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 February 4th, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure does not commence on a separate sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.52(b)(4) and 1.72(b). A new abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-5 are objected to because of the following informalities: “wherein the processor being to configured” or “wherein the processor being configured to” should be “wherein the processor is further configured to”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or non-obviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 17, and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao (Chinese Publication No. CN 113366908 A), using English translation, in view of Fan (U.S. Publication No US 20220210711 A1, as cited by the applicant)
Regarding claim 1,
Gao teaches A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the WTRU comprising: a processor
("UE 204 includes a UE (User Equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232…and a UE processor module 236" [Paragraph 26],
i.e. Some transmit/receive units with processors as part of the device.)
wherein the processor is configured to: receive, from a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node
("cells in a TN may cover a smaller geographic area than cells in an NTN. In order to take advantage of such a heterogeneous network (e.g., between NTN cells and/or TN cells), a UE may receive a paging from a serving cell with a relatively large coverage area (e. g., a cell with coverage over a relatively large area) and then switch to a target cell with a relatively small coverage area to initiate a random access procedure and establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. Then, after completing the data or signaling transmission under the RRC connection, the UE can return or be redirected back to the cell covering a larger area to receive paging." [Paragraph 33],
i.e. NTN sends paging message to UE to establish connection with a TN cell.)
a paging message that indicates: for the WTRU to respond to the paging message on a terrestrial network (TN)
("cells in a TN may cover a smaller geographic area than cells in an NTN. In order to take advantage of such a heterogeneous network (e.g., between NTN cells and/or TN cells), a UE may receive a paging from a serving cell with a relatively large coverage area (e. g., a cell with coverage over a relatively large area) and then switch to a target cell with a relatively small coverage area to initiate a random access procedure and establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. Then, after completing the data or signaling transmission under the RRC connection, the UE can return or be redirected back to the cell covering a larger area to receive paging." [Paragraph 33],
i.e. Here, "establish a RRC" can be considered a "response" to the paging message regarding the TN cell. The UE is also able to be redirected back to the NTN cell to receive further paging.)
a first target TN cell, a second target TN cell
("To facilitate the UE in determining the target cell, the paging message may include a list of secondary cells for UE reselection and to which the UE can initiate random access (e.g., a secondary cell list)." [Paragraph 68],
i.e. Multiple, including a first and second TN target cell, is provided in the paging message for selection and subsequent random access.)
first priority information associated with the first target TN cell, second priority information associated with the second target TN cell
("In some embodiments, the scaling factor for the target cell type (e.g., non-GEO satellite based cell, GEO satellite-based cell, macro cell, micro cell) that can be applied to the reselection priority can be sent to the UE via L3 signaling (e.g., as a paging message, system information, RRC message), L2 signaling (e.g., as a MAC sub-header or MAC CE), or L1 signaling (e.g., as a DCI)" [Paragraph 58])
("Then, the UE can identify the target cell 406 for random access based on the reselection criteria received in the system information." [Paragraph 100])
("In various embodiments, initiating a random access procedure may include, for example, one of the following: the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble to the target cell, the preamble being sent with or without a payload, and receives a random access response from the target cell; the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble (with or without a payload) on the target uplink carrier and receives a random access response on the currently serving downlink carrier; or, the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble (with or without a payload) on the target uplink carrier and receives a random access response on the target downlink carrier" [Paragraph 44],
"The transmission of this random access preamble can indicate to target cell 306 that UE302 is seeking to perform random access to target cell 306" [Paragraph 73])
Gao does not teach select a TN cell, from the first target TN cell and the second target TN cell, based at least on the first priority information and the second priority information, and also does not teach apply timing information associated with the selected TN cell.
In an analogous art, Fan teaches first timing information associated with the first target TN cell, and second timing information associated with the second target TN cell
("In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cell selection indication information is sent to the terminal through a connection rejection message, a connection release message, or a paging short message." [Paragraph 25], and
Table 1 shows paging scheduling information included in a paging scheduling information for the possible selected cells.)
Fan also teaches apply timing information associated with the selected TN cell; and
("For a frequency point cell with a same priority, the R criterion is used to rank all the measured target cells, and the cell with the highest ranking and capable of maintaining a certain period of time is used as a reselection cell of the final cell of the terminal" [Paragraph 74],
i.e. Timing information associated with the selected highest ranking cell is considered/applied)
Therefore, as Gao teaches selecting a TN cell based on a paging message from an NTN cell, and as Fan teaches timing information, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao’s method performed by a device with Fan’s additional method steps. The motivation to combine is to have a device which selects a TN cell and sends a response to the TN cell based on the paging message from the NTN node, taking into account both priority and timing information, thereby allowing “the mobility management solution of the terrestrial system cannot work well in the mobility management between the satellite system and the terrestrial system” ( Fan, Paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 17, Gao-Fan also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17 in claim 1, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 17 is rejected for the same reasons as claim 1.
Regarding claim 25,
Gao teaches A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the WTRU comprising:a processor
("UE 204 includes a UE (User Equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232…and a UE processor module 236" [Paragraph 26])
wherein the processor is configured to: identify one or more target terrestrial network (TN) cells
("In a particular embodiment, the configuration information may include reselection criteria, which can be used to determine when the UE performs a reselection to identify the target cell and/or how to identify the target cell." [Paragraph 49])
receive, from a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node, a paging message
("cells in a TN may cover a smaller geographic area than cells in an NTN. In order to take advantage of such a heterogeneous network (e.g., between NTN cells and/or TN cells), a UE may receive a paging from a serving cell with a relatively large coverage area (e. g., a cell with coverage over a relatively large area) and then switch to a target cell with a relatively small coverage area to initiate a random access procedure and establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. Then, after completing the data or signaling transmission under the RRC connection, the UE can return or be redirected back to the cell covering a larger area to receive paging." [Paragraph 33],
i.e. NTN sends paging message to UE to establish connection with a TN cell.)
that indicates: a TN cell of the one or more target TN cells
("To facilitate the UE in determining the target cell, the paging message may include a list of secondary cells for UE reselection and to which the UE can initiate random access (e.g., a secondary cell list)." [Paragraph 68],
i.e. Multiple, including a first and second TN target cell, is provided in the paging message for selection and subsequent random access.)
for the WTRU to respond to the paging message on the TN cell
("cells in a TN may cover a smaller geographic area than cells in an NTN. In order to take advantage of such a heterogeneous network (e.g., between NTN cells and/or TN cells), a UE may receive a paging from a serving cell with a relatively large coverage area (e. g., a cell with coverage over a relatively large area) and then switch to a target cell with a relatively small coverage area to initiate a random access procedure and establish a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. Then, after completing the data or signaling transmission under the RRC connection, the UE can return or be redirected back to the cell covering a larger area to receive paging." [Paragraph 33],
i.e. Here, "establish a RRC" can be considered a "response" to the paging message regarding the TN cell. The UE is also able to be redirected back to the NTN cell to receive further paging.)
("In various embodiments, initiating a random access procedure may include, for example, one of the following: the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble to the target cell, the preamble being sent with or without a payload, and receives a random access response from the target cell; the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble (with or without a payload) on the target uplink carrier and receives a random access response on the currently serving downlink carrier; or, the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble (with or without a payload) on the target uplink carrier and receives a random access response on the target downlink carrier" [Paragraph 44],
"The transmission of this random access preamble can indicate to target cell 306 that UE302 is seeking to perform random access to target cell 306" [Paragraph 73])
Gao does not teach timing information associated with the TN cell; apply the timing information associated with the TN cell.
In an analogous art, Fan teaches timing information associated with the TN cell
("In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cell selection indication information is sent to the terminal through a connection rejection message, a connection release message, or a paging short message." [Paragraph 25], and
Table 1 shows paging scheduling information included in a paging scheduling information for the possible selected cells.)
apply the timing information associated with the TN cell
("For a frequency point cell with a same priority, the R criterion is used to rank all the measured target cells, and the cell with the highest ranking and capable of maintaining a certain period of time is used as a reselection cell of the final cell of the terminal" [Paragraph 74],
i.e. Timing information associated with the selected highest ranking cell is considered/applied)
Therefore, as Gao teaches selecting a TN cell based on a paging message from an NTN cell, and as Fan teaches timing information, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao’s method performed by a device with Fan’s additional method steps. The motivation to combine is to have a device which selects a TN cell and sends a response to the TN cell based on the paging message from the NTN node, taking into account both priority and timing information, thereby allowing “the mobility management solution of the terrestrial system cannot work well in the mobility management between the satellite system and the terrestrial system” ( Fan, Paragraph 4).
Claims 2 – 4 and 18 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao-Fan further in view of Zhang (Chinese Publication No. CN 103748859 A, using English machine translation).
Regarding claim 2, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao also teaches the processor being configured to select the TN cell, from the first target TN cell and the second target TN cell, is further based on satisfaction of a condition,
("In a particular embodiment, the configuration information may include reselection criteria, which can be used to determine when the UE performs a reselection to identify the target cell and/or how to identify the target cell." [Paragraph 49])
Gao does not teach the condition is satisfied if the paging message is scrambled with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with cell redirection.
In an analogous art, Zhang teaches the condition is satisfied if the paging message is scrambled with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with cell redirection
("In the above technical solution, the base station sends a paging message carrying the group identifier and the RNTI, as well as configuration information of the public data radio bearer, to the terminal. After obtaining the group identifier, the terminal determines whether the group identifier is consistent with the pre-obtained group identifier. If so, the terminal obtains the configuration information and uses the RNTI to descramble the configuration information." [Paragraph 440],
i.e. The paging message is scrambled with RNTI.)
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device selecting a TN cell based on a paging message from an NTN cell, and as Zhang teaches characteristics and information of the paging message upon which the selection is dependent, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to apply Zhang’s paging message with Gao-Fan’s method performed on the device. The motivation to combine is to have a method where the device selects a TN cell based on conditions in the paging message, thereby "improving data transmission efficiency for a massive number of devices and making better use of current communication networks are urgent issues that need to be addressed and resolved" (Zhang, Paragraph 11).
Regarding claim 3, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao teaches the paging message further comprises and wherein the processor being to configured select the TN cell, from the first target TN cell and the second target TN cell, is further based on the
("In a particular embodiment, the configuration information may include reselection criteria, which can be used to determine when the UE performs a reselection to identify the target cell and/or how to identify the target cell." [Paragraph 49])
Gao does not teach a service type indicator.
In an analogous art, Zhang teaches a service type indicator
("As an optional implementation, the network side groups terminals with the same service type into groups based on their service type, generates configuration information for each group, and generates a group RNTI for each group." [Paragraph 227], and
"In the above technical solution, the base station sends a paging message carrying the group identifier and the RNTI, as well as configuration information of the public data radio bearer, to the terminal." [Paragraph 440])
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device selecting a TN cell based on a paging message from an NTN cell, and as Zhang teaches characteristics and information of the paging message upon which the selection is dependent, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to apply Zhang’s paging message with Gao-Fan’s method performed on the device. The motivation to combine is to have a method where the device selects a TN cell based on conditions in the paging message, thereby "improving data transmission efficiency for a massive number of devices and making better use of current communication networks are urgent issues that need to be addressed and resolved" (Zhang, Paragraph 11).
Regarding claim 4, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao teaches the paging message
("the UE sends a physical random access channel preamble (with or without a payload) on the target uplink carrier and receives a random access response on the currently serving downlink carrier" [Paragraph 45])
Gao does not teach the paging message further indicates first uplink resources associated with the first target TN cell and second uplink resources associated with the second target TN cell.
In an analogous art, Zhang teaches the paging message further indicates first uplink resources associated with the first target TN cell and second uplink resources associated with the second target TN cell
("Send a network-issued contention and uplink resource allocation message to the terminal; so that the terminal can transmit uplink data using the resources indicated by the uplink resource allocation message in the public data radio bearer" [Paragraph 387])
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device sending the access request message sent to the TN cell, and as Zhang teaches characteristics and information of the paging message upon which the selection is dependent, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to apply Zhang’s paging message with Gao-Fan’s method performed on the device. The motivation to combine is to have a method where the device is indicated to send the access request to the TN based on conditions in the paging message, thereby "improving data transmission efficiency for a massive number of devices and making better use of current communication networks are urgent issues that need to be addressed and resolved" (Zhang, Paragraph 11).
Regarding claim 18, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan -Zhang also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 18 in claim 2, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 18 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 2 and 17.
Regarding claim 19, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan -Zhang also teaches all the limitations and motivation of claim 19 in claim 3, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 19 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 3 and 17.
Regarding claim 20, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan -Zhang also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 20 in claim 4, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 20 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 4 and 17.
Claims 5 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao-Fan further in view of Xu (International Publication No. WO 2022082632 A1, as cited by applicant).
Regarding claim 5, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
In an analogous art, Xu teaches the first target TN cell is associated with a first frequency, wherein the second target TN cell is associated with a second frequency, and wherein the processor being to configured select the TN cell, from the first target TN cell and the second target TN cell, is further based on a first difference between the first frequency and a target frequency, and a second difference between the second frequency and the target frequency
("Cell reselection can be based on priorities for (or a listing of without priority information) different NR frequencies or inter-Radio Access Technology (RAT) frequencies provided in system information, a RRCRelease message, dedicated signaling, or inherited from another RAT at inter-RAT cell selection or reselection. For cell reselection, a UE can determine a cell-ranking criterion Rs for the serving cell and Rn for neighboring cells as in equations (2)…where the quantities in equations (2) are defined as follows: Q measis the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement quantity used in cell reselection (for serving or neighboring cell, depending on subscript) , Q hystspecifies the hysteresis value for ranking criteria, Qoffset tempis an offset temporarily applied to a cell as specified in TS 38.331, for intra-frequency Qoffset is equal to Qoffset s, n(the offset between the two cells) if valid and zero otherwise, and for inter-frequency Qoffset is equal to Qoffset s, nplus Qoffset frequency(a frequency specific offset for equal priority NR frequencies) if valid and Qoffset frequencyotherwise." [Paragraph 71 - 73],
i.e. Calculations comparing first and second frequencies to a target frequency to determine selected cell.)
Therefore, as Goa-Fan teaches selects a TN cell and sends a response to the TN cell based on the paging message from the NTN node, and as Xu teaches a calculation with frequencies of TN cells upon which selection may be determined, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to Gao-Fan’s method performed on a device. The motivation to combine is to have a selects a TN cell and sends a response to the TN cell based on the paging message from the NTN node which additionally performs calculations with frequencies in order to select a TN cell, thereby having a method and device able to “meet versatile and sometimes, conflicting performance criteria and provide services to vastly heterogeneous application domains” (Xu, Paragraph 1).
Regarding claim 21, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 21 in claim 5, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 21 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 5 and 17.
Claims 6 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao-Fan further in view of Yu (U.S. Publication No. US 20220210703 A1).
Regarding claim 6, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao-Fan does not teach the processor is further configured to send a measurement report to the NTN node, wherein the measurement report indicates a request for the first priority information associated with the first target TN cell and the second priority information associated with the second target TN cell, and wherein the first priority information and the second priority information are based on the measurement report.
In an analogous art, Yu teaches the processor is further configured to send a measurement report to the NTN node, wherein the measurement report indicates a request for the first priority information associated with the first target TN cell and the second priority information associated with the second target TN cell, and wherein the first priority information and the second priority information are based on the measurement report.
("In Embodiment 1, the first node in the present disclosure performs a first-type measurement in step 101, the first-type measurement being used to determine a first measurement result and a second measurement result; and transmits a first message in step 102, the first message comprising the first measurement result and the second measurement result; herein, the first measurement result is associated with a first cell, while the second measurement result is associated with a second cell, the first cell and the second cell are respectively two different cells, and a RAT adopted by the first cell is the same as a RAT adopted by the second cell; the first message comprises a measurement report" [Paragraph 89])
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device receiving a paging message to select a TN cell and sending an access request to that TN cell, and as Yu teaches generating and sending a measurement report, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao-Fan’s method performed on a device with Yu’s measurement report. The motivation to combine is to have a device which receives a paging message to select a TN cell to which it sends an access request, and further sends a measurement report related to the TN cells, thereby performing "crucial procedures of mobility" which "influenc[es] the UE's serving quality" (Yu, Paragraph 4).
Regarding claim 22, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan-Yu also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 22 in claim 6, in method mode rather than device mode. Therefore, claim 22 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 6 and 17.
Claims 15, 16, 23, 24, and 26 – 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gao-Fan further in view of Tripathi (U.S. Publication No. US 20220150806 A1).
Regarding claim 15, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao-Fan does not teach receive an access response from the TN node, wherein the access response indicates that the TN node accepts the access request to initiate the connection on the selected TN cell; and establish a connection on the selected TN cell.
In an analogous art, Tripathi teaches receive an access response from the TN node, wherein the access response indicates that the TN node accepts the access request to initiate the connection on the selected TN cell; and establish a connection on the selected TN cell
("In Step F13S15, the UE and the selected T-gNB complete the CHO in the target cell through a random access procedure and RRC signaling (e.g., RA preamble, RAR, and RRC reconfiguration for a 4-step RA procedure and msg A and msgB for a 2-step RA procedure)." [Paragraph 200], and
"In another example, the UE utilizes a 4-step RA procedure toward the target cell and sends a RA preamble to the target cell, receives a random access response (RAR) from the target cell, and sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target cell." [Paragraph 217],
i.e. In the process of establishing connection with a target cell, UE receives a response from the target cell.)
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device receiving a paging message to select a TN cell and sending an access request to that TN cell, and as Tripathi teaches the selected cell sending a response to the UE, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao-Fan’s method performed on a device with Tripathi’s additional step. The motivation to combine is to have a method where a TN is selected and responds to the UE in the process of establishing a connection, thereby providing a method which "flexibly accommodate various services/applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections" (Tripathi, Paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 16, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 1.
Gao-Fan does not teach establish a connection on the selected TN cell; and send, to the TN node, a response to the paging message.
In an analogous art, Tripathi teaches establish a connection on the selected TN cell; and send, to the TN node, a response to the paging message
("In Step F13S15, the UE and the selected T-gNB complete the CHO in the target cell through a random access procedure and RRC signaling (e.g., RA preamble, RAR, and RRC reconfiguration for a 4-step RA procedure and msg A and msgB for a 2-step RA procedure)." [Paragraph 200], and
"In another example, the UE utilizes a 4-step RA procedure toward the target cell and sends a RA preamble to the target cell, receives a random access response (RAR) from the target cell, and sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target cell." [Paragraph 217],
i.e. In the process of establishing connection with a target cell, UE sends a response message once the connection is established.)
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device receiving a paging message to select a TN cell and sending an access request to that TN cell, and as Tripathi teaches the selected cell sending a response to the UE, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao-Fan’s method performed on a device with Tripathi’s additional step. The motivation to combine is to have a method where a TN is selected and responds to the UE in the process of establishing a connection, thereby providing a method which "flexibly accommodate various services/applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections" (Tripathi, Paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 23, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan -Tripathi also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 23 in claim 15, as discussed above, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 23 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 15 and 17.
Regarding claim 24, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 17. Gao-Fan -Tripathi also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 24 in claim 16, as discussed above, in device mode rather than method mode. Therefore, claim 24 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 16 and 17.
Regarding claim 26, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 25.
Xu also teaches send a response to the NTN node, or monitor for subsequent paging messages from the NTN node.
("If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 200 can transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again." [Paragraph 60],
i.e. "No data traffic activity" for a period of time can be considered an analogous condition to no connection present within a specified period of time.)
Tripathi teaches upon sending the access request, start a timer
("In an example implementation, this timer is at least (1.5*RTT) long, where RTT is the estimated UE-T-gNB round trip time and can assume the minimum expected RTT. This timer indicates to the T-gNB that the T-gNB can reserve any required resources after the timer expires and hence the T-gNB can make use of these DL and/or UL resources for other users or other purposes until the timer expires." [Paragraph 229])
Therefore, as Gao-Fan teaches a device receiving a paging message to select a TN cell and sending an access request to that TN cell, and as Tripathi teaches a timer, to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would be obvious to combine Gao-Fan’s method performed on a device with Tripathi’s timer. The motivation to combine is to have a method where a TN is selected and responds to the UE in the process of establishing a connection, thereby providing a method which "flexibly accommodate various services/applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections" (Tripathi, Paragraph 3).
Regarding claim 27, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 25. Gao-Fan -Tripathi also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 27 in claim 15, as discussed above. Therefore, claim 27 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 15 and 25.
Regarding claim 28, Gao-Fan teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 25. Gao-Fan -Tripathi also teaches all the limitations and motivations of claim 28 in claim 16, as discussed above. Therefore, claim 28 is rejected for the same reasons as claims 16 and 25.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FATIHA KAMAL whose telephone number is (571)270-0726. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30am - 3:30pm, Alternating Fridays 6:30am-2:30pm.
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/FATIHA KAMAL/Examiner, Art Unit 2647
/Alison Slater/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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