DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/07/2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 11/18/2024 are accepted by the Examiner.
Specification
The disclosure filed on 01/06/2025 is accepted by the Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (US 20240179653 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Wu discloses transmitting, by a master clock system, a first timing message to a slave clock system, the first timing message comprises a first timestamp indicative of a first transmission time (figure 11 S1101 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1101, at a time point t1, the master terminal MST sends synchronization information Sync to the slave terminal SLY. The time point t1 is the timestamp when the synchronization information Sync leaves the master terminal MST. Optionally, step S1101 may adopt a one-step method, and at this time, the synchronization information Sync includes a time stamp t1. Optionally, step S1101 may adopt a two-step method, and at this time, after the master terminal MST sends the synchronization information Sync, the master terminal MST further sends follow-up information Follow-up (t1) to the slave terminal SLY. The follow-up information Follow-up (t1) includes a timestamp t1.”); the slave clock system is remotely located from the master clock system (figure 4 RU and DU and figure 11 step 1101 t1 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “ Referring to FIG. 11, the message exchange procedure of the PTP includes the mutual communication between a master terminal MST and a slave terminal SLY. The master terminal MST is, for example, a radio unit RU. The slave terminal SLY is, for example, a distributed unit DU.”); and wireless communication is used for communication between the slave clock system and the master clock system (figure 4 RU and DU”); receiving, by the master clock system, a second timing message from the slave clock system (figure 11 S1104 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1104, at a time point t4, the master terminal MST receives the delay request information Del_Req. The difference between a timestamp t4 and the timestamp t3 includes the time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp2.”); recording, by the master clock system, a first reception time at which the second timing message was received from the slave clock system (figure 11 S1104 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1104, at a time point t4, the master terminal MST receives the delay request information Del_Req. The difference between a timestamp t4 and the timestamp t3 includes the time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp2.”); calculating, by the master clock system, a correction factor (figure 11 S1105 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1105, the master terminal MST replies a delay request response information Del_Resp(t4). The delay request response information Del_Resp(t4) includes the timestamp t4.”); and transmitting, by the master clock system, a third timing message to the slave clock system that indicates the calculated correction factor and the first reception time (figure 11 S1105 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1105, the master terminal MST replies a delay request response information Del_Resp(t4). The delay request response information Del_Resp(t4) includes the timestamp t4.”)
PNG
media_image1.png
357
589
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
564
509
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 13, Wu discloses claim 12, Wu also discloses the correction factor is based on ephemeris data for a satellite that houses the slave clock system (figure 11 and 13 paragraphs [0052]-[0063] “In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time.” … “FIG. 13 is a structure diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the transit time difference includes the delay time predicted from the ephemeris information provided by the satellite broadcast or the network server.”)
Regarding claim 14, Wu discloses claim 12, Wu also discloses the correction factor is based on a difference in an amount of link propagation delay for the second timing message and the first timing message (figure 11 and 13 paragraphs [0052]-[0063] “In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time.”)
Regarding claim 15, Wu discloses claim 12, Wu also discloses recording, by the slave clock system, a second reception time at which the first timing message was received; and recording a second transmission time at which the second timing message was transmitted by the slave clock system (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1102, at a time point t2, the slave terminal SLY receives the synchronization information Sync. The difference between a timestamp t2 and the timestamp t1 includes a time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp1.”)
Regarding claim 16, Wu discloses claim 15, Wu also discloses calculating, by the slave clock system, a timing offset between the slave clock system and the master clock system based on: the correction factor, the first transmission time, the second transmission time, the first reception time, and the second reception time (figure 11 step 1106 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1106, the slave terminal SLY calculates the link delay according to the timestamps t1, t2, t3, t4. In an embodiment, in the message exchange procedure of PTP, the distributed unit DU calculates the wireless transmission delay according to the multiple timestamps, and compensates the wireless transmission delay in the average link delay equation to determine the transit time difference” … “In an embodiment, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 may be calculated according to the following formula (4) and formula (5) and added to the average link delay MeanPathDelay equation to calculate a compensation transmission delay Offset(t1): MeanPathDelay=((t2−t1)+(t4−t3))/2 formula (4) Offset(t1) =t2−t1− [MeanPathDelay−(tp1+tp2)/2] formula (5)”)
Regarding claim 17, Wu discloses claim 16, Wu also discloses updating, by the slave clock system, timing based on the calculated timing offset (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1102, at a time point t2, the slave terminal SLY receives the synchronization information Sync. The difference between a timestamp t2 and the timestamp t1 includes a time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp1.”)
Regarding claim 18, Wu discloses claim 12, Wu also discloses synchronizing, the master clock system with a second slave clock, using the precision timing protocol (PTP) (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “ In an embodiment, the compensation transmission delay Offset(t1) may be corrected through the original correction field of the PTP. In an embodiment, a new field may be added in the PTP packet to update the delay.”)
Regarding claim 19, Wu discloses claim 13, Wu also discloses calculating a first link propagation delay for the first timing message from the master clock system to the slave clock system based on the ephemeris data; calculating a second link propagation delay for the second timing message from the slave clock system to the master clock system based on the ephemeris data; and calculating the correction factor based on the first link propagation delay and the second link propagation delay (figure 11 step 1106 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1106, the slave terminal SLY calculates the link delay according to the timestamps t1, t2, t3, t4. In an embodiment, in the message exchange procedure of PTP, the distributed unit DU calculates the wireless transmission delay according to the multiple timestamps, and compensates the wireless transmission delay in the average link delay equation to determine the transit time difference In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time”)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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 1-7, 9-11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (US 20240179653 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses a non-terrestrial cellular network system, comprising a radio unit (RU) located on a satellite configured to orbit the earth (figure 4 and 7-10 RU); a slave clock system, comprising a slave clock, that performs timing (Figure 11 SLV); a distributed unit (DU), located at a ground station, wherein the ground station communicates wirelessly with the satellite (figure 4 and 7-10 DU); a satellite gateway system (figure 4 and 7-10 GW), comprising a clock system, wherein the clock system is configured to transmit a first timing message to the slave clock system, wherein the first timing message comprises a first timestamp indicative of a first transmission time (figure 11 S1101 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1101, at a time point t1, the master terminal MST sends synchronization information Sync to the slave terminal SLY. The time point t1 is the timestamp when the synchronization information Sync leaves the master terminal MST. Optionally, step S1101 may adopt a one-step method, and at this time, the synchronization information Sync includes a time stamp t1. Optionally, step S1101 may adopt a two-step method, and at this time, after the master terminal MST sends the synchronization information Sync, the master terminal MST further sends follow-up information Follow-up (t1) to the slave terminal SLY. The follow-up information Follow-up (t1) includes a timestamp t1”); receive a second timing message from the slave clock system (figure 11 S1104 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1104, at a time point t4, the master terminal MST receives the delay request information Del_Req. The difference between a timestamp t4 and the timestamp t3 includes the time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp2”); record a first reception time at which the second timing message was received from the slave clock system (figure 11 S1104 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1104, at a time point t4, the master terminal MST receives the delay request information Del_Req. The difference between a timestamp t4 and the timestamp t3 includes the time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp2.”); calculate a correction factor for the slave clock system located on the satellite; and (figure 11 S1105 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1105, the master terminal MST replies a delay request response information Del_Resp(t4). The delay request response information Del_Resp(t4) includes the timestamp t4.”); transmit a third timing message to the slave clock system that indicates the calculated correction factor and the first reception time (figure 11 S1105 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1105, the master terminal MST replies a delay request response information Del_Resp(t4). The delay request response information Del_Resp(t4) includes the timestamp t4.”) Wu doesn’t specifically disclose that the slave clock system is located on the satellite. Wu discloses that “The master terminal MST is, for example, a radio unit RU. The slave terminal SLY is, for example, a distributed unit DU”. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to locate the master clock in the DU. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have to be able to repair the clock in case of failure and independently, there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. See also KSR. In the KSR case, the Court stated that in certain circumstances what is obvious to try is also obvious, such as where "there is a design need or market pressure to solve a problem, and there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. If this leads to the anticipated success, it is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense." Regarding hindsight, the Court found that "[r]igid preventive rules that deny fact finders recourse to common sense . . . are neither necessary under our case law nor consistent with it." The Court stated that "familiar items may have obvious uses beyond their primary purposes," analogizing an obvious invention to the fitting together of pieces to a puzzle. The Court in this regard further stated that the person of ordinary skill is also a person of ordinary creativity, and not "an automaton."
Regarding claim 2, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu also discloses the correction factor is based on ephemeris data for the satellite (figure 11 and 13 paragraphs [0052]-[0063] “In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time.” … “FIG. 13 is a structure diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the transit time difference includes the delay time predicted from the ephemeris information provided by the satellite broadcast or the network server.”)
Regarding claim 3, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu also discloses the correction factor is based on a difference in an amount of link propagation delay for the second timing message and the first timing message (figure 11 and 13 paragraphs [0052]-[0063] “In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time.”)
Regarding claim 4, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu also discloses record a second reception time at which the first timing message was received; and record a second transmission time at which the second timing message was transmitted by the slave clock system (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1102, at a time point t2, the slave terminal SLY receives the synchronization information Sync. The difference between a timestamp t2 and the timestamp t1 includes a time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp1.”)
Regarding claim 5, Wu discloses claim 4, Wu also discloses calculate a timing offset between the slave clock and the master clock system based on: the correction factor, the first transmission time, the second transmission time, the first reception time, and the second reception time (figure 11 step 1106 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1106, the slave terminal SLY calculates the link delay according to the timestamps t1, t2, t3, t4. In an embodiment, in the message exchange procedure of PTP, the distributed unit DU calculates the wireless transmission delay according to the multiple timestamps, and compensates the wireless transmission delay in the average link delay equation to determine the transit time difference” … “In an embodiment, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 may be calculated according to the following formula (4) and formula (5) and added to the average link delay MeanPathDelay equation to calculate a compensation transmission delay Offset(t1): MeanPathDelay=((t2−t1)+(t4−t3))/2 formula (4) Offset(t1) =t2−t1− [MeanPathDelay−(tp1+tp2)/2] formula (5)”)
Regarding claim 6, Wu discloses claim 5, Wu also discloses to update timing for the RU based on the calculated timing offset (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1102, at a time point t2, the slave terminal SLY receives the synchronization information Sync. The difference between a timestamp t2 and the timestamp t1 includes a time difference td plus a wireless transmission delay tp1.”)
Regarding claim 7, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu also discloses a second slave clock system, comprising a second slave clock, of the DU, wherein the second slave clock is synchronized with the master clock system using the precision timing protocol (PTP) (figure 11 step 1102 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “ In an embodiment, the compensation transmission delay Offset(t1) may be corrected through the original correction field of the PTP. In an embodiment, a new field may be added in the PTP packet to update the delay.”)
Regarding claim 9, Wu discloses claim 2, Wu also discloses calculate the correction factor for the RU located on the satellite comprises the master clock system being configured to: calculate a first link propagation delay for the first timing message from the master clock system to the slave clock system on the satellite based on the ephemeris data; calculate a second link propagation delay for the second timing message from the slave clock system on the satellite to the master clock system based on the ephemeris data; and calculating the correction factor based on the first link propagation delay and the second link propagation delay (figure 11 step 1106 paragraphs [0052]-[0061] “In step S1106, the slave terminal SLY calculates the link delay according to the timestamps t1, t2, t3, t4. In an embodiment, in the message exchange procedure of PTP, the distributed unit DU calculates the wireless transmission delay according to the multiple timestamps, and compensates the wireless transmission delay in the average link delay equation to determine the transit time difference In detail, the wireless transmission delays tp1 and tp2 vary with the distance, and may be obtained from the satellite broadcast or the accurate ephemeris, the delay, or the distance estimation of the feeder link provided by the network server at the corresponding time”)
Regarding claim 10, Wu discloses claim 6, Wu also discloses a the RU is configured to relay cellular network communications between a plurality of UE and the distributed unit based on the updated timing (figure 4)
Regarding claim 11, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu also discloses the RU on the satellite and the DU located at the satellite gateway system as part of a gNodeB in communication with a core of a 5G New Radio (NR) cellular network. (figure 4).
Regarding claim 20, Wu discloses claim 19, Wu doesn’t specifically disclose slave clock system is co-located on the satellite with a radio unit (RU) of a gNodeB and the master clock system is co-located at a satellite gateway with a distributed unit (DU) of the gNodeB. Wu discloses satellite with a radio unit (RU) of a gNodeB and a satellite gateway with a distributed unit (DU) of the gNodeB (figure 4) and that “The master terminal MST is, for example, a radio unit RU. The slave terminal SLY is, for example, a distributed unit DU”. At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to locate the master clock in the DU. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have to be able to repair the clock in case of failure and independently, there are a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp. See also KSR above.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Aijaz (US 20220248354 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Wu discloses claim 1, Wu doesn’t disclose adjust the correction factor using a trained machine learning model. Aijaz discloses adjust the correction factor using a trained machine learning model (paragraph [0002] “Industry 4.0 refers to a new phase in the industrial revolution that focuses on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data. Factories-of-the-Future (FoF) embody Industry 4.0 and help manufacturers to increase levels of automation, improve monitoring, enable self-diagnosis and facilitate new levels of analysis.”) Wu and Aijaz are analogous art because they are from the same field of communications. Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate in the technique disclosed by Wu machine learning disclosed by Aijaz. The suggestion/motivation for doing so would have to increase levels of automation, improve monitoring, enable self-diagnosis and facilitate new levels of analysis (Aijaz paragraph [0002]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Aweya (US 20150092793 A1) discloses method and devices for synchronization.
Aijaz (US 20210400610 A1) discloses time synchronization in integrated 5g wireless and time-sensitive networking systems.
Medles (US 20210250885 A1) discloses method and apparatus for timing and frequency synchronization in non-terrestrial network communications.
Khoury (US 20120136956 A1) discloses adaptive precision timing control in a communication system.
Kelly (US 20020105976 A1) discloses method and apparatus for deriving uplink timing from asynchronous traffic across multiple transport streams.
Nuttall (US 20210058149 A1) discloses hub communication with a satellite network or a terrestrial network.
Al-Mufti (US 20250373323 A1) discloses non-terrestrial fronthaul network architectures.
Aweya (US 20150092796 A1) discloses method and devices for time and frequency synchronization.
Yin (US 20140269673 A1) discloses sync interval determination.
Kingsley (US 20140247839 A1) discloses time synchronization in distributed network testing equipment.
Al-Mufti (US 20250373353 A1) discloses non-terrestrial fronthaul network architectures.
Qaise (US 20210328662 A1) discloses timing synchronization for non-terrestrial cellular wireless communication networks.
Koelemeij (US 10257798 B1) discloses synchronizing clocks in a wireless system.
Kim (US 10180498 B1) discloses self-contained time transfer in pseudolites.
Mahalingam (US 20210029658 A1) discloses timing advance for non-terrestrial network communication.
Reis (US 12282102 B2) discloses satellite relaying for geolocation and mitigation of GNSS denial.
Krishnamurthy (US 12517263 B2) discloses common timing offset signaling in a non- terrestrial network.
Shrestha (US 20240179099 A1) discloses timing adjustment in non-terrestrial wireless communications.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JUAN A TORRES whose telephone number is (571)272-3119. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Kenneth N Vanderpuye can be reached at (571) 272-3078. 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.
/JUAN A TORRES/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2634
Prosecution Insights