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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-39 filed on June 05, 2025 are pending, claims 1-2, 4, 6-7, 9-12 and 14 are amended, claims 30-39 are new and claims 3, 5, 8, 13 and 15-29 are canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 07, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner and an initialed and dated copy of the Applicant’s IDS form 1449 is attached to the instant Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claim 31 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim .
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "the network" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the signal condition" in line . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-2, 4, 6-7, 10-12, 14, 30-31 and 37 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng").
Regarding claim 1, Tseng discloses a method for receiving satellite information from a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising:
a baseband processor of a user equipment device (UE) (Tseng, Fig.8 826 [0143]),
determining that a triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred, wherein the triggering event for system information for satellite information reading includes at least one of a network behavior (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a UE behavior, a channel condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a timing condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a distance condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), or a network indication (not given patentable weight due to not selected option) (Tseng, [0097] determine whether a triggering condition(s) (i.e. UE behavior) for the CHO command message(s) is met while continuing operating in its current RRC configuration; the NTN assistance information may be included in the Conditional Handover Command); and
reading, based on the triggering event occurring, the system information for satellite information (Tseng, [0097] the UE may replace the stored NTN assistance information #1 with the NTN assistance information #2. In some implementations, the UE may provide an updated NTN assistance information #3 by jointly referring to the stored NTN assistance information #1 and the newly received NTN assistance information #2).
Regarding claim 2, Tseng discloses wherein the system information for satellite information reading includes one or more of a master information block (MIB), a system information block 1 (SIB1) or a SIBx (Tseng, abstract the NTN assistance information update procedure based on at least one of UE-specific control signaling and NTN-specific system information block (SIB) by which the UE receives the first NTN assistance information);
wherein the system information for satellite information reading includes at least ephemeris information; wherein reading, based on the triggering event occurring, the system information for satellite information includes the baseband processor of the UE reading system information of a serving cell of the UE; and wherein the system information of the serving cell of the UE includes system information for satellite information of neighbor cells or target cells (Tseng, [0139] The NTN assistance information may include at least one of a common TA value ( e.g., N location TA common), information associated with the serving-NTN cell and a reference point, a feeder link delay between the serving NTN cell and the reference point, and the satellite ephemeris information of the serving cell and/or one or more neighbor cells).
Claims 4, 6-7, 12 and 14 depend on the limitation which is not given patentable weight.
Regarding claim 10, Tseng discloses wherein the UE behavior includes performance of serving cell or neighbor cell measurements (Tseng, [0093] a relaxed threshold may be a lower threshold for neighboring cells and/or a higher threshold for the serving cell for a measurement event which may trigger the measurement report(s)); and wherein determining that the triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred includes the baseband processor of the UE determining to read the system information for satellite information prior to performing the serving cell or neighbor cell measurements (Tseng, [0093] where the measurement configurations may include relaxed threshold(s) to trigger early measurement reports for determining potential candidate cell(s) (which each candidate cell is associated with one candidate bae station) for a (conditional) handover).
Regarding claim 11, Tseng discloses wherein the UE behavior includes performance of a random access channel (RACH) transmission (Tseng, [0056] While the UE Initiates a Random Access Procedure to Transmit a Preamble): and
wherein determining that the triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred includes the baseband processor of the UE determining to read the system information for satellite information prior to performing the RACH transmission (Tseng, [0070] after receiving the one or more NTN assistance information from the serving RAN 32, the UE 30 may estimate a TA value according to the NTN assistance information received from the serving RAN 32. In action 304, the UE 30 may initiate a (2-step/4step) RA procedure and then start the first message transmission based on the estimated TA value).
Regarding claim 30, Tseng discloses a baseband processor, comprising:
a memory (Tseng, Fig.8 826 [0143]); and
processing circuitry in communication with the memory and configured to:
determine that a triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred, wherein the triggering event for system information for satellite
information reading includes at least one of a network behavior (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a user equipment (UE) behavior, a channel condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a timing condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), a distance condition (not given patentable weight due to not selected option), or a network indication (not given patentable weight due to not selected option) (Tseng, [0097] determine whether a triggering condition(s) (i.e. UE behavior) for the CHO command message(s) is met while continuing operating in its current RRC configuration; the NTN assistance information may be included in the Conditional Handover Command); and
read, based on the triggering event occurring, the system information for satellite information (Tseng, [0097] the UE may replace the stored NTN assistance information #1 with the NTN assistance information #2. In some implementations, the UE may provide an updated NTN assistance information #3 by jointly referring to the stored NTN assistance information #1 and the newly received NTN assistance information #2).
Claim 31 depends on the limitation which is not given patentable weight.
Regarding claim 37, this claims recite "a non-transitory computer readable memory medium storing program instructions executable by processing circuitry" that disclose similar steps as recited by the method of claims 1 and 30, thus are rejected with the same rationale applied against claims 1 and 30 as presented above.
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 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Cheng et al.(US 2022/0232503 A1, hereinafter "Cheng").
Regarding claim 9, Tseng does not explicitly disclose wherein the UE behavior includes performance of radio resource control (RRC)reestablishment after radio link failure (RLF); and wherein determining that the triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred includes the baseband processor of the UE determining to read the system information for satellite information of a target cell RRC re-establishment on the target cell.
Cheng from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the UE behavior includes performance of radio resource control (RRC)reestablishment after radio link failure (RLF); and wherein determining that the triggering event for system information for satellite information reading has occurred includes the baseband processor of the UE determining to read the system information for satellite information of a target cell RRC re-establishment on the target cell (Cheng, [0012, 0214] the link switch could be only handled by the radio link failure (RLF) procedure. Possible RLF enhancement shall be needed to help UE to enter RRC_IDLE for a link switch; wherein the satellite ephemeris may be provided to UE via system information (e.g., SIB1-NB or other SIBs) or may be pre-stored in u-sim of the UE. The satellite ephemeris may be updated via a NAS signaling. The UE may update the satellite ephemeris in response to receiving the NAS signaling).
Claims 32-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496,208 B1).
Regarding claim 32, Tseng does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with receiving a data channel or control channel from a serving cell; prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over receiving the data channel or the control channel; and drop reception of the data channel or control channel.
Deepak from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with receiving a data channel or control channel from a serving cell (Deepak, Col. 10 line 44-48 downlink data transmitted from the satellite communication system (e.g., at slot “5”, described further below) may be received by the terminal device 206 at slot “13.” It should be understood that, if the satellite communication system determines to not transmit downlink data for reception by the terminal device at slot “13” due to the possibility of a reception-transmission conflict); prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over receiving the data channel or the control channel (Deepak, Col. 15 line 35-40 terminal device 306 transmitted acknowledgment data for reception by the receiver of the satellite communication system at slot “22” . In this case, the SMAC scheduler 308 may determine to prioritize the implicit negative acknowledgment (e.g., based on the uplink data received at slot “21”) over the conflicting acknowledgment data received at slot “22”); and drop reception of the data channel or control channel (Deepak, Col. 15, line 62-65 the SMAC scheduler 308 may ignore the acknowledgment data, and still retransmit the downlink data at slot “22” from the transmitter).
It would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified NTN assistance information disclosed by Tseng and prioritizing transmission disclosed by Deepak with a motivation to make this modification in order to improve the efficiency of transmitting data between devices (Deepak, abstract).
Regarding claim 33, Tseng does not explicitly disclose wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with uplink transmission; prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over the uplink transmission; and skip the uplink transmission.
Deepak from the same field of endeavor discloses wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 10 line 44-48 downlink data transmitted from the satellite communication system (e.g., at slot “5”, described further below) may be received by the terminal device 206 at slot “13.” It should be understood that, if the satellite communication system determines to not transmit downlink data for reception by the terminal device at slot “13” due to the possibility of a reception-transmission conflict); prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over the uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 15 line 35-40 terminal device 306 transmitted acknowledgment data for reception by the receiver of the satellite communication system at slot “22” . In this case, the SMAC scheduler 308 may determine to prioritize the implicit negative acknowledgment (e.g., based on the uplink data received at slot “21”) over the conflicting acknowledgment data received at slot “22”); and skip the uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 15, line 62-65 the SMAC scheduler 308 may ignore the acknowledgment data, and still retransmit the downlink data at slot “22” from the transmitter).
It would have been obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified NTN assistance information disclosed by Tseng and prioritizing transmission disclosed by Deepak with a motivation to make this modification in order to improve the efficiency of transmitting data between devices (Deepak, abstract).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 34-36 and 38-39 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.
Claim 34 is potentially allowable over the prior art of record Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496208 B1) as applied to the claim above.
Deepak discloses determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 10 line 44-48 downlink data transmitted from the satellite communication system (e.g., at slot “5”, described further below) may be received by the terminal device 206 at slot “13.” It should be understood that, if the satellite communication system determines to not transmit downlink data for reception by the terminal device at slot “13” due to the possibility of a reception-transmission conflict).
Tseng in view of Deepak fails to teach alone or in combination " prioritize the uplink transmission over the system information for satellite information reading occasion; and skip the system information for satellite information reading occasion".
Claim 35 is potentially allowable over the prior art of record Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496208 B1) as applied to the claim above.
Deepak discloses determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 10 line 44-48 downlink data transmitted from the satellite communication system (e.g., at slot “5”, described further below) may be received by the terminal device 206 at slot “13.” It should be understood that, if the satellite communication system determines to not transmit downlink data for reception by the terminal device at slot “13” due to the possibility of a reception-transmission conflict); prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over the uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 15 line 35-40 terminal device 306 transmitted acknowledgment data for reception by the receiver of the satellite communication system at slot “22” . In this case, the SMAC scheduler 308 may determine to prioritize the implicit negative acknowledgment (e.g., based on the uplink data received at slot “21”) over the conflicting acknowledgment data received at slot “22”); and skip the uplink transmission (Deepak, Col. 15, line 62-65 the SMAC scheduler 308 may ignore the acknowledgment data, and still retransmit the downlink data at slot “22” from the transmitter).
Tseng in view of Deepak fails to teach alone or in combination "based on determining that the uplink transmission s an aperiodic uplink transmission: prioritize the uplink transmission over the system information for satellite information reading occasion; and skip the system information for satellite information reading occasion".
Claim 36 is potentially allowable over the prior art of record Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496208 B1) as applied to the claim above.
Tseng in view of Deepak fails to teach alone or in combination "determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with a measurement occasion, wherein the measurement occasion is one of a layer 1 (L1) measurement occasion or a layer 3 (L3) measurement occasion; prioritize the system information for satellite information reading occasion over the measurement occasion; and skip the measurement occasion".
Claim 38 is potentially allowable over the prior art of record Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496208 B1) as applied to the claim above.
Tseng in view of Deepak fails to teach alone or in combination " determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with a measurement occasion, wherein the measurement occasion is one of a layer 1 (L1) measurement occasion or a layer 3 (L3) measurement occasion; prioritize the measurement occasion over the system information for satellite information reading occasion; and skip the system information for satellite information reading occasion".
Claim 39 is potentially allowable over the prior art of record Tseng et al. (US 2023/0344508 A1, hereinafter "Tseng") in view of Deepak et al. (US 11,496208 B1) as applied to the claim above.
Tseng in view of Deepak fails to teach alone or in combination " determine that a system information for satellite information reading occasion collides with a measurement occasion, wherein the measurement occasion is one of a layer 1 (L1) measurement occasion or a layer 3 (L3) measurement occasion; based on determining that the measurement occasions an aperiodic measurement occasion: prioritize the measurement occasion over the system information for satellite information reading occasion; and skip the system information for satellite information reading occasion; and based on determining that the measurement occasion is an periodic or semi-persistent measurement occasion: prioritize, the system information for satellite information reading occasion over the measurement occasion; and skip the measurement occasion".
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUNA WEISSBERGER whose telephone number is (571)272-3315. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:30pm.
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, Jeffrey Rutkowski can be reached at (571)270-1215. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LUNA WEISSBERGER/Examiner, Art Unit 2415
Prosecution Insights