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 .
This Office Action is in response to communications filed on 7/7/2026.
Claims 1-20 are pending and presented for examination.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 & 20 have been amended.
Rejections of claims 9, 13 & 17 under 35 USC 112(b) made in the prior record Non-final rejection dated 4/7/2026 have been withdrawn based on amendments to these claims, but rejections to amended claims 9, 13 & 17 have been made under 35 USC 112(a).
Rejection to amended claim 1 has been made under 35 USC 112(b).
Rejections to claims 1-3 & 20 under 35 USC 102 made in the prior record Non-final rejection dated 4/7/2026 have been withdrawn based on amendments to claims 1, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 & 20, but new grounds of rejections to these claims have been made under 35 USC 103 based on new references Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”), and further in view of Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”).
Rejections to claims 4-19 under 35 USC 103 made in the prior record Non-final rejection dated 4/7/2026 have been withdrawn based on amendments to claims 1, 6, 9, 13, 16, 17 & 20, but new grounds of rejections to these claims have been made under 35 USC 103 in view of new references Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”), and further in view of Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/7/2026 regarding rejection of claims 9, 13 & 17 under 35 USC 112(b) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Amendments to these claims, and the current application specification, fail to clarify how a Timing Advance (TA) adjustment value, measured in units of time, can be determined based on dividing an RSTD or a synchronization time difference or (t1-t0-d), all measured in units of time, by a unit distance, measured in units of distance.
Applicant’s arguments, see “Remarks”, filed 7/7/2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1-3 & 20 under 35 USC 102 and claims 4-19 under 35 USC 103 made in the Non-final rejection dated 4/7/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, these rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, new grounds of rejections of these claims are made under 35 USC 103 in view of new references Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”), and further in view of Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”).
Regarding claim 1, applicant submits that amendments to this claim traverse the rejection of this claim under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026. Examiner agrees and withdraws rejection of claim 1 under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026. However, after further consideration, examiner introduces a new ground of rejection of claim 1 under 35 USC 103 based on new references Seo & Tseng. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Regarding claim 20, applicant submits that this claim traverse the rejection of this claim under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026 due to similar amendments and arguments as made for claim 1. Examiner agrees and withdraws rejection of claim 20 under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026. However, for the same reasons as discussed above, examiner introduces a new ground of rejection of claim 20 under 35 USC 103 based on new references Seo and Tseng.
Regarding claims 2 & 3, applicant submits that these claims traverse the rejections of these claims under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026 due to amendments and arguments made for claim 1 and due to their dependency on claim 1. Examiner agrees and withdraws rejections of claims 2 & 3 under 35 USC 102 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026. However, for the same reasons as discussed above, examiner introduces new grounds of rejections of claims 2 & 3 under 35 USC 103 based on new reference Seo and Tseng.
Regarding claims 4-19, applicant submits that these claims traverse the rejections of these claims under 35 USC 103 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026 due to amendments and arguments made for claims 1, 6, 9, 13, 16 & 17 and due to their dependency on claims 1, 6, 9, 13, 16 or 17. Examiner agrees and withdraws rejections of claims 4-19 under 35 USC 103 made in the Non-final Rejection dated 4/7/2026. However, for the same reasons as discussed above, examiner introduces new grounds of rejections of claims 4-19 under 35 USC 103 based on new reference Seo and Tseng.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 9, 13 & 17 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, this claim recites “receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a TA; determining, by a terminal device, at least one of a timing advance (TA) adjustment value or the TA based on first information; sending, by the terminal device, an uplink signal to a network device based on at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA, wherein the at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device”. This claim introduces potentially two different terminal devices, a terminal device receiving configuration information and a (potentially second) terminal device determining a TA adjustment value or the TA based on first information, making it unclear whether “the terminal device” is referring to a terminal device receiving configuration information or a terminal device determining a TA adjustment value or the TA based on first information. For the purpose of this review, examiner is interpreting these limitations in this claim as “receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a TA; determining, by the terminal device, at least one of a timing advance (TA) adjustment value or the TA based on first information; sending, by the terminal device, an uplink signal to a network device based on at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA, wherein the at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device.”.
Regarding claim 9, this claims recites that a TA adjustment value, which is in units of time, is determined based on the variation of the RSTD, which is in units of time, divided by the unit distance, which is in units of distance, without explaining how such a ratio between a measurement of time and a measurement of distance can determine a TA adjustment value measured in units of time. For instance, the current application recites in [0144] that a variation of RSTD may be greater than 0.5 ms and Table 1 in [0073]-[0074] discloses that a unit distance may be 79 meters. However, someone skilled in the art would not be able to determine a TA adjustment value (in units of time) based on an RSTD of 0.5 ms divided by a unit distance of 79 meters or a ratio of .00633 ms/meter. For the purpose of this review, examiner is interpreting this claim as "wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on the variation of the RSTD, wherein the TA adjustment is relative to the unit distance".
Regarding claim 13, this claims recites that a TA adjustment value, which is in units of time, is determined based on the synchronization time difference, which is in units of time, divided by a unit distance, which is in units of distance, without explaining how such a ratio between a measurement of time and a measurement of distance can determine a TA adjustment value measured in units of time. Someone skilled in the art would not be able to determine a TA adjustment value (in units of time) based on a synchronization time difference (e.g. in ms) divided by a unit distance (e.g. in meters) or a ratio in ms/meter. For the purpose of this review, examiner is interpreting this claim as "wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on the synchronization time difference, wherein the TA adjustment is relative to a unit distance".
Regarding claim 17, this claims recites that a TA adjustment value, which is in units of time, is determined based on (t1 – t0 -d), which is in units of time, divided by a unit distance, which is in units of distance, wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, and d represents the offset, without explaining how such a ratio between a measurement of time and a measurement of distance can determine a TA adjustment value measured in units of time. Someone skilled in the art would not be able to determine a TA adjustment value (in units of time) based on (t1 – t0 -d) (e.g. in ms) divided by a unit distance (e.g. in meters) or a ratio in ms/meter. For the purpose of this review, examiner is interpreting this claim as "wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on (t1 – t0 -d), wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, and d represents the offset, wherein the TA adjustment is relative to a unit distance".
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 (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 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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3 & 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”), and further in view of Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”).
Regarding claim 1, Lin discloses a wireless communication method, comprising: determining, by a terminal device, at least one of a timing advance (TA) adjustment value or the TA based on first information ([0021] & [0060] disclose a method where a UE determines a TA value based on an RSRP measurement (i.e. first information). [0032] discloses that the UE can communicate over wireless communication channels.);
sending, by the terminal device, an uplink signal to a network device based on at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA (Fig 3 & [0076] disclose the UE transmitting a HARQ information report according to the timing value (i.e. based on the TA value). [0039] discloses that the UE may transmit the HARQ information report to a serving node (i.e. a network device) over a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).).;
wherein the first information is associated with one or more of the following: a downlink measurement amount ([0060] discloses that the UE determines a TA value based on an RSRP measurement (i.e. first information associated with a measurement amount).);
downlink synchronization related information ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) received in the downlink.);
a downlink reference time ([0064] discloses that the TA value may be based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing provided via a downlink DCI.); or
fingerprint information collected by the terminal device (optional).
Lin fails to disclose but Seo teaches receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a TA (Fig 18 & [0294]-[0297] discloses a UE receiving TA configuration information from a base station (i.e. network device), wherein the UE adjusts uplink transmission timing (i.e. actively adjusts a TA) based on the received TA configuration information.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a wireless communication method, comprising determining, by a terminal device, at least one of a timing advance (TA) adjustment value or the TA based on first information, as disclosed by Lin, and receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a TA, as taught by Seo. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on configuration information sent from the base station such as timing advance group information, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Lin fails to disclose but Tseng further teaches wherein the at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device ([0008] discloses a UE determining a Timing advance (TA) for a neighboring cell based on a timing difference D between a service cell and the neighbor cell and an estimated timing advance of the neighbor cell (TA’).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, configuration information from a network device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a TA; and determining, by the terminal device, at least one of a timing advance (TA) adjustment value or the TA based on first information, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo, wherein the at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device, as taught by Tseng. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on configuration information from the base station such as timing advance group information for both a serving cell and a neighboring cell, in order to optimize transmission time for UL signals sent by the UE to be within the receive windows at both the serving cell and the neighboring cell for coordinated multi-point reception to improve UL performance.
Regarding claim 2, Lin discloses wherein the TA comprises at least one of the following: a time advance indication, or an advance time for uplink transmission relative to a downlink reference signal by the terminal device ([0064] discloses the TA may be based on a TA value (i.e. an advance time) for transmitting a HARQ feedback report through a PUCCH, wherein the TA value is equal to twice a calculated propagation delay that is based on (i.e. relative to) a GNSS timing provided in a downlink DCI (i.e. relative to a downlink reference signal).).
Regarding claim 3, Lin discloses wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following: a reference signal received power (RSRP) ([0060] discloses the UE determines a TA value based on an RSRP measurement.;
a reference signal time difference (RSTD) (optional);
a synchronization signal block (SSB) ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) received in the downlink.);
a downlink synchronization time of one or more cells ([0064] discloses that the TA value may be based on a GNSS timing transmitted in a downlink DCI.);
a downlink reference time of one or more cells ([0057] discloses that the TA value may be based on a downlink reception timing.); or
the fingerprint information collected by the terminal device (optional).
Regarding claim 20, Lin discloses a wireless communication method comprising: receiving, by the network device, an uplink signal from the terminal device (Fig 3 and [0021] & [0076] disclose a method wherein a serving node (i.e. a network device) receives a HARQ information report from a UE on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). [0032] discloses that the UE can communicate to the serving node over wireless communication channels.);
wherein the uplink signal is transmitted based on the TA of the terminal device ([0060] discloses that the UE determines a TA value based on an RSRP measurement. Fig 3 & [0076] disclose that the UE transmits the HARQ information report according to a timing value based on the TA value), and
wherein the at least one of the TA or a TA adjustment value of the TA are determined by the terminal device based on first information associated with one or more of the following: a downlink measurement amount ([0060] discloses that the UE determines a TA value based on an RSRP measurement (i.e. first information associated with a measurement amount).);
downlink synchronization related information ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) received in the downlink.);
a downlink reference time ([0064] discloses that the TA value may be based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) timing provided via a downlink DCI.); or
fingerprint information collected by the terminal device (optional).
Lin fails to disclose but Seo teaches sending, by a network device, configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a timing advance (TA) (Fig 18 & [0294]-[0297] discloses a base station (i.e. network device) sending TA configuration information to a UE, wherein the UE adjusts uplink transmission timing (i.e. actively adjusts a TA) based on the received TA configuration information.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a wireless communication method comprising receiving, by the network device, an uplink signal from the terminal device, wherein the uplink signal is transmitted based on the TA of the terminal device, as disclosed by Lin, and sending, by a network device, configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a timing advance (TA), as taught by Seo. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on configuration information sent from the base station such as timing advance group information, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Lin fails to disclose but Tseng further teaches wherein the at least one of the TA or a TA adjustment value of the TA are determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device ([0008] discloses a UE determining a Timing advance (TA) for a neighboring cell based on a timing difference D between a service cell and the neighbor cell and an estimated timing advance of the neighbor cell (TA’).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have a wireless communication method comprising: sending, by a network device, configuration information to a terminal device, wherein the configuration information configures the terminal device to actively adjust a timing advance (TA); and receiving, by the network device, an uplink signal from the terminal device, wherein the uplink signal is transmitted based on the TA of the terminal device, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo, wherein the at least one of the TA or a TA adjustment value of the TA are determined based on a service cell of the terminal device and a neighboring cell of the terminal device, as further taught by Tseng. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on configuration information sent from the base station such as timing advance group information for both a serving cell and a neighboring cell, in order to optimize transmission time for UL signals sent by the UE to be within the receive windows at both the serving cell and the neighboring cell for coordinated multi-point reception to improve UL performance.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Zhou et al. (US 2024/0073843)(herein after “Zhou”) and Zhang et al. (US 2022/0078739)(herein after “Zhang”).
Regarding claim 4, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng disclose the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to disclose but Zhou further teaches wherein the first information includes a variation of a RSRP, wherein the at least one of TA adjustment value or the TA are determined based on the variation of the RSRP (Fig 7 & [0089] disclose that a UE may utilize a change in RSRP measurement (i.e. first information including a variation in RSRP) to determine a TA change.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin and Seo and Tseng, wherein the first information includes a variation of a RSRP, wherein the at least one of TA adjustment value or the TA are determined based on the variation of the RSRP, as further taught by Zhou. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSRP, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Lin fails to disclose but Zhang further teaches of second information that indicates a relationship between the variation of the RSRP and a TA change ratio (Table 2 & [0070]-[0071] discloses a relationship between a change in RSRP and a TA change (i.e. a TA change ratio). Specifically, Table 2 shows a relationship between change in RSRP and a TA change (i.e. second information) such that:
when a UE is 100-200m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 0.67 ms TA change;
when a UE is 200-400m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 1.33 ms TA change;
when a UE is 400-800m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 2.67 ms TA change; and
when a UE is 800-1600m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 5.34 ms TA change.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes a variation of a RSRP, wherein the at least one of TA adjustment value or the TA are determined based on the variation of the RSRP, as disclosed by Lin in view Seo and Tseng and Zhou, and based on second information that indicates a relationship between the variation of the RSRP and a TA change ratio, as further taught by Zhang. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSRP, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, and based on the current TA value and a table stored in the UE providing a relationship between a change in RSRP to a TA change, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Regarding claim 5, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Zhou and Zhang disclose the method according to claim 4.
Lin fails to disclose but Zhang further teaches wherein the second information comprises multiple types of information that respectively indicate relationships between the variation of the RSRP and the TA change ratio, and wherein the multiple types of information correspond to multiple area locations within a coverage range of the network device (Table 2 & [0070]-[0071] discloses a relationship between a change in RSRP and a TA change (i.e. a TA change ratio) based on distances that a UE is from a base station. Specifically, Table 2 shows a relationship between change in RSRP and a TA change (i.e. second information) such that:
when a UE is 100-200m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 0.67 ms TA change;
when a UE is 200-400m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 1.33 ms TA change;
when a UE is 400-800m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 2.67 ms TA change; and
when a UE is 800-1600m from a BS, a 6 dB change in RSRP leads to a 5.34 ms TA change.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 4, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Zhou and Zhang, wherein the second information comprises multiple types of information that respectively indicate relationships between the variation of the RSRP and the TA change ratio, and wherein the multiple types of information correspond to multiple area locations within a coverage range of the network device, as further taught by Zhang. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSRP, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, and based on the current TA value indicating an approximate distance of the UE from the base station and a table stored in the UE providing a relationship between a change in RSRP to a TA change based on approximated distance of the UE from the base station, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Regarding claim 6, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Zhou and Zhang disclose the method according to claim 4.
Lin fails to disclose but Zhang further teaches wherein the second information is associated with one of the following:
a validity area of the terminal device (Fig 4 & [0163] disclose a communication system, in accordance with the eNodeB (e.g. 412a in fig 4) and UE (e.g. 492 in fig 4) related to Table 2, defining a coverage area 413a (i.e. a validity area of UE 492); or
an uplink transmission validity area of the terminal device (Fig 4 & [0163] disclose a communication system, in accordance with the eNodeB (e.g. 412a in fig 4) and UE (e.g. 492 in fig 4) related to Table 2, defining a coverage area 413a (i.e. a validity area of UE 492) for which the UE 492 is wirelessly connectable to base station 412a (i.e. an uplink transmission validity area of UE 492).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 4, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Zhou and Zhang, wherein the second information is associated with one of the following: a validity area of the terminal device; or an uplink transmission validity area of the terminal device, as further taught by Zhang. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSRP, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, and based on the current TA value indicating an approximate distance of the UE from the base station, and a table stored in the UE providing a relationship between a change in RSRP to a TA change based on approximated distance of the UE from the base station and the UE being in a validity area of the UE, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”), as applied to claim 1, in further view of Keating et al. (US 2022/0094508)(herein after “Keating”).
Regarding claim 7, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng disclose the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to disclose but Keating further teaches wherein the first information comprises a variation of a RSTD ([0035] disclose a UE adjusting a TA using a change in RSTD.), and wherein the method further comprises:
sending, by the terminal device, a first message to the network device, wherein and the first message is configured to report the RSTD and the first message comprises first indication information to indicate one or more of the following: whether the terminal device has adjusted the TA ([0036] discloses the UE may inform a serving gNB (i.e. a network device) of the change in TA (i.e. an indication that the UE has adjusted the TA) through reserved bits in a PUR transmission (i.e. a first message comprising first indication information), and may send the RSTD measured.);
the TA adjustment value ([0036] discloses the UE may send the new TA which may be a new TA value.); or
the TA ([0036] discloses the UE may send the new TA .).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng, wherein the first information comprises a variation of a RSTD, and wherein the method further comprises: sending, by the terminal device, a first message to the network device, wherein and the first message is configured to report the RSTD and the first message comprises first indication information to indicate one or more of the following: whether the terminal device has adjusted the TA; the TA adjustment value; or the TA, as further taught by Keating. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, and wherein the UE sends a report to the base station with the RSTD, an indication that the TA has been adjusted and the adjusted TA or adjusted TA value, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station so that the report can be successfully received by the base station and used for net-work based geolocation (e.g. finding a 911 caller).
Claims 8 & 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Keating et al. (US 2022/0094508)(herein after “Keating”) and Schacht et al. (Alexander W. Schacht, Thesis: “Position Estimate Fidelity from TAG Multilateration Attack within the 5G Environment”, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2021.)(herein after “Schacht”).
Regarding claim 8, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng disclose the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to discloses but Keating teaches wherein at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a variation of the RSTD ([0035] disclose a UE adjusting a TA using a change in RSTD.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng, wherein at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a variation of the RSTD, as taught by Keating. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Lin fails to disclose but Schacht further teaches wherein at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a unit distance associated with a subcarrier spacing (Page 12 & Table 2.1 discloses a TA adjustment resolution in meters (i.e. a unit distance) associated with a subcarrier spacing.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is determined based on a variation of the RSTD, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Keating, wherein at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA is also determined based on a unit distance associated with a subcarrier spacing, as further taught by Schacht. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, wherein the TA adjustment is based on a resolution distance related to a subcarrier spacing, in order to make more accurate and more granular TA changes for larger subcarrier spacings that inherently have shorter slot durations, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Regarding claim 9, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Keating and Schacht disclose the method according to claim 8.
Lin fails to disclose but Schacht further teaches wherein TA adjustment value is determined based on the variation of the RSTD divided by the unit distance (Pages 12-13, Table 2.1 & fig. 2.8 discloses a TA adjustment resolution in meters (i.e. a unit distance) associated with a subcarrier spacing, demonstrating that TA adjustments are based on subcarrier spacings relative to distance resolutions (i.e. a unit distance) based on.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 8, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Keating and Schacht, wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on the variation of the RSTD divided by the unit distance, as further taught by Schacht. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, wherein the TA adjustment is relative to a resolution distance based on a subcarrier spacing, in order to make more accurate and more granular TA changes for larger subcarrier spacings that inherently have shorter slot durations, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”) and Keating et al. (US 2022/0094508)(herein after “Keating”) and of Schacht et al. (Alexander W. Schacht, Thesis: “Position Estimate Fidelity from TAG Multilateration Attack within the 5G Environment”, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2021.)(herein after “Schacht”), as applied to claim 8, and further in view of Manolakos et al. (US 2024/0340094)(herein after “Manolakos”).
Regarding claim 10, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Keating and Schacht disclose the method according to claim 8.
Lin fails to disclose but Manolakos further teaches wherein the terminal device reselects from a first cell to a second cell ([0007] discloses a UE reselecting from a first cell to a second cell based on a change in downlink reference timing.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 8, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Keating and Schacht, wherein the terminal device reselects from a first cell to a second cell, as further taught by Manolakos. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE, in communication with a first base station providing service to the UE, to perform reselection to a second base station upon determining that a downlink reference timing has changed, in order to be prepared to access the second base station, that likely provides better coverage and performance based on the change in downlink reference timing, when needing to send or receive data.
Lin fails to disclose but Schacht further teaches wherein the unit distance corresponds to the second cell (Pages 8, 11-12, Table 2.1 & fig 2.4 disclose that a TA may be associated with up to four RRHs in different cells. Thus, the TA adjustment resolution in meters (i.e. a unit distance) in Table 2.1 may correspond to both a serving cell and up to three neighboring cells (i.e. at least a second cell).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device reselects from a first cell to a second cell, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng Keating and Schacht and Manolakos, wherein the unit distance corresponds to the second cell, as further taught by Schacht. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE, in communication with a first base station providing service to the UE, to perform reselection to a second base station upon determining that a downlink reference timing has changed, and determines a TA based on a unit distance in the second base station, in order to be prepared to access the second base station, that likely provides better coverage and performance based on the change in downlink reference timing, using a more accurate TA based on the second base station’s unit distance, when needing to send or receive data, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the second base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the second base station.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Vogedes et al. (US 2024/0063894)(herein after “Vogedes”).
Regarding claim 11, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng disclose the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to disclose but Vogedes further teaches wherein the terminal device reselects from a first cell to a second cell, and at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA corresponds to the second cell ([0123] discloses that during reselection to an NTN cell (i.e. a second cell), UE may report TA information corresponding to the NTN cell.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng, wherein the terminal device reselects from a first cell to a second cell, and at least one of the TA adjustment value or the TA corresponds to the second cell, as further taught by Vogedes. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE, that performs reselection to an NTN cell, to determine a TA corresponding to the NTN cell in order to in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the NTN cell and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the NTN cell.
Claims 12, 14, 15, 18 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Xiao et al. (CN 115038034)(herein after “Xiao”).
Regarding claim 12, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng disclose the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches wherein the first information comprises a synchronization time difference between downlink synchronization times measured by the terminal device at different times ([n0042] discloses M RRUs sending downlink positioning reference signals (DL PRSs) to a UE at different times. [n0048] discloses that the UE detects (i.e. measures) and reports the measurement information of the RRUs corresponding to the DL PRSs received at different points in time. [n0055] discloses that the measurement information includes DL RSTD (i.e. synchronization time differences between PRSs measured between different RRUs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng, wherein the first information comprises a synchronization time difference between downlink synchronization times measured by the terminal device at different times, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE to measure time differences between DL PRSs from multiple different RRUs sent at different times to determine TAs corresponding to the multiple RRUs in order be prepared to reselect and access any of the RRUs using a more accurate TA corresponding to the PRS measured by the RRU reselected to, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the reselected to RRU and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the reselected RRU.
Regarding claim 14, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao disclose the method according to claim 12.
Lin discloses wherein the downlink synchronization time is determined based on a SSB measurement ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) (i.e. a synchronization time) received in the downlink (e.g. of a first cell).).
Regarding claim 15, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng discloses the method according to claim 1.
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches wherein the first information comprises a time difference between a downlink synchronization time of a first cell and a downlink synchronization time of a second cell ([n0042] discloses M RRUs sending downlink positioning reference signals (DL PRSs) to a UE at different times. [n0048] discloses that the UE detects (i.e. measures) and reports the measurement information of the RRUs corresponding to the DL PRSs received at different points in time. Thus disclosed is a UE measuring a time difference between a PRS from a first RRU (i.e. first cell) and a PRS from a second RRU (i.e. second cell).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 1, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng, wherein the first information comprises a time difference between a downlink synchronization time of a first cell and a downlink synchronization time of a second cell, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE to measure DL PRSs from multiple different RRUs sent at different times to determine TAs corresponding to the multiple RRUs in order be prepared to reselect and access any of the RRUs using a more accurate TA corresponding to the PRS measured by the RRU reselected to, in order to in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the reselected to RRU and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the reselected RRU.
Regarding claim 18, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao disclose the method according to claim 15.
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches wherein in a case that the terminal device reselects from the first cell to the second cell, the TA is determined based on the downlink synchronization time of the second cell ([n0042] discloses M RRUs sending downlink positioning reference signals (DL PRSs) to a UE at different times. [n0048] discloses that the UE detects (i.e. measures) and reports the measurement information of the RRUs corresponding to the DL PRSs received at different points in time. Thus disclosed is a UE measuring a time difference between a PRS from a first RRU (i.e. first cell) and a PRS from a second RRU (i.e. second cell), which may be used by the UE to determine and report a TA.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 15, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao, wherein in a case that the terminal device reselects from the first cell to the second cell, the TA is determined based on the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE, that reselects from a first RRU to a second RRU, to measure the DL PRS from the second RRU to determine a TA corresponding to the second RRUs based on the DL PRS of the second RRU, in order be prepared to reselect and access the second RRU using a more accurate TA corresponding to the PRS measured by the second RRU, in order to in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the second RRU and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the reselected RRU.
Regarding claim 19, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao disclose the method according to claim 15.
Lin discloses wherein the downlink synchronization time of the first cell is determined based on a SSB measurement of the first cell ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) (i.e. a synchronization time) received in the downlink (e.g. of a first cell).); or the downlink synchronization time of the second cell is determined based on a SSB measurement of the second cell ([0027] discloses that the TA value may be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) (i.e. a synchronization time) received in the downlink (e.g. of a second cell).).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”) and Xiao et al. (CN 115038034)(herein after “Xiao”), as applied to claim 15, and further in view of Keating et al. (US 2022/0094508)(herein after “Keating”).
Regarding claim 16, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao disclose the method according to claim 15.
Lin fails to disclose but Keating further teaches wherein the TA adjustment value and/or the TA are determined based on the time difference ([0035] disclose a UE adjusting a TA using a change in RSTD (i.e. a time difference).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 15, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao, wherein the TA adjustment value and/or the TA are determined based on the time difference, as further taught by Keating. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the base station, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches wherein the determining is also based on an offset between a transmission time of the downlink reference signal of the first cell and a transmission time of the downlink reference signal of the second cell ([n0046] discloses that there may be a different offsets for each of the M PRSs sent by the different RRUs. Thus, the UE would determine any TA adjustment based on PRSs measured on two different RRUs by taking into account the offset between the transmission of time of the PRS on a first RRU and the transmission time of the PRS on a second RRU.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 15, wherein the TA adjustment value and/or the TA are determined based on the time difference, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao and Keating, wherein the determining is also based on an offset between a transmission time of the downlink reference signal of the first cell and a transmission time of the downlink reference signal of the second cell, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, that has performed a reselection from a first cell to a second cell, to adjust a TA based on measuring a change in RSTD, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the second cell, that is also based on an offset between a transmission time of a PRS sent on the first cell and a PRS sent on the second cell, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the second cell and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the second cell.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”) and Xiao et al. (CN 115038034)(herein after “Xiao”), as applied to claim 12, and further in view of Schacht et al. (Alexander W. Schacht, Thesis: “Position Estimate Fidelity from TAG Multilateration Attack within the 5G Environment”, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2021.)(herein after “Schacht”).
Regarding claim 13, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao discloses the method according to claim 12
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches of the synchronization time difference ([n0042] discloses M RRUs sending downlink positioning reference signals (DL PRSs) to a UE at different times. [n0048] discloses that the UE detects (i.e. measures) and reports the measurement information of the RRUs corresponding to the DL PRSs received at different points in time. [n0055] discloses that the measurement information includes DL RSTD (i.e. synchronization time differences between PRSs measured between different RRUs).).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 12, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao, and the synchronization time difference, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a moving UE to measure time differences between DL PRSs from multiple different RRUs sent at different times to determine TAs corresponding to the multiple RRUs in order be prepared to reselect and access any of the RRUs using a more accurate TA corresponding to the PRS measured by the RRU reselected to, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the reselected to RRU and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the reselected RRU.
Lin fails to disclose but Schacht further teaches wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on the synchronization time difference divided by a unit distance; wherein the unit distance is associated with a subcarrier spacing (Pages 12-13, Table 2.1 & fig. 2.8 discloses a TA adjustment resolution in meters (i.e. a unit distance) associated with a subcarrier spacing, demonstrating that TA adjustments are relative to distance resolutions (i.e. a unit distance) based on a subcarrier spacing.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 12, and the synchronization time difference, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao, wherein the TA adjustment value is determined based on the synchronization time difference divided by a unit distance; wherein the unit distance is associated with a subcarrier spacing, as further taught by Schacht. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a time difference between PRSs sent on different RRUs, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the RRUs, wherein the TA adjustment is relative to a resolution distance based on a subcarrier spacing, in order to make more accurate and more granular TA changes for larger subcarrier spacings that inherently have shorter slot durations, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al. (US 2022/0368471)(herein after “Lin”) in view of Seo et al. (US 2016/0219547)(herein after “Seo”) and Tseng et al. (US 2023/0102742)(herein after “Tseng”) and Xiao et al. (CN 115038034)(herein after “Xiao”) and Keating et al. (US 2022/0094508)(herein after “Keating”), as applied to claim 16, and further in view of Schacht et al. (Alexander W. Schacht, Thesis: “Position Estimate Fidelity from TAG Multilateration Attack within the 5G Environment”, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2021.)(herein after “Schacht”).
Regarding claim 17, Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao and Keating disclose the method according to claim 16.
Lin fails to disclose but Xiao further teaches of (t1-t0-d); wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, and d represents the offset ([n0042] discloses RRUs sending downlink positioning reference signals (DL PRSs) to a UE at different times. [n0048] discloses that the UE detects (i.e. measures) and reports the measurement information of the RRUs corresponding to the DL PRSs received at different points in time. [n0055] discloses that the measurement information includes DL RSTD (i.e. synchronization time differences between PRSs measured between different RRUs). [n0046] discloses that there may be a different offsets for each of the M PRSs sent by the different RRUs. Thus, the UE would determine any TA adjustment based on PRSs measured on two different RRUs by taking into account the offset between the transmission of time of the PRS on a first RRU and the transmission time of the PRS on a second RRU. For example, the UE would determine an RSTD between a first RRU and a second RRU as the difference between (a) the PRS of the second RRU and (b) the PRS of the first RRU and the offset between the PRS of the first RRU and the PRS of the second RRU.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 16, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao and Keating, and (t1-t0-d); wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, and d represents the offset, as further taught by Xiao. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, that has performed a reselection from a first cell to a second cell, to adjust a TA based on measuring a difference in synchronization time between the first and second cell, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the second cell, wherein the difference in synchronization time also includes an offset between a transmission time of a PRS sent on the first cell and a PRS sent on the second cell, in order to make more accurate TA changes to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the second cell and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the second cell.
Lin fails to disclose but Schacht further teaches wherein the TA adjustment value is based on (t1-t0-d) divided by a unit distance; wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, d represents the offset, and the unit distance is determined based on a subcarrier spacing (Pages 12-13, Table 2.1 & fig. 2.8 discloses a TA adjustment resolution in meters (i.e. a unit distance) associated with a subcarrier spacing, demonstrating that TA adjustments are relative to distance resolutions (i.e. a unit distance) based on a subcarrier spacing.).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the method according to claim 16, and (t1-t0-d); wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, and d represents the offset, as disclosed by Lin in view of Seo and Tseng and Xiao and Keating, wherein the TA adjustment value is based on (t1-t0-d) divided by a unit distance; wherein t1 represents the downlink synchronization time of the second cell, t0 represents the downlink synchronization time of the first cell, d represents the offset, and the unit distance is determined based on a subcarrier spacing, as further taught by Schacht. The motivation to do so would have been to have a method for a fast moving UE, in communication with a base station providing service to the UE, to adjust a TA based on measuring a difference in synchronization time between the first and second cell, rather than waiting for a TA adjustment command from the second cell, wherein the difference in synchronization time also includes an offset between a transmission time of a PRS sent on the first cell and a PRS sent on the second cell, and wherein the TA adjustment is relative to a resolution distance based on a subcarrier spacing, in order to make more accurate and more accurate and granular TA changes for larger subcarrier spacings that inherently have shorter slot durations, in order to avoid uplink transmissions by the UE arriving very early or very late at the base station and causing interference to other UE transmissions to the base station..
Conclusion
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Corley et al. (US 12382412) discloses a Method for Determining Transmission Timing Among Nodes of a Network.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/JAMES P SEYMOUR/ Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419
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