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 Amendment
This office action is in reply to Applicant’s Response dated 01/08/2026. Claims 1, 2, 4-7, 18, 23, 25, 26, 32, 36, 59, and 62 were amended. Claims 1, 2, 4-7, 10, 18, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 32, 36, 59, 60, 62, 64, and 65 are pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
To teach the amendment, two additional references Laselva (U.S. PGPUB 2019/0342845), Laselva hereinafter and Zhang et al (U.S. PGPUB 2010/0331013), Zhang hereinafter in combination with existing references are now relied upon to teach the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 59 and 60 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0124795), Wu hereinafter. Wu teaches all of the limitations of the specified claim with the following reasoning.
Regarding claim 59, Wu teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, at a user equipment (UE), valid time information indicated by a base station (BS), wherein the valid time information specifies a validity period during which at least one of common timing advance (TA) information or common TA drift information remains applicable; and (paragraph 0378 - the UE estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station in advance before the TA is expected to be invalid, so as to ensure the continuity of TA usage, that is, ensure that there is no gap period in which the TA is invalid so that no uplink transmission can be transmitted during the gap period except PRACH. For example, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before a beam switching occurs; or, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before the validation time of the estimated TA expires; or, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before a change of the geographical location is expected to exceed a certain range.)
determining, by using a timer at the UE, whether the at least one of the common TA information or the common TA drift information has expired based on the received valid time information; and (paragraph 0378 - the UE estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station in advance before the TA is expected to be invalid, so as to ensure the continuity of TA usage, that is, ensure that there is no gap period in which the TA is invalid so that no uplink transmission can be transmitted during the gap period except PRACH. For example, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before a beam switching occurs; or, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before the validation time of the estimated TA expires; or, the UE re-estimates a TA and/or receives a common TA latest indicated by the base station before a change of the geographical location is expected to exceed a certain range.)
performing a random access (RACH) process at the UE when the valid time expires to re- access the BS (paragraph 0370 - According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when or before the fourth timing advance is invalid, the UE may perform the following operations: [0371] re-estimating the second timing advance, determining the third timing advance based on the latest estimated second timing advance, and using the third timing advance for uplink transmission, or initiating a random access procedure and using the third timing advance for PRACH transmission, ...).
Regarding claim 60, Wu teaches claim 59.
Wu further teaches 60. (Original) The method of claim 59, further comprising resetting the timer when at least one of the following conditions is met: subsequent common TA information is activated, a subsequent common TA drift information is activated, a user equipment receives a MAC CE TA command, or a command to reset the timer is received (paragaraph 0324 to 0327 - ... triggering the reporting of the second timing advance if a timer for controlling the reporting of a timing advance expires, wherein the timer for controlling the reporting of a timing advance is started or restarted after the second timing advance is reported every time.[0325] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, receiving an instruction of triggering the reporting of a timing advance indicated by the base station may include one of the following: [0326] receiving an instruction of triggering the reporting of a timing advance indicated by the base station through DCI; and [0327] receiving an instruction of triggering the reporting of a timing advance indicated by the base station through a MAC CE.).
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.
In 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 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 factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 18, 22,23, 25, 26, 28, 32, 36, 62, 64, and 65 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Medles et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2024/0155527), Medles hereinafter, in view of Laselva et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2019/0342845), Laselva hereinafter, and further in view of Wu et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0124795), Wu hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 1, Medles teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, at one or more user equipment (UE), common timing advance (TA) information indicated by a base station (BS), wherein the common TA information is based on a feeder link delay between the BS and an intermediate network node and is common to the one or more UE; (paragraphs 0019, 0035 and 0041 discloses UE receiving TA information including feeder link delay from base station - [0019] ... the signaling from network 120 to UE 110 may indicate or otherwise correspond to another set of parameters including: a feeder link TA component at t0 (B0), a feeder link TA drift rate (B1), and a feeder link TA drift variation rate (B2). In such cases, the TA component due to the feeder link delay may be derived as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2/2 or, alternatively, as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2. Higher order variation of the delay/TA may as well be supported (e.g., D0, D1, D2, D3, . . . and so on).)
receiving, at the one or more UE, common TA drift information indicated by the BS; (paragraphs 0019, 0035 and 0041 discloses UE receiving TA information including feeder link delay from base station - [0019] ... the signaling from network 120 to UE 110 may indicate or otherwise correspond to another set of parameters including: a feeder link TA component at t0 (B0), a feeder link TA drift rate (B1), and a feeder link TA drift variation rate (B2). In such cases, the TA component due to the feeder link delay may be derived as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2/2 or, alternatively, as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2. Higher order variation of the delay/TA may as well be supported (e.g., D0, D1, D2, D3, . . . and so on).)
Yet, Medles does not expressly teach receiving, at the one or more UE, time instant information via system signaling from the BS, wherein the time instant information comprises at least one of an activation time instant, a scheduling time instant, and a transmission time instant associated with the common TA information.
However, in the analogous art, Laselva explicitly discloses receiving, at the one or more UE, time instant information via system signaling from the BS, wherein the time instant information comprises at least one of an activation time instant, a scheduling time instant, and a transmission time instant associated with the common TA information; and (paragraph 0076 - FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a user equipment in accordance with the present disclosure. In block 402, the user equipment receives, from a base station, network signaling including information about one or more of a timing advance scaling parameter, a processing-delay compensation parameter, and a timing advance extension parameters enabling threshold/condition. In block 404, the user equipment receives a timing advance index from the base station. In block 406, the user equipment adjusts parameters for uplink transmissions using the received timing advance index for the one or more of the timing advance scaling parameter, the processing-delay compensation parameter, and the timing advance extension parameters enabling threshold/condition. In block 408, the user equipment performs uplink transmissions according to the configured and adjusted parameters.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Laselva's uplink transmission timing parameter for better compensation for propagation delay.
Yet, Medles in view of Laselva does not expressly teach determining a common TA value of an uplink, UL, transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information.
However, in the analogous art, Wu explicitly discloses determining a common TA value of an uplink, UL, transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information (paragraphs 0140 and 0246 - the second timing advance is estimated based on a reference time difference between the user equipment and the base station; ... '[0246] For example, as described with respect to FIG. 5, the above examples 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 for determining the initial TA are used for a UE ... an indicated value of the received timing advance control command on the initial TA, and then uses the superimposed TA for Msg3 and all uplink transmissions thereafter until an updated TA command is received. That is, the UE may use the TA command to adjust the initial TA.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Wu's timing advance parameters to achieve better accuracy in calculating timing advance.
Regarding Claim 2, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Wu further teaches wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises; determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to a reference common TA value and a time offset, wherein the time offset is determined based on a difference between the transmission time instant and an activation time instant associated with the reference common TA value, wherein the activation time instant comprises the time when the BS transmits the reference common TA value to the UE (fig. 1, fig. 2 and paragraph 0032 discloses the TA and offset ).
Regarding Claim 18, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Medles further teaches wherein the time instant information comprises at least one time instant associated with an intermediate communication device and determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises determining the at least one time instant according to pass-by time at the intermediate communication device of a boundary of at least one of a last slot, sub-frame, or frame of a system information block (SIB) for the BS (paragraphs 0025 to 0028 discloses determining the common TA value with drift rate obtained through SIB. Paragraph 0025 - In one aspect, network 120 may broadcast (e.g., in a SIB) information including common TA, common TA drift rate, and common TA drift rate variation at a fixed reference time. The TA delay may be a feeder link TA. The fixed reference time may be a frame (SFN) boundary at or immediately after an ending boundary of a SI window in which the corresponding SIB is transmitted. Alternatively, the fixed reference time may be a start of the frame or a fixed offset from the start or end of the frame or a slot in which the SIB is transmitted.).
Regarding Claim 22, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Medles further teaches wherein the common TA information comprises a plurality of reference common TA values in one system information block (SIB) (paragraph 0025 - In one aspect, network 120 may broadcast (e.g., in a SIB) information including common TA, common TA drift rate, and common TA drift rate variation at a fixed reference time. The TA delay may be a feeder link TA. The fixed reference time may be a frame (SFN) boundary at or immediately after an ending boundary of a SI window in which the corresponding SIB is transmitted. ...).
Regarding Claim 23, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 22.
Wu further teaches wherein the common TA information further comprises a plurality of valid times in the SIB corresponding to the plurality of reference common TA values, wherein each valid time specifies a validity period during which each reference common TA value remains applicable, and the UE uses a timer to determine expiration based on the valid time (paragraphs 0303 and 0368 to 0369 - [0303] ... the period for adjusting the TA may be configured by the base station through an SIB or UE-specific RRC signaling; ... [0368] If a time interval since the last update of the TA exceeds a predefined or preconfigured threshold, the UE judges that the TA is invalid; or [0369] If a Validation Time or Validation Timer configured by the base station for estimating the TA expires, the UE judges that the TA is invalid. Here, the UE starts the Validation Time or Validation Timer after estimating TA every time.).
Regarding Claim 25, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 22.
Wu further teaches wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises: determining a first adjusted common TA value according to a first interpolation value derived according to a scheduling time instant and first and second reference common TA values of the plurality reference common TA values; (paragraph 0205 - In this description, the first timing advance (TA) may be configured by the base station through an SIB, and after the UE enters an RRC connected state, the first timing advance may also be configured by the base station through UE-specific RRC signaling or MAC CE with finer granularity. The first TA may also be referred to as a Common TA, a reference TA, or a TA offset. The first TA may be a part of a complete TA, that is, a partial TA, which cannot be directly used for uplink transmission except PRACH. The second TA is estimated by the UE based on a location or a reference time, which may also be referred to as an estimated TA. The second TA may be a part of a complete TA, that is, a partial TA, which cannot be directly used for uplink transmission except PRACH. The third TA is determined by the UE based on the first TA and/or the second TA, which may be the first TA, the second TA, or a sum of the first TA and the second TA. The third TA may also be referred to as an initial TA and may be used for PRACH transmission. The third TA may be a part of a complete TA, that is, a partial TA. The fourth TA may be determined by the UE based on a timing advance control command indicated through an RAR and the third TA, and the fourth TA may be used for uplink transmission after PRACH transmission. The fourth TA is a complete TA, which may be used for uplink transmission other than PRACH.)
determining a second adjusted common TA value according to a second interpolation value derived according to a transmission time instant, the second reference common TA value, and a third reference common TA value of the plurality reference common TA values; and (paragraph 0205 discloses determination of second and subsequent adjusted common TA)
determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the first and second adjusted common TA values (paragraph 0205 discloses determination of second and subsequent adjusted common TA).
Regarding Claim 26, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 22.
Wu further teaches 26. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 22, wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises: determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to an interpolation value derived from first and second reference common TA values of the plurality of reference common TA values scheduled to be activated sequentially (paragraph 0205 discloses determination of second and subsequent adjusted common TA including the ones that can be used for UL).
Regarding Claim 28, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Wu further teaches wherein the common TA information comprises: a first reference common TA value and at least one offset component corresponding to at least one second reference common TA value with respect to the first reference common TA value; (paragraph 0388 - In some examples, a common timing offset is configured by the base station through an SIB, and similar to the aforementioned configuration modes of a common TA, …)
or a first valid time corresponding to a first reference common TA value and at least one offset component, with respect to the first valid time, of a second valid time corresponding to at least one second reference common TA value or corresponding to at least one offset component of the at Page 5 of 11least one second reference common TA value with respect to first reference common TA value (Alternative).
Regarding Claim 32, Medles in view of Laselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Wu further teaches further comprising receiving at least one timestamp indicating the time instant information, wherein the at least one timestamp being indicative of at least one of: (paragraph 0095 - Therefore, the UE needs to adopt a new method for acquiring the TA. For example, the UE calculates a distance between the satellite and the UE according to an ephemeris of the satellite to estimate the TA; or the UE estimates the TA according to a time difference between a received timestamp and a local reference time)
an activation time instant of at least one parameter of the common TA information, or (paragraph 0095 - Therefore, the UE needs to adopt a new method for acquiring the TA. For example, the UE calculates a distance between the satellite and the UE according to an ephemeris of the satellite to estimate the TA; or the UE estimates the TA according to a time difference between a received timestamp and a local reference time)
an activation time instant of at least one parameter of common TA drift information (Alternative).
Regarding Claim 36, Medles teaches a method for wireless communication, comprising: transmitting common timing advance (TA) information indicated by a base station (BS) to one or more user equipment (UE), wherein the common TA information is based on a feeder link delay between the BS and an intermediate network node and is common to the one or moreUE; (paragraphs 0019, 0035 and 0041 discloses UE receiving TA information including feeder link delay from base station - [0019] ... the signaling from network 120 to UE 110 may indicate or otherwise correspond to another set of parameters including: a feeder link TA component at t0 (B0), a feeder link TA drift rate (B1), and a feeder link TA drift variation rate (B2). In such cases, the TA component due to the feeder link delay may be derived as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2/2 or, alternatively, as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2. Higher order variation of the delay/TA may as well be supported (e.g., D0, D1, D2, D3, . . . and so on).)
transmitting common timing advance (TA), drift information indicated by the BS, to the one or more UE; (paragraphs 0019, 0035 and 0041 discloses UE receiving TA information including feeder link delay from base station - [0019] ... the signaling from network 120 to UE 110 may indicate or otherwise correspond to another set of parameters including: a feeder link TA component at t0 (B0), a feeder link TA drift rate (B1), and a feeder link TA drift variation rate (B2). In such cases, the TA component due to the feeder link delay may be derived as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2/2 or, alternatively, as TA(t)=B0+B1*(t−t0)+B2*(t−t0).sup.2. Higher order variation of the delay/TA may as well be supported (e.g., D0, D1, D2, D3, . . . and so on).)
Yet, Medles does not expressly teach transmitting time instant information to the one or more UE via system signaling, wherein the time instant information comprises at least one of an activation time instant, a scheduling time instant, and a transmission time instant associated with the common TA information.
However, in the analogous art, Laselva explicitly discloses transmitting time instant information to the one or more UE via system signaling, wherein the time instant information comprises at least one of an activation time instant, a scheduling time instant, and a transmission time instant associated with the common TA information; and (paragraph 0076 - FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a user equipment in accordance with the present disclosure. In block 402, the user equipment receives, from a base station, network signaling including information about one or more of a timing advance scaling parameter, a processing-delay compensation parameter, and a timing advance extension parameters enabling threshold/condition. In block 404, the user equipment receives a timing advance index from the base station. In block 406, the user equipment adjusts parameters for uplink transmissions using the received timing advance index for the one or more of the timing advance scaling parameter, the processing-delay compensation parameter, and the timing advance extension parameters enabling threshold/condition. In block 408, the user equipment performs uplink transmissions according to the configured and adjusted parameters.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Laselva's uplink transmission timing parameter for better compensation for propagation delay.
Yet, Medles in view of Laselva does not expressly teach scheduling an uplink (UL) transmission, based on a common TA value derived from the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information.
However, in the analogous art, Wu explicitly discloses scheduling an uplink (UL) transmission, based on a common TA value derived from the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information (paragraphs 0140 and 0246 - the second timing advance is estimated based on a reference time difference between the user equipment and the base station; ... '[0246] For example, as described with respect to FIG. 5, the above examples 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 for determining the initial TA are used for a UE ... an indicated value of the received timing advance control command on the initial TA, and then uses the superimposed TA for Msg3 and all uplink transmissions thereafter until an updated TA command is received. That is, the UE may use the TA command to adjust the initial TA.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Wu's timing advance parameters to achieve better accuracy in calculating timing advance.
Regarding Claim 62, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Wu further teaches a wireless communication apparatus comprising upon expiration of a valid time, at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read code from the at least one memory to implement the method recited in claim 1. (fig. 12 and 13 and paragraphs 0398 and 0400).
Regarding Claim 64, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Wu further teaches a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing at least one program, the program, when executed by at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to implement the method recited in claim 1 (fig. 12 and 13 and paragraphs 0398 and 0400).
Regarding Claim 65, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 36.
Wu further teaches a wireless communication apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one_memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read code from the at least one memory to implement the method recited in claim 36 (fig. 12 and 13 and paragraphs 0398 and 0400)
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Medles et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2024/0155527), Medles hereinafter, in view of Laselva et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2019/0342845), Laselva hereinafter, and further in view of Wu et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0124795), Wu hereinafter and further in view of Zhang et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2010/0331013), Zhang hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 4, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Yet, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu does not expressly teach further comprising: adiusting the common TA value by compensating for propagation delay variations using a recursive estimation process that updates the transmission time instant, wherein the common TA drift information comprises at least a first order drift rate and a second-order drift rate.
However, in the analogous art, Zhang explicitly discloses 4. (Currently Amended) The method of claim 1, further comprising: adiusting the common TA value by compensating for propagation delay variations using a recursive estimation process that updates the transmission time instant, wherein the common TA drift information comprises at least a first order drift rate and a second-order drift rate (paragraphs 0082 and 0083 discloses timing and the first order and second order drift rate … where DR1 and DR2 1 are the first-order and second-order drift rate ...)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Zhang's first and second order drift rate to achieve better accuracy in determining timing advance.
Claims 5, 6, 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Medles et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2024/0155527), Medles hereinafter, in view of Laselva et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2019/0342845), Laselva hereinafter, and further in view of Wu et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2022/0124795), Wu hereinafter and further in view of Yao et al. (U.S. PGPUB 2023/0422195), Yao hereinafter.
Regarding Claim 5, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Medles further teach a first-order drift rate associated with an intermediate communication device, and (paragraph 0020 - … Alternatively, in an event that t0 corresponds to a reference at the satellite (e.g., NT network node 125), it may be assumed that the time t used for calculation of TA may correspond to the UL reception time at the satellite.)
a second-order drift rate reflecting feeder link variation over time(paragraph 0052- In some implementations, in determining the TA delay, process 300 may involve processor 212 determining a feeder link delay (D(t)) at a time t from the reference time (t0) as D(t)=D0+D1*(t−t0)+D2*(t−t0).sup.2, where: D0 denotes a feeder link delay at the reference time, D1 denotes a feeder link average delay drift rate, and D2 denotes a feeder link delay drift variation rate. In some implementations, a value of at least one of the D0, D1 and D2 is signaled by the network.).
Yet, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu does not expressly teach wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises:
determining a common TA drift accumulated before scheduling of the UL transmission by the BS, wherein the common TA drift is derived based on:
a reference common TA value provided by the BS at the activation time instant,
However, in the analogous art, Yao explicitly discloses wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises: (paragraphs 0061 to 0065 discloses receiving timing, TA and TA drift information to determine and modify TA for UL transmission)
determining a common TA drift accumulated before scheduling of the UL transmission by the BS, wherein the common TA drift is derived based on: (paragraphs 0061 to 0065 discloses receiving timing, TA and TA drift information to determine and modify TA for UL transmission)
a reference common TA value provided by the BS at the activation time instant, (paragraphs 0061 to 0065 discloses receiving timing, TA and TA drift information to determine and modify TA for UL transmission)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine Medles’s Synchronization And Feeder Link Delay Drift In Non-Terrestrial Network Communications to include Yao's timing advance and timing advance drift information to determine timing advance more accurately.
Regarding Claim 6, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Yet, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu does not expressly teach wherein the transmission time instant comprises a transmission time instant of the UL transmission; wherein the activation time instant is associated with at least one parameter included in the common TA information, wherein the activation time instant comprises the time when the BS transmits a reference common TA value to the UE and wherein the scheduling time instant comprises a scheduling time instant of the UL transmission.
However, in the analogous art, Yao explicitly discloses wherein the transmission time instant comprises a transmission time instant of the UL transmission; wherein the activation time instant is associated with at least one parameter included in the common TA information, wherein the activation time instant comprises the time when the BS transmits a reference common TA value to the UE and wherein the scheduling time instant comprises a scheduling time instant of the UL transmission (paragraph 0047 - Process 300 may also include determining a UE-specific TA (block 320). For example, UE 110 may communicate with satellite 160 to determine a location of UE 110, timestamp information, satellite ephemeris information (e.g., a location of the satellite, velocity, orbital trajectory, etc.), etc., and may use the information to determine a UE-specific TA. In some implementations, the UE-specific TA may correspond to a signal propagation delay between UE 110 and satellite 160.).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claim 5 is also applied to claim 6.
Regarding Claim 7, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu teaches claim 1.
Yet, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu does not expressly teachwherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises at least one of: determining a common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission; or determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to a reference common TA value included in the common TA information, a common TA drift accumulated before scheduling of UL transmission, and a common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission.
However, in the analogous art, Yao explicitly discloses wherein determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to the common TA information, the common TA drift information, and the time instant information comprises at least one of: determining a common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission; (paragraph 0063 - … In some implementations, a UE-specific timing drift rate may be performed autonomously by UE 110 based on ephemeris satellite information, timestamp information, a measured velocity of UE 110, etc. UE 110 may modify or update the timing drift rate being applied to the TA value, which may be based on the common (or cell-specific) drift rate received previously (see, e.g., 502), based on the UE-specific timing drift rate (at 614). UE 110 may send UL transmissions to base station 122 based on the TA value as modified by the newly updated timing drift rate (at 616 and 618), and base station 122 may continue monitoring the transmissions for proper synchronization.)
or determining the common TA value of the UL transmission according to a reference common TA value included in the common TA information, a common TA drift accumulated before scheduling of UL transmission, and a common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission (Alternative).
The motivation regarding to the obviousness of claim 5 is also applied to claim 7.
Regarding Claim 10, Medles in view of Daselva and further in view of Wu and further in view of Yao teaches claim 7.
Medles further teaches 10. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 7, further comprising at least one of: determining the common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission according to a common TA drift rate included in the common TA drift information and the scheduling time instant and transmission time instant of the UL transmission; (paragraphs 0035 to 0040 discloses common TA drift detemination with TA drift and drift rate variation)
or determining the common TA drift between the scheduling time instant and the transmission time instant of the UL transmission according to a common TA drift rate and a common TA drift rate variation included in the common TA drift information, and the scheduling time instant and transmission time instant of the UL transmission (Alternative).
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/A.L.O./Examiner, Art Unit 2472
/NICHOLAS A JENSEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2472