CTNF 18/921,186 CTNF 102034 DETAILED ACTION This communication is in responsive to Application No. 18/921,186 filed on 25 October 2024. Claims 1-20 are subject to examination. Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Specification 07-29 AIA The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In paragraph [0044], line 5. "singling" should read "signaling" . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claims 1-18 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. Regarding Claim 1 , claim 1 recites the limitation " and receiving, from the base station, a first reply indicating that the UE may transition from operating in the first TA mode to operating in the second TA mode; " (Emphasis Added). in lines 8-10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Regarding Claim 1 , claim 1 recites the limitation " transitioning, in response to the reply , from operating in the first TA mode to operating in the second TA mode; " (Emphasis Added). This limitation renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the “the reply” recited in this limitation corresponds to the “a first reply” previously recited in line 11 of claim 1. Regarding Claims 2-18 , claims 2-18 each depend on independent claim 1 and, therefore, inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112 issues of the independent claim. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1, 3, 5, 8-9, 12, 14-15 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rune et al (US 2024/0129895 A1, hereinafter “ Rune ”) in view of Yang et al (CN 104335661 B, hereinafter “ Yang ”) (English Translation used for citations) (See attached) . Regarding Claim 1 , Rune teaches A method of a user equipment (UE) of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: identifying a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data acquisition failure by the UE ( Rune: In some embodiments, UE 102's loss of GNSS coverage (which may be temporary or permanent) may be reported to a network node (e.g., network node 104) to which UE 102 is connected (especially in case UE 102 is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state). In the RRC_CONNECTED state, UE 102 is capable of signalling occurrences of events (e.g., loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage) to network node 104, see Paragraph [0056] ); sending, to a base station of the NTN network, in response to the GNSS data acquisition failure, a first request to transition from operating in a first timing advance (TA) mode according to which the UE determines a first TA value for the UE using first GNSS data determined at the UE to operating in a second TA mode according to which the UE determines a second TA value for the UE without using any GNSS data ( Rune: UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; (8) Which method UE 102 prefers to use for keeping time adjustment and/or frequency adjustment without GNSS coverage (e.g., dummy PUSCH transmission or a special random access method to address UE 102's lacking of proper pre-compensation TA and/or frequency adjustment (to compensate for Doppler shift)), see Paragraphs [0093] and [0101] ); and receiving, from the base station, a first reply indicating that the UE may transition from operating in the first TA mode to operating in the second TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068]) ; transitioning, in response to the reply, from operating in the first TA mode to operating in the second TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068]); Rune fails to explicitly teach, determining a timing of an uplink (UL) transmission using the second TA value; and sending the UL transmission to the base station according to the timing. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, determining a timing of an uplink (UL) transmission using the second TA value ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ); and sending the UL transmission to the base station according to the timing ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station, see Paragraph 49 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Regarding Claim 3 , Rune teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving, from the base station, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) ( Rune: In another embodiment, once network node 104 is informed about the partial or full loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102's timing advance may be updated by network node 104, if needed/observed by network node 104, using the Timing Advance Command MAC CE, see Paragraph [0134] ) having a timing advance command (TAC) field of greater than six bits ( Rune: If UE 102 is configured with higher layer parameter GCL-RNTI and dci-Format-2-7 (or similar parameters serving the same purpose), one block may be configured for UE 102 by higher layers, with one or more of the following fields defined for the block: (1) Timing Advance Command (This field may indicate the TA index value used to control the amount of timing adjustment that the MAC entity has to apply. The size of the field may be, for example, 12 bits), see Paragraph [0119] ); Rune fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using a TAC value represented in the TAC field. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using a TAC value represented in the TAC field ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Regarding Claim 5 , Rune teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving, from the base station, a downlink control information (DCI) ( Rune: In any of the embodiments described above in which Downlink Control Information (DCI) is used for conveying timing and/or frequency adjustment, see Paragraph [0117 ) comprising a timing advance command (TAC) field ( Rune: If UE 102 is configured with higher layer parameter GCL-RNTI and dci-Format-2-7 (or similar parameters serving the same purpose), one block may be configured for UE 102 by higher layers, with one or more of the following fields defined for the block: (1) Timing Advance Command (This field may indicate the TA index value used to control the amount of timing adjustment that the MAC entity has to apply, see Paragraph [0119] ); Rune fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using a TAC value represented in the TAC field. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using a TAC value represented in the TAC field ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Regarding Claim 8 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the GNSS data acquisition failure comprises a loss of a GNSS signal at the UE ( Rune: UEs must receive signals from multiple GNSS satellites. As a consequence, there may be situations where an NTN UE temporarily loses proper GNSS coverage. This may occur, for example, when the UE is inside a building or in a train moving at a high speed; In this disclosure, “loss of GNSS coverage” (or “lack of GNSS coverage” or “lost GNSS coverage”) may be defined by an UE being unable to use GNSS to determine any one or more of: (i) its own position, (ii) an accurate time reference, and/or (iii) an accurate frequency reference, see Paragraphs [0026] and [0041]. [Examiner contends that GNSS data acquisition failure includes a loss of GNSS signal at the UE due to disclosed problem solved by Rune] ). Regarding Claim 9 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the GNSS data acquisition failure comprises a determination at the UE that a received GNSS signal does not meet a GNSS signal requirement ( Rune: UEs must receive signals from multiple GNSS satellites. As a consequence, there may be situations where an NTN UE temporarily loses proper GNSS coverage. This may occur, for example, when the UE is inside a building or in a train moving at a high speed; In this disclosure, “loss of GNSS coverage” (or “lack of GNSS coverage” or “lost GNSS coverage”) may be defined by an UE being unable to use GNSS to determine any one or more of: (i) its own position, (ii) an accurate time reference, and/or (iii) an accurate frequency reference, see Paragraphs [0026] and [0041]. [Examiner contends that GNSS data acquisition failure includes a loss of GNSS signal at the UE due to disclosed problem solved by Rune] ). Regarding Claim 12 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises one or more of: an expiration time of a GNSS data validity duration for the first GNSS data ( Rune: In some embodiments, the signalling of loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage may be refined to include more details to provide more information to network node 104. Thus, in some embodiments, UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; if UE 102 signals loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102 may also signal a maximum time period during which UE 102 wishes to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state. If UE 102 does not regain the GNSS coverage even after the maximum time period, network node 104 may release UE 102 to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, see Paragraphs [0093] and [0100] ); a last GNSS-measured location by the UE ( Rune: In some embodiments, the signalling of loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage may be refined to include more details to provide more information to network node 104. Thus, in some embodiments, UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; (3) The age of the latest GNSS position measurement. This age may be complemented with an estimate of how well the latest GNSS position measurement can be trusted, see Paragraphs [0093] and [0096] ); and a desired minimum duration for operating in the second TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, the signalling of loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage may be refined to include more details to provide more information to network node 104. Thus, in some embodiments, UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; (7) An amount of time UE 102 wants to be kept in the RRC_CONNECTED state, see Paragraphs [0093] and [0100] ). Regarding Claim 14 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, after entering the second TA mode, a successful GNSS data acquisition of second GNSS data at the UE ( Rune: In the RRC_CONNECTED state, UE 102 is capable of signalling occurrences of events (e.g., loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage) to network node 104, see Paragraph [0056]. [Examiner contends that to be capable of signaling the regaining of GNSS coverage, the UE must also be capable of identifying a successful GNSS data acquisition] ); sending, to the base station, in response to the successful GNSS data acquisition of the second GNSS data, a second request to transition from operating in the second TA mode to operating in the first TA mode according to which the UE determines a third TA value for the UE using the second GNSS data ( Rune: In some embodiments, the signalling of loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage may be refined to include more details to provide more information to network node 104. Thus, in some embodiments, UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; (8) Which method UE 102 prefers to use for keeping time adjustment and/or frequency adjustment without GNSS coverage (e.g., dummy PUSCH transmission or a special random access method to address UE 102's lacking of proper pre-compensation TA and/or frequency adjustment (to compensate for Doppler shift)), see Paragraphs [0093] and [0101] ); receiving, from the base station, a second reply indicating that the UE may transition from operating in the second TA mode to operating in the first TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068] ); and transitioning, in response to the second reply, from operating in the second TA mode to operating the first TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068] ). Regarding Claim 15 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 14, wherein the second request comprises a GNSS data validity duration for the second GNSS data ( Rune: In some embodiments, the signalling of loss and/or regaining of GNSS coverage may be refined to include more details to provide more information to network node 104. Thus, in some embodiments, UE 102 may signal one or more of the following; if UE 102 signals loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102 may also signal a maximum time period during which UE 102 wishes to be kept in RRC_CONNECTED state. If UE 102 does not regain the GNSS coverage even after the maximum time period, network node 104 may release UE 102 to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, see Paragraphs [0093] and [0100] ). Regarding Claim 18 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the second TA mode is a closed loop TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission; Which method UE 102 prefers to use for keeping time adjustment and/or frequency adjustment without GNSS coverage (e.g., dummy PUSCH transmission, see Paragraphs [0068] and [0101] ). Regarding Claim 19 , Rune teaches A method of a base station of a non-terrestrial network (NTN), comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a first request to transition from operating in a first timing advance (TA) mode according to which the UE determines a first TA value for the UE using first global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data determined at the UE to operating in a second TA mode according to which the UE determines a second TA value for the UE without using any GNSS data ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068] ); sending, to the UE, a first reply indicating that the UE may transition from operating in the first TA mode to operating in the second TA mode ( Rune: In some embodiments, after receiving the indication that UE 102 has lost its GNSS coverage, network node 104 may instruct UE 102 to maintain a valid TA by transmitting dummy packets to network node 104 if too long time elapses since the last “real” transmission, see Paragraph [0068] ); Rune fails to explicitly teach, and receiving an uplink (UL) transmission from the UE after sending the first reply. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and receiving an uplink (UL) transmission from the UE after sending the first reply ( Yang: Step S3: The space base station receives the pre-compensated uplink sequence, see Paragraph 54 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 2, 7, 13, 16-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rune-Yang as applied to claim s 1, 14, and 19 above, and further in view of Shin et al (US 20240121737 A1, hereinafter “ Shin ”) . Regarding Claim 2 , Rune teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving, from the base station, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) ( Rune: In another embodiment, once network node 104 is informed about the partial or full loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102's timing advance may be updated by network node 104, if needed/observed by network node 104, using the Timing Advance Command MAC CE, see Paragraph [0134] ) Rune fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TA drift rate, the higher order derivative of the TA drift, and the epoch time. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TA drift rate, the higher order derivative of the TA drift, and the epoch time ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift, and an epoch time; However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift Shin: A base station may indicate a common TA to a terminal to compensate a RTD from a reference point to a satellite. In this case, additional parameter(s) other than a common TA value (or it be expressed as a common delay) may be indicated so that a terminal can accurately predict a common TA value. For example, an additional parameter may include a common TA drift rate, a common delay drift second order derivative, a common delay drift third order derivative, etc.; A base station may deliver a common TA and the additional parameter(s) (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a common TA parameter) to a terminal through a SIB or RRC signaling, etc.; In reference to FIG. 1, NG-RAN is configured with gNBs which provide a control plane (RRC) protocol end for a NG-RA(NG-Radio Access) user plane (i.e., a new AS(access stratum) sublayer/PDCP(Packet Data Convergence Protocol)/RLC(Radio Link Control)/MAC/PHY) and UE, see Paragraphs [0246], [0247], and [0076] ), and an epoch time ( Shin: In the above-described examples, a common TA and/or a TA command (TAC) (e.g., a TA value indicated through a TAC field such as Msg 2 (RAR) in a random access process), etc. may be configured to perform TA update by a CL method according to a configuration/an indication of a base station. When a base station configures/indicates a terminal to use such a CL TA control method, a terminal may be configured not to performs TA update through OL TA control (e.g., UE-specific TA update) during a pre-promised time (or a time configured/indicated by a base station), see Paragraph [0204] ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, in order to allow a terminal to not need to decode a common TA parameter frequently ( Shin: Paragraph [0252] ). Regarding Claim 7 , Rune teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving, from the base station, a downlink control information (DCI) ( Rune: In any of the embodiments described above in which Downlink Control Information (DCI) is used for conveying timing and/or frequency adjustment, see Paragraph [0117] ); Rune fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TA drift rate, the higher order derivative of the TA drift, and the epoch time. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TA drift rate, the higher order derivative of the TA drift, and the epoch time ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift, and an epoch time. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift ( Rune: The following information may be transmitted by means of the DCI format 2_7 with CRC scrambled by GCL-RNTI: block number 1, block number 2, . . . , block number N. The starting position of a block may be determined by the parameter gcl-PositionDCI-2-7 (or similar parameter(s) serving the same purpose) provided by higher layers (e.g. RRC) for UE 102 configured with the block(s), see [0118]; Shin: A base station may indicate a common TA to a terminal to compensate a RTD from a reference point to a satellite. In this case, additional parameter(s) other than a common TA value (or it be expressed as a common delay) may be indicated so that a terminal can accurately predict a common TA value. For example, an additional parameter may include a common TA drift rate, a common delay drift second order derivative, a common delay drift third order derivative, etc.; A base station may deliver a common TA and the additional parameter(s) (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a common TA parameter) to a terminal through a SIB or RRC signaling, etc.; In reference to FIG. 1, NG-RAN is configured with gNBs which provide a control plane (RRC) protocol end for a NG-RA(NG-Radio Access) user plane (i.e., a new AS(access stratum) sublayer/PDCP(Packet Data Convergence Protocol)/RLC(Radio Link Control)/MAC/PHY) and UE, see Paragraphs [0246], [0247], and [0076] ), and an epoch time ( Rune: If UE 102 is configured with higher layer parameter GCL-RNTI and dci-Format-2-7 (or similar parameters serving the same purpose), one block may be configured for UE 102 by higher layers, with one or more of the following fields defined for the block: (1) Timing Advance Command, see [0119]; Shin: In the above-described examples, a common TA and/or a TA command (TAC) (e.g., a TA value indicated through a TAC field such as Msg 2 (RAR) in a random access process), etc. may be configured to perform TA update by a CL method according to a configuration/an indication of a base station. When a base station configures/indicates a terminal to use such a CL TA control method, a terminal may be configured not to performs TA update through OL TA control (e.g., UE-specific TA update) during a pre-promised time (or a time configured/indicated by a base station), see Paragraph [0204] ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, in order to allow a terminal to not need to decode a common TA parameter frequently ( Shin: Paragraph [0252] ). Regarding Claim 13 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein the first reply comprises one or more of: a timing advance command (TAC) value ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, a timing for the transitioning from the first TA mode to the second TA mode. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, a timing for the transitioning from the first TA mode to the second TA mode ( Shin: For example, information on a time resource such as a period, a duration, etc. for OL TA control may be configured/indicated to a terminal. Information on such a time resource may be configured/indicated in advance by a base station to a terminal through a SIB or RRC signaling, see Paragraph [0184] ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, in order to prevent open loop and closed loop TA control from conflicting ( Shin: Paragraph [0179] ). Regarding Claim 16 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 14, but fails to explicitly teach, wherein the second reply comprises a timing for the transitioning from the second TA mode to the first TA mode. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, wherein the second reply comprises a timing for the transitioning from the second TA mode to the first TA mode ( Shin: For example, information on a time resource such as a period, a duration, etc. for OL TA control may be configured/indicated to a terminal. Information on such a time resource may be configured/indicated in advance by a base station to a terminal through a SIB or RRC signaling, see Paragraph [0184] ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, in order to prevent open loop and closed loop TA control from conflicting ( Shin: Paragraph [0179] ). Regarding Claim 17 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, but fails to explicitly teach, wherein the first TA mode is an open and closed loop TA mode. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, wherein the first TA mode is an open and closed loop TA mode ( Shin: Additionally or alternatively, when a CL TA control method and an OL TA control method are triggered simultaneously (or on an overlapping time resource) for a terminal, a TA control method may be sequentially applied according to a priority, see Paragraph [0191] ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, for preventing collision of a TA control method ( Shin: Paragraph [0182] ). Regarding Claim 20 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 19, further comprising sending, to the UE, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) ( Rune: In another embodiment, once network node 104 is informed about the partial or full loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102's timing advance may be updated by network node 104, if needed/observed by network node 104, using the Timing Advance Command MAC CE, see Paragraph [0134] ); Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift, and an epoch time. However, in the same field of endeavor, Shin teaches, comprising a TA drift rate of a TA drift, a higher order derivative for the TA drift ( Shin: A base station may indicate a common TA to a terminal to compensate a RTD from a reference point to a satellite. In this case, additional parameter(s) other than a common TA value (or it be expressed as a common delay) may be indicated so that a terminal can accurately predict a common TA value. For example, an additional parameter may include a common TA drift rate, a common delay drift second order derivative, a common delay drift third order derivative, etc.; A base station may deliver a common TA and the additional parameter(s) (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a common TA parameter) to a terminal through a SIB or RRC signaling, etc.; In reference to FIG. 1, NG-RAN is configured with gNBs which provide a control plane (RRC) protocol end for a NG-RA(NG-Radio Access) user plane (i.e., a new AS(access stratum) sublayer/PDCP(Packet Data Convergence Protocol)/RLC(Radio Link Control)/MAC/PHY) and UE, see Paragraphs [0246], [0247], [0076] ), and an epoch time ( Shin: In the above-described examples, a common TA and/or a TA command (TAC) (e.g., a TA value indicated through a TAC field such as Msg 2 (RAR) in a random access process), etc. may be configured to perform TA update by a CL method according to a configuration/an indication of a base station. When a base station configures/indicates a terminal to use such a CL TA control method, a terminal may be configured not to performs TA update through OL TA control (e.g., UE-specific TA update) during a pre-promised time (or a time configured/indicated by a base station), see Paragraph [0204] ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Shin as above, in order to allow a terminal to not need to decode a common TA parameter frequently ( Shin: Paragraph [0252] ) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rune-Yang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of NPL: 5G Tools for RF Wireless - 5G NR Timing Advance Distance calculator (" Oleg " hereafter) (See attached) . Regarding Claim 4 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) comprising a timing advance command (TAC) value ( Rune: In another embodiment, once network node 104 is informed about the partial or full loss of GNSS coverage, UE 102's timing advance may be updated by network node 104, if needed/observed by network node 104, using the Timing Advance Command MAC CE, see Paragraph [0134] ); Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using: N TA–new = N TA–old + ( T A – 31) * S * 16 * 64/2 μ , where: N TA–new is the closed loop component of the second TA value; N TA–old is a prior closed loop component for the first TA value; T A is the TAC value; S is a scaling factor; and μ is a subcarrier spacing (SCS) value corresponding to an SCS used for the UL transmission. However, in the same field of endeavor, Oleg teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using: N TA–new = N TA–old + ( T A – 31) * S * 16 * 64/2 μ , where: N TA–new is the closed loop component of the second TA value; N TA–old is a prior closed loop component for the first TA value; T A is the TAC value; S is a scaling factor; and μ is a subcarrier spacing (SCS) value corresponding to an SCS used for the UL transmission ( Oleg: In cases, where the timing advance command [11, TS 38.321], Ta, for a TAG indicates adjustment of a current Nta value, Nta_new should be calculated using the formula, see Oleg Page 3 ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Oleg as above in order to provide uplink timing adjustment ( Oleg: Page 1 ) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rune-Yang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yang et al (US 20210329704 A1, hereinafter “ Yang2 ”) . Regarding Claim 6 , Rune teaches The method of claim 1, wherein to determine the second TA value according to the second TA mode, the method further comprises: receiving, from the base station, a downlink control information (DCI) ( Rune: In any of the embodiments described above in which Downlink Control Information (DCI) is used for conveying timing and/or frequency adjustment, see Paragraph [0117] ); Rune fails to explicitly teach, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TAC value. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang teaches, and calculating a closed loop component of the second TA value using the TAC value ( Yang: Step S2: Before each current uplink transmission time, the terminal adjusts to obtain the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time according to the current auxiliary parameters, and precompensates an uplink sequence according to the terminal timing advance of the current uplink transmission time, and At the current uplink transmission moment, the pre-compensated uplink sequence is sent to the space base station; The terminal calculates and precompensates the terminal timing advance TA2 at the current uplink transmission time according to the spatial position of the space base station and other ephemeris information (such as moving speed, etc.), see Paragraphs 49 and 68 ). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune to include the teachings of Yang as above, in order to support the high-speed movement characteristics of the space base station, the estimation accuracy of the timing advance is improved ( Yang: Paragraph 68 ). Rune-Yang fails to explicitly teach, comprising a timing advance command (TAC) value in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field of the DCI. However, in the same field of endeavor, Yang2 teaches, comprising a timing advance command (TAC) value in a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field of the DCI ( Yang2: the TAC may be indicated through the remaining field (e.g., an MC S/transport block size (TBS), a HARQ process ID, and/or a new data indicator (NDI)/redundancy version (RV)) in the DCI, see Paragraph [0198] ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Yang2 as above, to provide a method of efficiently performing a random access procedure in a wireless communication ( Yang2: Paragraph [0003] ) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rune-Yang as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Sedin et al (WO 2023152302 A1, hereinafter “ Sedin ”) (See attached) . Regarding Claim 10 , Rune-Yang teaches The method of claim 1 but fails to explicitly teach, wherein the first request is sent in further response to a determination that a remaining portion of a GNSS data validity duration for the first GNSS data at the UE does not meet a threshold. However, in the same field of endeavor, Sedin teaches, wherein the first request is sent in further response to a determination that a remaining portion of a GNSS data validity duration for the first GNSS data at the UE does not meet a threshold ( Sedin: Generally, some embodiments herein introduce a threshold where the UE is only allowed to connect to a cell if the GNSS validity duration is larger than the threshold. This puts a requirement on the UE to have performed GNSS well enough in time so that the network would roughly know that the UE would be able to at least stay in the cell for a certain duration. The threshold may for instance be configurable by the network, e.g., configured in the cell’s system information. This allows flexibility for the network to make sure that a UE can stay in connected state for a long enough time and can also allow for different values being configured depending on how long a time it would take to deliver a typical data packet. In a LEO network it would likely be a lot quicker to deliver a packet compared to a GEO network due to the propagation delay, thus the configurable threshold would naturally be lower for LEO and higher for GEO, see Page 16, line 28 - Page 17, line 1 ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Sedin as above, in order to support the network gets more control of how the UE is synchronized so that the likeliness that the UE goes to idle mode at the expiry of the GNSS validity duration is minimized ( Sedin: Page 16, Lines 25-27 ). Regarding Claim 11 , Rune-Yang-Sedin teaches The method of claim 10, wherein the threshold depends on one or more of: a round trip time (RTT) between the UE and the base station ( Sedin: Generally, some embodiments herein introduce a threshold where the UE is only allowed to connect to a cell if the GNSS validity duration is larger than the threshold ... In a LEO network it would likely be a lot quicker to deliver a packet compared to a GEO network due to the propagation delay, thus the configurable threshold would naturally be lower for LEO and higher for GEO, see Page 16, line 28 - Page 17, line 1 ); a distance between the UE and an NTN vehicle for an NTN service link used by the UE to communicate with the base station ( Sedin: Generally, some embodiments herein introduce a threshold where the UE is only allowed to connect to a cell if the GNSS validity duration is larger than the threshold ... In a LEO network it would likely be a lot quicker to deliver a packet compared to a GEO network due to the propagation delay, thus the configurable threshold would naturally be lower for LEO and higher for GEO, see Page 16, line 28 - Page 17, line 1 ); It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the method of Rune-Yang to include the teachings of Sedin as above, in order to support minimize the likeliness that the UE goes to idle mode at the expiry of the GNSS validity duration ( Sedin: Page 16, Lines 25-27 ). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX YEOH whose telephone number is (571)270-0890. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET. 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, Noel Beharry can be reached at (571)270-5630. 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. /A.Y./ Examiner, Art Unit 2416 /NOEL R BEHARRY/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 2 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 3 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 4 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 5 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 6 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 7 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 8 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 9 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 10 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 11 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 12 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 13 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 14 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 15 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 16 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 17 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 18 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 19 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 20 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 21 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 22 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 23 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 24 Art Unit: 2416 Application/Control Number: 18/921,186 Page 25 Art Unit: 2416
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