DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicants' communication filed on July 22, 2026. Claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 20 are amended. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments/remarks made in an amendment filed July 22, 2026, have been fully considered. In view of the amended claims 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 20 and upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection, necessitated by the amendments is made in view of different interpretation of the previously applied references as presented in this Office action. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 are therefore moot.
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 for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220116105 A1 (Robinson et al.) (hereinafter Robinson) in view of US 20130328929 A1 (JEUNG et al. (hereinafter JEUNG) in view US 20200218690 A1 (Huston et al.) (hereinafter Huston) and in further view of US 20070259619 A1 (Beadle et al.) (hereinafter Beadle).
In re claims 1, 8 and 16, Robinson discloses a computation system and a method to determine availability of continuous communication with a satellite constellation ([0006], “a device for detecting a zone of communication between a phased array antenna and a satellite constellation including a plurality of satellites in non-geosynchronous orbit (non-GEO) is provided”. [0051], “Embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methods for positioning endpoint terminals 102 based on obstructions that may prevent signals from being transmitted between the endpoint terminals 102 and satellites within satellite constellations”), the system comprising: a mobile device (Fig. 12, [0115], “Referring to FIG. 12, a block diagram of an example device 1200 that facilitates configuring the endpoint terminal 102 for communication with a satellite constellation is provided. In a non-limiting example, the device 1200 may correspond to a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet, a laptop, etc.)”), comprising a non-transitory processor readable medium, a display, one or more processors ([0006], “The device includes one or more processors and memory. The memory stores thereon instructions that, as a result of being executed by the one or more processors, cause the device to: determine a location of the device, wherein the location corresponds to a field of regard for detecting the zone of communication between the phased array antenna and the satellite constellation”), and a camera (Fig. 12:1200, [0115], “As shown, device 1200 may also include a display 1214 that displays graphics and/or images (e.g., for viewing by a user of the device 1200). The device 1200 may include one or more additional components not illustrated in FIG. 12, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a camera device, an image sensor, a radar sensor, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a graphics processing unit (GPU) 114, a digital signal processor (DSP), an image signal processor (ISP), among other components”), the mobile device having installed an augmented reality (AR) application ([0115], “For instance, a user of the device 1200 may download and install the application on the device 1200 in order to facilitate configuring the endpoint terminal 102 for communication with a satellite constellation”. [0166], “In some instances, rather than overlaying the obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard onto the image data in real-time, the display engine 1208 may generate a virtual reality (VR) or panoramic visualization of the captured image data. The display engine 1208 may overlay the obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard onto the VR or panoramic visualization of the captured image data such that the user may discern these regions from the processed image data. This may reduce the processing requirements of the device 1200 in performing real time update of the display to provide the portions of the estimated obstruction map corresponding to the portion of the field of regard corresponding to the present attitude of the device 1200”) configured to:
output, via the display of the mobile device (Fig. 12:1214), a user interface depicting a field of view (Fig. 12:1210) being captured by the camera of the mobile device ([0127], “The display engine 1208 may indicate and/or emphasize the portion of the field of regard included within the image frame 1216 in any suitable manner. In some cases, the field of regard outline 1214 may be implemented as a 3-dimensional (3D) scene rendered on top of a live view of a camera of the device 1200”);
output, via a display of the mobile device, an elevation indicator, wherein the elevation indicator is a graphical user interface element that indicates a predefined elevation angle at which to tilt the mobile device;
capture, via the camera of the mobile device, while the mobile device is positioned at or above the predefined elevation angle (it is implicit that a user can capture images via the camera of the phone while holding the phone at an angle), a plurality of frames of an overhead area of sky through which the continuous communication with the satellite constellation is to be provided, the plurality of frames collectively mapping a 360-degree representation of the overhead area relative to an azimuth of the mobile device ([0029], “FIGS. 4 and 5 are exemplary schematic diagrams of the sky view of a user or end point terminal showing satellites in the constellation in view and the GEO-belt” (discloses overhead area of sky). [0087], “As seen in the illustrated examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, the GEO-belt interference zone 170 or 270 is more centered in the sky view of user terminals positioned closer to the equator. Because Los Angeles L1 is closer to the equator E than Seattle L2, the GEO-belt interference zone 170 has a greater degree of overlap with the field of regard 160 for an antenna system having a substantially vertical central vector in Los Angeles in FIG. 4 than in the field of regard 260 for an antenna system having a substantially vertical central vector in Seattle in FIG. 5. Therefore, a greater tilt angle for the user terminal is generally used if the user terminal is positioned closer to the equator within the upper and lower limits of the satellite string orbital path to reduce the amount of overlap between the field of regard and the GEO-belt interference zone” (360 representation of overhead area w.r.t azimuth of the user terminal). [0125], “In some examples, the scene engine 1204 may receive one or more image frames (e.g., an image frame 1216) captured by the device 1200...In particular, the image frame 1216 may include image data corresponding to an upward view of the sky”. [0132], “As noted above, the scene engine 1204 may receive one or more image frames (e.g., an image frame 1216) captured by the device 1200, whereby the image frame 1216 may include image data corresponding to a scene surrounding the device 1200”);
determine that the continuous communication with the satellite constellation is available using the plurality of frames ([0130], “In some examples, the display engine 1208 may visually indicate any obstructions that are visible within the field of regard. For instance, the display engine 1208 may highlight, outline, or otherwise indicate the trees and/or the telephone pole shown in FIG. 14A. Further, the display engine 1208 may display one or more satellites and/or orbital paths within the display 1214. Displaying satellites and/or orbital paths within the display 1214 may indicate and/or emphasize the importance of selecting a location that provides an unobstructed field of regard for the endpoint terminal”); and
output, via the display, an obstruction map based on the plurality of frames that indicates open sky available for communication with the satellite constellation (Fig. 16A, Fig. 21, [0128], “In some cases, the display engine 1208 may output an instruction 1212 to the user within the display 1214. For example, the display engine 1208 may generate an instruction 1212 that facilitates finding a suitable location for the endpoint terminal 102”. [0137], “Additionally, the shape of the field of regard may be dynamically updated in real-time based on any obstructions detected by the obstruction engine 1206 based on one or more image frames (e.g., an image frame 1216) captured by the device 1200” (obstruction map indicating open sky available for a suitable location)).
Robinson does not explicitly disclose output, via a display of the mobile device, an elevation indicator, wherein the elevation indicator is a graphical user interface element that indicates a predefined elevation angle at which to tilt the mobile device.
JEUNG discloses output, via a display of the mobile device, an elevation indicator, wherein the elevation indicator is a graphical user interface element that indicates a predefined elevation angle at which to tilt the mobile device (Fig. 4B, [0077], “a predetermined event for changing a screen to an AR service screen may correspond to tilting the mobile communication terminal 400. For example, a predetermined event to change screens may be tilting the mobile communication terminal 400 at more than a predetermined angle. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, when the user tilts the mobile communication terminal 400 at more than the predetermined angle, the mobile communication terminal 400 may determine that a predetermined event has occurred” (discloses a control through the user interface for mobile to tilt at a predetermined angle). [0083], “In step S503, the mobile communication terminal 400 may determine whether the mobile communication terminal 400 is in the process of tilting. More specifically, when the mobile communication terminal 400 detects a tilting motion, the mobile communication terminal 400 may determine whether the mobile communication terminal 400 has tilted at more than a predetermined angle”. [0091], “as the tilting angle increases, aerial views obtained with higher viewing angles in the air may be provided”. [0127], “Detection of tiling of the mobile communication terminal may be performed by the sensor unit that includes rotation sensor, the gyro sensor, or the linear sensor” (terminal executes the tilting motion based on a predetermined angle)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Robinson with JEUNG to provide an augmented reality service on a mobile phone which can guide a user to detect a zone of communication for earth-based satellite communication systems. The advantage of doing so is to enable the end user to maintain a continuous communication with the satellites and minimize obstructions such as trees, buildings etc.
Robinson and JEUNG do not explicitly disclose the mobile device having installed an augmented reality (AR) application and capture, via the camera of the mobile device, a plurality of frames collectively mapping a 360-degree representation of the area.
Huston discloses the mobile device having installed an augmented reality (AR) application (Fig. 2, Fig. 8, [0043], “A method for extracting a plane uses Simultaneous Localization and Map-building (SLAM)/Parallel Tracking And Mapping (PTAM) algorithm for tracking three-dimensional positional information of a camera and three-dimensional positional information of feature points in real time and providing AR using the plane has been suggested. However, since the SLAM/PTAM algorithm acquires the image to search for the feature points, computes the three-dimensional position of the camera and the three-dimensional positions of the feature points”) and capture, via the camera of the mobile device, a plurality of frames collectively mapping a 360-degree representation of the area ([0009], “a system for creating an environment for use with a location based experience includes a plurality of mobile devices accompanying a number of random contributors, each having a camera to capture random images and associated metadata near a point of interest, wherein the metadata for each image includes location of the mobile device and the orientation of the camera”. [0010], “The images and metadata are processed to build a 3D model of the region near a point of interest”. [0112], “Such scanning systems are available from Matterport of Mountain View, California, which include both conventional images and structured light data acquired in a 360′ area around the scanner. A 3D model of an area can be created by scanning an area from a number of points creating a series of panoramas. Each panorama is a 3D model consisting of images stitched to form a mosaic, along with the 3D depth information (from the depth camera) and associated metadata. In other words, traversing an area near a point of interest and scanning and collecting images over multiple points create a high-fidelity 3D model of the area near the point of interest”).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Robinson and JEUNG with Huston to provide an augmented reality application on a mobile device wherein a plurality of images may be captured using the camera of the device and the AR application to create a 3D representation of the area. The advantage of doing so is to enable the end user to use such an application on the device to detect a zone of communication for earth-based satellite communication systems.
Robinson, JEUNG and Huston do not explicitly disclose to determine a predefined elevation angle at which to tilt the mobile device for capturing an overhead area of sky through which the continuous communication with the satellite constellation is to be provided.
Beadle discloses to determine a predefined elevation angle at which to tilt the mobile device for capturing an overhead area of sky through which the continuous communication with the satellite constellation is to be provided (Fig. 12, [0008], “In order to receive and recover data communication signals from the satellite downlink, it is necessary that the receiver terminal have some a priori knowledge of the downlink signal it is to acquire”. [0009], “For satellite downlink systems, the orbital path of the satellite is governed by well-known physics, which allows the receiver terminal's associated antenna positioning subsystem to effectively continuously maintain the boresight of the receiver terminal antenna pointed at the satellite. Given knowledge of the direction of the incoming signal, a pseudo-range maintained in the receiver terminal is able to provide a data for locating or determining the range to the transmitter. Pseudo range may be derived from initial nominal range knowledge available from an ancillary source, and is continually updated with range error measurements derived from time error measurements made from synchronization resources”. [0027], “As a non-limiting example, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 4, the receiver terminal's antenna 4 may be mounted on a location of a dynamic platform, such as at the bow of a ship 2, that initially has an essentially clear (unobstructed) view (boresight 5) to the transmitter (satellite 1 having some elevation and azimuth relative to the ship's heading)”. [0077], “On the basis of this parallel LOS assumption (and using antenna Ant 2 as "defining" the elevation angle)”. [0083], “Returning to the issue of boresight obscuration, the antenna boresight obscuration database 611 comprises a library of visibility obscuration-based look-up tables, respectively representative of two-dimensional (e.g., elevation (EL) and azimuth (AZ)) spatial maps of quantized visibility values. In each map, non-limiting examples of which are respectively shown at 700 and 800 in FIGS. 7 and 8, at (EL and AZ) spatial locations where antenna visibility to the transmitter (e.g., satellite, cell tower, and the like) is unobscured, the quantized visibility value may be set at a prescribed (`clear view`) number (e.g., unity), representative of the fact that, when its boresight has those (AZ, EL) coordinates, the antenna will enjoy an effectively unobstructed view of the transmitter (e.g., satellite)” (discloses a lookup table for various azimuth and elevation angles for the different antennas for Line of Sight for better visibility. Such physics-based model can be used to define a predefined elevation angle to tilt to start capturing for better visibility of the sky)).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Robinson, JEUNG, Huston and Beadle to provide a system and technique to detect a zone of communication for earth-based satellite communication systems using 360-degree imaging of points of interest and virtual reality tools. The advantage of doing so is to enable the end user to maintain a continuous communication with the satellites and minimize obstructions such as trees, buildings etc.
In re claims 2, 9 and 17, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, the method of claim 8 and the computational system of claim 16, wherein Robinson discloses the method further comprising:
determining a recommendation with respect to installing an antenna for a user terminal based on a predefined threshold with respect to the open sky available for communication with the satellite constellation ([0006], “and output, to a user of the device, an indication of the level of communication between the phased array antenna and the satellite constellation associated with the field of regard”. [0142], “Based on detecting the tree T and/or the building B within the field of regard 162a, the device 1200 may determine that location 1 is unsuitable for installation of the endpoint terminal 102. For example, the device 1200 may determine that the obstructions will prevent a sufficient level of communication between the endpoint terminal 102 and the constellation of satellites 166. Thus, the device 1200 may provide a visual indication and/or output an instruction to the user directing the user to move the device 1200 to a new (e.g., different) location” (providing recommendation)); and
outputting, via a user interface (Fig. 12:1214), the obstruction map, wherein the obstruction map comprises a visual indicator associated with the open sky available for communication with the satellite constellation and the recommendation ([0162], “Referring to FIG. 21, the display engine 1208 may use the obstruction data to generate the obstruction map visualization, which may be presented to the user via the display of the device 1200”).
In re claims 3, 10 and 18, the combination discloses the system of claim 2, the method of claim 9 and the computational system of claim 17, wherein Robinson discloses wherein the predefined threshold with respect to the open sky available for communication with the satellite constellation is independent of an orientation of the antenna (Fig. 16A, [0168], “In some embodiments, the endpoint terminal 102 is a device that is installed at an end-user premises in order to provide access to the communication network to the end-user premises. As shown, the endpoint terminal 102 includes an endpoint communication interface 2202. The endpoint communication interface 2202 allows the endpoint terminal 102 to communicate with a satellite, such as the first satellite 104 (see FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the endpoint communication interface 2202 may include a phased array antenna configured to communicate with the first satellite 104, for example, via the Ku band”. [0169], “The location determination engine 2200 may receive information regarding the latitude location for the endpoint terminal, a longitude location of the endpoint terminal, obstructions, geological features, population density, an altitude of the end point terminal, a load balancing analysis of the satellite constellation, one or more angles of inclination of the satellite constellation, a geographical cell to which the end point terminal belongs, and combinations thereof” (suitable location depends on many other factors and not the orientation of the antenna)).
In re claims 4, 11 and 19, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, the method of claim 8 and the computational system of claim 16, wherein Robinson discloses wherein the determining that the continuous communication with the satellite constellation is available further comprises executing a machine-learning model for:
identifying a block region of the plurality of frames, wherein the block region comprises a plurality of pixels ([0157], “In an embodiment, the scene engine 1204 uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) to segment the image data into obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard. The CNN may perform binary segmentation of the stored images, whereby for each pixel in a stored image, the CNN may predict whether that pixel represents an obstructed or unobstructed region of the stored image and/or field of regard represented in the stored image. The CNN may be trained using sample images and segmentation masks from open-source and/or proprietary datasets”);
determining that at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels includes an obstruction by performing image segmentation ([0157], “The CNN may perform binary segmentation of the stored images, whereby for each pixel in a stored image, the CNN may predict whether that pixel represents an obstructed or unobstructed region of the stored image and/or field of regard represented in the stored image”); and
assigning an obstruction identifier to the block region associated with the at least one pixel, wherein the obstruction identifier indicates that the overhead area corresponding to the block region is obstructed ([0159], “the scene engine 1204, in addition to using a CNN to segment the image data into obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard, can use a separate machine learning algorithm or artificial intelligence for semantic classification of the image data”. [0163], “Within the graphical representation of the field of regard, the display engine 1208 may divide the field of regard into obstructed and unobstructed regions based on the obtained obstruction data...For example, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the display engine 1208 may use a blue color to graphically denote unobstructed regions of the field of regard and a red color to graphically denote obstructed regions of the field of regard. It should be noted that while different colors are used to distinguish between obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard, other techniques may be used to distinguish between these regions”).
In re claims 5, 13 and 20, the combination discloses the system of claim 1, the method of claim 8 and the computational system of claim 16, wherein HUSTON discloses wherein prior to capturing the plurality of frames of the overhead area and subsequent to the mobile device being tilted at the predefined elevation angle, provide, via a user interface, an interface element configured to be selected to initiate the capturing the plurality of frames (Fig. 4, [0038], “As used herein, the term "image" refers to one or a series of images taken by a camera (e.g., a still camera, digital camera, video camera, camera phone, etc.) or any other imaging equipment. The image is associated with metadata, such as EXIF, time, location, tilt angle, and orientation of the imaging device (e.g., camera) at the time of image capture” (discloses a device with the camera may be oriented at a certain angle at the time of capturing images). [0062], “camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips. Camera controls (zoom, pan, capture and store) can be incorporated into buttons 134-136 (Fig 4.)”. [0072], “The memory may include graphical user interface instructions to facilitate graphic user interface processing; sensor processing instructions to facilitate sensor-related processing and functions; phone instructions to facilitate phone-related processes and functions...” (discloses a graphical user interface for camera control functions such as capture)).
In re claims 6 and 14, the combination discloses the system of claim 1 and the method of claim 8, wherein Robinson discloses wherein the method comprises outputting, via a user interface, one or more graphical elements overlaying a field of view being captured by the camera of the mobile device, wherein an amount of the one or more graphical elements is configured to indicate progress of capturing the plurality of frames; capturing a particular frame of the plurality of frames, wherein the particular frame corresponds to a subset of the one or more graphical elements; in response to capturing the particular frame, removing a subset of the one or more graphical elements from the user interface; and outputting a progress indicator corresponding to the subset of the one or more graphical elements removed from the user interface (Fig. 19B, Fig. 20).
In re claims 7 and 15, the combination discloses the system of claim 1 and the method of claim 8, wherein Robinson discloses wherein the method comprises wherein the obstruction map further comprises a two-dimensional representation of the overhead area, azimuthal identifiers with respect to the two-dimensional representation, and cardinal direction indicators with respect to the two- dimensional representation, and wherein the two-dimensional representation includes a visual indicator configured to indicate a respective location of obstructions detected in the overhead area (Fig. 13, [0163], “The obstruction map may provide a visual representation of obstructed and unobstructed regions of the field of regard”).
In re claim 12, the combination discloses the method of claim 11, wherein Robinson discloses wherein the machine-learning model is configured for retraining using an updated training dataset, and wherein the updated training dataset includes at least one frame of the plurality of frames captured during the capturing the plurality of frames ([0157], “Further, in some instances, as new image data is obtained from different users for corresponding devices, the scene engine 1204 may store this new image data, along with the classification of regions of the fields of regard corresponding to the new image data, to supplement the datasets used to train the CNN”. [0158], “In some instances, as new image data and corresponding classifications are obtained, the datasets used to train the CNN may be changed”).
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Contact
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SWATI JAIN whose telephone number is (571)270-0699. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri (830 am - 530 pm).
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/SWATI JAIN/Examiner, Art Unit 2649 /YUWEN PAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2649
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