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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/10/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-9 and 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer (EP-1091506-A2), in view of Kim et al. (US-20200153500-A1) hereinafter Kim.
Regarding Claim 1, Widmer discloses a process for enhancing a user uplink for satellite communications (Widmer par. 4; It is an object of the invention to provide a process as defined in the introductory part which is applicable to any satellite communication system with known orbit and constellation types (LEO, Ellipso, MEO, HEO, GEO)), comprising: maintaining a serving reception of the user uplink at a serving satellite (Widmer, par. 57; If a fast seamless hand-off is required from one satellite to another, it is advantageous, that the user terminal - while performing communication with a primary satellite - maintains an idling link to a secondary satellite of the satellite system for synchronization and power control purposes); selecting a diversity satellite moving into a competitive position (Widmer, pars. 265; In a non-geostationary orbit satellite system, the service areas of the satellites are continuously moving) as compared to an elevation angle of the serving satellite (Widmer, pars. 266; In a multiple-satellite coverage scenario, there will in principle be multiple choice to assign an UT to an orthogonal group. However, since the primary satellite whose BS controls the UT is of living importance for an UT, it is reasonable to choose the satellite with highest elevation angle as primary satellite); forming a diversity reception of the user uplink at the diversity satellite (Widmer, par. 71; Satellite macro path diversity reception may enhance the detection of the user terminal signal, thus increasing system user capacity and power efficiency); and diversity combining the serving reception and the diversity reception to enhance the user uplink for a period longer than a handoff period (Widmer, par. 71; To exploit diversity on the return link, the base station combines the signal of a user terminal received via the primary satellite with the signal received via at least one secondary satellite. The BS (Base Station) performs quasi-coherent demodulation of each receive signal and combines the demodulated signals in the sense of maximal ratio combining), wherein the diversity combining is performed while a signal strength difference between the serving reception and the diversity reception is less than or equal to a predefined limit.
Widmer does not explicitly teach a strength difference between the serving reception and the diversity reception, however, Kim discloses a method for performing signal strength measurements in a satellite network (Kim par. 117; Meanwhile, in RACH-ConfigCommon, each of ThresholdSSB-TA1, . . . , and ThresholdSSB-TAN may be set to a ratio, not the RSRP range. Here, the ratio may represent not only a difference in signal strengths but also a difference in reception times of the SS/PBCH block between cells or beams)
Therefore, it would have been reasonable for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to combine Widmer’s methods for achieving power efficiency during the forward link (Up-Link) on a diversity satellite communication system with Kim’s methods for signal configuration for mobile base stations to enhance handover and improve network coverage.
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the process of claim 1, wherein the predefined limit is 4 dB (Kim par. 96; The terminal may select the SS block and corresponding PRACH resource for path-loss estimation and (re)transmission based on SS blocks that satisfy the threshold) Examiner notes, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to stablish a specific decibel cut-off where the system experiences the most benefit.
Regarding Claim 3, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein the diversity combining enhances the user uplink by at least 1.4 dB at a serving receiver (Widmer, par. 166; In the multi-frames with enhanced high penetration paging, the UT may apply simple bit combining to increase signal-to-noise ratio (repetition coding) by approximately 5 dB) Examiner notes, Widmer teaches an overall gain of 1-2 dB in par. 188 (Widmer, par. 188; Although there is some performance loss in the order of 1 dB in a linear □/4-QPSK BS receiver, there may be an overall gain of 1 ― 2 dB).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein the diversity combining is performed at a serving receiver for the user uplink (Widmer par. 258; There is a BS receiver available for each beam of a satellite. Each BS receiver is a multiple input receiver performing quasi-coherent demodulation of all input signals. The demodulated signals are combined in the sense of maximal ratio diversity combining, this means the demodulated signals are weighed according to their signal-to-noise/interference ratio prior to summation).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 4 wherein the serving receiver performs a channel estimation (Widmer, par 219; If the BS has successfully captured the random access burst, it estimates time and frequency (measures residual timing and frequency errors) and sends a channel assignment, as well as timing and frequency corrections to the UT using a CCPCH). and a Doppler compensation on the serving reception and accepts the diversity reception from a diversity receiver, prior to the diversity combining (Widmer, par. 207; In addition to feeder uplink Doppler precompensation, the BS, knowing the position of the satellite in use, may also precompensate the service forward link carrier frequency so that zero Doppler shift ideally results for a non-moving observer on the earth's surface located at the beam center point)
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein a diversity receiver performs a channel estimation (Widmer, par 219; If the BS has successfully captured the random access burst, it estimates time and frequency (measures residual timing and frequency errors) and sends a channel assignment, as well as timing and frequency corrections to the UT using a CCPCH). and a Doppler compensation on the diversity reception prior to the diversity combining (Widmer, par. 207; In addition to feeder uplink Doppler precompensation, the BS, knowing the position of the satellite in use, may also precompensate the service forward link carrier frequency so that zero Doppler shift ideally results for a non-moving observer on the earth's surface located at the beam center point).
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein the diversity reception is communicated via an Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) for the diversity combining (Kim, par. 197; the satellite base station 510 and the satellite base station 520 may exchange such the BWP configuration information through an inter-satellite link (ISL)).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein the diversity reception is established as the serving reception when the signal strength difference is less than the predefined limit (Widmer, par. 219; The UT is allowed to access the BS only after having successfully established forward link synchronization).
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the method of claim 1 wherein one user downlink to a user device is paired with the serving reception and the diversity reception (Widmer, par. 71; Satellite macro path diversity reception may enhance the detection of the user terminal signal, thus increasing system user capacity and power efficiency. To exploit diversity on the return link, the base station combines the signal of a user terminal received via the primary satellite with the signal received via at least one secondary satellite).
Regarding Claim 11, Widmer discloses a system to enhance a user uplink for satellite communications (Widmer par. 4; It is an object of the invention to provide a process as defined in the introductory part which is applicable to any satellite communication system with known orbit and constellation types (LEO, Ellipso, MEO, HEO, GEO)), comprising: a serving receiver to maintain a serving reception of the user uplink at a serving satellite (Widmer, par. 57; If a fast seamless hand-off is required from one satellite to another, it is advantageous, that the user terminal - while performing communication with a primary satellite - maintains an idling link to a secondary satellite of the satellite system for synchronization and power control purposes); a diversity satellite to move into a competitive position (Widmer, pars. 265; In a non-geostationary orbit satellite system, the service areas of the satellites are continuously moving as compared to an elevation angle of the serving satellite (Widmer, pars. 266; In a multiple-satellite coverage scenario, there will in principle be multiple choice to assign an UT to an orthogonal group. However, since the primary satellite whose BS controls the UT is of living importance for an UT, it is reasonable to choose the satellite with highest elevation angle as primary satellite)and to form a diversity reception of the user uplink at the diversity satellite (Widmer, par. 71; Satellite macro path diversity reception may enhance the detection of the user terminal signal, thus increasing system user capacity and power efficiency); and a diversity combiner to enhance the serving reception and the diversity reception for a period longer than a handoff period (Widmer, par. 71; To exploit diversity on the return link, the base station combines the signal of a user terminal received via the primary satellite with the signal received via at least one secondary satellite. The BS (Base Station) performs quasi-coherent demodulation of each receive signal and combines the demodulated signals in the sense of maximal ratio combining), wherein the diversity combiner operates while a signal strength difference between the serving reception and the diversity reception is less than or equal to a predefined limit.
Widmer does not explicitly teach a strength difference between the serving reception and the diversity reception, however, Kim discloses a method for performing signal strength measurements in a satellite network (Kim par. 117; Meanwhile, in RACH-ConfigCommon, each of ThresholdSSB-TA1, . . . , and ThresholdSSB-TAN may be set to a ratio, not the RSRP range. Here, the ratio may represent not only a difference in signal strengths but also a difference in reception times of the SS/PBCH block between cells or beams)
Therefore, it would have been reasonable for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claim invention to combine Widmer’s methods for achieving power efficiency during the forward link (Up-Link) on a diversity satellite communication system with Kim’s methods for signal configuration for mobile base stations to enhance handover and improve network coverage.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11, wherein the predefined limit is 4 dB (Kim par. 96; The terminal may select the SS block and corresponding PRACH resource for path-loss estimation and (re)transmission based on SS blocks that satisfy the threshold) Examiner notes, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to stablish a specific decibel cut-off where the system experiences the most benefit.
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11 wherein the diversity combining enhances the user uplink by at least 1.4 dB at a serving receiver (Widmer, par. 166; In the multi-frames with enhanced high penetration paging, the UT may apply simple bit combining to increase signal-to-noise ratio (repetition coding) by approximately 5 dB) Examiner notes, Widmer teaches an overall gain of 1-2 dB in par. 188 (Widmer, par. 188; Although there is some performance loss in the order of 1 dB in a linear □/4-QPSK BS receiver, there may be an overall gain of 1 ― 2 dB).
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11 wherein the diversity combining is performed at a serving receiver for the user uplink (Widmer par. 258; There is a BS receiver available for each beam of a satellite. Each BS receiver is a multiple input receiver performing quasi-coherent demodulation of all input signals. The demodulated signals are combined in the sense of maximal ratio diversity combining, this means the demodulated signals are weighed according to their signal-to-noise/interference ratio prior to summation).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 14 wherein the serving receiver performs a channel estimation (Widmer, par 219; If the BS has successfully captured the random access burst, it estimates time and frequency (measures residual timing and frequency errors) and sends a channel assignment, as well as timing and frequency corrections to the UT using a CCPCH). and a Doppler compensation on the serving reception and accepts the diversity reception from a diversity receiver, prior to the diversity combining (Widmer, par. 207; In addition to feeder uplink Doppler precompensation, the BS, knowing the position of the satellite in use, may also precompensate the service forward link carrier frequency so that zero Doppler shift ideally results for a non-moving observer on the earth's surface located at the beam center point)
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 1 wherein a diversity receiver performs a channel estimation (Widmer, par 219; If the BS has successfully captured the random access burst, it estimates time and frequency (measures residual timing and frequency errors) and sends a channel assignment, as well as timing and frequency corrections to the UT using a CCPCH). and a Doppler compensation on the diversity reception prior to the diversity combining (Widmer, par. 207; In addition to feeder uplink Doppler precompensation, the BS, knowing the position of the satellite in use, may also precompensate the service forward link carrier frequency so that zero Doppler shift ideally results for a non-moving observer on the earth's surface located at the beam center point).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11 wherein the diversity reception is communicated via an Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) for the diversity combining (Kim, par. 197; the satellite base station 510 and the satellite base station 520 may exchange such the BWP configuration information through an inter-satellite link (ISL)).
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11 wherein the diversity reception is established as the serving reception when the signal strength difference is less than the predefined limit (Widmer, par. 219; The UT is allowed to access the BS only after having successfully established forward link synchronization).
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Widmer and Kim further teach the system of claim 11 wherein one user downlink to a user device is paired with the serving reception and the diversity reception (Widmer, par. 71; Satellite macro path diversity reception may enhance the detection of the user terminal signal, thus increasing system user capacity and power efficiency. To exploit diversity on the return link, the base station combines the signal of a user terminal received via the primary satellite with the signal received via at least one secondary satellite).
Claim(s) 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Widmer (EP-1091506-A2), in view of Kim et al. (US-20200153500-A1) hereinafter Kim and further in view of Ashrafi et al. (US-20170105153-A1) hereinafter Ashrafi.
Regarding Claim 10, The combination of Widmer and Kim teaches the method of claim 1. The combination does not explicitly teach to terminate the serving reception to conserve transmission power from the satellite, however, Ashrafi further teaches a method and apparatus for inter-satellite handovers where satellites reduce the power of beams or turn on or off (Ashrafi, par. 6; In LEO satellite communication systems, user terminals (UTs) may experience frequent inter-satellite handovers due to high velocities of satellites relative to the UTs, turning on, off, or reducing the power of beams of the satellites, and satellites turning on or off).
Therefore it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Widmer’s methods for achieving power efficiency during the forward link (Up-Link) on a diversity satellite communication system with Kim’s methods for signal configuration for mobile base stations and Ashrafi’s methods for inter satellite handovers to enhance satellite system performance, reduce satellite power costs and enhance satellite selection during handovers to omit those that are off.
Regarding Claim 20, The combination of Widmer and Kim teaches the system of claim 11. The combination does not explicitly teach to terminate the serving reception to conserve transmission power from the satellite, however, Ashrafi further teaches a method and apparatus for inter-satellite handovers where satellites reduce the power of beams or turn on or off (Ashrafi, par. 6; In LEO satellite communication systems, user terminals (UTs) may experience frequent inter-satellite handovers due to high velocities of satellites relative to the UTs, turning on, off, or reducing the power of beams of the satellites, and satellites turning on or off).
Therefore it would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine Widmer’s methods for achieving power efficiency during the forward link (Up-Link) on a diversity satellite communication system with Kim’s methods for signal configuration for mobile base stations and Ashrafi’s methods for inter satellite handovers to enhance satellite system performance, reduce satellite power costs and enhance satellite selection during handovers to omit those that are off.
It is noted that any citations to specific pages, columns, lines or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably
suggested to a person of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/MRCM/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649