DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 7/27/26 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This office action is in response to amendment filed on 7/27/26. Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-12, and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kullstam et al. (US 2012/0068880) in view of QU (CN 111668606A), and further in view of Merrell (US 2022/0416846).
Regarding claim 1, Kullstam teaches a vehicle communication system for a vehicle (mobile platform) (see Fig. 1, item 24; par 37]), comprising:
one or more antennas (first antenna and second antenna) that are disposed on the vehicle and that are configured to implement a plurality of beams, including a first beam (beam of the first antenna) and a second beam (beam of the second antenna) (see “Referring now to FIG. 2, a system 50 for tracking a target includes a dual-band antenna 52. The dual-band antenna 52 includes a first antenna 54 and a second antenna 56 rigidly coupled to the first antenna 54” [par 41] and “The processing system 60 can be configured to control a pointing direction of the dual-band antenna 52, and therefore, a beam of the first antenna 54, and to some degree, a beam of the second antenna 56…” [par 43]); and
a controller (processing system) configured to be communicatively coupled to the one or more antennas (see “The processing system 60 can be configured to control a pointing direction of the dual-band antenna 52, and therefore, a beam of the first antenna 54, and to some degree, a beam of the second antenna 56…” [par 43]), wherein the controller is configured to:
transmit or receive data, using the first beam at a first pointing angle and during a period of time, with one or more external nodes (target) that are external to and not disposed on the vehicle (see “At block 258, the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104) can be used for communication with the target and for tracking the target with the beam of the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104)…” [par 99] which suggests the beam of the first antenna is used to communicate with the target during a period of time that the beam of the first antenna is pointed in a first direction at the target);
adjust the second beam during a period of time (moving the beam) to be oriented at a plurality of pointing angles (fine pointing directions) (see “At block 260, the second antenna 56 (FIGS. 2, 2A, 3) electronically scans in order to acquire the target” [par 101] and “In operation, the second antenna 56 can scan the region 230, for example, by moving the beam 234 of the second antenna 56 among the fine pointing directions in order to seek the target 226” [par 89] wherein the fine pointing directions is defined as “FIG. 5B, a region 230, referred to herein as a "fine region," can be generated about the beam 234…The region 230 can be subdivided in a variety of different ways, for example, with a grid 232 having a plurality of crossing points, e.g., 232a, referred to herein as "fine pointing directions" [par 88]);
receive, based on adjusting the second beam during the period of time, a plurality of sets of signal data (signal power/strength measurements), wherein each set of signal data is detected at a respective pointing angle of the plurality of pointing angles (see “For example, in some embodiments, the selected fine pointing direction is selected based upon a largest signal power received from the target 226 via the second antenna 56” [par 92] and “In some embodiments, a best one of a plurality of pointing directions of the beam of the second antenna 56 can be selected, each of which achieves the acquisition of the target. The selection can be based upon a variety of parameters, including but not limited to a bit error rate (BER) and a signal strength” [par 102] which suggests that a signal power/strength is measured at each pointing direction of the second antenna during the scan (block 260; par 101) in order to select the pointing direction with the largest or best signal power/strength while the beam of the first antenna is still pointed in the first direction);
identify a second pointing angle (largest/best pointing direction) from among the plurality of pointing angles based on the plurality of sets of signal data detected at the plurality of pointing angles during the period of time (see “For example, in some embodiments, the selected fine pointing direction is selected based upon a largest signal power received from the target 226 via the second antenna 56” [par 92] and “In some embodiments, a best one of a plurality of pointing directions of the beam of the second antenna 56 can be selected, each of which achieves the acquisition of the target. The selection can be based upon a variety of parameters, including but not limited to a bit error rate (BER) and a signal strength” [par 102] which suggests that the fine pointing direction with the largest signal power or best communication is identified from among the plurality of pointing angles measured during the scan for the second antenna to communicate with the target while the beam of the first antenna is still pointed in a first direction at the target).
reorient, after the period of time and based on identifying the second pointing angle using the second beam, the first beam from the first pointing angle to the second pointing angle identified using the second beam (see “At block 266, optionally, the pointing direction of the beam of the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104) can be adjusted to more accurately point toward the target by knowing the pointing direction of the beam of the second antenna 56” [par 105] which suggests that the beam of the first antenna is adjusted from the first pointing direction (block 258; par 100) to the selected fine pointing direction of the second antenna during a subsequent period of time); and
transmit or receive data, via the first beam while the first beam is oriented at the second pointing angle, between an external node of one ore more external nodes and an internal node of one or more internal nodes (see “At block 264, the second antenna 56 can be used for communication with the target in place of or in addition to the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104) …” [par 104] and “Once the adjustment is made, the dual-band antenna ( e.g., 52, 74, or 102) achieves the alignment described above in conjunction with FIG. 5C” [par 105] which suggests the first antenna continues communication with the target after adjustment in the pointing direction of the second antenna).
Kullstam teaches that the first beam is reoriented into general alignment with the second beam [par 95], but does not disclose that the first beam is reoriented from the first pointing angle to the second pointing angle identified using the second beam. In an analogous prior art reference, QU teaches a first beam (second antenna array) is reoriented (updated) from a first pointing angle to a second pointing angle (target antenna beam direction) identified using a second beam (first antenna array) (see “The antenna configuration information processing method of this application embodiment controls the first antenna array to perform beam scanning to obtain the target antenna beam direction. The target antenna beam direction refers to the antenna beam direction in the first antenna array when the base station signal strength is greater than a first preset threshold. Based on the target antenna beam direction, the configuration information of each antenna element in the second antenna array is updated, so that the beam of the second antenna array can point to the direction of the stronger signal, thereby improving the communication quality” [par 42] which suggests that a second antenna array is reoriented to a target antenna beam direction identified during a first antenna array scan). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Kullstam to allow the first beam to be reoriented from the first pointing angle to the second pointing angle identified using the second beam, as taught by QU, in order to improve communication quality and because Kullstam discloses the mere possibility that the pointing direction of the first antenna is adjusted to the pointing direction of the second antenna (see “A residual differential pointing error difference 244 may be present after final alignment” [par 95] and “However, it will be recognized that the pointing direction of the beam of the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104) may only be positioned with a certain granularity…” [par 106]).
In the combination of Kullstam and QU, Kullstam teaches wherein the first pointing angle is based at least in part on first data (target position) indicating a first position of the one or more nodes (positions of one or more targets) (see “In a first step shown in FIG. 5, a beam of the first antenna (e.g., 54, 76, or 104 of FIG. 2, 2A, or 3) is first and initially pointed generally toward a target in response to the inertial navigation signal 192 (FIGS. 4, 4A), and/or the GPS signal 194 (FIGS. 4, 4A), and in response to the target position signal 188a (FIGS. 4, 4A)” [0073] and “The processing system 150 can also include a target position database 188, which can contain data representative of positions of one or more targets, for example, satellites, with which the systems 50 or 100 of FIG. 2 or 3, respectively, can communicate. The target position database 188 can be configured to provide a target position signal 188a to the RF tracking processor 182” [0073]) but does not explicitly teach that the first data indicates first coordinates of the one or more external nodes and second data indicating an estimate of second coordinates of the vehicle. In an analogous prior art reference, Merrell teaches a first point angle (initial pointing direction) is based at least in part on first data indicating first coordinates of the one or more external nodes (location of the target satellite) and second data indicating an estimate of second coordinates of the vehicle (location of the antenna/aircraft) (see “For example, the ACU can set the antenna 152 to an initial pointing direction that points the antenna 152 toward the target satellite 112 based on the location of the antenna 152 (e.g., provided as an approximation from a GNSS location of the antenna system 108 or from a GNSS location of another point of the vehicle 104, such as the INS 102), the location of the target satellite 112 (e.g., as provided by a previously determined orbital position and stored at the vehicle 104, from a location signal received from the target satellite 112 or some other source, or from a value calculated by the ACU based on an understood orbital path of the target satellite 112)…” [0035] and “The local tangent plane 510, the INS local coordinate system 520, and the pedestal local coordinate system 530 can be employed to describe positional information associated with a target satellite 540 (e.g., the target satellite 112 of FIG. 1 and/or the target satellite 208 of FIG. 2) and a vehicle 544 having an antenna system 548…” [0074] which suggests 1) the initial pointing direction of antenna is based on the location of the target satellite and the vehicle/antenna and 2) the location of both the target satellite and vehicle/antenna may be coordinates since they are described by local tangent plane, INS local coordinate system, and pedestal coordinate system). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Kullstam and Qu to allow the first pointing angle to be based at least in part on first data indicating first coordinates of the one or more external nodes and second data indicating an estimate of second coordinates of the vehicle, as taught by Merrell, in order to accurately align the antenna with one or more external nodes.
Regarding claim 2, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:
obtain a plurality of values for a signal parameter for the received signal, including obtaining each value of the plurality of values from a different one of the plurality of sets of signal data, wherein each value of the plurality of values corresponds to a different one of the plurality of pointing angles (see “For example, in some embodiments, the selected fine pointing direction is selected based upon a largest signal power received from the target 226 via the second antenna 56” [par 92] which suggests that a signal power is measured for each fine pointing direction in order to select a “largest”).
Regarding claim 3, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 2, wherein the signal parameter is a first parameter (signal power) when the first beam is a transit beam and wherein the signal parameter is a second parameter (bit error rate), distinct from the first parameter, when the first beam is a receive beam (see “In other embodiments, the selected fine pointing direction is selected based upon a lowest bit error rate received from the target 26 via the second antenna 56” [par 92]).
Regarding claim 4, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 2, wherein the signal parameter is a same parameter regardless of whether the first beam is a transmit beam or a receive beam (see “Other arrangements are also possible” [par 92] which suggests the invention is not limited to the parameter used for selecting the fine pointing direction thus the same parameter may be used regardless of whether the beam is a transmit or receive beam).
Regarding claim 7, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 2, wherein the signal parameter is a signal strength parameter (see “For example, in some embodiments, the selected fine pointing direction is selected based upon a largest signal power received from the target 226 via the second antenna 56” [par 92]).
Regarding claim 8, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 2, wherein the signal parameter is a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a reference signal received power (RSRP), or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) (see “Note that the “quality of a received signal” may be, for example, a Received Signal Level (RSL) or a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI). Further, the “quality of a received signal” may be, for example, a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), a Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINR) or a Carrier to Interference Noise Ratio (CINR). Furthermore, the “quality of a received signal” may be a combination of two or more of these ratios” [par 43]).
Regarding claim 9, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 1, wherein the one or more antennas include a first antenna implementing the first beam and a second antenna implementing the second beam (see “see “Referring now to FIG. 2, a system 50 for tracking a target includes a dual-band antenna 52. The dual-band antenna 52 includes a first antenna 54 and a second antenna 56 rigidly coupled to the first antenna 54…The system further includes a processing system 60 configured to control pointing directions of beams from the first and second antennas 54, 56, respectively” [par 41] which suggests that the first antenna implements a first beam and the second antenna implements a second beam).
Regarding claim 10, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 1, wherein the one or more antennas includes a first antenna implementing both the first beam and the second beam (see “In still exemplary embodiment, one phased array antenna provides both the first and second antennas…” [par 127]).
Regarding claim 11, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 1, wherein each pointing angle of the plurality of pointing angles is an elevation angle (see “In some embodiments, the degrees of pointing accuracy are in simple angles” [par 56]).
Regarding claim 12, Kullstam teaches the vehicle communication system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft (see “In some embodiments, the dual-band antenna (e.g.,52, 74, or 102) is attached to a moving platform 70 (FIGS. 2,2A, and 3), for example, an aircraft” [par 118]).
Claim 15 recites similar subject matter as claim 1 and is therefore rejected on the same basis.
Claim 16 recites similar subject matter as claim 2 and is therefore rejected on the same basis.
Claim 17 recites similar subject matter as claim 3 and is therefore rejected on the same basis.
Claim 18 recites similar subject matter as claim 4 and is therefore rejected on the same basis.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kullstam et al. (US 2012/0068880), QU (CN 111668606A), and Merrell (US 2022/0416846), as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Kikuma (US 2018/0062771).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Kullstam, QU, and Merrell does not explicitly teach wherein the signal parameter is an index and wherein each of the plurality of values is calculated based on values of both a signal strength parameter and a signal-to-nose ratio (SNR) parameter. In an analogous prior art reference, Kikuma teaches obtaining a plurality of values for a signal parameter wherein each value of the plurality of values corresponds to a different one of a plurality of pointing angles (see “To be specific, the reception quality acquisition unit 222 of the display device 200 acquires the reception quality information through the communication channel 60. Further, the antenna angle acquisition unit 224 acquires the antenna angle information through the communication channel 60” [par 50]); wherein signal parameter is an index (quality of a received signal) and wherein each of the plurality of values is calculated based on values of both a signal strength parameter and a signal-to-nose ratio (SNR) parameter (see “ Note that the “quality of a received signal” may be, for example, a Received Signal Level (RSL) or a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI). Further, the “quality of a received signal” may be, for example, a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), a Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINR) or a Carrier to Interference Noise Ratio (CINR). Furthermore, the “quality of a received signal” may be a combination of two or more of these ratios” [par 43]). Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Kullstam, QU, and Merrell to allow wherein the signal parameter is an index and wherein each of the plurality of values is calculated based on values of both a signal strength parameter and a signal-to-nose ratio (SNR) parameter, as taught by Kikuma, in order to select a pointing angle based on signal strength and SNR in order to increase communication reliability and quality.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-4,6-12 and 15-18 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.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 13-14, and 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/NAM T HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2647
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