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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. KR 10-2023-0101944, filed on 08/04/2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 07/11/2024. These drawings are acceptable.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lin (Hereinafter “Lin”, US 20230038582), in view of Shin et al. (Hereinafter “Shin”, US 20220330191).
Regarding claim 1, and 15: Lin discloses: A terminal comprising: a transceiver, a memory, and a controller coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the controller is configured to cause the terminal to perform a method comprising: (i.e According to a third aspect, there is provided a user equipment, comprising: a processor; a transceiver; and a memory configured to store instructions. As described in paragraph [0014].)
receiving by the terminal a first system information, wherein the first system information comprises a scheduling information for a second system information. (i.e., The method comprises: receiving, from a base station, a first information for indicating uplink transmission resources. As described in paragraph [0012].)
receiving by the terminal the second system information, wherein the second system information comprises:
a first non-terrestrial network (NTN) configuration; (i.e., and a second information, where the second information comprises a first parameter for indicating the uplink transmission resources. As described in paragraph [0012].)
a second NTN configuration; (i.e., second time domain location of second time domain resources for the uplink transmission are determined such that the second time domain resources are delayed compared to the initial time domain resources based on the one or more time domain location offset values. As described in paragraph [0045].)
a parameter related to a stop time; and a parameter related to a start time; (i.e., the uplink transmission is performed using the second time domain resources determined in step 212. For example, the uplink transmission will start with the first symbol of the second time domain resources. As described in paragraph [0046].)
performing by the terminal uplink transmission based on:
the first NTN configuration; and that the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration is running; (i.e., and performing, based on the first information and the second information, an uplink transmission on the uplink transmission resources. As described in paragraph [0012].)
performing by the terminal uplink transmission based on:
the second NTN configuration; and that the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration is running. (i.e., and performing, based on the first information and the second information, an uplink transmission on the uplink transmission resources. As described in paragraph [0012].)
Lin discloses all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
starting by the terminal a first timer related to validity of NTN configuration, wherein duration of the first timer is determined based on a parameter related to validity duration in the first NTN configuration;
stopping by the terminal the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration at a first specific time point, wherein the first specific time point is determined based on the second system information;
starting by the terminal a second timer related to validity of NTN configuration, wherein duration of the second timer is determined based on the parameter related to validity duration in the second NTN configuration;
In similarly endeavor, Shin discloses:
starting by the terminal a first timer related to validity of NTN configuration, wherein duration of the first timer is determined based on a parameter related to validity duration in the first NTN configuration; (i.e., The UE may obtain the first TA (or a first UE-specific TA) for the first satellite based on the first satellite ephemeris information before restarting, expiring, or stopping after the first validity timer starts based on the first validity duration. As described in paragraph [0174].)
stopping by the terminal the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration at a first specific time point, wherein the first specific time point is determined based on the second system information; (i.e., The UE may obtain the second TA for the first satellite based on the second satellite ephemeris information before the first validity timer expires or stops after restarting based on the second validity duration. Here, the first TA and the second TA may mean a UE-specific TA related to the first satellite. As described in paragraph [0181].)
starting by the terminal a second timer related to validity of NTN configuration, wherein duration of the second timer is determined based on the parameter related to validity duration in the second NTN configuration; (i.e., The UE may obtain the second TA for the first satellite based on the second satellite ephemeris information before the first validity timer expires or stops after restarting based on the second validity duration. Here, the first TA and the second TA may mean a UE-specific TA related to the first satellite. As described in paragraph [0181].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 2: Lin and Shin disclose all the limitation as mention above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the first specific time point is determined based on the stop time. (i.e., When new satellite ephemeris information is provided from the base station after the validity duration ends/expires, the UE may be configured to update the UE-specific TA and/or report the UE-specific TA (or the entire TA) based on this value. As described in paragraph [0236].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 3: Lin and Shin disclose all the limitation as mention above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the first specific time point is determined based on the stop time and the start time. (i.e., When new satellite ephemeris information is provided from the base station after the validity duration ends/expires, the UE may be configured to update the UE-specific TA and/or report the UE-specific TA (or the entire TA) based on this value. As described in paragraph [0236].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 12: Lin and Shin disclose all the limitation as mention above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the terminal reacquires the second system information before the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration expires. (i.e., The UE may obtain the second TA for the first satellite based on the second satellite ephemeris information before the first validity timer expires or stops after restarting based on the second validity duration. As described in paragraph [0181].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 13: Lin and Shin disclose all the limitation as mention above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the terminal restarts the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration at a second specific time point after reacquiring the second system information. (i.e., The first validity timer may be restarted at a specific time between the time when the second (satellite) ephemeris information is received and the time when the existing first validity duration ends, and the restart time of the first validity timer may be predefined. As described in paragraph [0183].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 14: Lin and Shin disclose all the limitation as mention above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the second specific time point is determined based on the parameter related to starting subframe in the second system information that is reacquired before the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration expires. (i.e., Additionally, even if the ephemeris information of the serving (or, non-serving) satellite is updated and indicated from the base station through the DL signal/channel (e.g., SIB, MAC-CE, RRC signaling, PDCCH, etc.) before the validity duration ends/expires, the time point at which the UE updates the corresponding satellite ephemeris information may be configured as a specific time point between the time point when the DL signal/channel is received and the time point at which the existing validity duration ends. As described in paragraph [0237].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Claims 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lin (Hereinafter “Lin”, US 20230038582), in view of Shin et al. (Hereinafter “Shin”, US 20220330191) and further in view of Huang et al. (Hereinafter “Huang”, US 20230164720).
Regarding claim 4: Lin and Shin disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein each of the first NTN configuration and the second NTN configuration comprises:
a parameter related to starting subframe; (i.e., A start of a slot n.sub.s.sup.μ in a subframe is temporally arranged with a start of an OFDM symbol n.sub.s.sup.μN.sub.symb.sup.slot in the same subframe. As described in paragraph [0086].)
the parameter related to validity duration; (i.e., In addition, an additional technical object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and an apparatus for configuring a validity duration for satellite ephemeris information for obtaining UE-specific TA. As described in paragraph [0007].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Lin and Shin disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein each of the first NTN configuration and the second NTN configuration comprises:
a parameter related to common timing advance; and
a parameter related to timing advance report.
In similarly endeavor, Huang discloses: wherein each of the first NTN configuration and the second NTN configuration comprises:
a parameter related to common timing advance; (i.e., The UE may be configured to report information about UE specific timing advance during a Random Access procedure not due to SI request and/or when in RRC_CONNECTED. As described in paragraph [00101].)
a parameter related to timing advance report. (i.e., In various embodiments, the TA report is a Timing Advance Report (TAR) MAC CE.. As described in paragraph [0268].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Huang into the invention of Lin, and Shin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lin (Hereinafter “Lin”, US 20230038582), in view of Shin et al. (Hereinafter “Shin”, US 20220330191), further in view of Huang et al. (Hereinafter “Huang”, US 20230164720), and further in view of XIE et al. (Hereinafter “Xie”, US 20190222411).
Regarding claim 5: Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above.
Furthermore, Shin discloses: wherein the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
stops based on the parameter related to validity duration in the first NTN configuration, (i.e., The UE may obtain the first TA (or a first UE-specific TA) for the first satellite based on the first satellite ephemeris information before restarting, expiring, or stopping after the first validity timer starts based on the first validity duration. As described in paragraph [0174].)
wherein the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
stops based on the parameter related to validity duration in the second NTN configuration. (i.e., The UE may obtain the second TA for the first satellite based on the second satellite ephemeris information before the first validity timer expires or stops after restarting based on the second validity duration.. As described in paragraph [0181].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Shin into the invention of Lin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
starts based on the parameter related to starting subframe in the first NTN configuration; and
wherein the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
starts based on the parameter related to starting subframe in the second NTN configuration;
In similarly endeavor, Xie discloses: wherein the first timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
starts based on the parameter related to starting subframe in the first NTN configuration; (i.e., It should be noted that, in step 330, the terminal device determines starting time for sending the first uplink subframe based on preset configuration information and the first indication information. As described in paragraph [0153].)
And wherein the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration:
starts based on the parameter related to starting subframe in the second NTN configuration; (i.e., the terminal device determines the starting time of the first subframe based on the second time adjustment parameter, for example, the parameter N.sub.TA in the prior art. As described in paragraph [0182].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Xie into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Claims 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lin (Hereinafter “Lin”, US 20230038582), in view of Shin et al. (Hereinafter “Shin”, US 20220330191), further in view of Huang et al. (Hereinafter “Huang”, US 20230164720), and further in view of Frenne et al. (Hereinafter “Frenne”, US 20160007377).
Regarding claim 6, Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein the parameter related to starting subframe comprises a field indicating a system frame number (SFN) of starting subframe.
In similarly endeavor, Frenne discloses: wherein the parameter related to starting subframe comprises a field indicating a system frame number (SFN) of starting subframe. (i.e., the method comprising: determining a starting subframe for the preamble transmission(s) based on at least: a system frame number (SFN) received from the network node. As described in paragraph [0045].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Frenne into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 7, Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein, before the first specific time point, the starting subframe is determined based on:
a master information block received before the first specific time point, and
the SFN of starting subframe indicated in the first NTN configuration.
In similarly endeavor, Frenne discloses: wherein, before the first specific time point, the starting subframe is determined based on:
a master information block received before the first specific time point; (i.e., After detecting the cell, the UE reads the master information block (MIB) on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) occupying a known resource. The MIB gives the UE information about the system frame number (SFN) and how to detect further system information. As described in paragraph [0006].) and
the SFN of starting subframe indicated in the first NTN configuration. (i.e., In action 801, the method comprises, determining a starting subframe for the preamble transmission(s) based on at least: a system frame number (SFN) received from the network node 110. As described in paragraph [0079].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Frenne into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 8, Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein, after the first specific time point, the starting subframe is determined based on:
a master information block received after the first specific time point;
and
the SFN of starting subframe indicated in the second NTN configuration.
In similarly endeavor, Frenne discloses: wherein, after the first specific time point, the starting subframe is determined based on:
a master information block received after the first specific time point; (i.e., After detecting the cell, the UE reads the master information block (MIB) on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) occupying a known resource. The MIB gives the UE information about the system frame number (SFN) and how to detect further system information. As described in paragraph [0006].)
and the SFN of starting subframe indicated in the second NTN configuration. (i.e., Information about the resources available for the physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission is provided to the UEs as part of the broadcasted system information in System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or as part of dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling in case of e.g. a handover. As described in paragraph [0007].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Frenne into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 9, Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein the master information block, before the first specific time point and after the first specific time point, is received based on:
a specific physical cell identity; and
a specific absolute radio frequency channel number.
In similarly endeavor, Frenne discloses: wherein the master information block, before the first specific time point and after the first specific time point, is received based on:
a specific physical cell identity; (i.e., According to an embodiment, the network node may determine the starting based on a second offset K being a cell identifier such as, a physical cell identity, PCI, transmitted to the UE during synchronization with the UE or the second offset is a cell identity transmitted in a system information block to the UE. As described in paragraph [0131].)
and a specific absolute radio frequency channel number. (i.e., Information about the resources available for the physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission is provided to the UEs as part of the broadcasted system information in System Information Block 2 (SIB2) or as part of dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling in case of e.g. a handover. As described in paragraph [0007].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Frenne into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Regarding claim 10, Lin, Shin, and Huang disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims: wherein
the specific physical cell identity is physical cell identity of a special cell; and
the specific absolute radio frequency channel number is absolute radio frequency channel number of the special cell.
In similarly endeavor, Frenne discloses: wherein:
the specific physical cell identity is physical cell identity of a special cell; (i.e., According to an embodiment, the starting subframe may be determined based on a second offset being a cell identifier such as a physical cell identity (PCI), received by the UE during synchronization with the network node, As described in paragraph [0092].)
and the specific absolute radio frequency channel number is absolute radio frequency channel number of the special cell. (i.e., The first message of this procedure is typically transmitted on a special resource reserved for random access, a physical random access channel. As described in paragraph [0005].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Frenne into the invention of Lin, Shin, and Huang in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Claims 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Lin (Hereinafter “Lin”, US 20230038582), in view of Shin et al. (Hereinafter “Shin”, US 20220330191) and further in view of Cheng et al. (Hereinafter “Cheng”, US 20230098798).
Regarding claim 11: Lin and Shin disclose all limitations recited within claims as described above. But does not expressly disclose features of these claims:
wherein uplink transmission stops in case that the first timer or the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration stops or expires.
In similarly endeavor, Cheng discloses: wherein uplink transmission stops in case that the first timer or the second timer related to validity of NTN configuration stops or expires. (i.e., In some implementations, the UE may consider all timeAlignmentTimers as expired when a validity timer for satellite ephemeris information expires. In some implementations, when the validity timer expires. As described in paragraph [0059].)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of applicant’s claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Cheng into the invention of Lin and Shin in order to provide a more reliable communication in a mobile network for satellite-based NTN services.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC M. VO whose telephone number is (571)272-9854. The examiner can normally be reached T-F; 7:30 - 5:30.
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/Eric M. Vo/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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