DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7-8, 10-13, 15-18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Uemura et al. (US 2025/0357999).
With respect to claim 1, Uemura teaches obtaining, from a first satellite, uplink (UL) timing advance (TA)-related information for a second satellite (e.g., receiving control information including time information related to switching time from the first satellite to a second satellite, abstract, sections [0074] and [0096]). Uemura teaches performing satellite switching from the first satellite to the second satellite (e.g., switching satellites, abstract, section [0074], fig. 4). Uemura teaches performing communication with the second satellite based on the UL TA-related information (e.g., resynchronization of downlink and uplink timing of the second satellite based on the control information, sections [0009], [0074] and [0096]).
With respect to claim 2, Uemura teaches the UL TA-related information includes at least one of information related to a network-controlled common TA for calculating a UL TA for the second satellite or information related to a TA estimated by the terminal (e.g., adjusting uplink synchronization using common TA, section [0069]).
With respect to claim 3, Uemura teaches the information related to the network-controlled common TA includes at least one of a common TA, a primary change amount parameter for the common TA, or a second change amount parameter for the common TA (e.g., adjusting uplink synchronization using common TA, section [0069]).
With respect to claim 5, Uemura teaches in the performing of the communication with the second satellite, the terminal determines a UL TA for the second satellite based on the UL TA-related information after switching to the second satellite, and applies the determine UL TA to the communication with the second satellite (e.g., the terminal adjusts uplink synchronization using a common TA and a dedicated timing advance (TA), sections [0069], [0066], [0070], and [0043]-[0044]).
With respect to claim 7, Uemura teaches wherein the first satellite and the second satellite are connected to a same base station (e.g., satellite connected to the same gateway, fig. 1 and fig. 5). Uemura teaches the first satellite forms a first quasi-Earth-fixed cell and the second satellite forms a second quasi-Earth-fixed cell (e.g., a quasi-earth fixed cell, sections [0064]-[0065] and figs. 4-5). Uemura teaches a physical cell identifier (PCI) of the first quasi-Earth-fixed cell is equal to a PCI of the second quasi-Earth-fixed cell (e.g., the control information indicating that the first cell and the second cell have the same physical cell IDs, section [0010]). Uemura teaches a frequency resource through which a first synchronization signal block (SSB) received by the terminal is transmitted from the first satellite based on the first quasi-Earth-fixed cell is equal to a frequency resource through which a second SSB received by the terminal is transmitted from the second satellite based on the second quasi-Earth-fixed cell (e.g., cells providing the same frequency band, sections [0059]-[0060], [0070]-[0071], and [0078]).
With respect to claim 8, Uemura teaches stopping communication services of the first satellite based on the satellite switching (i.e., cancels or suspends various transmission procedures, sections [0086]-[0087] and [0090]). Uemura teaches connecting to the second satellite based on the satellite switching (sections [0086]-[0087]). Uemura teaches performing the communication with the second satellite through a service link based on the UL TA-related information (e.g. resumes the transmission procedures after the cell switching, sections [0086]-[0087] and [0090]).
With respect to claim 10, Uemura teaches providing communication services to a terminal connected via a serving satellite (e.g., a communication from the base station 20 to the terminal 10 via a satellite, fig. 1 and sections [0034]-[0035]). Uemura teaches generating uplink (UL) timing advance (TA)-related information for a target satellite and providing the UL TA-related information to the terminal via the serving satellite (e.g., uplink adjustment value (common TA)) corresponding to the satellite communication to the terminal using SIB 19, sections [0066] and [0069] and fig. 3).
With respect to claim 11, Uemura teaches the base station transmits the UL TA-related information to the terminal by including the UL TA-related information in a system information block (SIB) 19 (e.g., the base station transmits a set of information (e.g., uplink adjustment value (common TA)) corresponding to the satellite communication to the terminal using SIB 19, section [0066]).
With respect to claim 12, Uemura teaches the UL TA-related information includes at least one of information related to a network-controlled common TA for calculating a UL TA for the target satellite or information related to a TA estimated by the terminal (e.g., adjusting uplink synchronization using common TA, section [0069]).
With respect to claim 13, Uemura teaches the information related to the network-controlled common TA includes at least one of a common TA, a primary change amount parameter for the common TA, or a secondary change amount parameter for the common TA (e.g., adjusting uplink synchronization using common TA, section [0069]).
With respect to claim 15, Uemura teaches performing satellite switching of a satellite providing communication services to the terminal from the serving satellite to the target satellite (e.g., switching satellites, abstract, section [0074], fig. 4). Uemura teaches providing communication services to the terminal via the target satellite based on the UL TA-related information for the target satellite (e.g., resynchronization of downlink and uplink timing of the second satellite based on the control information, sections [0009], [0074]).
The limitations of claim 16 are rejected in the analysis of claim 1 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 17 are rejected in the analysis of claim 2 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 18 are rejected in the analysis of claim 3 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
The limitations of claim 20 are rejected in the analysis of claim 5 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
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.
Claim(s) 4, 9, 14, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uemura et al. (US 2025/0357999) in view of Lyu et al. (US 2026/0089595).
With respect to claim 4, Uemura teaches the information related to the TA estimated by the terminal includes information on an epoch time and ephemeris-related information (e.g., ephemeris information, sections [0066] and [0069]). Uemura does not explicitly disclose information on an epoch time. However, Lyu teaches information on an epoch time (e.g., auxiliary information includes ephemeris of the satellite and epoch time, sections [0122]-[0124]) in order to perform cell handover. Therefore, based on Uemura in view of Lyu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Lyu to the system of Uemura in order to perform cell handover.
With respect to claim 9, Uemura teaches connecting to the second satellite based on the satellite switching (sections [0086]-[0087]). Uemura teaches stopping communication services of the first satellite (i.e., cancels or suspends various transmission procedures, sections [0086]-[0087] and [0090]). Uemura teaches performing the communication with the second satellite through a service link based on the UL TA-related information (e.g., resumes the transmission procedures after the cell switching, sections [0086]-[0087] and [0090]). Uemura does not explicitly disclose stopping communication services of the first satellite after connecting to the second satellite. However, Lyu teaches stopping communication services of the first satellite after connecting to the second satellite (e.g., the terminal starts to perform downlink synchronization before a time at which the source satellite stops providing a service, sections [0202]-[0205]) in order to ensure service continuity. Therefore, based on Uemura in view of Lyu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Lyu to the system of Uemura in order to ensure service continuity.
With respect to claim 14, Uemura teaches the information related to the TA estimated by the terminal includes information on an epoch time and ephemeris-related information (e.g., ephemeris information, sections [0066] and [0069]). Uemura does not explicitly disclose information on an epoch time. However, Lyu teaches information on an epoch time (e.g., auxiliary information includes ephemeris of the satellite and epoch time, sections [0122]-[0124]) in order to perform cell handover. Therefore, based on Uemura in view of Lyu, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize the teaching of Lyu to the system of Uemura in order to perform cell handover.
The limitations of claim 19 are rejected in the analysis of claim 4 above, and the claim is rejected on that basis.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is 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.
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/JOON H HWANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2447 7/11/2026
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