DETAILED ACTION
This application is responsive to application #18/579,701 filed 01/16/2024. Claims 3-6 and 8-17 have been amended via a preliminary amendment. Claims 1-20 are subject to examination.
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 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 2 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. In particular, the claim recites “wherein a period in which communication with both the first cell and the second cell becomes impossible and a period in which initial connection becomes impossible are included immediately after the detachment procedure is executed on the first non-terrestrial station.” It is unclear what is meant by “are included” in the claims. What is the period being included in? For purposes of examination, the examiner interprets the claim to mean performing the handover upon satisfying the CHO conditions.
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, 2, 3, and 5-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roy et al. (Roy hereafter) (US 2020/0314914 A1) in view of Cheng et al. (Cheng hereafter) (US 2022/0046498 A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 19, Roy teaches, a communication device, comprising:
a transceiver (Roy; UE, Par. 0036); and a processor that receives, via the transceiver, execution trigger information regarding a trigger for executing a handover, performs an evaluation for the trigger using the execution trigger information, and connects to a second non-terrestrial station having a second cell different from the first cell on a basis of the evaluation. (Roy; the DL group RRC message can be transmitted to a UE with Conditional Handover (RRC reconfiguration). In Conditional Hand Over (CHO), gNB (eNB) sends the HO Command message with some pre-calculated conditions. UE receives those conditions and does the remaining steps, like cell switching, RA, HO Complete message transmission when those conditions are satisfied. The Conditional Handover (RRC reconfiguration) can include 1) Handover Command, 2) Secondary Cell (SCell) Addition, 3) SCell Removal, 4) SCell PCell (Primary Cell) role switch (similar to HO command), 5) Secondary Cell Group (SCG) addition, 6) SCG removal, and 7) SCG MCG (Master Cell Group) role switch (similar to HO command). In one embodiment, the UE will perform the handover only when a measurement condition or pre-defined time-period is fulfilled., Par. 0036)
Roy fails to explicitly teach,
after executing a detachment procedure on a first non-terrestrial station having a first cell,
However, Cheng teaches,
after executing a detachment procedure on a first non-terrestrial station having a first cell, (Cheng; … In some implementations, BS 204 may have UE 202 release the RRC configuration by sending an RRC release message (e.g., an RRCRelease message) to the UE. As described above, the RRC release message may include an IE, such as edirectedCarrierinfo, that may be used to redirect the UE to an NR or an inter-RAT carrier frequency, using cell selection by the UE while it is in an RRC_IDLE or an RRC_INACTIVE mode (or state) 930. The IE may also provide SMTC configuration, for example, when the CarrierinfoNR is chosen in the IE redirectedCarrierinfo, Par. 0089…For NTN, the carrier frequency redirection may be useful for mobility across different countries, Par. 0090) [The examiner contends Cheng teaches it is well known in the art to first release a connection and then redirect the UE to an NR]
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 2, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein a period in which communication with both the first cell and the second cell becomes impossible and a period in which initial connection becomes impossible are included immediately after the detachment procedure is executed on the first non-terrestrial station. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 3, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim,
wherein the execution trigger information includes at least one of information regarding RSRP of the second cell, information regarding Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) of the second cell, and information regarding Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of the second cell, (Roy; The measurement condition is based on the following: signal strength of a neighbor cell is higher than the serving cell signal strength. Offset and hysteresis additions can be considered optionally. In another embodiment of CHO, UE will report measurement results only when a triggering condition is met. The measurement report triggering condition can be inhibited such that no measurement report is transmitted. The triggering condition involves certain neighbor Physical Cell IDs (PCIs) in specific interval (timer based)., Par. 0036) and
wherein the evaluation for the trigger is to compare the execution trigger information with at least one of the RSRP of the second cell, the RSRQ of the second cell, and the RSSI of the second cell after executing the detachment procedure on the first non-terrestrial station. (Roy; The measurement condition is based on the following: signal strength of a neighbor cell is higher than the serving cell signal strength. Offset and hysteresis additions can be considered optionally. In another embodiment of CHO, UE will report measurement results only when a triggering condition is met. The measurement report triggering condition can be inhibited such that no measurement report is transmitted. The triggering condition involves certain neighbor Physical Cell IDs (PCIs) in specific interval (timer based)., Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 5, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor performs the detachment procedure in a case of receiving a detachment execution notification from the first non-terrestrial station. (Cheng; Par. 0089)
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 6, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor receives, via the transceiver, detachment execution trigger information regarding a detachment execution trigger for executing the detachment procedure, (Cheng; Par. 0089) and
performs an evaluation for the detachment execution trigger using the detachment execution trigger information and executes the detachment procedure on the first non-terrestrial station on a basis of the evaluation. (Cheng; … In some implementations, BS 204 may have UE 202 release the RRC configuration by sending an RRC release message (e.g., an RRCRelease message) to the UE. As described above, the RRC release message may include an IE, such as edirectedCarrierinfo, that may be used to redirect the UE to an NR or an inter-RAT carrier frequency, using cell selection by the UE while it is in an RRC_IDLE or an RRC_INACTIVE mode (or state) 930. The IE may also provide SMTC configuration, for example, when the CarrierinfoNR is chosen in the IE redirectedCarrierinfo, Par. 0089)
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 7, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 6,
wherein the detachment execution trigger information includes at least one of information regarding execution of the detachment procedure (Cheng; Par. 0089).
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 8, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor transmits a detachment request to the first non- terrestrial station. (Cheng; Detach from old cell & sync with new cell, 1055 of Fig. 10 & Par. 0094)
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 9, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor selects the second non-terrestrial station from among one or more communication stations preset as handover target candidates. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 10, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the execution trigger information includes at least one of information regarding time to start the handover, information regarding time to start the evaluation for the trigger. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 11, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the communication device receives information regarding a period in which the handover is performed via the transceiver, and wherein the processor stands by for reception of a synchronization signal from a communication station after the period in which the handover is performed ends. (Roy; Par. 0036 & Fig. 6 & 7)
Regarding claim 12, Roy-Cheng teaches the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the communication device receives information regarding a period in which the handover is performed via the transceiver, (Roy; Par. 0036) and
wherein the processor discards information regarding the handover after the period in which the handover is performed ends. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 13, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor stands by for reception of a synchronization signal of the second non-terrestrial station in a case of receiving a synchronization signal of a different communication station prior to reception of a synchronization signal of the second non-terrestrial station. (Roy; Par. 0036 & Cheng; Fig. 4)
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Regarding claim 14, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the communication device receives information regarding a period in which the handover is performed via the transceiver, (Roy; Par. 0036) and
wherein, in a case where the processor receives a synchronization signal of a different communication station prior to reception of a synchronization signal of the second non-terrestrial station and where the period in which the handover is performed ends, the processor connects to the different communication station. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 15, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor performs one of a handover procedure in which there is one handover target candidate and a handover procedure in which there are a plurality of handover target candidates on a basis of information from the first non-terrestrial station. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 16, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor omits an initial access procedure and connects to the second non-terrestrial station according to information from the first non-terrestrial station. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claim 17, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according claim 1,
wherein the processor switches between executing the handover which is contention free and executing the handover which is contention based according to at least one of priority of the communication device and priority of data that the communication device transmits or receives. (Roy; Par. 0036)
Regarding claims 18 and 20, Roy teaches, a communication device having a first cell and operated as a non- terrestrial station, the communication device comprising:
a transceiver; (Roy; 102 of Fig. 1) and
a processor that transmits execution trigger information regarding a trigger for executing a handover via the transceiver to a terminal device and the terminal device performs an evaluation for the trigger using the execution trigger information, and connects to a second communication device having a second cell different from the first cell on a basis of the evaluation. (Roy; the DL group RRC message can be transmitted to a UE with Conditional Handover (RRC reconfiguration). In Conditional Hand Over (CHO), gNB (eNB) sends the HO Command message with some pre-calculated conditions. UE receives those conditions and does the remaining steps, like cell switching, RA, HO Complete message transmission when those conditions are satisfied. The Conditional Handover (RRC reconfiguration) can include 1) Handover Command, 2) Secondary Cell (SCell) Addition, 3) SCell Removal, 4) SCell PCell (Primary Cell) role switch (similar to HO command), 5) Secondary Cell Group (SCG) addition, 6) SCG removal, and 7) SCG MCG (Master Cell Group) role switch (similar to HO command). In one embodiment, the UE will perform the handover only when a measurement condition or pre-defined time-period is fulfilled., Par. 0036)
Roy fails to explicitly teach,
executes a detachment procedure on the terminal device, wherein, after executing the detachment procedure on the communication device,
However, Cheng teaches,
after executing a detachment procedure on a first non-terrestrial station having a first cell, (Cheng; … In some implementations, BS 204 may have UE 202 release the RRC configuration by sending an RRC release message (e.g., an RRCRelease message) to the UE. As described above, the RRC release message may include an IE, such as edirectedCarrierinfo, that may be used to redirect the UE to an NR or an inter-RAT carrier frequency, using cell selection by the UE while it is in an RRC_IDLE or an RRC_INACTIVE mode (or state) 930. The IE may also provide SMTC configuration, for example, when the CarrierinfoNR is chosen in the IE redirectedCarrierinfo, Par. 0089…For NTN, the carrier frequency redirection may be useful for mobility across different countries, Par. 0090) [The examiner contends Cheng teaches it is well known in the art to first release a connection and then redirect the UE to an NR]
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy to includes the features as taught by Cheng above in order allow for mobility across different countries (Cheng; Par. 0090).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roy-Cheng in view of Lee et. al. (Lee hereafter) (US 2023/0308167 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Roy-Cheng teaches, the communication device according to claim 1, but fails to explicitly teach,
wherein coverages of the first cell and the second cell do not overlap with each other.
However, Lee teaches,
wherein coverages of the first cell and the second cell do not overlap with each other. (Lee; As there's no overlap of source cells and target cells from the gNB(s) located at the old and the new NTN GWs, the switch over relies on accurate time control, Par. 0304)
It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Roy-Cheng to includes the features as taught by Lee above in order to allow for handover between source and target cells (Lee; Par. 0304).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Noel R Beharry whose telephone number is (571)270-5630. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 9-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Deborah Reynolds can be reached at (571) 272-0734. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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NOEL R. BEHARRY
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2416
/NOEL R BEHARRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2416