DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
This action is in response to application 18407434 filed 1/6/23.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are presented for examination.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 is/are unclear to the examiner; what does it mean by stating “detecting, at the backhaul monitoring module at the base station, a degradation of a current backhaul connection”? At what “measurement” to determine a “degradation” of the backhaul connection? How much would be consider as “degradation”? Please clarify
Claim(s) 1 is/are unclear to the examiner; what does it mean by stating “switching from the current backhaul connection to another backhaul connection of the plurality of backhaul connections”? How does the system know which of “another backhaul connection” to switch to? Just randomly select? Or there is only one backhaul connection to switch to? Please clarify
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Schiff, U.S. Pub/Patent No. 2005/0207375 A1.
As to claim 1, Schiff teaches a method, comprising:
monitoring, at a backhaul monitoring module at a base station, quality measurements for a plurality of backhaul connections between the base station to a core network serving the base station (Schiff, page 1, paragraph 7; i.e., [0007] monitors a signal quality from the primary satellite and from a secondary satellite. If the signal quality from the primary satellite drops below a threshold value, the communication signal is transferred to the secondary satellite);
detecting, at the backhaul monitoring module at the base station, a degradation of a current backhaul connection (Schiff, page 2, paragraph 23; i.e., [0023] If the forward link signal transmitted by the primary satellite is degraded, such as by an obstruction or a degradation in the satellite, the mobile station can report the degraded signal quality to the base station. To broadcast the forward link signal to the mobile station if the signal quality from the primary satellite is no longer acceptable. Therefore, if the forward link signal from the primary satellite is occluded or otherwise degraded, the system can switch the forward link signal to the secondary satellite and have a high likelihood that the communication link will remain connected; [0032] if a receiver in a region experiences a loss of signal quality, for example, due to a loss of signal
strength from the primary satellite, the system 200 can switch or otherwise transfer the communication link to the secondary satellite. Therefore, when a communication link
from a primary satellite is degraded, the communication link can be switched to or otherwise transferred to a secondary satellite providing coverage to the region. The communication link can be transferred back to the primary satellite when the communication link from the primary satellite recovers from the degraded condition); and
switching from the current backhaul connection to another backhaul connection of the plurality of backhaul connections (Schiff, page 2, paragraph 23; i.e., [0023] If the forward link signal transmitted by the primary satellite is degraded, such as by an obstruction or a degradation in the satellite, the mobile station can report the degraded signal quality to the base station. To broadcast the forward link signal to the mobile station if the signal quality from the primary satellite is no longer acceptable. Therefore, if the forward link signal from the primary satellite is occluded or otherwise degraded, the system can switch the forward link signal to the secondary satellite and have a high likelihood that the communication link will remain connected; [0032] if a receiver in a region experiences a loss of signal quality, for example, due to a loss of signal strength from the primary satellite, the system 200 can switch or otherwise transfer the communication link to the secondary satellite. Therefore, when a communication link from a primary satellite is degraded, the communication link can be switched to or otherwise transferred to a secondary satellite providing coverage to the region. The communication link can be transferred back to the primary satellite when the communication link from the primary satellite recovers from the degraded condition).
As to claim 2, Schiff teaches the method as recited in claim 1, wherein degradation may be detected by measuring one or more quality measurements from the list of RSSI, packet loss, connectivity loss, latency, or other measurements appropriate for a given backhaul connection (Schiff, page 3, paragraph 32; i.e., [0032] if a receiver in a region experiences a loss of signal quality, for example, due to a loss of signal
strength from the primary satellite, the system 200 can switch or otherwise transfer the communication link to the secondary satellite).
As to claim 3, Schiff teaches the method as recited in claim 1, wherein communicating with a gateway backhaul monitoring module to monitor the plurality of backhaul connections (Schiff, page 1, paragraph 7; i.e., [0007] monitors a signal quality from the primary satellite and from a secondary satellite. If the signal quality from the primary satellite drops below a threshold value, the communication signal is transferred to the secondary satellite).
As to claim 4, Schiff teaches the method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of backhaul connections includes satellite (Schiff, page 1, paragraph 7; i.e., [0007] monitors a signal quality from the primary satellite and from a secondary satellite. If the signal quality from the primary satellite drops below a threshold value, the communication signal is transferred to the secondary satellite).
Listing of Relevant Arts
Wu, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20170048775 A1 discloses degradation failure of the backhaul link and switch to another backhaul link.
Kim, U.S. Patent/Pub. No. US 20170048775 A1 discloses link capability deterioration and transition into another communication.
Contact Information
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
THUONG NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-3864. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:00-6:00.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached on 571-270-5630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THUONG NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416