H atNotice 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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 have been examined and are pending.
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.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2026/0025719 A1 to Suh et al. (hereinafter “Suh”) in view of US 2024/0364621 A1 to Ramasamy Subramanian et al. (hereinafter “Subramanian”)
Regarding Claim 1, Suh teaches A method, comprising:
transmitting, by a user equipment comprising at least one processor ([0020], discloses a handover apparatus configured for a user equipment including at least one processor) to a terrestrial radio network node, at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report comprising at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value indication indicative of at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. The terminal may then transmit the measured received signal strengths (i.e. at least one terrestrial radio channel performance value) for the terrestrial base stations and satellites around the base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) to the base station 2 through a measurement report (i.e. terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report)) corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, traffic ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services (i.e. receive traffic) from the base station 2)
receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, a radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message comprising radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information; and ([0195], discloses a handover method between NTN and TN, a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. [0198], discloses The base station 2 may generate a handover command message and transmit the handover command message to the terminal (S1808). The handover command message may include the BWP switching configuration information (i.e. radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information) of the satellite 1. Additionally, the handover command message may include at least a cell information element (IE) and all information required to access the satellite 1, allowing the terminal to access the satellite 1 without reading system information)
responsive to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message, receiving, from a non-terrestrial radio network node according to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information, ([0198], discloses The terminal may receive the handover command message from the base station 2 and identify the information included in the handover command message (e.g. BWP switching configuration information of the satellite 1). The terminal may execute the CHO (S1809). In this case, the terminal may perform a detach procedure with the base station 2 and a synchronization procedure with the satellite 1 (i.e. non-terrestrial radio network node))
Suh does not explicitly teach the one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, traffic associated with at least one terrestrial traffic flow, and receiving delegated traffic comprising traffic corresponding to the at least one terrestrial traffic flow.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Subramanian discloses in Figure 1 and [0024], discloses a network 100 is provided that includes a network server 110 connected to a destination server 120 for facilitating communications between one or more tenants 130 and the destination server 120 over terrestrial network paths (i.e. receiving traffic associated with at least one terrestrial traffic flow) through a terrestrial network 140 and/or satellite network paths through a satellite network 150. [0040], discloses the system can re-direct the flow of the workload through the satellite network 150 (i.e. receiving delegated traffic from a non-terrestrial radio network node corresponding to the at least one terrestrial traffic flow) of the virtual tunnel (e.g., in response to detecting or anticipating unfavorable conditions at the terrestrial network) [0047], discloses re-directing the flow of network packets based on a desired or predetermined quality of service and/or there is a failure with the terrestrial network)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Suh to include the above limitations as suggested by Subramanian to provide increased flexibility as indicated in [0023] of Subramanian.
Regarding Claim 2, Suh/Subramanian teaches The method of claim 1, wherein Suh further teaches the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information comprises at least one non-terrestrial radio channel performance parameter adjustment value corresponding to delivery, by the non-terrestrial radio network node, of traffic to different user equipment. ([[0198], discloses The base station 2 may generate a handover command message and transmit the handover command message to the terminal (S1808). The handover command message may include the BWP switching configuration information (i.e. non-terrestrial radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information) of the satellite 1. Additionally, the handover command message may include at least a cell information element (IE) and all information required to access the satellite 1, allowing the terminal to access the satellite 1 without reading system information)
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2026/0025719 A1 to Suh et al. (hereinafter “Suh”) in view of US 2017/0071021 A1 to Jin et al. (hereinafter “Jin”) and US 2024/0364621 A1 to Ramasamy Subramanian et al. (hereinafter “Subramanian”)
Regarding Claim 14, Suh teaches a user equipment, comprising: at least one processor configured to process executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising([0020], discloses a handover apparatus configured for a user equipment including at least one processor)
transmitting to a terrestrial radio network node, at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report comprising at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value indication indicative of at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. The terminal may then transmit the measured received signal strengths (i.e. at least one terrestrial radio channel performance value) for the terrestrial base stations and satellites around the base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) to the base station 2 through a measurement report (i.e. terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report)) corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, traffic ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services (i.e. receive traffic) from the base station 2)
receiving, from the terrestrial radio network node, a radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message comprising radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information; and ([0195], discloses a handover method between NTN and TN, a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. [0198], discloses The base station 2 may generate a handover command message and transmit the handover command message to the terminal (S1808). The handover command message may include the BWP switching configuration information (i.e. radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information) of the satellite 1. Additionally, the handover command message may include at least a cell information element (IE) and all information required to access the satellite 1, allowing the terminal to access the satellite 1 without reading system information)
responsive to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message, receiving, from a non-terrestrial radio network node according to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information, ([0198], discloses The terminal may receive the handover command message from the base station 2 and identify the information included in the handover command message (e.g. BWP switching configuration information of the satellite 1). The terminal may execute the CHO (S1809). In this case, the terminal may perform a detach procedure with the base station 2 and a synchronization procedure with the satellite 1 (i.e. non-terrestrial radio network node))
Suh teaches transmitting a terrestrial radio channel performance report to a terrestrial node ([0195], discloses The terminal may then transmit the measured received signal strengths (i.e. at least one terrestrial radio channel performance value) for the terrestrial base stations and satellites around the base station 2 through a measurement report), but does not explicitly teach receiving, from a terrestrial radio network node, a terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report request comprising a request that the user equipment direct at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report to the terrestrial radio network node; responsive to the terrestrial radio channel performance parameter report request, transmitting, to the terrestrial radio network node, at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report.
However, the concept of a UE receiving a request for a measurement report from a network node and responding with the requested measurement report is well known in the art. For example, in a similar field of endeavor, Jin discloses in [0247], In a process of performing wireless communication by the wireless terminal with the second RAT network, the second RAT network may request the wireless terminal to report a measurement report of each network, where the measurement report may include a signal strength of each network that is detected by the wireless terminal, for example, a signal strength of the first RAT and a signal strength of the second RAT. [0205], further discloses The RATs may be various radio access technologies, for example, E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Suh to include the above limitations as suggested by Jin, such that the number of changes of the wireless terminal between the first RAT and the second RAT is reduced, network load is reduced, and user experience is enhanced as indicated in [0179] of Jin.
Suh/Jin does not explicitly teach the one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, traffic associated with at least one terrestrial traffic flow, and receiving delegated traffic comprising traffic corresponding to the at least one terrestrial traffic flow.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Subramanian discloses in Figure 1 and [0024], discloses a network 100 is provided that includes a network server 110 connected to a destination server 120 for facilitating communications between one or more tenants 130 and the destination server 120 over terrestrial network paths (i.e. receiving traffic associated with at least one terrestrial traffic flow) through a terrestrial network 140 and/or satellite network paths through a satellite network 150. [0040], discloses the system can re-direct the flow of the workload through the satellite network 150 (i.e. receiving delegated traffic from a non-terrestrial radio network node corresponding to the at least one terrestrial traffic flow) of the virtual tunnel (e.g., in response to detecting or anticipating unfavorable conditions at the terrestrial network) [0047], discloses re-directing the flow of network packets based on a desired or predetermined quality of service and/or there is a failure with the terrestrial network)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Suh/Jin to include the above limitations as suggested by Subramanian to provide increased flexibility as indicated in [0023] of Subramanian.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2026/0025719 A1 to Suh et al. (hereinafter “Suh”) in view of US 2024/0364621 A1 to Ramasamy Subramanian et al. (hereinafter “Subramanian”) and US 2025/0267028 A1 (foreign priority date of Feb. 15, 2024) to Kim (hereinafter “Kim”)
Regarding Claim 19, Suh teaches non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that when executed by at least processor of a user equipment, facilitate performance of operations, comprising ([0020], discloses a handover apparatus configured for a user equipment including at least one processor)
transmitting to a terrestrial radio network node, at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report comprising at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value indication indicative of at least one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. The terminal may then transmit the measured received signal strengths (i.e. at least one terrestrial radio channel performance value) for the terrestrial base stations and satellites around the base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) to the base station 2 through a measurement report (i.e. terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value report)) corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, traffic ([0195], discloses a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services (i.e. receive traffic) from the base station 2)
receiving, from the terrestrial radio network node, a radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message comprising radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information; and ([0195], discloses a handover method between NTN and TN, a terminal may be located within a service coverage of a terrestrial base station 2 (i.e. terrestrial radio network node) and receive services from the base station 2. [0198], discloses The base station 2 may generate a handover command message and transmit the handover command message to the terminal (S1808). The handover command message may include the BWP switching configuration information (i.e. radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information) of the satellite 1. Additionally, the handover command message may include at least a cell information element (IE) and all information required to access the satellite 1, allowing the terminal to access the satellite 1 without reading system information)
responsive to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information message, receiving, from a non-terrestrial radio network node according to the radio channel performance parameter adjustment value configuration information, ([0198], discloses The terminal may receive the handover command message from the base station 2 and identify the information included in the handover command message (e.g. BWP switching configuration information of the satellite 1). The terminal may execute the CHO (S1809). In this case, the terminal may perform a detach procedure with the base station 2 and a synchronization procedure with the satellite 1 (i.e. non-terrestrial radio network node))
Suh/ does not explicitly teach the one terrestrial radio channel performance parameter value corresponding to receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, at least one multicast broadcast service traffic flow, and receiving, from a non-terrestrial radio network node, delegated traffic associated with the at least one multicast broadcast service traffic flow
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Subramanian discloses in Figure 1 and [0024], discloses a network 100 is provided that includes a network server 110 connected to a destination server 120 for facilitating communications between one or more tenants 130 and the destination server 120 over terrestrial network paths (i.e. receiving traffic associated with at least one terrestrial traffic flow) through a terrestrial network 140 and/or satellite network paths through a satellite network 150. [0040], discloses the system can re-direct the flow of the workload through the satellite network 150 (i.e. receiving delegated traffic from a non-terrestrial radio network node corresponding to the at least one terrestrial traffic flow) of the virtual tunnel (e.g., in response to detecting or anticipating unfavorable conditions at the terrestrial network) [0047], discloses re-directing the flow of network packets based on a desired or predetermined quality of service and/or there is a failure with the terrestrial network)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Suh/Jin to include the above limitations as suggested by Subramanian to provide increased flexibility as indicated in [0023] of Subramanian.
Suh/Subramanian does not explicitly teach receiving, by the user equipment from the terrestrial radio network node, at least one multicast broadcast service traffic flow; and receiving, from a non-terrestrial radio network node, delegated data traffic associated with the at least one multicast broadcast service traffic flow.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Kim discloses in [0002], discloses a technique for providing multicast and broadcast services in a non-terrestrial network, and more particularly, to a technique for providing multicast and broadcast services to specific areas in a non-terrestrial network using satellites with a large cell radius. [0005] The NR multimedia broadcast and multicast service (MBS) technologies for efficiently providing such multicast and broadcast services may primarily deliver multicast and broadcast services based on a terrestrial network (TN).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Suh/Subramanian to include the above limitations as suggested by Kim, to efficiently provide specialized multicast and broadcast services in specific areas, such as country-based or region-based services, while minimizing the impact of existing TN and NTN specifications and technologies in non-terrestrial networks utilizing geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and LEO satellites, which have large cell coverage as indicated in [0082] of Kim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-13, 15-18, 20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/JENKEY VAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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