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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/12/2025 has been entered. Applicant’s submission overcomes prior rejections of claims 24-27 under 35 USC § 101. The corresponding rejections are withdrawn. Claims 1, 3-8, 10, 12-15, 21-22, 24-26, and 28-30 are 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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 4-5, 8, 10, 13-14, 22, 24-26, and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen et al. (US 10,952,113), hereinafter "Mahkonen", in view of Horn et al. (US 2017/0332301), hereinafter “Horn”, and further in view of Yin et al. (WO 2019/113733), published 20 June, 2019, hereinafter “Yin” (see “WO2019133733_Translation.pdf” for citations).
Regarding claims 1, 10, 24, Mahkonen teaches:
A method or a system for edge processing or a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method or the system comprising:
at processor (see Mahkonen, Fig. 14, col. 22, lines 4-9: Each element of the air traffic system 300 may be composed of or otherwise implemented by a set of computing/networking devices. For example, FIG. 14 illustrates a computing/networking device 1400 according to one embodiment. As shown the computing/networking device 1400 may include a processor 1402); and
a computer-readable medium storing instructions that are operative upon execution by the processor (see Mahkonen, Fig. 14, col. 22, lines 24-36: The memory 1404 may store code (which is composed of software instructions and which is sometimes referred to as computer program code or a computer program) and/or data using non-transitory machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) media, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, solid state drives, read only memory (ROM), flash memory devices, phase change memory) and machine-readable transmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals). For instance, the memory 1404 may comprise non-volatile memory containing code to be executed by the processor 1402)
or the computer program having programming instructions stored thereon, which, upon execution by a processor of a system, cause the system to perform (see Mahkonen, Fig. 14, col. 22, lines 24-36: The memory 1404 may store code (which is composed of software instructions and which is sometimes referred to as computer program code or a computer program) and/or data using non-transitory machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) media, such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, solid state drives, read only memory (ROM), flash memory devices, phase change memory) and machine-readable transmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals). For instance, the memory 1404 may comprise non-volatile memory containing code to be executed by the processor 1402) the following operations:
establishing a first connection between an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and a first cell of a cellular network, wherein the UAV receives UAV command and control signaling from a UAV controller over the first connection (see Mahkonen, Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 28-37: in FIG. 1, the UAV 104 is within the wireless coverage area 108A of the cell 106A. While in the wireless coverage area 108A, the UAV 104 can communicate with the cell 106A and consequently access resources of the wireless network 100 via the cell 106A. These resources may include connectivity with a UAV operator of the UAV 104 such that the UAV operator may command/control the UAV 104 (e.g., using a command and control (C2) link) and/or access data provided by the UAV 104 (e.g., using telemetry and/or audio/video links), and see col. 9, lines 51-57: A UAV operator 304 may maintain a connection with a corresponding UAV 104 via connection 334. The connection 334 may be established through one or more interfaces 712C and may form a wireless command and control (C2) connection that allows the UAV operator 304 to control the UAV 104 through direct commands and/or through issuance of a flight plan, and see col. 7, lines 4-17: the UAVs 104 may be operated/piloted using various degrees of autonomy. For example, a UAV 104 may be operated by a human (e.g., the UAV operator 304) located on the ground or otherwise removed and independent of the location of the UAV 104. For example, a UAV operator 304 may be located on the ground and acts to directly control each movement of a UAV 104 or a group of UAVs 104 through a radio control interface (e.g., a command and control (C2) interface). In this embodiment, the UAV operator 304 may transmit commands via the radio interface to cause the UAV 104 to adjust/move particular flight instruments (e.g., flaps, blades, motors, etc.) for the purpose of following a flight plan or another set of objectives, and see col. 7, lines 23-25: the UAV operator 304 may be viewed as the remote human controller, a remote digital controller, an onboard digital controller, or a combination of the preceding), wherein the UAV command and control signaling controls a flight path of the UAV (see Mahkonen, col. 7, lines 4-17: the UAVs 104 may be operated/piloted using various degrees of autonomy. For example, a UAV 104 may be operated by a human (e.g., the UAV operator 304) located on the ground or otherwise removed and independent of the location of the UAV 104. For example, a UAV operator 304 may be located on the ground and acts to directly control each movement of a UAV 104 or a group of UAVs 104 through a radio control interface (e.g., a command and control (C2) interface). In this embodiment, the UAV operator 304 may transmit commands via the radio interface to cause the UAV 104 to adjust/move particular flight instruments (e.g., flaps, blades, motors, etc.) for the purpose of following a flight plan or another set of objectives);
determining that loss of the first connection will occur (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13A, col. 20, lines 9-20: Based on the signal measurements from operation 1302, operation 1304 may detect a handover condition for the UAV 104 within the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the UAV 104 is connected to the source cell 106A in the wireless network 100 when the handover condition is detected. In one embodiment, the handover condition may be the UAV 104 imminently leaving a coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A. For example, as the UAV 104 moves away from the source cell 106A and towards the outer edges of the coverage area 108A provided by the source cell 106A, the signal quality measurements will show a deterioration relative to the source cell 106A; in this case, detecting a handover condition including imminently leaving a coverage area corresponds to determining that loss of a first connection will occur);
based on at least determining that that the loss of the first connection will occur (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13A, col. 20, lines 9-20: Based on the signal measurements from operation 1302, operation 1304 may detect a handover condition for the UAV 104 within the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the UAV 104 is connected to the source cell 106A in the wireless network 100 when the handover condition is detected. In one embodiment, the handover condition may be the UAV 104 imminently leaving a coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A. For example, as the UAV 104 moves away from the source cell 106A and towards the outer edges of the coverage area 108A provided by the source cell 106A, the signal quality measurements will show a deterioration relative to the source cell 106A), establishing a second connection between the UAV and the second cell (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13B, col. 20, lines 58-60: Upon determining a target cell 106C, operation 1310 may initiate a handover of the UAV 104 from the source cell 106A to the target cell 106C, and see col. 21, lines 26-31: After operation 1310, including one or more sub-operations 1310A-1310D, the method 1300 may either detect at operation 1312 that the UAV 104 has not connected to the target cell 106C before expiration of the timer or detect at operation 1316 that the UAV 104 has connected to the target cell 106C before expiration of the timer; in this case, a handover (i.e. second connection) is initiated and established after determining the UAV is imminently leaving a coverage area); and
wherein the UAV receives the UAV command and control signaling over the second connection (see Mahkonen, Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 28-37: in FIG. 1, the UAV 104 is within the wireless coverage area 108A of the cell 106A. While in the wireless coverage area 108A, the UAV 104 can communicate with the cell 106A and consequently access resources of the wireless network 100 via the cell 106A. These resources may include connectivity with a UAV operator of the UAV 104 such that the UAV operator may command/control the UAV 104 (e.g., using a command and control (C2) link) and/or access data provided by the UAV 104 (e.g., using telemetry and/or audio/video links), and see col. 9, lines 51-57: A UAV operator 304 may maintain a connection with a corresponding UAV 104 via connection 334. The connection 334 may be established through one or more interfaces 712C and may form a wireless command and control (C2) connection that allows the UAV operator 304 to control the UAV 104 through direct commands and/or through issuance of a flight plan, and see col. 17, lines 28-41: the handover request may include a set of links that may transmit data to the UAV 104 during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). For example, the UAV 104 may be scheduled to receive updates for a mission on a command and control link during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). To ensure that the UAV 104 receives these important updates, the handover request may indicate that such data transmissions should be cached by the target cell 106C. Upon the UAV 104 establishing a connection with the target cell 106C, the target cell 106C may provide the UAV 104 with the cached data; in this case, command and control is provided from the target cell after handover (i.e. after establishment of the second connection is complete)),
However, Mahkonen does not teach:
wherein the first connection is between a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) cellular modem of the UAV and the first cell
wherein it is determined that loss of the first connection will occur within 500 milliseconds;
wherein the second connection is between a second OFDM cellular modem of the UAV and the second cell, the second OFDM cellular modem of the UAV being separate from the first OFDM cellular modem; and
where the first connection is terminated upon determining that the second connection is complete.
Horn, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the first connection is between a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) cellular modem of the UAV and the first cell (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0060]: The UE device 202 may have previously established a first connection with the serving first access node A 203. The UE device 202 may be configured for a dual active connection handover, and see Fig. 9, par. [0085]: The wireless communication circuit 906 may include one or more transmitters 914 and one or more receivers 916. The one or more receiver(s) 916 may be configured to allow the user equipment device 900 to maintain two or more active connections with different access nodes during a handover from a first access node to a second access node; in this case, transmitters and receivers correspond to OFDM modems used for connections)
wherein the second connection is between a second OFDM cellular modem of the UAV and the second cell, the second OFDM cellular modem of the UAV being separate from the first OFDM cellular modem (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0060]: The UE device 202 may have previously established a first connection with the serving first access node A 203. The UE device 202 may be configured for a dual active connection handover, and see par. [0062]: Upon performing a synchronization with the new cell 424 (e.g., the cell for the second access node B 205) the UE device 202 may establish a second connection (with the second access node B 205) by sending a random access preamble 426 to the second access node B 205 and, in reply, receiving a random access response 428. At this point, the UE device 202 may have two concurrent connections, i.e., the first connection with the first access node A 203 and the second connection with the second access node B 205, and see Fig. 9, par. [0085]: The wireless communication circuit 906 may include one or more transmitters 914 and one or more receivers 916. The one or more receiver(s) 916 may be configured to allow the user equipment device 900 to maintain two or more active connections with different access nodes during a handover from a first access node to a second access node; in this case, transmitters and receivers correspond to OFDM modems used for connections); and
where the first connection is terminated upon determining that the second connection is complete (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0067]: After the last buffered packet 454 has been forwarded by the first access node A 203 to the UE device 202, the first access node A 203 may send a UE context release request 456 to the MME 212. In response, the first access node 203 may receive a UE context release complete 458 from the MME 212. The first access node A 203 may then send a connection release message 460 to the UE device 202 to terminate the first connection. Then, the second access node B 205 becomes the only serving node and the dual active handover is completed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the connections of Mahkonen with the multiple modems and terminating the first connection of Horn with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving the handover procedure during the handover period (see Horn, par. [0033]).
However, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn does not teach:
wherein it is determined that loss of the first connection will occur within 500 milliseconds;
Yin, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein it is determined that loss of the first connection will occur within 500 milliseconds (see Yin, pars. [0046-0047]: S101, The control terminal determines whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. Specifically, the control terminal and the first UAV communicate through the first communication network. During communication, the control terminal will determine whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. If the first UAV loses downlink synchronization in the first communication network, then execute S102; in this case, a handover process for establishing a second connection is started upon detecting downlink desynchronization in the first connection (i.e. loss of connection is currently occurring and therefore within 500 milliseconds));
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the determining loss of connection of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn with the determining loss of connection within 500 milliseconds of Yin with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of shortens switching time for improving the seamless switching effect (see Yin, par. [0006]).
Regarding claims 4, 13, 25, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method or system or non-transitory computer-readable medium. Mahkonen further teaches:
wherein determining that the loss of the first connection will occur comprises predicting an expected path of the UAV (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13A, col. 20, lines 9-20: Based on the signal measurements from operation 1302, operation 1304 may detect a handover condition for the UAV 104 within the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the UAV 104 is connected to the source cell 106A in the wireless network 100 when the handover condition is detected. In one embodiment, the handover condition may be the UAV 104 imminently leaving a coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A. For example, as the UAV 104 moves away from the source cell 106A and towards the outer edges of the coverage area 108A provided by the source cell 106A, the signal quality measurements will show a deterioration relative to the source cell 106A, and see col. 15, lines 22-45: Upon determining at operation 804 that the UAV 104 is leaving the coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A, the source cell 106A may transmit a handover request to the MME 316E. The handover request initiates the handover procedure in which the UAV 104 moves from a source cell 106 to a target cell 106. In many cases the target cell 106 for a handover procedure cannot be determined at this stage since the UAV 104 has not entered into coverage areas 108 of candidate target cells 106 such that the UAV 104 may record signal quality measurements from these candidates to select the most appropriate target cell 106. The method 800 overcomes this uncertainty in relation to the UAV 104 handover by obtaining the flight path 102 of the UAV 104 at operation 806. In one embodiment, the flight path 102 may be retrieved from a UTM 300A that manages the airspace being traversed by the UAV 104. This retrieval may be made by the MME 316E directly from the UTM system 300A (through the LCS client 308) while in other embodiments, the flight path 102 may be retrieved via another component of the 3GPP LCS 300B (e.g., the GMLC 306) such that the path 102 may be translated as described in greater detail below. The flight path 102 may include one or more of a starting point, an ending point, and/or a set of waypoints defined by longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates; in this case, obtaining the flight path corresponds to predicting an expected path).
The combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn does not teach, but Yin teaches:
wherein determining that the loss of the first connection will occur within 500 milliseconds (see Yin, pars. [0046-0047]: S101, The control terminal determines whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. Specifically, the control terminal and the first UAV communicate through the first communication network. During communication, the control terminal will determine whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. If the first UAV loses downlink synchronization in the first communication network, then execute S102; in this case, a handover process for establishing a second connection is started upon detecting downlink desynchronization in the first connection (i.e. loss of connection is currently occurring and therefore within 500 milliseconds))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the determining loss of connection of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn with the determining loss of connection within 500 milliseconds of Yin with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of shortens switching time for improving the seamless switching effect (see Yin, par. [0006]).
Regarding claims 5, 14, 26, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method or system or non-transitory computer-readable medium. Mahkonen further teaches:
wherein determining that the loss of the first connection will occur further comprises predicting, based on at least the expected path of the UAV, an imminent handover from the first cell to the second cell (see Mahkonen, Fig. 2, col. 4, lines 43-55: in FIG. 2, moving along the flight path 102, the UAV 104 will eventually move outside the coverage areas 108A-108D of the cells 106A-106D, respectively, and will temporarily be disconnected from the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, upon detecting that the UAV 104 will imminently and temporarily move outside the coverage areas 108A-108D, the wireless network 100 may initiate a handover procedure. Detecting that the UAV 104 will imminently and temporarily be moving outside the coverage areas 108A-108D may be performed by analyzing the flight path 102 of the UAV 104 in conjunction with location information of the UAV 104, which describes the current geographical location of the UAV 104, and see col. 5, lines 20-39: in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the flight path of the UAV 104 causes the UAV 104 to move outside the coverage area 108A and consequently is then out of all the coverage areas 108A-108D until entering coverage area 108C a short time later. In these embodiments, the UAV 104 may temporarily disconnect from the wireless network 100. In the example of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this disconnection would last until the UAV 104 enters the coverage area 108C of the cell 106C. Since the wireless network 100 has access to the flight path of the UAV 104 via a corresponding UTM, the handover procedure may attempt to make reconnection to the wireless network 100 as seamless as possible by identifying a target cell 106A-106D and performing operations to minimize effects to ongoing sessions/links. For example, in some embodiments, the handover procedure may identify a target cell 106A-106D prior to the UAV 104 temporarily disconnecting from the wireless network 100 and set a timer for reconnection. Both the target cell 106A-106D and the reconnection timer may be selected/set based on the flight path 102 of the UAV 104; in this case, a handover may be identified based on the flight path).
Mahkonen does not teach, but Horn teaches:
wherein the handover is of the first OFDM cellular modem (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0060]: The UE device 202 may have previously established a first connection with the serving first access node A 203. The UE device 202 may be configured for a dual active connection handover, and see Fig. 9, par. [0085]: The wireless communication circuit 906 may include one or more transmitters 914 and one or more receivers 916. The one or more receiver(s) 916 may be configured to allow the user equipment device 900 to maintain two or more active connections with different access nodes during a handover from a first access node to a second access node; in this case, transmitters and receivers correspond to OFDM modems used for connections)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the connections of Mahkonen with the multiple modems of Horn with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving the handover procedure during the handover period (see Horn, par. [0033]).
The combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn does not teach, but Yin teaches:
wherein determining that the loss of the first connection is will occur within 500 milliseconds (see Yin, pars. [0046-0047]: S101, The control terminal determines whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. Specifically, the control terminal and the first UAV communicate through the first communication network. During communication, the control terminal will determine whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. If the first UAV loses downlink synchronization in the first communication network, then execute S102; in this case, a handover process for establishing a second connection is started upon detecting downlink desynchronization in the first connection (i.e. loss of connection is currently occurring and therefore within 500 milliseconds))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the determining loss of connection of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn with the determining loss of connection within 500 milliseconds of Yin with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of shortens switching time for improving the seamless switching effect (see Yin, par. [0006]).
Regarding claims 8, 22, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method or system.
Mahkonen does not teach, but Horn teaches the method or system wherein:
the cellular network identifies that the first cellular modem and the second cellular modem are both associated with the UAV (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0060]: The UE device 202 may have previously established a first connection with the serving first access node A 203. The UE device 202 may be configured for a dual active connection handover, and see par. [0062]: Upon performing a synchronization with the new cell 424 (e.g., the cell for the second access node B 205) the UE device 202 may establish a second connection (with the second access node B 205) by sending a random access preamble 426 to the second access node B 205 and, in reply, receiving a random access response 428. At this point, the UE device 202 may have two concurrent connections, i.e., the first connection with the first access node A 203 and the second connection with the second access node B 205, and see Fig. 9, par. [0085]: The wireless communication circuit 906 may include one or more transmitters 914 and one or more receivers 916. The one or more receiver(s) 916 may be configured to allow the user equipment device 900 to maintain two or more active connections with different access nodes during a handover from a first access node to a second access node; in this case, transmitters and receivers correspond to OFDM modems used for connections).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the connections of Mahkonen with the multiple modems of Horn with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving the handover procedure during the handover period (see Horn, par. [0033]).
Regarding claims 28, 29, and 30, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method or system or non-transitory computer-readable medium. Mahkonen further teaches:
wherein the UAV sends an inspection video signal to the UAV controller over the first connection prior to establishment of the second connection (see Mahkonen, Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 28-37: in FIG. 1, the UAV 104 is within the wireless coverage area 108A of the cell 106A. While in the wireless coverage area 108A, the UAV 104 can communicate with the cell 106A and consequently access resources of the wireless network 100 via the cell 106A. These resources may include connectivity with a UAV operator of the UAV 104 such that the UAV operator may command/control the UAV 104 (e.g., using a command and control (C2) link) and/or access data provided by the UAV 104 (e.g., using telemetry and/or audio/video links), and see col. 9, lines 51-61: A UAV operator 304 may maintain a connection with a corresponding UAV 104 via connection 334. The connection 334 may be established through one or more interfaces 712C and may form a wireless command and control (C2) connection that allows the UAV operator 304 to control the UAV 104 through direct commands and/or through issuance of a flight plan. In some embodiments, the connection 334 may additionally allow the UAV operator 304 to receive data from the UAV 104. For example, the data may include images, video streams, telemetry data, and system status (e.g., battery level/status), and see col. 17, lines 28-41: the handover request may include a set of links that may transmit data to the UAV 104 during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). For example, the UAV 104 may be scheduled to receive updates for a mission on a command and control link during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). To ensure that the UAV 104 receives these important updates, the handover request may indicate that such data transmissions should be cached by the target cell 106C. Upon the UAV 104 establishing a connection with the target cell 106C, the target cell 106C may provide the UAV 104 with the cached data; in this case, communication is performed over a first connection before handover, including the UAV sending video stream data (i.e. inspection video signal)), and wherein the UAV sends the inspection video signal to the UAV controller over the second connection after establishment of the second connection is complete (see Mahkonen, Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 28-37: in FIG. 1, the UAV 104 is within the wireless coverage area 108A of the cell 106A. While in the wireless coverage area 108A, the UAV 104 can communicate with the cell 106A and consequently access resources of the wireless network 100 via the cell 106A. These resources may include connectivity with a UAV operator of the UAV 104 such that the UAV operator may command/control the UAV 104 (e.g., using a command and control (C2) link) and/or access data provided by the UAV 104 (e.g., using telemetry and/or audio/video links), and see col. 9, lines 51-61: A UAV operator 304 may maintain a connection with a corresponding UAV 104 via connection 334. The connection 334 may be established through one or more interfaces 712C and may form a wireless command and control (C2) connection that allows the UAV operator 304 to control the UAV 104 through direct commands and/or through issuance of a flight plan. In some embodiments, the connection 334 may additionally allow the UAV operator 304 to receive data from the UAV 104. For example, the data may include images, video streams, telemetry data, and system status (e.g., battery level/status), and see col. 17, lines 28-41: the handover request may include a set of links that may transmit data to the UAV 104 during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). For example, the UAV 104 may be scheduled to receive updates for a mission on a command and control link during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). To ensure that the UAV 104 receives these important updates, the handover request may indicate that such data transmissions should be cached by the target cell 106C. Upon the UAV 104 establishing a connection with the target cell 106C, the target cell 106C may provide the UAV 104 with the cached data; in this case, communication is performed over a second connection after handover, including the UAV sending video stream data (i.e. inspection video signal)).
Claims 3 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, as applied to claims 1, 4-5, 8, 10, 13-14, 22, 24-26, and 28-30 above, and further in view of Yan et al. (US 2025/0081076), hereinafter “Yan”.
Regarding claims 3, 12, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method or system. Mahkonen further teaches:
further comprising: determining that loss of the second connection will occur (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13A, col. 20, lines 9-20: Based on the signal measurements from operation 1302, operation 1304 may detect a handover condition for the UAV 104 within the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the UAV 104 is connected to the source cell 106A in the wireless network 100 when the handover condition is detected. In one embodiment, the handover condition may be the UAV 104 imminently leaving a coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A. For example, as the UAV 104 moves away from the source cell 106A and towards the outer edges of the coverage area 108A provided by the source cell 106A, the signal quality measurements will show a deterioration relative to the source cell 106A; in this case, detecting a handover condition including imminently leaving a coverage area corresponds to determining that loss of a first connection is imminent);
based on at least determining that the loss of the second connection will occur (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13A, col. 20, lines 9-20: Based on the signal measurements from operation 1302, operation 1304 may detect a handover condition for the UAV 104 within the wireless network 100. In some embodiments, the UAV 104 is connected to the source cell 106A in the wireless network 100 when the handover condition is detected. In one embodiment, the handover condition may be the UAV 104 imminently leaving a coverage area 108A of the source cell 106A. For example, as the UAV 104 moves away from the source cell 106A and towards the outer edges of the coverage area 108A provided by the source cell 106A, the signal quality measurements will show a deterioration relative to the source cell 106A), initiating a third connection (see Mahkonen, Fig. 13B, col. 20, lines 58-60: Upon determining a target cell 106C, operation 1310 may initiate a handover of the UAV 104 from the source cell 106A to the target cell 106C; in this case, a handover (i.e. third connection) is initiated after determining the UAV is imminently leaving a coverage area);
wherein the UAV receives the UAV command and control signaling over the third connection after establishment of the third connection is complete (see Mahkonen, Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 28-37: in FIG. 1, the UAV 104 is within the wireless coverage area 108A of the cell 106A. While in the wireless coverage area 108A, the UAV 104 can communicate with the cell 106A and consequently access resources of the wireless network 100 via the cell 106A. These resources may include connectivity with a UAV operator of the UAV 104 such that the UAV operator may command/control the UAV 104 (e.g., using a command and control (C2) link) and/or access data provided by the UAV 104 (e.g., using telemetry and/or audio/video links), and see col. 9, lines 51-57: A UAV operator 304 may maintain a connection with a corresponding UAV 104 via connection 334. The connection 334 may be established through one or more interfaces 712C and may form a wireless command and control (C2) connection that allows the UAV operator 304 to control the UAV 104 through direct commands and/or through issuance of a flight plan, and see col. 17, lines 28-41: the handover request may include a set of links that may transmit data to the UAV 104 during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). For example, the UAV 104 may be scheduled to receive updates for a mission on a command and control link during the period of the timer (e.g., while the UAV 104 lacks connectivity to the wireless network 100). To ensure that the UAV 104 receives these important updates, the handover request may indicate that such data transmissions should be cached by the target cell 106C. Upon the UAV 104 establishing a connection with the target cell 106C, the target cell 106C may provide the UAV 104 with the cached data; in this case, command and control is provided from the target cell after handover (i.e. after establishment of the third connection is complete)).
Mahkonen does not teach, but Horn teaches:
wherein the third connection is between the first OFDM cellular modem and the third cell (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0060]: The UE device 202 may have previously established a first connection with the serving first access node A 203. The UE device 202 may be configured for a dual active connection handover, and see par. [0062]: Upon performing a synchronization with the new cell 424 (e.g., the cell for the second access node B 205) the UE device 202 may establish a second connection (with the second access node B 205) by sending a random access preamble 426 to the second access node B 205 and, in reply, receiving a random access response 428. At this point, the UE device 202 may have two concurrent connections, i.e., the first connection with the first access node A 203 and the second connection with the second access node B 205, and see Fig. 9, par. [0085]: The wireless communication circuit 906 may include one or more transmitters 914 and one or more receivers 916. The one or more receiver(s) 916 may be configured to allow the user equipment device 900 to maintain two or more active connections with different access nodes during a handover from a first access node to a second access node; in this case, transmitters and receivers correspond to OFDM modems used for connections. The second connection corresponds to the third connection);
based on at least determining that the third connection is complete, terminating the second connection (see Horn, Fig. 4, par. [0067]: After the last buffered packet 454 has been forwarded by the first access node A 203 to the UE device 202, the first access node A 203 may send a UE context release request 456 to the MME 212. In response, the first access node 203 may receive a UE context release complete 458 from the MME 212. The first access node A 203 may then send a connection release message 460 to the UE device 202 to terminate the first connection. Then, the second access node B 205 becomes the only serving node and the dual active handover is completed; in this case, terminating the first connection corresponds to terminating the second connection),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the connections of Mahkonen with the multiple modems and terminating the second connection of Horn with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of improving the handover procedure during the handover period (see Horn, par. [0033]).
The combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn does not teach, but Yin teaches:
wherein it is determined that the loss of the second connection will occur within 500 milliseconds (see Yin, pars. [0046-0047]: S101, The control terminal determines whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. Specifically, the control terminal and the first UAV communicate through the first communication network. During communication, the control terminal will determine whether the first UAV has lost downlink synchronization in the first communication network. If the first UAV loses downlink synchronization in the first communication network, then execute S102; in this case, a handover process for establishing a second connection is started upon detecting downlink desynchronization in the first connection (i.e. loss of connection is currently occurring and therefore within 500 milliseconds))
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the determining loss of connection of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn with the determining loss of connection within 500 milliseconds of Yin with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of shortens switching time for improving the seamless switching effect (see Yin, par. [0006]).
However, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, does not teach:
determining that the UAV is in range to connect to a third cell;
based on determining that the UAV is in range to connect to the third cell, initiating a third connection
Yan, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
determining that the UAV is in range to connect to a third cell (see Yan, par. [0353]: In Embodiment 2, for a case that a source node of a UE knows the UE's planned flight path in advance, e.g., based on the planned flight path reported by the UE, CHO execution condition can be a flight path based condition (e.g., one or more location coordinate(s) of the UE). When the UE's location coordination(s) is within a geographical area, e.g., a configured specific range of location coordinates, the UE executes the CHO procedure, e.g., the UE starts synchronization with the target cell, or, the UE performs RACH procedure towards the target cell. For example, the configured specific range of location coordinates may include multiple location coordinates, may include multiple longitude information and/or latitude information and/or height information, or may include grid information; in this case, the UE’s location coordinates being within a geographical area corresponds to being in range to connect);
based on determining that the UAV is in range to connect to the third cell, initiating a third connection (see Yan, par. [0353]: In Embodiment 2, for a case that a source node of a UE knows the UE's planned flight path in advance, e.g., based on the planned flight path reported by the UE, CHO execution condition can be a flight path based condition (e.g., one or more location coordinate(s) of the UE). When the UE's location coordination(s) is within a geographical area, e.g., a configured specific range of location coordinates, the UE executes the CHO procedure, e.g., the UE starts synchronization with the target cell, or, the UE performs RACH procedure towards the target cell. For example, the configured specific range of location coordinates may include multiple location coordinates, may include multiple longitude information and/or latitude information and/or height information, or may include grid information; in this case, when the UE is in range, the CHO procedure is initiated (i.e. initiating a third connection));
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method or system of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, with the initiating a connection based on determined range of Yan with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of enhancing mobility for a UAV (see Yan, pars. [0001] and [0243]).
Claims 6-7, 15, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, as applied to claims 1, 4-5, 8, 10, 13-14, 22, 24-26, and 28-30 above, and further in view of Luo et al. (WO 2022/143563), published 07 July, 2022, hereinafter “Luo” (see “WO2022143563_Translation.pdf” for citations).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the method.
However, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, does not teach:
further comprising: selecting the second cell from among a plurality of cells, in which the UAV is in range, based on at least an indicated preference for a connection parameter.
Luo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
further comprising: selecting the second cell from among a plurality of cells, in which the UAV is in range, based on at least an indicated preference for a connection parameter (see Luo, Table 16, par. [0269]: when the terminal device determines the target cell, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet the first selection rule, the terminal device may preferentially select the candidate cell with the highest degree of satisfaction as the target cell. For example, assuming that the service type of the terminal device is an IoT service that prioritizes stability, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet selection rule 1 shown in Table 16, the terminal device can select the candidate cell with the lowest network switching frequency as the target cell, and see pars. [0199-0200]: S803: The terminal device determines M candidate cells according to the measurement results, where M is an integer greater than 0 and less than N. Exemplarily, for a cell whose cell priority is higher than the current serving cell, if the signal energy of the cell is greater than a first threshold value of the signal energy, or the signal quality of the cell is greater than a second threshold value of the signal quality, the terminal device can select the cell as a candidate cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, with the selecting the cell based on a preference of Luo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing the probability of selecting an inappropriate cell for reselection (see Luo, par. [0008]).
Regarding claims 7, 21, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, and further in view of Luo, teaches the method or system.
The combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, does not teach, but Luo teaches the method or system wherein:
the indicated preference for a connection parameter comprises a lower frequency (see Luo, Table 16, par. [0269]: when the terminal device determines the target cell, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet the first selection rule, the terminal device may preferentially select the candidate cell with the highest degree of satisfaction as the target cell. For example, assuming that the service type of the terminal device is an IoT service that prioritizes stability, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet selection rule 1 shown in Table 16, the terminal device can select the candidate cell with the lowest network switching frequency as the target cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the method or system of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, with the preference comprising a lower frequency of Luo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing the probability of selecting an inappropriate cell for reselection (see Luo, par. [0008]).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, teaches the system.
However, the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, does not teach:
wherein the programming instructions further cause the system to perform the following operation:
selecting the second cell from among a plurality of cells, in which the UAV is in range, based on at least an indicated preference for a lower frequency.
Luo, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the programming instructions further cause the system to perform the following operation:
selecting the second cell from among a plurality of cells, in which the UAV is in range, based on at least an indicated preference for a lower frequency (see Luo, Table 16, par. [0269]: when the terminal device determines the target cell, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet the first selection rule, the terminal device may preferentially select the candidate cell with the highest degree of satisfaction as the target cell. For example, assuming that the service type of the terminal device is an IoT service that prioritizes stability, if there are multiple candidate cells that meet selection rule 1 shown in Table 16, the terminal device can select the candidate cell with the lowest network switching frequency as the target cell, and see pars. [0199-0200]: S803: The terminal device determines M candidate cells according to the measurement results, where M is an integer greater than 0 and less than N. Exemplarily, for a cell whose cell priority is higher than the current serving cell, if the signal energy of the cell is greater than a first threshold value of the signal energy, or the signal quality of the cell is greater than a second threshold value of the signal quality, the terminal device can select the cell as a candidate cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the system of the combination of Mahkonen in view of Horn, and further in view of Yin, with the selecting the cell based on a preference of Luo with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification for the benefit of reducing the probability of selecting an inappropriate cell for reselection (see Luo, par. [0008]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 10, and 24 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Paladugu et al. (US 2020/0344657) teaches a UE communicating with a source and target base station as part of a make-before-break handover procedure.
Frisch et al. (EP 3557909) teaches Global Positioning System supported handover techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CALEB J BALLOWE whose telephone number is (571)270-0410. The examiner can normally be reached MON-FRI 7:30-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nishant B. Divecha can be reached at (571) 270-3125. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/C.J.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2419
/Nishant Divecha/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2419