbouring cell, based on the information on time or when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information.
In an analogous art Wigard discloses the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)],
wherein the system information further includes at least one of:
information on time when the neighbouring cell that is the NTN becomes available for a service [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)]; or
information on a location including location threshold information, and
wherein performing the measurement comprises:
initiating the measurement on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)], based on the information on time or when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)].
It is an object of Shrestha’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell list management. It is an object of Wigard’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell measurements. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Shrestha by including a measurement period, as taught by Wigard, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunications network.
Consider claim 4, as applied in claim 1; Shrestha discloses the system information further includes second type information of the [[a]] serving cell associated with the UE [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the second type information indicates that the serving cell is an NTN or a terrestrial network (TN) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Consider claim 6; Shrestha discloses a method performed by a base station, the method comprising:
generating system information comprising first type information of a neighbouring cell for a cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)]; and
transmitting [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], to a user equipment (UE) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], the system information [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the first type information indicates that the neighbouring cell is an NTN [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], and wherein the system information is configured for a measurement on the neighbouring cell for the cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Shrestha discloses the claimed invention except: wherein the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell and the system information further includes at least one of information on time when the neighbouring cell that is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) becomes available for a service or information on a location including location threshold information
wherein generating the system information comprises identifying when the neighbouring cell starts serving an area covered by the base station to generate the information on time, and
wherein the location threshold information is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information, or the information on time is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell.
In an analogous art Wigard discloses the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell and the system information further includes at least one of information on time when the neighbouring cell that is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) becomes available for a service or information on a location including location threshold information [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)];
wherein generating the system information comprises identifying when the neighbouring cell starts serving an area covered by the base station to generate the information on time [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)], and
wherein the location threshold information is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information, or the information on time is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)].
It is an object of Shrestha’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell list management. It is an object of Wigard’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell measurements. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Shrestha by including a measurement period, as taught by Wigard, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunications network.
Consider claim 9, as applied in claim 6; Shrestha discloses the system information further includes second type information of the [[a]] serving cell associated with the UE [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the second type information indicates that the serving cell is an NTN or a terrestrial network (TN) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Consider claim 11; Shrestha discloses a user equipment (UE) for a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the UE comprising:
a transmitter [“…the UE 120 includes a transceiver.” (par. 55, line 13)];
a receiver [“…the UE 120 includes a transceiver.” (par. 55, line 13)]; and
at least one processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver [“…the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include… receive processor 258, transmit processor 264…” (par. 55, lines 13-16)], and configured to:
receive [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15)], from a base station [“… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “The satellite 405 and/or 415 may include a base station 110 (par. 70, lines 9-10)], system information including first type information of a neighbouring cell for a cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20)], wherein the first type information indicates that the neighbouring cell is an NTN [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)];
perform [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)], based on the system information [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], a measurement on the neighbouring cell for the cell reselection [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)]; and
perform the cell reselection based on the measurement [“The UE 515 may perform a cell reselection procedure to switch from the serving cell to the new cell based at least in part on determining that the first threshold is satisfied and the second threshold is satisfied.” (par. 92, lines 18-22)].
Shrestha discloses the claimed invention except: wherein the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell,
wherein the system information further includes at least one of:
information on time when the neighbouring cell that is the NTN becomes available for a service; or
information on a location including location threshold information, and
wherein performing the measurement comprises:
initiating the measurement on the neighbouring cell, based on the information on time or when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information.
In an analogous art Wigard discloses the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)],
wherein the system information further includes at least one of:
information on time when the neighbouring cell that is the NTN becomes available for a service [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)]; or
information on a location including location threshold information, and
wherein performing the measurement comprises:
initiating the measurement on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)], based on the information on time or when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)].
It is an object of Shrestha’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell list management. It is an object of Wigard’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell measurements. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Shrestha by including a measurement period, as taught by Wigard, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunications network.
Consider claim 14, as applied in claim 11; Shrestha discloses the system information further includes second type information of the [[a]] serving cell associated with the UE [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the second type information indicates that the serving cell is an NTN or a terrestrial network (TN) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Consider claim 16; Shrestha discloses a base station comprising:
a transmitter [“…the base station 110 includes a transceiver (par. 56, lines 15-16)];
a receiver [“…the base station 110 includes a transceiver (par. 56, lines 15-16)]; and
at least one processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver [“…the base station 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include…receive processor 238, transmit processor 220…” (par. 56, lines 15-19)], and configured to:
generate system information comprising first type information of a neighbouring cell for a cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)]; and
transmit [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], to a user equipment (UE) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], the system information [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the first type information indicates that the neighbouring cell is an NTN [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], and wherein the system information is configured for a measurement on the neighbouring cell for the cell reselection [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Shrestha discloses the claimed invention except: wherein the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell and the system information further includes at least one of information on time when the neighbouring cell that is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) becomes available for a service or information on a location including location threshold information
wherein generating the system information comprises identifying when the neighbouring cell starts serving an area covered by the base station to generate the information on time, and
wherein the location threshold information is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information, or the information on time is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell.
In an analogous art Wigard discloses the system information includes ephemeris information on the neighbouring cell and the system information further includes at least one of information on time when the neighbouring cell that is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) becomes available for a service or information on a location including location threshold information [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)];
wherein generating the system information comprises identifying when the neighbouring cell starts serving an area covered by the base station to generate the information on time [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)], and
wherein the location threshold information is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell when a distance between a location of the UE and a reference location of a serving cell exceeds the location threshold information, or the information on time is configured for the UE to initiate the measurement on the neighbouring cell [“…handover is to be performed from the first satellite to the second satellite and correspondingly idle terminal devices are to reselect the cell provided by the second satellite…” (par. 67, line 8-11) “The period 356 when neighbor cell measurements should be performed by the terminal devices may be indicated to the terminal devices for example by the gNB comprised in the first satellite.” (par. 67, lines 24-27)].
It is an object of Shrestha’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell list management. It is an object of Wigard’s invention to provide a method of neighbor cell measurements. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Shrestha by including a measurement period, as taught by Wigard, for the purpose of effectively providing services in a telecommunications network.
Consider claim 19, as applied in claim 16; Shrestha discloses the system information further includes second type information of the [[a]] serving cell associated with the UE [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)], wherein the second type information indicates that the serving cell is an NTN or a terrestrial network (TN) [“…each time that the UE switches to a cell 410 or 420 as a serving cell, the new serving cell provides a neighbor cell list that indicates neighbor cells of the serving cell. The indications of the neighbor cells may include corresponding cell selection/reselection parameters…” (par. 72, lines 11-15) “The cell selection/reselection information may be provided via system information blocks (SIBs) such as SIB4 and/or SIB5.” (par. 72, lines 18-20) “… a satellite 405 may serve a UE 120. The satellite 405 may provide one or more cells 410. (par. 70, lines 3-4) “One or more of the cells 420 may be neighbor cells to the serving cell 410.” (par. 70, lines 7-9)].
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE
MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within
TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not
mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the
shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any
extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
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