DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, anycorrection of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground ofrejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would bethe same under either status.
Response to Amendment
The proposed reply filed on June 10th, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1, 5-6, 9, 11, 13-14, 16 and 20 have been amended. New claims 21-24 added. Claims 1-24 are pending in the application.
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.
The factual inquiries 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.
Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, and 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Leng et al. teach a method comprising: receiving, by a wireless device and via a cell of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), at least one radio resource control (RRC) message indicating to switch from a first NTN of the cell to a second NTN of the cell while maintaining a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the cell (Figs. 1 and 13, [0032, 0035, 0124], the following documents are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP TR 38.811 v15.2.0, “Study on NR to support non-terrestrial networks”. The wireless network includes a gNB 101 (e.g., base station, BS), a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network. For operation 1305, the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and RACH-less switch to the current serving cell (e.g. PCI unchanged) associated with the target satellite. (Note: “PCI unchanged” refers of maintaining the same PCI). In the HO/switch command, the satellite assistance information for the new serving satellite, e.g., information included in IE NTN-Config, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, and/or the service link switch indication can be provided for UE perform a DL synchronization),
Leng et al. teach and performing, based on the at least one RRC message, the switch (Figs. 1 and 13, [0124], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell. (Note: RACH-less (Random Access Channel-less) in 5G is a mobility optimization technique where a user equipment (UE) switches to a target cell during handover without performing the standard, time-consuming RACH contention process)).
Leng et al. teach wherein a switch time of the switch is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the first NTN node and the second NTN node (Figs. 1 and 12, [0117], the service link switch configuration includes a switch time information. The switch time information can include a duration parameter for a switch timer which is to be started by the UE upon initiating a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The switch time information can include a start time and/or an end time. The start time and/or the end time can be indicated by absolute time, e.g., UTC time. The start time indicates the time after which the UE can initiates a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The t-service parameter, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, for the source satellite can be included in the service link switch configuration to be reused as the start time and/or the end time. The end time indicates before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch).
Regarding claim 4, Leng et al. teach wherein the at least one RRC message indicates whether the switch is a random access channel (RACH)-based switch or a RACH-less switch (Figs. 1 and 13, [0124], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell).
Regarding claim 5, Leng et al. teach further comprising performing the switch without initiating a random access procedure (Figs. 1 and 13, [0124], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell (e.g., PCI unchanged) associated with the target satellite. The HO/switch command can include the service link switch configuration mentioned above. In the HO/switch command, the satellite assistance information for the new serving satellite, e.g., information included in IE ntn-Config, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, and/or the service link switch indication can be provided for UE perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch).
Leng et al. is teaching of switching, by the wireless device, from one NTN node of the cell to another. Leng et al., fail to disclose expressly that Switching time is based on propagation delay. (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 1, Tripathi et al. teach wherein a switch time of the switch is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the first NTN node and the second NTN node (Figs. 1, [0083, 0139, ], hundreds or thousands of UEs may need to be handed over from one cell to another every second based on the cell size, number of UEs per cell, and the non-terrestrial network (NTN) type. In an NTN, propagation delays could be a few milliseconds for LEOs or hundreds of milliseconds for GEOs. Because of long propagation delays in an NTN, it takes a long time for the UE's message to reach the source Base Station or the target Base Station. Furthermore, it takes time for the signaling messages from the source BS or the target BS to arrive at the UE. Hence, the exchange of RRC signaling is much slower in an NTN compared to a Terrestrial Network. The source gNB/eNB may enquire about the UE's support for the overall feature of intra-handover user traffic transfer, the UE's support for advanced dynamic scheduling in the target cell, and switching time between the source cell (first node) and the target cell (second node) using the UE Capability Enquiry message. (Note: In NTN the propagation delay occurs because of the satellite of different orbits and the delay directly effects the switching time of the UE for intra-handover from source cell to target cell).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Tripathi et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of utilizing a switch time of the switch based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the first NTN node and the second NTN node. The motivation is to support an improved method for a non-terrestrial network, certain elements significantly enhance the performance of an NTN (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2023/0370933 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 2, further comprising receiving, during a time period after the performing the switch, at least one message via the cell of the second NTN; regarding claim 3, further comprising receiving, during monitoring in a time period after the performing the switch, at least one message via a downlink channel from the cell of the second NTN.
Regarding claim 2, Kim et al. teach further comprising receiving, during a time period after the performing the switch, at least one message via the cell of the second NTN (Figs. 1 and 3E, [0054, 0060], when performing a regular handover, the UE may stop data transmission and reception to and from the source cell upon receiving handover configuration information, and may start data transmission and reception to and from the target cell after the handover process is successful. Hence, an interruption time may occur during a time period when data transmission or reception cannot be performed. If the UE has dual active protocol stacks, data transmission and reception to and from the source cell can be maintained during the time period. In the disclosure, handover considering the UE capability described above is referred to as dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover. When DAPS handover is configured, the UE may be able to simultaneously receive downlink data from the source cell and the target cell. However, since simultaneous uplink data transmission to the source cell and the target cell is difficult in the case of insufficient UE transmission power or signal interference, it may be possible only when specific conditions are satisfied. To minimize UE complexity, during DAPS handover execution, uplink data transmission may be allowed on only one link, and the uplink through which data transmission is performed may be switched from the source cell to the target cell at a specific time point. Activated protocol stacks corresponding to the source cell and the target cell after the UE receives an RAR from the target cell in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. After the UE receives an RAR from the target cell (3-25), all of the dual active protocol stacks are activated.).
Regarding claim 3, Kim et al. teach further comprising receiving, during a time period after the performing the switch, at least one message via the cell of the second NTN (Figs. 1 and 3E, [0054, 0060], when performing a regular handover, the UE may stop data transmission and reception to and from the source cell upon receiving handover configuration information, and may start data transmission and reception to and from the target cell after the handover process is successful. Hence, an interruption time may occur during a time period when data transmission or reception cannot be performed. If the UE has dual active protocol stacks, data transmission and reception to and from the source cell can be maintained during the time period. In the disclosure, handover considering the UE capability described above is referred to as dual active protocol stack (DAPS) handover. When DAPS handover is configured, the UE may be able to simultaneously receive downlink data from the source cell and the target cell. However, since simultaneous uplink data transmission to the source cell and the target cell is difficult in the case of insufficient UE transmission power or signal interference, it may be possible only when specific conditions are satisfied. To minimize UE complexity, during DAPS handover execution, uplink data transmission may be allowed on only one link, and the uplink through which data transmission is performed may be switched from the source cell to the target cell at a specific time point. Activated protocol stacks corresponding to the source cell and the target cell after the UE receives an RAR from the target cell in a mobile communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. After the UE receives an RAR from the target cell (3-25), all of the dual active protocol stacks are activated. In addition, a time point at which the UE can maintain downlink data reception from the source cell and a time point at which the UE can maintain uplink data transmission to the source cell may be different. The UE can transmit uplink data to the source cell until transmitting a HO complete message to the target cell, but reception of downlink data is possible even after that).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Kim et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of receiving, during a time period after the performing the switch, at least one message via the cell of the second NTN. The motivation is to support an improved method for reporting handover-related information (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Khoshkholgh et al. (US 2024/0397424 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: Regarding claim 6, wherein the at least one RRC message is an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more first NTN configuration parameters associated with the first NTN of the cell; and one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell.
Regarding claim 6, Khoshkholgh et al. teach wherein the at least one RRC message is an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more first NTN configuration parameters associated with the first NTN of the cell; and one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell (Fig. 19, [0335], the wireless device (e.g., the first wireless device and/or the second wireless device in fig. 19) may receive the one or more configuration parameters, e.g., the one or more RRC configuration parameters. For example, the one or more configuration parameters may comprise one or more NTN configuration parameters. For example, the one or more NTN configuration parameters may be received, by the wireless device, from a broadcast system information (e.g., SIB1 or one or more NTN-specific SIBs). The one or more NTN configuration parameters may facilitate/manage the calculation/determination/measurement of the propagation delay (e.g., the UE-gNB RTT or the RTD) and/or a timing advance (TA) at one or more wireless devices camping in the cell/beam (e.g., the wireless device)).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Khoshkholgh et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of having RRC message is an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more first NTN configuration parameters associated with the first NTN of the cell; and one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for UE's serving base station may request a handover to a cell of one of the neighboring base stations based on the reported measurement (see [0102]).
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Huang et al. (US 2023/0397061 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: Regarding claim 7, wherein the at least one RRC message is a handover message, wherein the handover message comprises an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell; Regarding claim 8, wherein the at least one RRC message indicates a timing advance value.
Regarding claim 7, Huang et al. teach wherein the at least one RRC message is a handover message, wherein the handover message comprises an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell (Fig. 7, [0160, 0162], NW would provide parameters needed for the UE to access an NTN cell. According to current NTN Radio Resource Control (RRC) Change Request (CR), the NW could provide NTN configuration to the UE via system information (e.g., an NTN-specific system information, SIB19) or an RRC Reconfiguration message. The NW could provide NTN configuration for serving cell and neighbor cell(s) via SIB19 and/or for target cell via RRC Reconfiguration message to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message including reconfiguration with sync for MCG is used to handover a UE from a source cell to a target cell).
Regarding claim 8, Huang et al. teach wherein the at least one RRC message indicates a timing advance value (Fig. 7, [0160, 0191], The NW could provide NTN configuration (e.g., NTN-Config) for serving cell and neighbor cell(s) (e.g., via SIB19) and/or for target cell (e.g., via RRC Reconfiguration) to the UE. The NTN configuration parameters for (common) Timing Advance (TA). The UE may receive a second ta-Info in the RRC reconfiguration message).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Huang et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of using handover message comprises an NTN-specific system information block comprising one or more second NTN configuration parameters associated with the second NTN of the cell, and the RRC message indicates a timing advance value. The motivation is to support an improved method for handover of Non-Terrestrial Network cell in a wireless communication system (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 21, 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen et al. (US 2024/0064586 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above.
Regarding claim 21, Leng et al. teach wherein the switch time is a duration from initiating to completion of the switch (Fig. 6, [0117], the switch time information can include a duration parameter for a switch timer which is to be started by the UE upon initiating a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The switch time information can include a start time and/or an end time. The start time and/or the end time can be indicated by absolute time, e.g., UTC time. The start time indicates the time after which the UE can initiates a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The t-service parameter, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, for the source satellite can be included in the service link switch configuration to be reused as the start time and/or the end time. The end time indicates before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: Regarding claim 23, wherein the switch time begins with the receiving the at least one RRC message.
Regarding claim 23, Chen et al. teach wherein the switch time begins with the receiving the at least one RRC message (Fig. 13, [0165], at the indicated/calculated cell switch time, the mobile device 3 applies the received RRC configuration and performs the following in preparation for handover).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Chen et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of having the switch time begins with the receiving the at least one RRC message. The motivation is to support an improved method for improvements relating to handover in the so-called ‘5G’ (or ‘Next Generation’) systems employing Non-Terrestrial Networks (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Park et al. (US 2023/0224839 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: Regarding claim 22, wherein the propagation delay difference is based on at least one of: a first service link delay of the first NTN node; and a second service link delay of the second NTN node.
Regarding claim 22, Chen et al. teach wherein the propagation delay difference is based on at least one of: a first service link delay of the first NTN node; and a second service link delay of the second NTN node (Fig. 1, [0062], UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may receive, from a serving node of an NTN, one or more TA values; and transmit, to the serving node of the NTN, uplink signaling based at least in part on a reference timing for the uplink signaling, wherein the reference timing for the uplink signaling is based at least in part on a reference timing of a downlink signaling and the one or more TA values, wherein the one or more TA values include a UE-specific TA value, and wherein a reference timing of the UE-specific TA value is for: a first propagation delay on a service link between the UE and a satellite associated with the NTN, and a second propagation delay on the service link).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Chen et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of identifying propagation delay difference is based on at least one of: a first service link delay of the first NTN node; and a second service link delay of the second NTN node. The motivation is to support an improved method to techniques and apparatuses for communications in non-terrestrial networks (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kwak et al. (US 2023/0318686 A1).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 7 above. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. do not expressly disclose the following features: Regarding claim 24, wherein the switch time is until a transmission of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) message.
Regarding claim 24, Chen et al. teach wherein the switch time is until a transmission of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) message (Fig. 21, [0368], the WTRU 102 may, on condition that AN offset for the PUSCH transmission is greater than or equal to the determined first beam switching time, perform sending of the PUSCH transmission using the first beam at 2160. For example, the information indicating beam switching may be included and/or indicated in DCI, and the DCI may also include information indicating the offset for the PUSCH transmission).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Chen et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of having the switch time is until a transmission of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) message. The motivation is to support an improved method for dynamic determination of processing time (see [0002]).
Claim(s) 9 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 2022/0150806 A1) and Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) (Tripathi’806 hereinafter).
Regarding claim 9, Leng et al. teach a method comprising: receiving, by a wireless device and via a source cell of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a handover command (Figs. 1 and 13, [0032, 0035, 0124], the following documents are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP TR 38.811 v15.2.0, “Study on NR to support non-terrestrial networks”. The wireless network includes a gNB 101 (e.g., base station, BS), a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network. For operation 1305, the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization. In the HO/switch command, the satellite assistance information for the new serving satellite, e.g., information included in IE NTN-Config, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, and/or the service link switch indication can be provided for UE perform a DL synchronization),
Leng et al. teach wherein the handover command comprises a pre-configured uplink grant for a transmission of a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message via a target cell of the NTN (Figs. 1 and 13, [0124], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell. In 5G is a mobility optimization technique where a user equipment (UE) switches to a target cell during handover without performing the standard, time-consuming RACH contention process)),
Leng et al. teach and a switch time associated with the handover is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the source cell and the target cell (Figs. 1 and 12, [0117], the service link switch configuration includes a switch time information. The switch time information can include a duration parameter for a switch timer which is to be started by the UE upon initiating a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The switch time information can include a start time and/or an end time. The start time and/or the end time can be indicated by absolute time, e.g., UTC time. The start time indicates the time after which the UE can initiates a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The t-service parameter, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, for the source satellite can be included in the service link switch configuration to be reused as the start time and/or the end time. The end time indicates before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch),
Leng et al. teach transmitting, based on the pre-configured uplink grant, the RRC reconfiguration complete message via the target cell (Figs. 1 and 14, [0124, 0154], the UE receives an UL grant and performs a first UL transmission after the RACH-less synchronization operation to the target satellite using the UL grant. the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell (e.g., PCI unchanged) associated with the target satellite),
Leng et al. teach and receiving, during monitoring after a first gap from the transmitting the RRC reconfiguration complete message via the target cell, at least one message via a downlink control channel, wherein the first gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell (Figs. 1 and 13, [0119, 0124-0126], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell (e.g., PCI unchanged) associated with the target satellite. The time threshold indicates the absolute time before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch. Or the duration can indicate the time window during which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch. Upon receiving the HO/switch command with explicit or implicit service link switch, the UE initiates a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the target satellite with serving cell PCI unchanged. In one example, the UE can receive an indication in DCI in PDCCH order with dedicated RACH preamble for the service link switch. PDCCH order is sent via DCI Format 1_0 with C-RNTI CRC scrambled).
Leng et al. is teaching of receiving RACH-less handover message via NTN with uplink grant and response after reconfiguration is done. Leng et al., however, fail to expressly teach that a gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell, and Switching time is based on propagation delay (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 9, Tripathi et al. teach wherein the first gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell (Fig. 6 and 13, [0191], the S-gNB specifies a timer in the HANDOVER REQUEST message to the T-gNBs of candidate CHO cells. In an example implementation, this timer is at least (1.5*RTT) long, where RTT is the estimated UE-T-gNB round trip time and can assume the minimum expected RTT. This timer indicates to the T-gNB that the T-gNB can reserve any required resources after the timer expires and hence the T-gNB can make use of these DL and/or UL resources for other users or other purposes until the timer expires. In another embodiment, each T-gNB may use an implementation-specific timer so that T-gNB can make use of these DL and/or UL resources for other users or other purposes until the timer expires. In yet another embodiment, the S-gNB may convey to a T-gNB candidate cells along with or without T-gNB identities so that the UE-selected T-gNB can perform handover cancellation (if needed and deemed suitable by the T-gNB) in Step F13S16).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Tripathi et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of using first gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for an efficient neighbor cell search in a wireless communication network (see [0002]).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. is teaching of receiving RACH-less handover message via NTN with uplink grant and response after reconfiguration is done. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al., however, fail to expressly teach that Switching time is based on propagation delay (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 9, Tripathi’806 teaches a switch time associated with the handover is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the source cell and the target cell (Figs. 1, [0083, 0139, ], hundreds or thousands of UEs may need to be handed over from one cell to another every second based on the cell size, number of UEs per cell, and the non-terrestrial network (NTN) type. In an NTN, propagation delays could be a few milliseconds for LEOs or hundreds of milliseconds for GEOs. Because of long propagation delays in an NTN, it takes a long time for the UE's message to reach the source Base Station or the target Base Station. Furthermore, it takes time for the signaling messages from the source BS or the target BS to arrive at the UE. Hence, the exchange of RRC signaling is much slower in an NTN compared to a Terrestrial Network. The source gNB/eNB may enquire about the UE's support for the overall feature of intra-handover user traffic transfer, the UE's support for advanced dynamic scheduling in the target cell, and switching time between the source cell (first node) and the target cell (second node) using the UE Capability Enquiry message. (Note: In NTN the propagation delay occurs because of the satellite of different orbits and the delay directly effects the switching time of the UE for intra-handover from source cell to target cell).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Tripathi’806 in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of utilizing a switch time associated with the handover is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the source cell and the target cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for a non-terrestrial network, certain elements significantly enhance the performance of an NTN (see [0001]).
Regarding claim 14, Leng et al. teach a method comprising: receiving, by a wireless device and via a first cell of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message indicating a preamble transmission via a second cell of the NTN (Figs. 1, 6-7 and 9, [00850098-0099], the UE receives from the gNB a request of TA report in RACH by PDCCH order and/or by handover command. In one example, the UE can receive a TA report request indication in DCI in PDCCH order with dedicated RACH preamble. PDCCH order is sent via DCI Format 1_0 with C-RNTI CRC scrambled, containing SSB index, ra-Preamble Index, and PRACH Mask Index, and a TA report indication using any spare bits or repurposing any bit. In another example, the UE can receive a HO command for intra-cell handover so that the UE may perform random access process to the current serving cell. This can be achieved with NTN platforms generating steerable beams which footprint is fixed on the ground),
Leng et al. teach and receiving, during monitoring after a first timing gap from a transmission of the preamble via the second cell, a random access response (RAR) via a downlink control channel from the second cell, wherein the first timing gap is based on a round trip time of the second cell (Figs. 1 and 13, [0119, 0124-0126], the UE can receive a HO/switch command by RRC reconfiguration message for intra-cell handover and/or intra-cell service link switch so that the UE may perform a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the current serving cell (e.g., PCI unchanged) associated with the target satellite. The time threshold indicates the absolute time before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch. Or the duration can indicate the time window during which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch. Upon receiving the HO/switch command with explicit or implicit service link switch, the UE initiates a DL synchronization and/or a random access procedure for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch to the target satellite with serving cell PCI unchanged. In one example, the UE can receive an indication in DCI in PDCCH order with dedicated RACH preamble for the service link switch. PDCCH order is sent via DCI Format 1_0 with C-RNTI CRC scrambled).
Leng et al. teach and the monitoring is performed for a switch time based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the first cell and the second cell (Figs. 1 and 12, [0117], the service link switch configuration includes a switch time information. The switch time information can include a duration parameter for a switch timer which is to be started by the UE upon initiating a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The switch time information can include a start time and/or an end time. The start time and/or the end time can be indicated by absolute time, e.g., UTC time. The start time indicates the time after which the UE can initiates a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch. The t-service parameter, as illustrated in 3GPP standard specification, for the source satellite can be included in the service link switch configuration to be reused as the start time and/or the end time. The end time indicates before which the UE may initiate a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch for the service link switch),
Leng et al. is teaching of receiving RACH-less handover message via NTN with uplink grant and response after reconfiguration is done. Leng et al., however, fail to expressly teach that a gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell, and Switching time is based on propagation delay (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 14, Tripathi et al. teach wherein the first timing gap is based on a round trip time of the second cell (Fig. 6 and 13, [0191], the S-gNB specifies a timer in the HANDOVER REQUEST message to the T-gNBs of candidate CHO cells. In an example implementation, this timer is at least (1.5*RTT) long, where RTT is the estimated UE-T-gNB round trip time and can assume the minimum expected RTT. This timer indicates to the T-gNB that the T-gNB can reserve any required resources after the timer expires and hence the T-gNB can make use of these DL and/or UL resources for other users or other purposes until the timer expires. In another embodiment, each T-gNB may use an implementation-specific timer so that T-gNB can make use of these DL and/or UL resources for other users or other purposes until the timer expires. In yet another embodiment, the S-gNB may convey to a T-gNB candidate cells along with or without T-gNB identities so that the UE-selected T-gNB can perform handover cancellation (if needed and deemed suitable by the T-gNB) in Step F13S16).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Tripathi et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of using first gap is based on a round trip time of the target cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for an efficient neighbor cell search in a wireless communication network (see [0002]).
Leng et al. and Tripathi et al. is teaching of receiving RACH-less handover message via NTN with uplink grant and response after reconfiguration is done. Leng et al. and Tripathi et al., however, fail to expressly teach that Switching time is based on propagation delay (Emphasis added).
Regarding claim 14, Tripathi’806 teaches and the monitoring is performed for a switch time based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the first cell and the second cell (Figs. 1, [0083, 0139, ], hundreds or thousands of UEs may need to be handed over from one cell to another every second based on the cell size, number of UEs per cell, and the non-terrestrial network (NTN) type. In an NTN, propagation delays could be a few milliseconds for LEOs or hundreds of milliseconds for GEOs. Because of long propagation delays in an NTN, it takes a long time for the UE's message to reach the source Base Station or the target Base Station. Furthermore, it takes time for the signaling messages from the source BS or the target BS to arrive at the UE. Hence, the exchange of RRC signaling is much slower in an NTN compared to a Terrestrial Network. The source gNB/eNB may enquire about the UE's support for the overall feature of intra-handover user traffic transfer, the UE's support for advanced dynamic scheduling in the target cell, and switching time between the source cell (first node) and the target cell (second node) using the UE Capability Enquiry message. (Note: In NTN the propagation delay occurs because of the satellite of different orbits and the delay directly effects the switching time of the UE for intra-handover from source cell to target cell).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. by incorporating the features as taught by Tripathi’806 in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of utilizing a switch time associated with the handover is based on a propagation delay difference corresponding to the source cell and the target cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for a non-terrestrial network, certain elements significantly enhance the performance of an NTN (see [0001]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 2022/0150806 A1) and Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) (Tripathi’806 hereinafter) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Li (US 2023/0015847 A1).
Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 14 above. Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 10, wherein the pre-configured uplink grant comprises at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource.
Regarding claim 10, Li teaches wherein the pre-configured uplink grant comprises at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource (Fig. 4, [0063-0065], the target cell (the target network device) may configure RACH-skip information in a handover command transmitted by the source network device. That is, the handover process may be RACH-less HO. The RACH-skip information may include uplink resource(s), used by the terminal device to access the target cell, for the terminal device to transmit a handover complete message. In RACH-less HO, the uplink a start sub-frame number of the uplink grant, and represents a PUSCH resource).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 by incorporating the features as taught by Li in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of utilizing the pre-configured uplink grant comprises at least one physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource. The motivation is to support an improved method for releasing an uplink resource to a terminal device and a network device (see [0003]).
Claim(s) 11-12 and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 2022/0150806 A1) and Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) (Tripathi’806 hereinafter) as applied to claims 9 and 14 above, and further in view of Khoshkholgh et al. (US 2024/0397424 A1)..
Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 14 above.
Regarding claim 15, Leng et al. teach wherein the PDCCH message indicates a switch from the first cell to the second cell (Figs. 1 and 13, [0129], upon receiving the service link switch trigger signal as aforementioned (e.g., PDCCH order, RRC signaling, MAC CE), the UE initiates a DL synchronization and/or RA for UL synchronization and/or RACH-less switch by applying the pre-configured service link switch configuration based on indication in PDCCH order and/or MAC CE and/or RRC signaling (e.g., intra-cell HO command)).
Regarding claim 12, Tripathi et al. teach wherein the wireless device estimates the round trip time of the target cell based on at least one NTN configuration parameter associated with the target cell (Fig. 6 and 13, [0191], the S-gNB specifies a timer in the HANDOVER REQUEST message to the T-gNBs of candidate CHO cells. In an example implementation, this timer is at least (1.5*RTT) long, where RTT is the estimated UE-T-gNB round trip time and can assume the minimum expected RTT).
Regarding claim 17, Tripathi et al. teach wherein the wireless device estimates the round trip time of the target cell based on at least one NTN configuration parameter associated with the target cell (Fig. 6 and 13, [0191], the S-gNB specifies a timer in the HANDOVER REQUEST message to the T-gNBs of candidate CHO cells. In an example implementation, this timer is at least (1.5*RTT) long, where RTT is the estimated UE-T-gNB round trip time and can assume the minimum expected RTT).
Regarding claim 18, Tripathi et al. teach further comprising transmitting the preamble via the second cell (Fig. 14, [0217], the UE tries to complete the CHO with the selected target cell. In one example, the UE utilizes a 2-step RA procedure toward the target cell and sends msgA (containing an RA preamble and an RRC reconfiguration complete message) to the target cell and receives msgB from the target cell. In another example, the UE utilizes a 4-step RA procedure toward the target cell and sends a RA preamble to the target cell, receives a random access response (RAR) from the target cell, and sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target cell).
Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 11, further comprising receiving, from the source cell, plurality of configuration parameter comprising a first NTN configuration parameter associated with the source cell; and a second NTN configuration parameter associated with the target cell; regarding claim 16, further comprising receiving plurality of NTN configuration parameters comprise at least one of: a first NTN configuration parameter associated with the first cell; and a second NTN configuration parameter associated with the second cell.
Regarding claim 11, Khoshkholgh et al. teach further comprising receiving, from the source cell, plurality of configuration parameter comprising a first NTN configuration parameter associated with the source cell; and a second NTN configuration parameter associated with the target cell (Fig. 19, [0335], the wireless device (e.g., the first wireless device and/or the second wireless device in fig. 19) may receive the one or more configuration parameters, e.g., the one or more RRC configuration parameters. For example, the one or more configuration parameters may comprise one or more NTN configuration parameters. For example, the one or more NTN configuration parameters may be received, by the wireless device, from a broadcast system information (e.g., SIB1 or one or more NTN-specific SIBs). The one or more NTN configuration parameters may facilitate/manage the calculation/determination/measurement of the propagation delay (e.g., the UE-gNB RTT or the RTD) and/or a timing advance (TA) at one or more wireless devices camping in the cell/beam (e.g., the wireless device)).
Regarding claim 16, Khoshkholgh et al. teach further comprising receiving plurality of NTN configuration parameters comprise at least one of: a first NTN configuration parameter associated with the first cell; and a second NTN configuration parameter associated with the second cell (Fig. 19, [0335], the wireless device (e.g., the first wireless device and/or the second wireless device in fig. 19) may receive the one or more configuration parameters, e.g., the one or more RRC configuration parameters. For example, the one or more configuration parameters may comprise one or more NTN configuration parameters. For example, the one or more NTN configuration parameters may be received, by the wireless device, from a broadcast system information (e.g., SIB1 or one or more NTN-specific SIBs). The one or more NTN configuration parameters may facilitate/manage the calculation/determination/measurement of the propagation delay (e.g., the UE-gNB RTT or the RTD) and/or a timing advance (TA) at one or more wireless devices camping in the cell/beam (e.g., the wireless device)).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 by incorporating the features as taught by Khoshkholgh et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of receiving plurality of NTN configuration parameters comprise at least one of: a first NTN configuration parameter associated with the first cell; and a second NTN configuration parameter associated with the second cell. The motivation is to support an improved method for UE's serving base station may request a handover to a cell of one of the neighboring base stations based on the reported measurement (see [0102]).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 2022/0150806 A1) and Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) (Tripathi’806 hereinafter) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of Shrestha et al. (US 2023/0413131 A1).
Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 14 above. Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 13, further comprising: receiving, via a second source cell, a second RACH-less handover command comprising a second pre-configured uplink grant for a transmission of a second RRC reconfiguration complete message to a target cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based on transmitting the second RRC reconfiguration complete message on the target cell, downlink control channels for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) via the target cell of the TN.
Regarding claim 13, Shrestha et al. teaches further comprising: receiving, via a second source cell, a second RACH-less handover command comprising a second pre-configured uplink grant for a transmission of a second RRC reconfiguration complete message to a target cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based on transmitting the second RRC reconfiguration complete message on the target cell, downlink control channels for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) via the target cell of the TN (Figs. 2 and 4, [0104-0105, 0107, 0110], if the UE 115-a indicates a capability to determine the initial timing error for TA is within half of the CP, the UE 115-a may be configured with one or more handover resources. For example, the one or more handover resources may be one or more resources allocated for RACH-less handover from the source cell 220-a to the target cell 220-b. For the reoccurring pre-allocated uplink grants, the first uplink grant occasion may occur after a condition (e.g., after the slot n+RRC processing time+OFFSET, where n indicates the slot where RRC reconfiguration (HO message) is received from the source and OFFSET>=K_offset). In some examples, if the difference between the parameter value for K_offset and the value of the UE 115-a's specific TA is larger than a threshold, the UE 115-b may be configured to release the pre-allocated uplink grant and initiate RACH to the target cell 220-b. The UE 115-a may use the uplink grant for a same transport block size, in other words, an original transmission or a repeat transmission. Such a transport block size may include an RRC reconfiguration complete message, a buffer status reporting (BSR) message, a TA report, an RLC status report message, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the HARQ mode (A or B) may be configured or follow the same as a dynamic grant in the target cell 220-b. The UE 115-a may initiate RACH if a validity time window that is defined for the UE 115-a to use pre-allocated uplink grant or to receive PDCCH for uplink grant from the target cell 220-b expires).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 by incorporating the features as taught by Shrestha et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of receiving, via a second source cell, a second RACH-less handover command comprising a second pre-configured uplink grant for a transmission of a second RRC reconfiguration complete message to a target cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based on transmitting the second RRC reconfiguration complete message on the target cell, downlink control channels for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) via the target cell of the TN. The motivation is to support an improved method to perform handover from a source cell to a target cell without a RACH procedure (see [0004]).
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leng et al. (US 2024/0048227 A1) in view of Tripathi et al. (US 2022/0150806 A1) and Tripathi et al. (US 20220046490 A1) (Tripathi’806 hereinafter) as applied to claim 14 above, and further in view of Guo et al. (US 2023/0388871 A1).
Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 disclose the claimed limitations as described in paragraph 114 above. Leng et al., Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 do not expressly disclose the following features: regarding claim 19, further comprising: receiving, via a third cell, a second PDCCH message indicating a second preamble transmission to a fourth cell of the NTN; and monitoring, after the first timing gap from a transmission of the second preamble via the fourth cell of the NTN, downlink control channels for a second random access response (RAR) via the fourth cell; regarding claim 20, further comprising: receiving, via a fifth cell, a third PDCCH message indicating a third preamble transmission to a sixth cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based one transmitting of the third preamble via the sixth cell of the TN, downlink control channels for a third random access response (RAR) via the sixth cell.
Regarding claim 19, Guo et al. teach further comprising: receiving, via a third cell, a second PDCCH message indicating a second preamble transmission to a fourth cell of the NTN; and monitoring, after the first timing gap from a transmission of the second preamble via the fourth cell of the NTN, downlink control channels for a second random access response (RAR) via the fourth cell (Figs. 36 and 40-41 [0454, 0459, 0464-0465], candidate cell needs to reserve/allocate a preamble (or more than one preambles) for each PRACH occasion mapping to one SSB index in advance, and transfers the allocation outcome to source cell. One preamble resource of a candidate cell is shared by multiple UEs 5402, and source cell only makes sure to trigger one UE 5402 at a time for early TA acquisition (e.g., only one UE 5402 uses this preamble resource). In this way, it can still save preamble resources by reusing preambles for each candidate cell. The start time of this gap could be the time when UE 5402 receives PDCCH order, or some slots after the reception of PDCCH order. In some examples, the gap is a long gap during which the UE 5402 transmits the transmits PRACH preamble and also receives a RAR from the C-Cell 130c within this gap. In an example procedure using a periodical gap for preamble Tx. Since the first preamble may not succeed, the UE 5402 may have to increase the Tx power and transmit the PRACH preamble for more times, the gap can take effect periodically along with the periodicity of the preamble resource. In these implementations, after the successful preamble Tx is confirmed by a target cell (e.g., C-Cell 130c), the gap can be released. In some examples, the gap release indication can be communicated in or using a RAR. It is also possible that a separate or alternative indication is used to release the gap by source cell. In some implementations, the gap configuration can be just the PRACH configuration of the C-Cell 130c if the S-Cell 130s and C-Cell 130c is/are SFN aligned. There is no need for explicit gap configuration).
Regarding claim 20, Guo et al. teach further comprising: receiving, via a fifth cell, a third PDCCH message indicating a third preamble transmission to a sixth cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based one transmitting of the third preamble via the sixth cell of the TN, downlink control channels for a third random access response (RAR) via the sixth cell (Figs. 36 and 40-41 [0454, 0467, 0471-0472], preamble is determined by source cell. Based on measurement report (e.g., the UE 5402 measures SSB beams of candidate cells and reports L1/L3 measurement results to source cell), source cell selects a candidate cell, a PRACH occasion and a preamble according to a SSB index (e.g., this SSB is with the highest RSRP of this candidate cell). Then source cell indicates the preamble resource to UE by PDCCH order, and informs this assignment to this candidate cell too. In this case, candidate cell needs to reserve/allocate a preamble (or more than one preambles) for each PRACH occasion mapping to one SSB index in advance, and transfers the allocation outcome to source cell. [0456] Option 6.4.1.2: preamble is determined by candidate cell. Based on measurement report, source cell informs candidate cell which SSB beam should be used for PRACH, then candidate cell allocates a preamble and informs source cell the preamble index. For the used PRACH occasion (the time and frequency resource a UE uses for preamble Tx), it could be determined by UE or indicated by source cell or candidate cell. In a first example for preamble reception, a C-Cell 130c only receives a preamble that it allocates. This means the C-Cell 130c only needs to detect its own preamble, and calculate TA values based on this preamble. In a second example for preamble reception, a C-Cell 130c can also receive a preamble allocated by other C-Cells 130c. In this case, these C-Cells 130c may share the same DU 5731 and they are sync-up in the DL. This may be an efficient way to derive TA values for multiple C-Cells 130c based on one preamble Tx. The UE 5402 can also inform the source cell the failure indication if it didn't receive the corresponding RAR within the RAR window).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Leng et al. with Tripathi et al. and Tripathi’806 by incorporating the features as taught by Guo et al. in order to provide a more effective and efficient system that is capable of receiving, via a third cell, a second PDCCH message indicating a second preamble transmission to a fourth cell of the NTN; and monitoring, after the first timing gap from a transmission of the second preamble via the fourth cell of the NTN, downlink control channels for a second random access response (RAR) via the fourth cell; and receiving, via a fifth cell, a third PDCCH message indicating a third preamble transmission to a sixth cell of a terrestrial network (TN); and monitoring, based one transmitting of the third preamble via the sixth cell of the TN, downlink control channels for a third random access response (RAR) via the sixth cell. The motivation is to support an improved method of switching to a certain target cell among configured candidate target cells (see [0086]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-24 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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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/SYED M BOKHARI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2473
7/10/2026
/KWANG B YAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2473
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