DETAILED ACTION
This communication is responsive to Application No. 18/937,632 filed on 08 April 2025. Claims 1-14 are subject to examination.
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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference characters not mentioned in the description: S807a and S807b in Fig. 8. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference characters in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in Paragraph [00352], line 1, "Case 1" should read "method 1000".
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, 10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Nuggehalli et al. (US 20240032139 A1, hereinafter "Nuggehalli").
Regarding Claim 1, Nuggehalli teaches A communication method, comprising:
sending, by a terminal device, a registration request message to a network device responsive to determining that the terminal device is to leave a coverage area of a satellite (Nuggehalli: The method 400 includes determining 402 duration that the UE is likely to be out of coverage based on a current location of the UE and satellite ephemeris information; The method 400 further includes sending 406, to a CN, the duration, see Fig. 4 and Paragraphs [0062] and [0064]);
receiving, by the terminal device, a registration accept message from the network device (Nuggehalli: The method 500 optionally includes receiving, from a CN, a duration for a coverage checking timer, see Fig. 5 and Paragraph [0081]), wherein
the registration accept message comprises a third timer that indicates a third duration (Nuggehalli: In some embodiments of the method 500 that include the receiving 502, the determining 508, after the expiration of the low power usage mode timer, that the UE has entered the coverage comprises checking whether the UE has entered the coverage periodically according to the duration of the coverage checking timer, see Fig. 5 and Paragraph [0088]) after which the terminal device initiates a periodic connection establishment to the network device (Nuggehalli: The method 500 further includes determining 508, after an expiration of the low power usage mode timer, that the UE has entered coverage; the determining 508, after the expiration of the low power usage mode timer, that the UE has entered the coverage comprises checking whether the UE has entered the coverage periodically according to the duration of the coverage checking timer, see Fig. 5 and Paragraphs [0084] and [0088]), and
the third duration is greater than or equal to a duration of the terminal device in a non-coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage. This interruption duration may be determined to be equal to, or greater than, any UE-indicated outage time duration, see Paragraph [0043]); and
activating, by the terminal device, the third timer when the terminal device enters an idle state (Nuggehalli: The method 500 further includes entering 504 a low power usage mode upon leaving coverage corresponding to a CN; The method 500 further includes starting 506 a low power usage mode timer, see Fig. 5 and Paragraphs [0082] and [0083]).
Regarding Claim 2, Nuggehalli teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the terminal device, that the terminal device is to leave the coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: The method 400 includes determining 402 duration that the UE is likely to be out of coverage based on a current location of the UE and satellite ephemeris information, see Fig. 4 and Paragraph [0062]), the determining further comprising at least one of:
determining, by the terminal device, that a distance between a location of the terminal device and a boundary of the coverage area of the satellite is less than a first threshold (Nuggehalli: the UE can predict when and/or where it is likely to be in or out of coverage. Accordingly, the UE may preemptively (prior to losing coverage) inform the either/both of a CN ... that it is going to lose coverage, and/or when and/or where it will regain coverage, see Paragraph [0038]. [Examiner contends that the UE must have a time and/or distance threshold where it determines it is to leave the coverage area of the satellite before informing the CN]); or
determining, by the terminal device, a time before the terminal device leaves the coverage area of the satellite is less than a second threshold (Nuggehalli: the UE can predict when and/or where it is likely to be in or out of coverage. Accordingly, the UE may preemptively (prior to losing coverage) inform the either/both of a CN ... that it is going to lose coverage, and/or when and/or where it will regain coverage, see Paragraph [0038]. [Examiner contends that the UE must have a time and/or distance threshold where it determines it is to leave the coverage area of the satellite before informing the CN]).
Regarding Claim 3, Nuggehalli teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the registration request message comprises second indication information that indicates that the terminal device is to leave the coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: In cases of the method 400 where the UE expects to move while it is out of coverage, the determining 402 may further use current mobility information for the UE when determining 402 the duration; The method 400 further includes sending 406, to a CN, the duration, see Fig. 4 and Paragraphs [0062] and [0064]).
Regarding Claim 4, Nuggehalli teaches The method according to claim 1, wherein the sending, by the terminal device, the registration request message to the network device when determining that the terminal device is to leave the coverage area of the satellite further comprises:
sending, by the terminal device, the registration request message to the network device when determining that the terminal device is to leave the coverage area of the satellite and does not support activation of a power saving parameter when leaving the coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: The method 400 includes determining 402 duration that the UE is likely to be out of coverage based on a current location of the UE and satellite ephemeris information; The method 400 further includes sending 406, to a CN, the duration, see Fig. 4 and Paragraphs [0062] and [0064]. [Examiner contends that not actively informing of power saving parameter capability is the same as not supporting the power saving parameter]).
Regarding Claim 5, Nuggehalli teaches A communication method, comprising:
determining, by a network device, a first timer based on a duration of a terminal device in a coverage area of a satellite and a duration of the terminal device in a non-coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage ... In some embodiments, the CN sends the UE the interruption duration, see Paragraph [0043]. [Examiner contends that CN sending the interruption delay to the UE requires in-coverage duration to be considered to accurately determine an interruption duration to send the UE]), wherein
the first timer indicates a first duration after which the terminal device initiates periodic connection establishment to the network device (Nuggehalli: In some embodiments of the method 300, the assistance information indicates that the CN should resume the paging after an interruption duration determined by the CN, and wherein the resuming of the paging of the UE occurs after the interruption duration passes. In some of these embodiments, the method 300 further includes sending, to the UE, the interruption duration, see Fig. 3 and Paragraph [0052]), and
the first duration is greater than or equal to a combination of the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage. This interruption duration may be determined to be equal to, or greater than, any UE-indicated outage time duration ... In some embodiments, the CN sends the UE the interruption duration, see Paragraph [0043]. [Examiner contends that CN sending the interruption delay to the UE requires in-coverage duration to be considered to accurately determine an interruption duration to send the UE]); and
sending, by the network device, the first timer to the terminal device (Nuggehalli: In some of these embodiments, the method 300 further includes sending, to the UE, the interruption duration, see Fig. 3 and Paragraph [0052]).
Regarding Claim 7, Nuggehalli teaches The method according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:
activating, by the network device, the first timer when the terminal device enters an idle state (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage, see Paragraph [0043]); and
continuing, by the network device, timing of the first timer when the terminal device enters a connected state from the idle state and the first timer does not expire (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage. This interruption duration may be determined to be equal to, or greater than, any UE-indicated outage time duration. In such cases, the CN may resume paging the UE once the interruption duration passes, see Paragraph [0043]).
Regarding Claim 10, Nuggehalli teaches A communication apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor (Nuggehalli: The CN device 936 may include one or more processor(s) 938, see Fig. 9 and Paragraph [0180]); and
one or more memories coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the one or more memories store programming instructions (Nuggehalli: The CN device 936 may include a memory 940. The memory 940 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 942 (which may include, for example, the instructions being executed by the processor(s) 938), see Fig. 9 and Paragraph [0181]) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication apparatus to:
determine, by a network device, a first timer based on a duration of a terminal device in a coverage area of a satellite and a duration of the terminal device in a non-coverage area of the satellite (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage ... In some embodiments, the CN sends the UE the interruption duration, see Paragraph [0043]. [Examiner contends that CN sending the interruption delay to the UE requires in-coverage duration to be considered to accurately determine an interruption duration to send the UE]), wherein
the first timer indicates a first duration after which the terminal device initiates periodic connection establishment to the network device (Nuggehalli: In some embodiments of the method 300, the assistance information indicates that the CN should resume the paging after an interruption duration determined by the CN, and wherein the resuming of the paging of the UE occurs after the interruption duration passes. In some of these embodiments, the method 300 further includes sending, to the UE, the interruption duration, see Fig. 3 and Paragraph [0052]), and
the first duration is greater than or equal to a combination of the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage. This interruption duration may be determined to be equal to, or greater than, any UE-indicated outage time duration ... In some embodiments, the CN sends the UE the interruption duration, see Paragraph [0043]. [Examiner contends that CN sending the interruption delay to the UE requires in-coverage duration to be considered to accurately determine an interruption duration to send the UE]); and
send, by the network device, the first timer to the terminal device (Nuggehalli: In some of these embodiments, the method 300 further includes sending, to the UE, the interruption duration, see Fig. 3 and Paragraph [0052]).
Regarding Claim 12, Nuggehalli teaches The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the communication apparatus is further to:
activate, by the network device, the first timer when the terminal device enters an idle state (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage, see Paragraph [0043]); and
continue, by the network device, timing of the first timer when the terminal device enters a connected state from the idle state and the first timer does not expire (Nuggehalli: The interruption duration may be determined by the CN based on an indication, from the UE, of an amount of time that the UE expects to be out of coverage. This interruption duration may be determined to be equal to, or greater than, any UE-indicated outage time duration. In such cases, the CN may resume paging the UE once the interruption duration passes, see Paragraph [0043]).
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.
Claims 6, 8-9, 11, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nuggehalli in view of SHEN (WO 2023087147 A1, hereinafter "Shen").
Regarding Claim 6, Nuggehalli teaches The method according to claim 5, but fails to explicitly teach, wherein the determining, further comprises:
determining, by the network device, a second timer that indicates a second duration after which the terminal device initiates periodic connection establishment to the network device; and
determining, by the network device, the first timer based on the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area when the network device determines that the terminal device is located in the non-coverage area when the second timer expires.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Shen teaches,
wherein the determining, further comprises:
determining, by the network device, a second timer that indicates a second duration after which the terminal device initiates periodic connection establishment to the network device (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently; the UE can also enter the working state within the first duration ... and enter the sleep state within the remaining second duration after the first duration is removed ... can establish a connection and communicate with the network side at any time when there is a communication need, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, 231, and 240 [Examiner contends that any time when communication is needed includes after the first duration]); and
determining, by the network device, the first timer based on the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area when the network device determines that the terminal device is located in the non-coverage area when the second timer expires (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently; the UE can also enter the working state within the first duration ... and enter the sleep state within the remaining second duration after the first duration is removed ... can establish a connection and communicate with the network side at any time when there is a communication need, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, 231, and 240).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Regarding Claim 8, Nuggehalli-Shen teaches The method according to claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:
determining, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, and 231).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Regarding Claim 9, Nuggehalli-Shen teaches The method according to claim 8, wherein the determining, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area further comprises:
determining, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area based on satellite coverage information and location information of the terminal device (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, and 231).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Regarding Claim 11, Nuggehalli-Shen teaches The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the determining, by a network device, a first timer based on a duration of a terminal device in a coverage area of a satellite and a duration of the terminal device in a non-coverage area of the satellite comprises:
determining, by the network device, a second timer, wherein the second timer indicates a second duration after which the terminal device initiates periodic connection establishment to the network device (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently; the UE can also enter the working state within the first duration ... and enter the sleep state within the remaining second duration after the first duration is removed ... can establish a connection and communicate with the network side at any time when there is a communication need, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, 231, and 240 [Examiner contends that any time when communication is needed includes after the first duration]); and
determining, by the network device, the first timer based on the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area of the satellite and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area of the satellite when the network device determines that the terminal device is located in the non-coverage area of the satellite when the second timer expires (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently; the UE can also enter the working state within the first duration ... and enter the sleep state within the remaining second duration after the first duration is removed ... can establish a connection and communicate with the network side at any time when there is a communication need, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, 231, and 240).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Regarding Claim 13, Nuggehalli-Shen teaches The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the communication apparatus is further to:
determine, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, and 231).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Regarding Claim 14, Nuggehalli-Shen teaches The communication apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the determining, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area comprises the communication apparatus is further to:
determine, by the network device, the duration of the terminal device in the coverage area and the duration of the terminal device in the non-coverage area based on satellite coverage information and location information of the terminal device (Shen: the acquiring the power saving parameters determined according to the satellite coverage information of the area where the UE is located includes; receiving the power saving parameter from a core network device; In some embodiments, the satellite coverage information includes duration information of a first duration and a second duration; the first duration is: the duration of the satellite covering the preset area; The second duration is: the interval duration between the initial moments when the satellite covers the preset area twice adjacently, see Paragraphs 202, 203, 207, 230, and 231).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of claimed invention to modify the method of Nuggehalli to include the teachings of Shen as above, in order to reduce UE power consumption and reduce load on the network device (Shen: Paragraph 92).
Conclusion
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/A.Y./Examiner, Art Unit 2416
/NOEL R BEHARRY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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