DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Specification- Title
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities1:
The title recites, “TERMINAL, AND BASE STATION”. The title of invention is “non-descriptive”. It is suggested to revise as “Timing Adjustment value for NTN network with no positioning function ” or equivalent thereof.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawing (FIG. 14) is objected to because there is a lack of descriptive text legends2 (i.e. . “13” should be labeled as “communication mod 13”, “7” should be labeled as “Wheel 7”, “2” should label as “drive unit 2”, etc.).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action.
The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shin (US 11 871 288).
Regarding Claims 1, 3, 4 and 6, Shin discloses a terminal (see FIG. 9-10, UEx, also see FIG. 13-14, first device/UEx/wireless device 100) comprising:
a reception unit (see FIG. 13-14, transceiver 114; see col. 35, line 28-50 ) configured to receive a command that designates a first timing adjustment value and information from a base station (see FIG. 10-11, S1101: receives a command/ PDCCH3/SIB4/DCI5 with fields including common TA6 values and information (i.e.,, delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value) from BS7/gNB8/gateway; see col. 21, line 34-46; col. 22, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10); and
a control unit (see FIG. 13-14, Control Unit 120; see col. 35, line 28-50 ) configured to calculate a second timing adjustment value that is used for uplink transmission in a non-terrestrial network using the information and the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 9-11, S1102; calculate the determined/second/full common TA value by using received common TA values and information (i.e.,, delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value) in non-terrestrial network (NTN) ; see col. 21, line 19-22; col. 22, line 6-16, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10).
Regarding Claim 3, Shin discloses wherein the information is an offset value (see FIG. 9-10, the information is delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value) , and
the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value by calculating a sum of the offset value and the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 9-11, S1101; the determined/second/full common TA value is calculated by adding common TA value AND a delta TA value; or alternatively, adding common TA value AND a UE-specific differential (TUEx); see col. 21, line 34-46; col. 22, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10).
Regarding claim 4, Shin discloses wherein the information is auxiliary information for calculating an offset value (see col. 7, line 6 to col. 8, line 31 see col. 22, line 20-60; the information is a representative/auxiliary filed of SIB9/DCI10 signaling information: also see FIG. 4,), and
the control unit calculates the offset value using the auxiliary information (see col. 7, line 6 to col. 8, line 31; see col. 22, line 20-60; the control unit 120 calculate delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value from representative/auxiliary SIB/DCI signaling information (i.e. SIB configuring/reconfiguration time or DCI format, etc. ), and calculates the second timing adjustment value by calculating a sum of the offset value and the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 9-11, S1102; the determined/second/full common TA value is calculated by adding common TA value AND a delta TA value; or alternatively, adding common TA value AND a UE-specific differential (TUEx); see col. 21, line 34-46; col. 22, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10).
Regarding Claim 6, Shin discloses a base station (see FIG. 9-10, BS11/gNB12/gateway; also see FIG. 13-14, second device/Base Station/wireless device 200) comprising:
a transmission unit (see FIG. 13-14, transceiver 114; see col. 35, line 28-50 ) configured to transmit a command that designates a first timing adjustment value and information to a terminal (see FIG. 9-11, S1101: transmit a command/ PDCCH13/SIB/DCI with fields including common TA values and information (i.e.,, delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value) to first device/UEx/wireless device 100; see col. 21, line 34-46; col. 22, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10); and
a reception unit (see FIG. 13-14, transceiver 114; see col. 35, line 28-50 ) configured to receive a signal transmitted from the terminal based on a second timing adjustment value, for uplink transmission in a non-terrestrial network, (see FIG. 9-11, S1102; receive the determined/second/full common TA value from first device/UEx/wireless device 100 via uplink (UL) communication in non-terrestrial network (NTN)) that is calculated using the information and the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 10-11; which is calculated by using received common TA values and information (i.e., delta TA value or UE-specific differential TA value); see col. 21, line 19-22; col. 22, line 6-16, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; : see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10).
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin in view of Tripathi (US 2021 0119861).
Regarding Claim 2, Although Shin discloses wherein the information and the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value as set forth above, Shin does not explicitly disclose wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying”. [Emphasis added]
However, Tripathi teaches a terminal (see FIG.3- 4, UE 403/116) receiving receive a command that designates a first timing adjustment value and information from a base station wherein the information is a scaling factor (see FIG. 4, 6, Step F6S1; receiving a command/SIB1 NTN type with indicated/first timing advance t_TA and scaling factor s_TA; see ¶¶ 72, 109-113, 116) , and
the control unit (see FIG. 3, processor 340 of UE 403/116) calculates the second timing adjustment value by multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor (see ¶¶ 110-112; common time advance by multiplying timing advance t_TA and scaling factor s_TA (i.e. t_TA * s_TA)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor” as taught by Tripathi in the system of Shin, so that it would avoid or minimize common signaling or dedicate signaling, thereby increasing the overall signaling efficiency ; see Tripathi ¶54).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin in view of Leng (US 2022 0046566).
Regarding Claim 5, Shin discloses wherein the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value by concatenating the information and the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 9-11, S1101; the determined/second/full common TA value is calculated by adding/concatenating common TA value AND a delta TA value; or alternatively, adding/concatenation common TA value AND a UE-specific differential (TUEx); see col. 21, line 34-46; col. 22, line 45 to col. 23, line 10; see col. 30, line 6 to col. 31, line 10).
Although Shin discloses concatenating the information and the first timing adjustment value as set forth above, Shin does not explicitly disclose concatenating “a bit sequence” of the information and “a bit sequence” of the first timing adjustment value. [Emphasis added]
In general, it is known in the standard of NTN Rel. 17 that when adding/concatenating the information and the timing adjustment value are performed by adding/concatenating their corresponding bit fields/sequences. In particular, Leng wherein the control unit (see FIG. 1, 3, UE 116) calculates the second timing adjustment value by concatenating a bit sequence of the information and a bit sequence of the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 8, Step 808; see FIG. 9; UE calculate adjusted TA by adding/concatenating received common TA bits and information bits (i.e. satellite ephemeris, configuration information, and UE specific TA, frequence offset, Table 4, Table 5, etc.) in the extended size TAC14 field; see ¶¶ 90-91, 109-116; Also see FIG. 11, Step 1110; see FIG. 12, Step 1214; see ¶¶ 121-125).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor” as taught by Leng in the system of Shin, so that it would provide flexibly accommodate various/application with different requirement, new multiple access scheme to support massive connection by adjusting TA and UE-specific TA while accommodating GNSS capability; see Leng ¶3, 5 and 150).
Second Set of Rejection
Claims 1, 3, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by LG’47815 (R1-2105478, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 # 105-e).
Regarding Claim 1, LG’478 discloses a terminal (see §§ 1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2; UE) comprising:
a reception unit (see § 2.1.1, UE has transceiver unit) configured to receive a command that designates a first timing adjustment value and information from a base station (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; receive a signaling/command (e.g. SIB, RRC, etc.) with NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (i.e. information) from gNB); and
a control unit (see § 2.1.1, UE has a processor/CPU unit) configured to calculate a second timing adjustment value that is used for uplink transmission in a non-terrestrial network using the information and the first timing adjustment value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; calculate/estimate/determine estimated Timing advance TTA for UL time synchronization in NTN by using NTA common and NTA offset time).
Regarding Claim 3, LG’47discloses wherein the information is an offset value (information is the NTA offset, and
the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value by calculating a sum of the offset value and the first timing adjustment value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; calculate/estimate/determine estimated Timing advance TTA by summing/adding NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (i.e. information) (TTA = … NTA common + NTA offset) )).
Regarding claim 4, LG’47discloses wherein the information is auxiliary information for calculating an offset value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; information is a representative/auxiliary filed of SIB/Dedicated RRC signaling information), and
the control unit calculates the offset value using the auxiliary information (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; calculate NTA offset from representative/auxiliary SIB/Dedicated RRC signaling information), and calculates the second timing adjustment value by calculating a sum of the offset value and the first timing adjustment value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; the estimated/second Timing advance TTA is calculated by summing/adding NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (TTA = … NTA common + NTA offset) )).
Regarding Claim 6, LG’478 discloses a base station (see §§ 1, 2.1.1-2.1.3; gNB ) comprising:
a transmission unit (see § 2.1.2, gNB has transceiver unit) configured to transmit a command that designates a first timing adjustment value and information to a terminal (transmit a signaling/command (e.g. SIB, RRC, etc.) for NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (i.e. information) to UE); and
a reception unit (see § 2.1.2, gNB has transceiver unit) configured to receive a signal transmitted from the terminal based on a second timing adjustment value, for uplink transmission in a non-terrestrial network, (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; receive a signaling/command (e.g. SIB, RRC, etc.) transmitted from UE based on estimated Timing advance TTA for UL time synchronization in NTN ) that is calculated using the information and the first timing adjustment value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; calculate/estimate/determine using NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (i.e. information) to UE).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LG’478 in view of Vivo’66116 (3GPP TSG RAN WG1 # 103-e).
Regarding Claim 2, Although LG’478 discloses wherein the information and the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value as set forth above, LG’478 does not explicitly disclose wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying”. [Emphasis added]
However, Vivo’661teaches wherein the information is a scaling factor (see §§ 2.2; information is Scaling Factor S) , and
the control unit (see §§ 2.2 processor/CPU of UE) calculates the second timing adjustment value by multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor (see §§ 2.2; calculate NTA-new by multiplying TA by Scaling factor S (i.e. NTA-new = ..S x TA ).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor” as taught by Vivo’661 in the system of LG’478, so that it would reduce signaling overload ; see Vivo’661 § 2.2, observation 3).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LG’478 in view of Leng (US 2022 0046566).
Regarding Claim 5, LG’478 discloses wherein the control unit calculates the second timing adjustment value by concatenating the information and the first timing adjustment value (see §§ 1, 2.1.1- 2.1.3; calculate/estimate/determine estimated Timing advance TTA by summing/adding/ concatenating NTA common (i.e. 1st timing adjustment) and NTA offset (i.e. information) (TTA = … NTA common + NTA offset)).
Although LG’478 discloses concatenating the information and the first timing adjustment value as set forth above, LG’478 does not explicitly disclose concatenating “a bit sequence” of the information and “a bit sequence” of the first timing adjustment value. [Emphasis added]
In general, it is known in the standard of NTN Rel. 17 that when adding/concatenating the information and the timing adjustment value are performed by adding/concatenating their corresponding bit fields/sequences. In particular, Leng wherein the control unit (see FIG. 1, 3, UE 116) calculates the second timing adjustment value by concatenating a bit sequence of the information and a bit sequence of the first timing adjustment value (see FIG. 8, Step 808; see FIG. 9; UE calculate adjusted TA by adding/concatenating received common TA bits and information bits (i.e. satellite ephemeris, configuration information, and UE specific TA, frequence offset, Table 4, Table 5, etc.) in the extended size TAC17 field; see ¶¶ 90-91, 109-116; also see FIG. 11, Step 1110; see FIG. 12, Step 1214; see ¶¶ 121-125).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide wherein the information is “a scaling factor” and calculates the second timing adjustment value by “multiplying the first timing adjustment value by the scaling factor” as taught by Leng in the system of LG’478, so that it would provide flexibly accommodate various/application with different requirement, new multiple access scheme to support massive connection by adjusting TA and UE-specific TA while accommodating GNSS capability; see Leng ¶3, 5 and 150).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen (US 11985697 B2): FIG. 7
Park (US 20230145930 A1): FIG. 8-9
Wang (US 20220295434 A1); FIG. 4-5
Tsai (US 20220086780 A1): FIG. 10
Laselva (US 20190342845 A1 ): FIG. 4
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ian N Moore whose telephone number is (571)272-3085. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9 AM - 5:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Deborah J 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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IAN N. MOORE
Supervisory Patent Examiner
Art Unit 2469
/Ian N Moore/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2469
1 See 37 CFR 1.72(a) and MPEP § 606
2 see 37 CFR 1.83, CFR 1.84 [5(O)], MPEP § 608.02(e)
3 PDCCH=Physical Downlink Control Channel
4 SIB= System Information Block
5 DCI=Downlink Control Information
6 TA= Timing Advance
7 BS=Base Station
8 gNB=Gateway Node B
9 SIB= System Information Block
10 DCI=Downlink Control Information
11 BS=Base Station
12 gNB=Gateway Node B
13 PDCCH=Physical Downlink Control Channel
14 TAC= Timing Advance Command
15 Provided by the IDS dated 3/4/2024
16 Provided by the IDS dated 3/4/2024
17 TAC= Timing Advance Command