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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/04/2025 and 02/10/2026 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-4, 6-14, 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over ETSI TS 138 331 V17.5.0 (2023-07) (“TS 38.331”) in view of Cheng (US 2022/0046498 A1; “Cheng”) and further in view of ETSI TS 138 300 V17.5.0 (2023-07) (“TS 38.300”).
Regarding claim 1, TS 38.331 discloses: acquiring, from a cell, a first configuration related to a first satellite, the first configuration comprising a timestamp and time information; acquiring a first NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks) configuration from a cell and that the configuration includes timestamp and time information where SIB19 contains satellite assistance information for NTN access, that SIB19 includes ntn-Config, and that ntn-Config includes epochTime and ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration, where epochTime indicates the epoch time of the NTN assistance information and is the starting time of a DL sub-frame indicated by SFN and sub-frame number (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488; TS 38.331 at pg. 689-690).
Furthermore, TS 38.331 discloses: re-acquiring, from the first satellite, a second configuration related to the first satellite; reacquiring the configuration related to the first satellite upon reception of SIB19 the UE starts or restarts T430 from the subframe indicated by epochTime and should attempt to re-acquire SIB19 before the end of the duration indicated by ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration, and further teaches that upon T430 expiry in RRC_CONNECTED the UE acquires SIB19 again (TS 38.331 at pg. 60-61, §5.2.2.4.21; TS 38.331 at pg. 61, §5.2.2.6).
With respect to claim 1, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose: A method for satellite switching performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng teaches that a serving satellite connected to a source base station may change to a target satellite connected to a different target base station while the UE remains the same, i.e., an inter-BS satellite handover procedure, (Cheng [0070] “This scenario may be called an inter-BS satellite handover procedure. FIG. 5 illustrates an example where a serving satellite that is positioned between a first BS and a UE changes to a second satellite that is positioned between a second BS and the UE”) and that the UE may synchronize with the target cell and complete the handover (Cheng, paras. [0069]-[0070], FIG.5).
Moreover, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose that the DL synchronization is performed based on the time information so as to start from the time indicated by the timestamp, although TS 38.331 teaches starting synchronizing to the DL of the target SpCell and, if NTN-Config is configured for the target cell, starting T430 from the subframe indicated by epochTime according to the target cell NTN-Config (TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2; TS 38.331 at pg. 690): performing, based on the time information, a downlink (DL) synchronization with the first satellite, starting from a time indicated by the timestamp;
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches performing DL synchronization with the target satellite/cell based on target-cell timing information because Cheng teaches that the RRCReconfiguration message may include the system information of the target cell and the SMTC IE for the SSB periodicity, offset, and duration configuration of the target cell, and that the UE may synchronize with the target cell, (Cheng, para. [0069] “. . . the UE may use the SMTC in the measObjectNR that has the same SSB frequency and subcarrier spacing, as configured before the reception of the RRC message in some implementations. The UE may synchronize with the target cell and complete the RRC handover procedure by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to target BS 406.”).
Additionally, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose calculating a UE-specific timing advance in addition to the common timing advance, although TS 38.331 teaches that ntn-Config includes ta-Info with ta-Common and ephemerisInfo (TS 38.331 at pg. 689-690): and calculating a common timing advance and a UE-specific timing advance based on the re-acquired second configuration related to the first satellite.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches this limitation because TS 38.300 teaches that Common TA is a configured timing offset and that, before and during connection to an NTN cell, the UE computes RTT/TTA based on its GNSS position, ephemeris, and Common TA, thereby teaching a UE-specific timing-advance component in addition to the network-provided Common TA (TS 38.300 at pg. 211, §16.14.2.1; TS 38.300 at pg. 211-212, §16.14.2.2; TS 38.331 at pg. 689-690).
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 TS 38.331 NTN SIB19/NTN-Config framework with Cheng’s target-cell timing and target-cell synchronization teaching and to apply the TS 38.300 NTN timing-advance formulation, because those references address the same NTN mobility and synchronization problem and use compatible NR NTN control information.
Doing so would predictably have enabled scheduled satellite switching with target-cell DL synchronization based on target-cell timing, reacquisition of refreshed NTN assistance information, and post-switch computation of network-provided common timing compensation together with UE-computed timing compensation, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding claim 2, TS 38.331 discloses: The method of claim 1, wherein the first configuration related to the first satellite further comprises timer information, that the first configuration further comprises timer information because ntn-Config includes ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration-r17 (TS 38.331 at pg. 689-690).
Further, TS 38.331 discloses: and the method further comprises: at the time indicated by the timestamp, starting a timer based on the timer information. starting a timer at the time indicated by the timestamp based on the timer information that upon reception of SIB19 the UE starts or restarts T430 from the subframe indicated by epochTime, and that if NTN-Config is configured for the target cell in reconfiguration with sync, the UE starts T430 with the timer value set to ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration from the subframe indicated by epochTime according to the target cell NTN-Config (TS 38.331 at pg. 60-61, §5.2.2.4.21; TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2).
Regarding claim 3, TS 38.331 discloses: The method of claim 2, wherein the timer comprises a radio resource control (RRC) timer. an RRC timer identifies T430 and specifies its start, stop, and expiry handling as an RRC timer (TS 38.331 at pg. 1176; TS 38.331 at pg. 61, §5.2.2.6).
Regarding claim 4, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite, although TS 38.331 teaches that SIB19 includes ntn-NeighCellConfigList providing neighbour-cell ntn-Config, carrier frequency, and physical cell identity, and Cheng teaches a UE receiving measurement configuration through the serving cell for handover or measurement toward a second cell associated with a second satellite (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488; Cheng, paras. [0011]-[0016], [0069]): The method of claim 2, wherein: acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite, and
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite because TS 38.331 teaches that SIB19 of the serving cell may include neighbour-cell ntn-Config, and Cheng teaches serving-cell/target-cell mobility between first-satellite and second-satellite cells through the serving cell (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488; Cheng, paras. [0011]-[0016], [0069]).
Further, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose that the timer is configured to control a validity of uplink synchronization during a connection with the second satellite, although TS 38.331 teaches that ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration is the maximum duration from epochTime during which the UE can apply assistance information without acquiring new assistance information, (pg. 690: “A validity duration configured by the network for assistance information (i.e. Serving and/or neighbour satellite ephemeris and Common TA parameters) which indicates the maximum time duration (from epochTime) during which the UE can apply assistance information without having acquired new assistance information”) that this parameter applies to serving and/or neighbour satellite ephemeris and Common TA parameters, and that T430 is started or restarted from epochTime upon reception of SIB19 or upon reception of RRCReconfiguration for the target cell including reconfigurationWithSync (TS 38.331 at pg. 690; TS 38.331 at pg. 1176): the timer is configured to control a validity of uplink synchronization during a connection with the second satellite.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches this limitation in the context of a UE connected through a serving satellite while preparing mobility to another satellite because TS 38.331 teaches neighbour-cell assistance-information validity handling and T430 timer control, while Cheng teaches first-satellite/second-satellite mobility context (TS 38.300 at pg. 174-176, §§16.14.3.1-16.14.3.3). Accordingly, claim 4 is rejected for at least the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, TS 38.331 discloses receiving system information broadcast by the cell: The method of claim 1, wherein: acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises receiving system information broadcast by the cell, because SIB19 contains satellite assistance information for NTN access (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488).
Further, TS 38.331 discloses that the system information comprises the first configuration related to the first satellite: and the system information comprises the first configuration related to the first satellite. TS 38.331 teaches that SIB19 includes ntn-Config, and that ntn-Config provides parameters needed for the UE to access NR via NTN, such as ephemeris data, common TA parameters, validity duration for UL sync information, and epoch (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488).
Regarding claim 7, TS 38.331 discloses system information block type 19 as the system information carrying the first configuration: The method of claim 6, wherein the system information comprises at least one of a system information block type 1 (SIB1) and a system information block type 19 (SIB19). TS 38.331 teaches that SIB19 contains satellite assistance information for NTN access and includes ntn-Config (TS 38.331 at pg. 487-488).
Regarding claim 8, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose receiving an SSB of the first satellite based on the time information, whereas TS 38.331 teaches that the target SpCell is on the SSB frequency indicated by frequencyInfoDL and physCellId and that the UE starts synchronising to the DL of the target SpCell, while Cheng teaches SMTC IE for the SSB periodicity, offset, and duration of the target cell: The method of claim 1, wherein performing the DL synchronization with the first satellite comprises: receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) of the first satellite based on the time information.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches this limitation because Cheng teaches target-cell SSB timing information and UE synchronization with the target cell, and TS 38.331 teaches target-cell DL synchronization on the SSB frequency of the target SpCell (TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2; Cheng, para. [0069]; TS 38.300 at pg. 181, §16.14.3.3). Accordingly, claim 8 is rejected for at least the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose that the time information is associated with the SSB and is in units of subframes, although TS 38.331 teaches epochTime indicated by SFN and subFrameNR and target-cell timing, and Cheng teaches SMTC IE for SSB periodicity, offset, and duration: The method of claim 8, wherein the time information is associated with the SSB and is in units of subframes.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 teaches this limitation because Cheng teaches SSB-based SMTC timing information for the target cell, while TS 38.331 teaches epochTime signaled by SFN and subFrameNR, i.e., subframe units, for target-cell timing (TS 38.331 at pg. 690; TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2; Cheng, para. [0069]; TS 38.300 at pg. 181, §16.14.3.3). Accordingly, claim 9 is rejected for at least the reasons set forth above with respect to claims 1 and 8.
Regarding claim 10, TS 38.331 does not explicitly disclose that the re-acquired second configuration is acquired after performing the DL synchronization with the first satellite, while TS 38.331 teaches starting synchronisation to the DL of the target SpCell, applying BCCH configuration, acquiring the MIB of the target SpCell, starting T430 from target-cell epochTime, and reacquiring SIB19 before expiry or upon T430 expiry, and Cheng teaches that the UE synchronizes with the target cell based on target-cell system information and SMTC (TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2; TS 38.331 at pg. 60-61, §5.2.2.4.21; TS 38.331 at pg. 61, §5.2.2.6; Cheng, para. [0069]): The method of claim 1, wherein re-acquiring, from the first satellite, the second configuration related to the first satellite comprises: re-acquiring, from the first satellite, the second configuration related to the first satellite after performing the DL synchronization with the first satellite.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 would have taught or at least suggested reacquiring the target-cell NTN configuration after the DL synchronization to the target satellite/cell because the target-cell synchronization and target-cell epochTime context of TS 38.331 is followed by reacquisition of SIB19 for renewed NTN assistance, and Cheng teaches synchronization with the target cell using target-cell system information and SMTC (TS 38.331 at pg. 91, §5.3.5.5.2; TS 38.331 at pg. 60-61, §5.2.2.4.21; TS 38.331 at pg. 61, §5.2.2.6; Cheng, para. [0069]). Accordingly, claim 10 is rejected for at least the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more computer-executable instructions; and at least one processor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the at least one processor configured to execute the one or more computer-executable instructions to cause the UE to: acquire, from a cell, a first configuration related to a first satellite, the first configuration comprising a timestamp and time information; perform, based on the time information, a downlink (DL) synchronization with the first satellite, starting from a time indicated by the timestamp; re-acquire, from the first satellite, a second configuration related to the first satellite; and calculate a common timing advance and a UE-specific timing advance based on the re-acquired second configuration related to the first satellite. Claim 11 is analogous to claim 1 and therefore Claim 11 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 12, The UE of claim 11, wherein: the first configuration related to the first satellite further comprises timer information, and the one or more computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: at the time indicated by the timestamp, start a timer based on the timer information. Claim 12 is analogous to claim 2 and therefore Claim 12 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 13, The UE of claim 12, wherein the timer comprises a radio resource control (RRC) timer. Claim 13 is analogous to claim 3 and therefore Claim 13 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 14, The UE of claim 12, wherein: acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite, and the timer is configured to control a validity of uplink synchronization during a connection with the second satellite. Claim 14 is analogous to claim 4 and therefore Claim 14 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 16, The UE of claim 11, wherein: acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises receiving system information broadcast by the cell, and the system information comprises the first configuration related to the first satellite. Claim 16 is analogous to claim 6 and therefore Claim 16 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 17, The UE of claim 16, wherein the system information comprises at least one of a system information block type 1 (SIB1) and a system information block type 19 (SIB19). Claim 17 is analogous to claim 7 and therefore Claim 17 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 18, The UE of claim 11, wherein performing the DL synchronization with the first satellite comprises: receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB) of the first satellite based on the time information. Claim 18 is analogous to claim 8 and therefore Claim 18 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 19, The UE of claim 18, wherein the time information is associated with the SSB and is in units of subframes. Claim 19 is analogous to claim 9 and therefore Claim 19 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Regarding claim 20, The UE of claim 11, wherein re-acquiring, from the first satellite, the second configuration related to the first satellite comprises: re-acquiring, from the first satellite, the second configuration related to the first satellite after performing the DL synchronization with the first satellite. Claim 20 is analogous to claim 10 and therefore Claim 20 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Claims 5 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over TS 38.331 (ETSI TS 138 331 V17.5.0; “TS 38.331”) in view of Cheng (US 2022/0046498 A1; “Cheng”) and further in view of TS 38.300 (ETSI TS 138 300 V17.5.0; “TS 38.300”) and Yu (US 2022/0240151 A1; “Yu”).
Regarding claim 5, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 does not explicitly disclose acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite. Cheng also does not explicitly disclose acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite: The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises: acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite,
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 and further in view of Yu teaches acquiring, from a second satellite, configuration related to a first satellite, because TS 38.331 teaches neighbour-cell ntn-Config in SIB19, Cheng teaches source-side delivery of target-cell system information and SMTC to the UE, and Yu teaches that source beam 16h sends RRC connection reconfiguration commanding active UEs to measure target beam 17h from rising satellite 20B, provides the target beam PCI, and that the UE then reads broadcast information and SIB on the new beam (TS 38.331 at pg. 488, SIB19 field descriptions; Cheng, para [0069]; Yu, paras [0065]-[0066]).
Further, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 does not explicitly disclose both the first satellite and the second satellite are associated with the cell. Cheng also does not explicitly disclose both the first satellite and the second satellite are associated with the cell: wherein both the first satellite and the second satellite are associated with the cell.
However, TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and further in view of TS 38.300 and further in view of Yu teaches both satellites are associated with the cell, because Yu teaches that the source beam from source satellite 20A and the target beam from target satellite 20B are provided for the same cell 51h by the same eNodeB and are overlaid on the same physical cell with different PCIs (Yu, paras [0063], [0075]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify TS 38.331 in view of Cheng and TS 38.300 with Yu so that configuration related to a target or first satellite is provided via a second satellite while both satellites are associated with the same cell, because Yu teaches same-cell beam handover between a setting satellite and a rising satellite, while TS 38.331 and Cheng teach providing neighbour-cell/target-cell configuration and synchronization information to the UE.
Doing so would have predictably preserved cell continuity and reduced interruption during NTN satellite transition, with a reasonable expectation of success
Regarding claim 15, The UE of claim 11, wherein acquiring, from the cell, the first configuration related to the first satellite comprises: acquiring, from a second satellite, the first configuration related to the first satellite, wherein both the first satellite and the second satellite are associated with the cell. Claim 15 is analogous to claim 5 and therefore Claim 15 is rejected for the same reason set forth.
Conclusion
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/CHONGSUH PARK/Examiner, Art Unit 2478
/JOSEPH E AVELLINO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2478