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 .
Amendment filed 6/1/2026 is acknowledged.
Independent claims 1, 10, and 18 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 remain pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 4/15/2026 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
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashour et al. (US20250076445A1), hereafter Ashour, in view of Mansour (US20250096886A1) and further in view of Bennington et al. (US20240103181A1; previously cited, see PTO-892 dated 3/4/2026), hereafter Bennington.
Regarding claims 1 and 10,
Ashour discloses a system for monitoring and control (paragraphs 46-47; trend/pattern monitoring, control and AI/ML optimization of network elements and resources) of satellite signal performance in a satellite transmission system (Fig. 1, SPS 170; paragraph 56; system includes satellite signals/measurement) comprising one or more processors and a memory device storing a set of instructions (Fig. 3, 18, 19; paragraph 5, 6, 34, 35) that, when executed by the one or more processors, performs a method (Figs. 13-17), wherein components of the satellite transmission system include one or more uplink antennas (Fig. 1, beamformed signals 184; paragraphs 36, 48, 54, 68-73), a satellite spacecraft (Fig. 1, satellite for SPS 170), a plurality of customer receivers (Fig. 1, UEs 104), a data lake (i.e. Fig. 7, server 710; paragraph 31, 47, 56, 97-98, 106-109), and a monitoring and control system (Fig. 1, system 100 including service mgmt framework 105/controller 125).
Ashour discloses obtaining signal data at the data lake from at least some of the plurality of customer receivers (Fig. 13, step 1323; obtain a plurality of sensing reports from UEs), wherein the plurality of customer receivers are located across a diverse geographical region (Fig. 1; paragraph 38, 98), and wherein the signal data include metadata (paragraph 109; sensing reports include metadata).
Ashour further shows accessing the signal data at the data lake from the monitoring and control system (Fig. 1, A1 interface between service mgmt framework 105 and controller 125), measuring the signal data from each of the signal beams that were obtained across the diverse geographical region (Fig. 6-7; paragraph 48, 94-99; beam management based on plurality of UE measurement/sensing reports across diverse cells), and analyzing metadata from the components of the system, signal source front end controls, and spectral sampling (paragraphs 109-117).
Ashour further shows identifying and correlating probable causes of signal degradation at one or more uplink antennas from the signal data of actual spot beam coverage using the measured signal data and the analyzed metadata (Fig. 9-11; paragraphs 109-124; generating RF heat maps based on the metadata of the plurality of sensing reports), predicting remediation actions to correct the signal degradation at the one or more uplink antennas (paragraph 78; using historical interference patterns to predict future interference patterns), and executing one or more remediation actions to correct the signal degradation at the one or more uplink antennas, wherein the one or more remediation actions include optimizing uplink band usage by the one or more uplink antennas and optimizing power output by the one or more uplink antennas (paragraph 99; beam policy optimization for increased throughput and reduced power).
While Ashour discloses satellite/SPS 170 as noted above, Ashour does not expressly disclose the above method applied strictly to components of a satellite transmission system, wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas.
Mansour discloses analogous art including components of a satellite transmission system (Title: Inter Satellite Coverage Management), wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas (Fig. 2-5; paragraphs 2, 32, 56, 65; detected/foreseen overload causes proactive adjustment of inter-satellite UL/DL coverage based on exchanged load data and predictions to optimize throughput/network efficiency).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to modify Ashour by implementation for components of a satellite transmission system, wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas, as shown by Mansour, thereby enabling proactive beam management to optimize satellite system throughput and power.
The combination of Ashour and Mansour do not expressly disclose consideration of increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance.
Bennington discloses analogous art (Title: Forecasts of LEO Satellite Obscuration and Multipath; paragraph 151; LEO coverage heat maps) including consideration of increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance (paragraph 64, 175; beamforming power to maintain acceptable signal strength amidst local environment variables such as atmosphere, buildings, etc. that causes signal loss due to obscuration/interference of the wireless medium).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to modify Ashour and Mansour by increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance, as shown by Bennington, thereby aiding prediction of throughput, handover frequency and area capacity density to plan future deployments of LEO satellites to improve client performance.
Regarding claim 18,
Ashour discloses a method (Fig. 13-17) for monitoring and control of signal performance in a transmission system for signal optimization (paragraphs 46-47; trend/pattern monitoring, control and AI/ML optimization of network elements and resources including Fig. 1, SPS 170; paragraph 56; system includes satellite signals/measurement), the method comprising obtaining signal data from at least some of a plurality of customer receivers (Fig. 13, step 1323; obtain a plurality of sensing reports from UEs), wherein the plurality of customer receivers are located across a diverse geographical region (Fig. 1; paragraph 38, 98).
measuring the signal data from each of the signal beams that were obtained from the plurality of customer receivers (Fig. 6-7; paragraph 48, 94-99; beam management based on plurality of UE measurement/sensing reports across diverse cells), analyzing metadata from components of the transmission system, signal source front end controls, and spectral sampling (paragraphs 109-117),
identifying the signal degradation at one or more uplink antennas from the signal data of actual spot beam coverage using the measured signal data and the analyzed metadata (Fig. 9-11; paragraphs 109-124; generating RF heat maps based on the metadata of the plurality of sensing reports) and predicting remediation actions to correct the signal degradation at the one or more uplink antennas (paragraph 78; using historical interference patterns to predict future interference patterns; paragraph 99; beam policy optimization for throughput and power).
While Ashour discloses satellite/SPS 170 as noted above, Ashour does not expressly disclose the above method applied strictly to components of a satellite transmission system, wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas.
Mansour discloses analogous art including components of a satellite transmission system (Title: Inter Satellite Coverage Management), wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas (Fig. 2-5; paragraphs 2, 32, 56, 65; detected/foreseen overload causes proactive adjustment of inter-satellite UL/DL coverage based on exchanged load data and predictions to optimize throughput/network efficiency).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to modify Ashour by implementation for components of a satellite transmission system, wherein the signal data is obtained from downlink signal beams received at the plurality of customer receivers from the satellite spacecraft, the satellite spacecraft receiving uplink signal beams from the one or more uplink antennas, as shown by Mansour, thereby enabling proactive beam management to optimize satellite system throughput and power.
The combination of Ashour and Mansour do not expressly disclose consideration of increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance.
Bennington discloses analogous art (Title: Forecasts of LEO Satellite Obscuration and Multipath; paragraph 151; LEO coverage heat maps) including consideration of increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance (paragraph 64, 175; beamforming power to maintain acceptable signal strength amidst local environment variables such as atmosphere, buildings, etc. that causes signal loss due to obscuration/interference of the wireless medium).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of effective filing to modify Ashour and Mansour by increasing power to overcome sky attenuation in the monitoring and control of satellite signal system performance, as shown by Bennington, thereby aiding prediction of throughput, handover frequency and area capacity density to plan future deployments of LEO satellites to improve client performance.
Regarding claims 2 and 11,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses at least one of the remediation actions includes correcting uplink antenna misalignment between the one or more uplink antennas and the satellite spacecraft (Ashour: paragraph 30, 47; beam management for beam alignment, corrective actions/reconfiguration through SMO framework; Mansour: paragraph 52; monitored metrics below threshold requiring re-alignment of beam coverage areas of satellite). See motivation above.
Regarding claims 3 and 12,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses at least one of the remediation actions includes correcting uplink antenna gear misconfiguration of the one or more uplink antennas (Ashour: paragraph 30, 47; beam management for beam alignment, corrective actions/reconfiguration through SMO framework; Mansour: paragraph 52; monitored metrics below threshold requiring re-alignment of beam coverage areas of satellite). See motivations above.
Regarding claims 4 and 13,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses at least one of the remediation actions includes providing an uplink antenna alternative path swap for the one or more uplink antennas (Ashour: paragraph 67, handover support functions; Mansour: paragraph 23, 52, 59, 60; handover from first satellite/antenna to second satellite/antenna). See motivations above.
Regarding claims 5 and 14,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses drawing penetration heat map with the signal data from the actual spot beam coverage using the measured signal data and the analyzed metadata (Fig. 9-11, 13-17; paragraphs 111-124, 133-168; heat map reporting and generation); comparing theoretical spot beam coverage to the actual spot beam coverage on the penetration heat map (Ashour: paragraph 36, 46; AI/ML model training of heat map) and identifying the signal degradation from the penetration heat map drawn from the signal data of the actual spot beam coverage and the comparison to the theoretical spot beam coverage (Mansour: paragraph 56; machine learning models fed/trained on historical data and real-time data to predict future metrics/degradation). See motivations above.
Regarding claims 6, 7, and 15,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses an artificial intelligence engine is trained with the signal data from the actual spot beam coverage to redraw a penetration heat map with newly acquired signal data from the actual spot beam coverage (Ashour: paragraph 36, 46; AI/ML model training of heat map; Mansour: paragraph 56; machine learning models fed/trained on historical data and real-time data to predict future metrics/degradation). See motivations above.
Regarding claims 8, 9, 16, and 17,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington does not expressly disclose at least one of the remediation actions includes sending a message to components that have been determined not to be a source of identified signal degradation that no corrective action is required for those blocking components that have been determined not to be source of identified signal degradation from taking corrective action.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the broadest reasonable interpretation of these claimed limitations is simply to maintain current configuration of system components that do not contribute to the signal degradation, such as when metrics do not rise above or fall below a corresponding measurement threshold (Ashour: 90-93, 111; metric thresholds, using in heat map reporting and generation; Mansour: Abstract, paragraphs 20-24, 50-64; detecting particular metrics against thresholds), such that it would have been obvious at the time of effective filing to modify Ashour and Mansour to block corrective actions if not contributing to signal degradation in order to efficiently optimize the system.
Regarding claim 19,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses executing one or more remediation actions to correct the signal degradation at the one or more uplink antennas, wherein the one or more remediation actions include optimizing uplink band usage by the one or more uplink antennas and optimizing power output by the one or more uplink antennas (paragraph 99; beam policy optimization for increased throughput and reduced power).
Regarding claim 20,
The combination of Ashour, Mansour, and Bennington discloses at least one of the remediation actions includes one or more of correcting uplink antenna misalignment between the one or more uplink antennas and the satellite spacecraft, correcting uplink antenna gear misconfiguration of the one or more uplink antennas (Ashour: paragraph 30, 47; beam management for beam alignment, corrective actions/reconfiguration through SMO framework; Mansour: paragraph 52; monitored metrics below threshold requiring re-alignment of beam coverage areas of satellite), and providing an uplink antenna alternative path swap for the one or more uplink antennas (Ashour: paragraph 67, handover support functions; Mansour: paragraph 23, 52, 59, 60; handover from first satellite/antenna to second satellite/antenna). See motivations above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the pending claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection relies on the newly-cited Bennington reference 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.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/GREGORY B SEFCHECK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2477
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