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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 5/1/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1-8 are pending.
Claims 1-8 stand rejected.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a first connection authority administration unit that administrates”, “a second connection authority administration unit that administrates”, “a connection control unit that restricts”, “an estimation unit that estimates”, and “a connection history information retention unit that retains” in Claim 1, and “an overlapping area identification unit that identifies” and “the connection control unit … causes” in Claim 2, and “the first connection authority administration unit administrates” and “the second connection authority administration unit administrates” in Claim 3, and “the first connection authority administration unit and the second connection authority administration unit registers” in Claim 4, and “the second connection authority administration unit registers” in Claim 5, and “an estimation unit that estimates” in Claim 7, and “an estimation unit that estimates” in Claim 8.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu et al. (Pub. No.: US 20180241463 A1) in view of Wei et al. (Pub. No.: US 20210297923 A1) and Singh et al. (Pub. No.: US 20140274195 A1), hereafter respectively referred to as Lu, Wei, and Singh.
In regard to Claim 1, Lu teaches A communication control apparatus comprising: a first connection authority of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143) to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches a second connection authority administration unit (short-distance radio broadcasting technology in the airborne cabins or aircrafts, Para. 154, FIG. 4) that administrates a second connection authority (In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 142, 143, FIG. 4) of a communication device (When in the In-Flight mode, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device checks whether the WLAN.Air radio transmission technology (RTT) is available for the in-flight connection. If available, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device is set in the WLAN.Air connection mode, Para. 144, FIG. 4) to a flying non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches a connection control unit (The In-Flight Pilot Signal is broadcasted to the OWA Mobile Device by certain short-distance radio broadcasting technology in the airborne cabins or aircrafts, Para. 154, FIG. 4) that restricts the connection of a communication device (After the aircraft gets ready for takeoff or in flight, an In-Flight Pilot Signal will be broadcasted to all the OWA mobile devices or mobile notebooks in the aircraft cabins, Para. 142, FIG. 4. The OWA Mobile Device immediately turns off all the terrestrial radio transceivers of the device, and switch to the In-Flight Mode accordingly, Para. 143, FIG. 4) that does not have the first connection authority to the terrestrial base station (the In-Flight Pilot signal received by the OWA mobile device or computer will immediately turn off all the terrestrial radio transceivers in the device or computer and switch to the In-Flight mode, Para. 47).
Lu teaches restricts the connection of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143, FIG. 4. Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46) that does not have the second connection authority (does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 143, FIG. 4) to the non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches the base station of one type (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches the base station of another type (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Although Lu teaches a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground, Lu fails to teach a first connection authority administration unit that administrates a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station, and Lu fails to teach an estimation unit that estimates a connection status of the communication device by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device in an overlapping area from the communication device, the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
Wei teaches a first connection authority administration unit (processor circuitry 318b (which may also be referred to as a processor/processor unit) configured to control the terrestrial base station 318, Para. 74, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) that administrates a first connection authority (terrestrial base station 318 generates a terrestrial cell 212, in which communications devices (such as the communications device 208 may obtain service via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface may operate in accordance with LTE or 5G principles, Para. 66, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) of a communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) to a terrestrial base station (terrestrial base station 318, Para. 153, FIGS. 3, 7, 8).
Wei teaches an estimation unit (As shown in FIG. 3, the non-terrestrial base station 101 comprises processor circuitry 101b (which may also be referred to as a processor/processor unit) configured to control the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 70, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) that estimates a connection status (the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8. At step 906, the non-terrestrial base station 101 determines that the communications device 208 is within a region where the coverage of the non-terrestrial cell 202 generated by the non-terrestrial network part 308 and the coverage of the terrestrial cell 212 generated by the terrestrial base station 318 overlap, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) of the communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device (in respect of step 710, the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8) in an overlapping area (the location of the communications device 208 is within the overlapping region, Para. 148, FIGS. 6-8) from the communication device (communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8), the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wei with the teachings of Lu since Wei provides a technique for determining when a communications device connects to a non-terrestrial network and a terrestrial base station, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu to ensure a mobile device in an aircraft cabin obtains instructions to implement connections through a ground cellular network when inflight wireless capabilities involving satellite communications are unavailable.
Although Lu in view of Wei teaches the base station of one type and the base station of another type, Lu in view of Wei fails to teach a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type, and prevents frequent area change notifications based on the retained connection history information.
Singh teaches a connection history information retention unit (the mobility metric determiner component 310, Para. 33, FIG. 3) that retains connection history information (the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) to the base station of one type (the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) in response to the connection destination of the communication device (the mobility metric may be based on a number of ping-pong handovers between adjacent cells. This information may be obtained from the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) in the overlapping area (the overlap between small cells, Para. 31, FIG. 2) being changed from the base station of one type (the primary goals for dynamic power regulation of a small cell may be, in one aspect, to increase the offload from the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) to the base station of another type (to the small cells, Para. 30, FIG. 1), and prevents frequent area change notifications (ping-pong handovers between neighboring small cells increase signaling load at the neighboring nodes, Para. 27, FIG. 1. Minimize ping-pong handovers and connection failures between neighboring small cells (and macrocells), Para. 30, FIG. 1. At step 63, the method 60 includes increasing the transmit power of the cell to decrease the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C) based on the retained connection history information (at step 61, the method 60 includes determining at least one mobility metric of a small cell based on the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Singh with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei since Singh provides a technique for utilizing UE History Information to manage handover between cells to prevent highly frequent handovers, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei to permit management of signaling for wireless connection changes between different types of wireless networks based on connection histories of mobile devices.
In regard to Claim 6, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Lu in view of Wei and Singh teaches the non-terrestrial base station.
Lu fails to teach the non-terrestrial base station is a communication satellite flying in outer space.
Wei teaches the non-terrestrial base station is a communication satellite flying in outer space (The non-terrestrial network part 308 may be a satellite in an orbit with respect to the Earth. The satellite may be in a geo-stationary earth orbit. The geo-stationary earth orbit may be approximately 36,000 km above the Earth's equator, Para. 53, FIGS. 3, 7, 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wei with the teachings of Lu since Wei provides a technique for determining when a communications device connects to a non-terrestrial network and a terrestrial base station, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu to ensure a mobile device in an aircraft cabin obtains instructions to implement connections through a ground cellular network when inflight wireless capabilities involving satellite communications are unavailable.
In regard to Claim 7, Lu teaches A communication control method comprising: a first connection authority of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143) to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches administrating (short-distance radio broadcasting technology in the airborne cabins or aircrafts, Para. 154, FIG. 4) a second connection authority (In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 142, 143, FIG. 4) of a communication device (When in the In-Flight mode, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device checks whether the WLAN.Air radio transmission technology (RTT) is available for the in-flight connection. If available, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device is set in the WLAN.Air connection mode, Para. 144, FIG. 4) to a flying non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches restricting the connection of a communication device (After the aircraft gets ready for takeoff or in flight, an In-Flight Pilot Signal will be broadcasted to all the OWA mobile devices or mobile notebooks in the aircraft cabins, Para. 142, FIG. 4. The OWA Mobile Device immediately turns off all the terrestrial radio transceivers of the device, and switch to the In-Flight Mode accordingly, Para. 143, FIG. 4) that does not have the first connection authority to the terrestrial base station (the In-Flight Pilot signal received by the OWA mobile device or computer will immediately turn off all the terrestrial radio transceivers in the device or computer and switch to the In-Flight mode, Para. 47).
Lu teaches restricting the connection of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143, FIG. 4. Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46) that does not have the second connection authority (does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 143, FIG. 4) to the non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches the base station of one type (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches the base station of another type (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Although Lu teaches a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground, Lu fails to teach administrating a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station, and Lu fails to teach an estimation unit that estimates a connection status of the communication device by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device in an overlapping area from the communication device, the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
Wei teaches administrating a first connection authority (terrestrial base station 318 generates a terrestrial cell 212, in which communications devices (such as the communications device 208 may obtain service via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface may operate in accordance with LTE or 5G principles, Para. 66, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) of a communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) to a terrestrial base station (terrestrial base station 318, Para. 153, FIGS. 3, 7, 8).
Wei teaches an estimation unit (As shown in FIG. 3, the non-terrestrial base station 101 comprises processor circuitry 101b (which may also be referred to as a processor/processor unit) configured to control the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 70, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) that estimates a connection status (the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8. At step 906, the non-terrestrial base station 101 determines that the communications device 208 is within a region where the coverage of the non-terrestrial cell 202 generated by the non-terrestrial network part 308 and the coverage of the terrestrial cell 212 generated by the terrestrial base station 318 overlap, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) of the communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device (in respect of step 710, the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8) in an overlapping area (the location of the communications device 208 is within the overlapping region, Para. 148, FIGS. 6-8) from the communication device (communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8), the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wei with the teachings of Lu since Wei provides a technique for determining when a communications device connects to a non-terrestrial network and a terrestrial base station, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu to ensure a mobile device in an aircraft cabin obtains instructions to implement connections through a ground cellular network when inflight wireless capabilities involving satellite communications are unavailable.
Although Lu in view of Wei teaches the base station of one type and the base station of another type, Lu in view of Wei fails to teach a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type, and prevents frequent area change notifications based on the retained connection history information.
Singh teaches a connection history information retention unit (the mobility metric determiner component 310, Para. 33, FIG. 3) that retains connection history information (the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) to the base station of one type (the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) in response to the connection destination of the communication device (the mobility metric may be based on a number of ping-pong handovers between adjacent cells. This information may be obtained from the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) in the overlapping area (the overlap between small cells, Para. 31, FIG. 2) being changed from the base station of one type (the primary goals for dynamic power regulation of a small cell may be, in one aspect, to increase the offload from the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) to the base station of another type (to the small cells, Para. 30, FIG. 1), and prevents frequent area change notifications (ping-pong handovers between neighboring small cells increase signaling load at the neighboring nodes, Para. 27, FIG. 1. Minimize ping-pong handovers and connection failures between neighboring small cells (and macrocells), Para. 30, FIG. 1. At step 63, the method 60 includes increasing the transmit power of the cell to decrease the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C) based on the retained connection history information (at step 61, the method 60 includes determining at least one mobility metric of a small cell based on the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Singh with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei since Singh provides a technique for utilizing UE History Information to manage handover between cells to prevent highly frequent handovers, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei to permit management of signaling for wireless connection changes between different types of wireless networks based on connection histories of mobile devices.
In regard to Claim 8, Lu teaches A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a communication control program (e) processor and memory in the ATG client to process airborne mobile handover protocol when connecting the NRA with the Ground Cell, f) processor and memory in the mesh client to process mesh networking protocol when connecting the NRA with the airport through the MRA, Para. 231-232) causing a computer to perform: a first connection authority of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143) to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches administrating (short-distance radio broadcasting technology in the airborne cabins or aircrafts, Para. 154, FIG. 4) a second connection authority (In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 142, 143, FIG. 4) of a communication device (When in the In-Flight mode, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device checks whether the WLAN.Air radio transmission technology (RTT) is available for the in-flight connection. If available, the OWA.inFlight Mobile Device is set in the WLAN.Air connection mode, Para. 144, FIG. 4) to a flying non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches restricting the connection of a communication device (After the aircraft gets ready for takeoff or in flight, an In-Flight Pilot Signal will be broadcasted to all the OWA mobile devices or mobile notebooks in the aircraft cabins, Para. 142, FIG. 4. The OWA Mobile Device immediately turns off all the terrestrial radio transceivers of the device, and switch to the In-Flight Mode accordingly, Para. 143, FIG. 4) that does not have the first connection authority to the terrestrial base station (the In-Flight Pilot signal received by the OWA mobile device or computer will immediately turn off all the terrestrial radio transceivers in the device or computer and switch to the In-Flight mode, Para. 47).
Lu teaches restricting the connection of a communication device (If the OWA Mobile Device does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, it remains in the Terrestrial mode with the Ground cellular networks, Para. 143, FIG. 4. Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46) that does not have the second connection authority (does not receive the In-Flight Pilot Signal, Para. 143, FIG. 4) to the non-terrestrial base station (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Lu teaches the base station of one type (Ground cellular base stations in some cellular networks, Para. 46).
Lu teaches the base station of another type (Inside the aircraft cabins, OWA.onBoard Wireless Router and Access point, Para. 113, FIG. 2).
Although Lu teaches a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station installed on the ground, Lu fails to teach administrating a first connection authority of a communication device to a terrestrial base station, and Lu fails to teach an estimation unit that estimates a connection status of the communication device by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device in an overlapping area from the communication device, the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
Wei teaches administrating a first connection authority (terrestrial base station 318 generates a terrestrial cell 212, in which communications devices (such as the communications device 208 may obtain service via a wireless access interface. The wireless access interface may operate in accordance with LTE or 5G principles, Para. 66, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) of a communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) to a terrestrial base station (terrestrial base station 318, Para. 153, FIGS. 3, 7, 8).
Wei teaches an estimation unit (As shown in FIG. 3, the non-terrestrial base station 101 comprises processor circuitry 101b (which may also be referred to as a processor/processor unit) configured to control the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 70, FIGS. 3, 7, 8) that estimates a connection status (the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8. At step 906, the non-terrestrial base station 101 determines that the communications device 208 is within a region where the coverage of the non-terrestrial cell 202 generated by the non-terrestrial network part 308 and the coverage of the terrestrial cell 212 generated by the terrestrial base station 318 overlap, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) of the communication device (communications device 208, Para. 153, FIG. 7, 8) by acquiring information indicating the connection status or location of the communication device (in respect of step 710, the communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8) in an overlapping area (the location of the communications device 208 is within the overlapping region, Para. 148, FIGS. 6-8) from the communication device (communications device 208 periodically determines its location and reports these in location reports 902, 904, which are transmitted to the non-terrestrial base station 101, Para. 152, FIGS. 7, 8), the terrestrial base station, the non-terrestrial base station, or a core network.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wei with the teachings of Lu since Wei provides a technique for determining when a communications device connects to a non-terrestrial network and a terrestrial base station, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu to ensure a mobile device in an aircraft cabin obtains instructions to implement connections through a ground cellular network when inflight wireless capabilities involving satellite communications are unavailable.
Although Lu in view of Wei teaches the base station of one type and the base station of another type, Lu in view of Wei fails to teach a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type, and prevents frequent area change notifications based on the retained connection history information.
Singh teaches a connection history information retention unit (the mobility metric determiner component 310, Para. 33, FIG. 3) that retains connection history information (the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) to the base station of one type (the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) in response to the connection destination of the communication device (the mobility metric may be based on a number of ping-pong handovers between adjacent cells. This information may be obtained from the "UE History Information" information element (IE), Para. 33, FIG. 3) in the overlapping area (the overlap between small cells, Para. 31, FIG. 2) being changed from the base station of one type (the primary goals for dynamic power regulation of a small cell may be, in one aspect, to increase the offload from the macrocell, Para. 30, FIG. 1) to the base station of another type (to the small cells, Para. 30, FIG. 1), and prevents frequent area change notifications (ping-pong handovers between neighboring small cells increase signaling load at the neighboring nodes, Para. 27, FIG. 1. Minimize ping-pong handovers and connection failures between neighboring small cells (and macrocells), Para. 30, FIG. 1. At step 63, the method 60 includes increasing the transmit power of the cell to decrease the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C) based on the retained connection history information (at step 61, the method 60 includes determining at least one mobility metric of a small cell based on the number of ping-pong handovers, Para. 43, FIG. 4C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Singh with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei since Singh provides a technique for utilizing UE History Information to manage handover between cells to prevent highly frequent handovers, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei to permit management of signaling for wireless connection changes between different types of wireless networks based on connection histories of mobile devices.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu in view of Wei, Singh, and further in view of Miyagawa et al. (Pub. No.: US 20160345189 A1), hereafter referred to as Miyagawa.
In regard to Claim 2, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Lu in view of Wei and Singh teaches the terrestrial base station.
Lu in view of Wei and Singh fails to teach an overlapping area identification unit that identifies an overlapping area of a terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the terrestrial base station and a non-terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the non-terrestrial base station, wherein the connection control unit, when a communication device in the overlapping area has the first connection authority, causes the communication device to connect to the terrestrial base station regardless of whether the communication device has the second connection authority.
Miyagawa teaches an overlapping area identification unit that identifies an overlapping area of a terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the terrestrial base station and a non-terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the non-terrestrial base station (the mobile station apparatus 10 can use the terrestrial cellular mobile communication system and the satellite mobile communication system when locating in an area overlapped between a communicable area 200 (hereinafter referred to as “terrestrial station area”) with the terrestrial cellular base station 20 and a communicable area 400 (hereinafter referred to as “satellite station area”) with the communication relay apparatus 41 of the artificial satellite 40, Para. 50, FIGS. 1, 3A), wherein the connection control unit, when a communication device in the overlapping area (In the common area where the single satellite station area (beam area) 400 and the terrestrial station areas 200 are overlapped, Para. 61, FIGS. 3A, 3B) has the first connection authority (frequencies f2 and f3 are allocated to the radio resource of the satellite mobile communication system used by the satellite base station 30, Para. 61, FIGS. 3A, 3B), causes the communication device to connect to the terrestrial base station regardless of whether the communication device has the second connection authority (the mobile station apparatus 10 communicates with the terrestrial cellular base stations 20 at the frequencies f0 and f1, Para. 61, FIGS. 3A, 3B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Miyagawa with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei and Singh since Miyagawa provides a technique for managing communications of a mobile station in an area overlapped between a terrestrial station area and a satellite station area, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei and Singh to permit mobile device to conduct communications appropriately wherever there’s an overlap of availability between ground cellular networks and satellite station coverage.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu in view of Wei, Singh, and further in view of Anvari (Pub. No.: US 20210306424 A1), hereafter referred to as Anvari.
In regard to Claim 3, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Lu in view of Wei and Singh teaches the first connection authority administration unit.
Lu in view of Wei and Singh fail to teach the first connection authority administration unit administrates the first connection authority of the communication device to a first location registration area including at least one terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the terrestrial base station, and the second connection authority administration unit administrates the second connection authority of the communication device to a second location registration area including at least one non-terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the non-terrestrial base station.
Anvari teaches the first connection authority administration unit administrates the first connection authority of the communication device to a first location registration area including at least one terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the terrestrial base station (SOMC can also assign two independent frames, one to IoT devices attached to (registered with) terrestrial base station, Para. 376, FIGS. 1, 2, 6B), and the second connection authority administration unit administrates the second connection authority of the communication device to a second location registration area including at least one non-terrestrial communication cell provided on the ground by the non-terrestrial base station (another frame to IoT devices that are attached to (registered with) mobile or satellite base stations, Para. 376, FIGS. 1, 2, 6B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Anvari with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei and Singh since Anvari provides a technique for registering devices with respect to coverage areas related to terrestrial base station and satellite base stations, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei and Singh to permit mobile devices to register appropriately based on the communications coverage that are active within.
Claim(s) 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lu in view of Wei, Singh, and further in view of Speidel et al. (Pub. No.: US 20220052753 A1), hereafter referred to as Speidel.
In regard to Claim 4, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Lu in view of Wei and Singh teaches the first connection authority administration unit.
Lu in view of Wei and Singh fails to teach at least one of the first connection authority administration unit and the second connection authority administration unit registers at least one of the first connection authority and the second connection authority based on the legal and/or regulatory information at the location where the communication device is located.
Speidel teaches at least one of the first connection authority administration unit and the second connection authority administration unit registers at least one of the first connection authority and the second connection authority based on the legal and/or regulatory information at the location where the communication device is located (FIG. 32 illustrates how a satellite base station may implement a variation in transmit power to avoid cross border interference of its spotbeam based on regulatory requirements, Para. 141. Satellites are typically constrained to comply with requirements imposed by regulation on the ground and also avoid interference with each other and other terrestrial cells, Para. 172).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Speidel with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei and Singh since Speidel provides a technique for satellite and terrestrial communications to conform to regulations, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei and Singh to ensure mobile devices conduct communications with ground cellular base stations and wireless communications involving satellite communications.
In regard to Claim 5, as presented in the rejection of Claim 1, Lu in view of Wei and Singh teaches the second connection authority administration unit.
Lu in view of Wei and Singh fails to teach the second connection authority administration unit registers the second connection authority based on the legal and/or regulatory information.
Speidel teaches the second connection authority administration unit registers the second connection authority based on the legal and/or regulatory information (Tracking Area Update Triggered by a need for registering with a CS domain for non-EPS service when the UE is already attached for EPS services, Para. 45, Table 1. A Constellation Location Register (CLR) database is a space-based correspondence to the HLR feature, and stores positioning information about UEs and network relevant points of interest. UE positioning information may be updated by the recorded tracking data for each UE, which is stored to be sent to both the CLR and the HSS, Para. 205).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Speidel with the teachings of Lu in view of Wei and Singh since Speidel provides a technique for satellite and terrestrial communications to conform to regulations, which can be introduced into the arrangement of Lu in view of Wei and Singh to ensure mobile devices conduct communications with ground cellular base stations and wireless communications involving satellite communications.
Response to Arguments
I. Arguments for the Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 103
Applicant's arguments filed 5/1/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Page 6 of the Remarks presents the argument that Applicant has amended claim 1, solely for the purpose of expediting prosecution, to recite “a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type, and prevents frequent area change notifications based on the retained connection history information”. This argument is not persuasive. The limitations introduced by the amendment of Claims 1 and 7-8, which are not taught by Lu and Wei, are taught by Singh et al. (Pub. No.: US 20140274195 A1).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Muraoka et al. (Pub. No.: US 20120063317 A1) teaches a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type (the third base station 710 can be provided at a sector boundary so that the cell 708 of the third base station 710 and the sectors overlap each other. In this case, the estimation value correction block 752 corrects the current traffic in the vicinity of the third base station 710 that is estimated from the traffic history 361 by using the number of times of handover between the sectors in the cell 700, wherein the sectors and the cell 708 overlap each other, Para. 116, FIG. 15).
Duan et al. (Pub. No.: US 20160095000 A1) teaches a connection history information retention unit that retains connection history information to the base station of one type in response to the connection destination of the communication device in the overlapping area being changed from the base station of one type to the base station of another type (obtain, from connection history of at least one second mobile device, a handover time and a handover position of each handover before the second mobile device drops the call, Para. 48. A position of the overlapping area can be calculated on the basis of positions of the two base stations and geographical information of the road, and further the handover position can be obtained, Para. 49).
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Joshua Smith
/J.S./
7-10-2025
/CHIRAG G SHAH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2477