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 .
The official correspondence below is an after non-final.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1, 3-4, 11, 13, 15, 17-19 have been amended.
Claim 20 has been cancelled.
Claim 21 is new.
Claims 1-19 and 21 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 3, 15, 17, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement.
Claim(s) 3, 15, 17, and 21 contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows:
Claim 3, “the position of the aircraft, and the updated mission plan”
Claim 15, “dynamically allocate satellite communication resources based on the anomaly and a position of the aircraft”
Claim 17, “based on a predicted aircraft trajectory included in the updated mission plan”
Claim 21, “selecting a communication beam from a plurality of satellite beams based on a predicted aircraft trajectory included in the updated mission plan”
The instant specification, as originally filed, discloses “[0011] the space edge computer dynamically allocates and/or shapes communication beams based on traffic demands, system constraints, and theater resiliency, as identified by the system in real-time. Additionally, in some examples, the space edge computer incorporates features such as overdrive, beam shapeshifting, mission planning, and/or platform diagnostics for self-tests of satellite and/or aircraft assets, [0048] The shape shifting circuitry 206 can autonomously and dynamically shift the shape of communication beams based on air traffic, and [0082] the programmable circuitry is to dynamically shift communication beams based on air traffic”. However, to the examiner's best understanding, the instant specification is devoid of support for the amendments specified above.
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) 1-2, 4-6, 10-14, and 17-19, and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O'Dell (US 20130197725 A1) in view of Mitchell (US 20250259553 A1), in further view of Brownjohn (US 20160050013 A1) and Garcia (US 20180198516 A1).
REGARDING CLAIM 1, O’Dell discloses, communication interface circuitry to access aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0055] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for requesting and retrieving aircraft data from an aircraft's various sub-systems during flight; [0003] There is a need for methods and systems for monitoring the health of an aircraft and the aircraft's various components and sub-systems … [0004] A parameter request message is then generated that includes a parameter file that specifies the relevant parameters that are to be measured at the aircraft. The parameter request message is communicated to the aircraft over satellite communication links); machine-readable instructions (O'Dell: [0051] programmed with computer executable instructions for implementing a particular health and trend monitoring algorithm (HTMA). The memory 392 can store various different AHTM program modules 380 that can be used to implement various different HTMAs via computer executable instructions); the programmable circuity to be programmed by the machine-readable instructions to: identify an anomaly (O'Dell: [0022] the measured data for each of the parameters that are included in the file can be analyzed to determine which of the parameters are at an abnormal level (i.e., outside of its upper and/or lower threshold limits)) based on the aircraft operation data received from an aircraft telemetry system (O'Dell: [0022]); prepare an updated mission plan for an aircraft based on the anomaly (O'Dell: [0089] The disclosed methods and systems can reduce the amount of time needed to identify and diagnose problems and perform routine troubleshooting and aircraft maintenance tasks. In-flight issues can be identified for ground-based crews as soon as they occur to facilitate the development and implementation of quick and efficient return-to-service when the aircraft lands); and cause transmission of a flight management system command (O'Dell: [0005] The transceiver is configured to transmit the data file to the satellite for delivery to the other computer).
O'Dell does not explicitly disclose, programmable circuitry onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation, based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft from the one or more satellites without ground-based communications or ground-based processing to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mitchell discloses, programmable circuitry onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation (Mitchell: [0008] A system for atmospheric anomaly detection is disclosed in accordance with one or more illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure. In one illustrative embodiment, the system may include a network of ground-based nodes. In another illustrative embodiment, the system may include a plurality of satellites of a constellation. In another illustrative embodiment, the network and the plurality of satellites may be configured to perform time synching. In another illustrative embodiment, the system may include one or more controllers with processors configured to execute program instructions for performing time synching between the network and the satellites, directing signal transmissions, receiving and aggregating signal data, determining signal characteristics, identifying atmospheric anomalies, and adjusting a flight plan based on the anomalies), based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft (Mitchell: [0019] satellites, receiving and aggregating signal data, determining signal characteristics, identifying atmospheric anomalies, and adjusting flight plans based on the identified anomalies. The system and method may provide real-time data and may be used to improve flight planning and safety; [0081] The system 138 may also transmit an alert (e.g., audio and/or visual alert) to the pilots to alert the pilots of the presence of atmospheric anomalies 216 that may require intervention (e.g., manual, automated or FAA directed intervention) or changes to the flight plan) from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [0035] The aircraft controller 102 and/or the one or more offboard controllers 124 may be coupled (e.g., physically, electrically, and/or communicatively) to one or more satellites 134 (e.g., satellites such as satellites 222, 222a, 222b of FIGS. 2A and 2B). For example, the aircraft controller 102 and/or the one or more offboard controllers 124 may be coupled (e.g., physically, electrically, and/or communicatively) to one another via the one or more satellites 134) without ground-based communications or ground-based processing (Mitchell: [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details) to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management (Mitchell: [0019] satellites, receiving and aggregating signal data, determining signal characteristics, identifying atmospheric anomalies, and adjusting flight plans based on the identified anomalies. The system and method may provide real-time data and may be used to improve flight planning and safety; [0081] The system 138 may also transmit an alert (e.g., audio and/or visual alert) to the pilots to alert the pilots of the presence of atmospheric anomalies 216 that may require intervention (e.g., manual, automated or FAA directed intervention) or changes to the flight plan), for the benefit of improving flight planning and safety.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by O’Dell to include crew communication taught by Mitchell. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve flight planning and safety.
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without ground-based communications or ground-based processing. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 2, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell also discloses, the programmable circuitry is to communicate one or more of the aircraft operation data, information related to the anomaly, or the updated mission plan to a ground-based entity (O'Dell: [0022] the measured data for each of the parameters that are included in the file can be analyzed to determine which of the parameters are at an abnormal level (i.e., outside of its upper and/or lower threshold limits)).
REGARDING CLAIM 4, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (Mitchell: [0045-0046] an aircraft 100. At step 310, a time synching may be performed between a network 200 of ground-based nodes 202 and a plurality of satellites 222 of a constellation 220), the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0076] The adjusting the flight plan may be configured to be communicated via a communication interface 110 positioned in an electromagnetically transparent nose radome 101 (e.g., a nosecone 101) of the aircraft 100; [0026] The aircraft 100 may include an avionics environment such as ... aircraft performance parameters, aircraft performance parameter predictions, sensor readings, alerts, or the like; [0030] The aircraft controller 102 may be coupled (e.g., physically, electrically, and/or communicatively) to and configured to receive data from one or more sensors 118 such as one or more aircraft sensors 180 configured to detect atmospheric anomalies 216. The one or more aircraft sensors 180 may be configured to sense a particular condition(s) external or internal to the aircraft 100 and/or within the aircraft 100. The one or more aircraft sensors 180 may be configured to output data associated with particular sensed condition(s) to one or more components/systems onboard the aircraft 100. Generally, the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial measurement units, one or more airspeed sensors, one or more radio altimeters, one or more flight dynamic sensors (e.g., sensors configured to sense pitch, bank, roll, heading, and/or yaw), one or more weather radars, one or more air temperature sensors, one or more surveillance sensors, one or more air pressure sensors, one or more engine sensors, and/or one or more optical sensors (e.g., one or more cameras configured to acquire images in an electromagnetic spectrum range including, but not limited to, the visible light spectrum range, the infrared spectrum range, the ultraviolet spectrum range, or any other spectrum range known in the art) ... [0032] It is noted herein the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may operate as a navigation device 120, being configured to sense any of various flight conditions or aircraft conditions typically used by aircraft and output navigation data (e.g., aircraft location data, aircraft orientation data, aircraft direction data, aircraft speed data, and/or aircraft acceleration data). For example, the various flight conditions or aircraft conditions may include altitude, aircraft location (e.g., relative to the earth), aircraft orientation (e.g., relative to the earth), aircraft speed, aircraft acceleration, aircraft trajectory, aircraft pitch, aircraft bank, aircraft roll, aircraft yaw, aircraft heading, air temperature, and/or air pressure. By way of another example, the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may provide aircraft location data and aircraft orientation data, respectively, to the one or more processors 104, 126), the anomaly is a first anomaly (Mitchell: [0024] FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an aircraft including a system for atmospheric anomaly detection), the aircraft telemetry system is first aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0076] The adjusting the flight plan may be configured to be communicated via a communication interface 110 positioned in an electromagnetically transparent nose radome 101 (e.g., a nosecone 101) of the aircraft 100; [0026] The aircraft 100 may include an avionics environment such as ... aircraft performance parameters, aircraft performance parameter predictions, sensor readings, alerts, or the like; [0030] The aircraft controller 102 may be coupled (e.g., physically, electrically, and/or communicatively) to and configured to receive data from one or more sensors 118 such as one or more aircraft sensors 180 configured to detect atmospheric anomalies 216. The one or more aircraft sensors 180 may be configured to sense a particular condition(s) external or internal to the aircraft 100 and/or within the aircraft 100. The one or more aircraft sensors 180 may be configured to output data associated with particular sensed condition(s) to one or more components/systems onboard the aircraft 100. Generally, the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial measurement units, one or more airspeed sensors, one or more radio altimeters, one or more flight dynamic sensors (e.g., sensors configured to sense pitch, bank, roll, heading, and/or yaw), one or more weather radars, one or more air temperature sensors, one or more surveillance sensors, one or more air pressure sensors, one or more engine sensors, and/or one or more optical sensors (e.g., one or more cameras configured to acquire images in an electromagnetic spectrum range including, but not limited to, the visible light spectrum range, the infrared spectrum range, the ultraviolet spectrum range, or any other spectrum range known in the art) ... [0032] It is noted herein the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may operate as a navigation device 120, being configured to sense any of various flight conditions or aircraft conditions typically used by aircraft and output navigation data (e.g., aircraft location data, aircraft orientation data, aircraft direction data, aircraft speed data, and/or aircraft acceleration data). For example, the various flight conditions or aircraft conditions may include altitude, aircraft location (e.g., relative to the earth), aircraft orientation (e.g., relative to the earth), aircraft speed, aircraft acceleration, aircraft trajectory, aircraft pitch, aircraft bank, aircraft roll, aircraft yaw, aircraft heading, air temperature, and/or air pressure. By way of another example, the one or more aircraft sensors 180 may provide aircraft location data and aircraft orientation data, respectively, to the one or more processors 104, 126), and the updated mission plan is a first updated mission plan (Mitchell: [ABS] identifying one or more atmospheric anomalies based on the signal characteristics, and adjusting a flight plan based on the one or more atmospheric anomalies; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft (Mitchell: [0080] configured to receive aircraft data from one or more sensors 118 of one or more aircraft 100); and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly (Mitchell: [0019] satellites, receiving and aggregating signal data, determining signal characteristics, identifying atmospheric anomalies, and adjusting flight plans based on the identified anomalies. The system and method may provide real-time data and may be used to improve flight planning and safety; [0081] The system 138 may also transmit an alert (e.g., audio and/or visual alert) to the pilots to alert the pilots of the presence of atmospheric anomalies 216 that may require intervention (e.g., manual, automated or FAA directed intervention) or changes to the flight plan) based on the second aircraft operation data received from a second aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0080] configured to receive aircraft data from one or more sensors 118 of one or more aircraft 100); prepare a second updated mission plan for the second aircraft based on the second anomaly (Mitchell: [ABS] identifying one or more atmospheric anomalies based on the signal characteristics, and adjusting a flight plan based on the one or more atmospheric anomalies; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); and communicate the second updated mission plan from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [ABS] A systema and method for atmospheric anomaly detection is disclosed. The method may include performing a time synching between a network of ground-based nodes and a plurality of satellites of a constellation. The method may include directing a transmission of signals between the network and the plurality of satellites, where the signals are configured to be aimed along a plurality of paths through an atmospheric space between the network and the satellites. The method may also include receiving and aggregating signal data corresponding to the signals via at least one of the network or the satellites, determining signal characteristics based on the signal data, identifying one or more atmospheric anomalies based on the signal characteristics, and adjusting a flight plan based on the one or more atmospheric anomalies) without intermediate ground relays (Mitchell: [Claim 20] The system of claim 18, wherein the aircraft comprises aircraft sensors and wherein the controller is further configured to receive aircraft data from the aircraft sensors, and wherein the identifying the one or more atmospheric anomalies is further based on the aircraft data; [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details) to the second aircraft to change an aircraft operating parameter of the second aircraft (Mitchell: [ABS] identifying one or more atmospheric anomalies based on the signal characteristics, and adjusting a flight plan based on the one or more atmospheric anomalies; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans), wherein the programmable circuitry is to prepare the first updated mission plan and the second updated mission at least partially simultaneously (Mitchell: [0080] the aircraft data may aid in real-time atmospheric anomaly detection to alert other aircraft; [0086] such steps may be carried out in any desired order and two or more of the steps may be carried out simultaneously with one another).
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without intermediate ground relays. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 5, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (O'Dell: [0063] Upon generating the CAS message file, at 510, the aircraft 110 performs operations to open a first satellite communication link 111 between the aircraft 110 and the satellite 112 and a second satellite) and the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0022] the measured data for each of the parameters that are included in the file can be analyzed to determine which of the parameters are at an abnormal level (i.e., outside of its upper and/or lower threshold limits)).
O’Dell does not explicitly disclose, the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft; and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly based on the second aircraft operation data.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mitchell discloses, the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft (Mitchell: [0080] configured to receive aircraft data from one or more sensors 118 of one or more aircraft 100); and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly based on the second aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0019] satellites, receiving and aggregating signal data, determining signal characteristics, identifying atmospheric anomalies, and adjusting flight plans based on the identified anomalies. The system and method may provide real-time data and may be used to improve flight planning and safety; [0081] The system 138 may also transmit an alert (e.g., audio and/or visual alert) to the pilots to alert the pilots of the presence of atmospheric anomalies 216 that may require intervention (e.g., manual, automated or FAA directed intervention) or changes to the flight plan), for the benefit of improving flight planning and safety.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by O’Dell to include duplicating a process for one or more aircraft taught by Mitchell. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve flight planning and safety.
REGARDING CLAIM 6, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell also discloses, prepare a maintenance log based on the aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0089] The disclosed methods and systems can reduce the amount of time needed to identify and diagnose problems and perform routine troubleshooting and aircraft maintenance tasks. In-flight issues can be identified for ground-based crews as soon as they occur to facilitate the development and implementation of quick and efficient return-to-service when the aircraft lands); and communicate the maintenance log to an aircraft manufacturer (O'Dell: [0017] The computer 122 may be located, for example, at aircraft monitoring center of either an operator or the aircraft manufacturer; [0089] reduce the amount of time needed to identify and diagnose problems and perform routine troubleshooting and aircraft maintenance tasks. In-flight issues can be identified for ground-based crews as soon as they occur to facilitate the development and implementation of quick and efficient return-to-service when the aircraft lands).
REGARDING CLAIM 10, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the space-based apparatus is distributed over at least two satellites (Mitchell: [FIG. 2A]).
REGARDING CLAIM 11, communication interface circuitry to access aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0055]; [0003-0004]); machine-readable instructions (O'Dell: [0051]); the programmable circuity to be programmed by the machine-readable instructions to: identify an anomaly (O'Dell: [0022]) based on the aircraft operation data received from an aircraft telemetry system (O'Dell: [0022]); prepare an updated mission plan for an aircraft based on the anomaly (O'Dell: [0089]); and cause transmission of a flight management system command (O'Dell: [0005]).
O'Dell does not explicitly disclose, circuit onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation, based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft from the one or more satellites without ground-based communications or ground-based processing to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mitchell discloses, circuit onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation (Mitchell: [0008]), based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]) from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [0035]) without ground-based communications or ground-based processing (Mitchell: [0018]) to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]), for the benefit of improving flight planning and safety.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by O’Dell to include crew communication taught by Mitchell. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve flight planning and safety.
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without ground-based communications or ground-based processing. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 12, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 11. Further, O’Dell also discloses, communicate one or more of the aircraft operation data, information related to the anomaly, or the updated mission plan to a ground-based entity (O'Dell: [0022]).
REGARDING CLAIM 13, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 11. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (Mitchell: [0045-0046]), the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0076]; [0026]; [0030-0032]), the anomaly is a first anomaly (Mitchell: [0024]), the aircraft telemetry system is first aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0076]; [0026]; [0030-0032]), and the updated mission plan is a first updated mission plan (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft (Mitchell: [0080]); and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]) based on the second aircraft operation data received from a second aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0080]); prepare a second updated mission plan for the second aircraft based on the second anomaly (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); and communicate the second updated mission plan from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [ABS]) without intermediate ground relays (Mitchell: [Claim 20]; [0018]) to the second aircraft to change an aircraft operating parameter of the second aircraft (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans), wherein the programmable circuitry is to prepare the first updated mission plan and the second updated mission at least partially simultaneously (Mitchell: [0080]; [0086]).
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without intermediate ground relays. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 14, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 11. Further, O’Dell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (O'Dell: [0063]) and the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0022]).
O’Dell does not explicitly disclose, the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft; and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly based on the second aircraft operation data.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mitchell discloses, the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft (Mitchell: [0080]); and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly based on the second aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]), for the benefit of improving flight planning and safety.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by O’Dell to include duplicating a process for one or more aircraft taught by Mitchell. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve flight planning and safety.
REGARDING CLAIM 15, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 11. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the storage medium and the at least one processor circuit are distributed over at least two satellites, the instructions cause at least one of the processor circuits to dynamically allocate satellite communication resources based on the anomaly and a position of the aircraft (Mitchell: [FIG. 2A]; [0049] The configuration of the signals 206 for transmission may involve the utilization of beamforming techniques (e.g., electronically scanned arrays (ESAs)) to focus the signal energy along specific paths 218. For example, adaptive algorithms may be implemented to adjust the signal paths 218 in real-time to account for satellite 222 positions in orbit).
REGARDING CLAIM 17, O’Dell discloses, communication interface circuitry to access aircraft operation data (O'Dell: [0055]; [0003-0004]); machine-readable instructions (O'Dell: [0051]); the programmable circuity to be programmed by the machine-readable instructions to: identify an anomaly (O'Dell: [0022])) based on the aircraft operation data received from an aircraft telemetry system (O'Dell: [0022]); prepare an updated mission plan for an aircraft based on the anomaly (O'Dell: [0089]); and cause transmission of a flight management system command (O'Dell: [0005]).
O'Dell does not explicitly disclose, programmable circuitry onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation, based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft from the one or more satellites without ground-based communications or ground-based processing to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Mitchell discloses, programmable circuitry onboard one or more satellites of a satellite constellation (Mitchell: [0008]), based on the updated mission plan to the aircraft (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]) from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [0035]) without ground-based communications or ground-based processing (Mitchell: [0018]) to change an aircraft operating parameter including at least one of a route, an altitude, a speed, or a fuel flow management (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]), for the benefit of improving flight planning and safety.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by O’Dell to include crew communication taught by Mitchell. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve flight planning and safety.
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without ground-based communications or ground-based processing. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 18, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 17. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (Mitchell: [0045-0046]), the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0076]; [0026]; [0030-0032]), the anomaly is a first anomaly (Mitchell: [0024]), the aircraft telemetry system is first aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0076]; [0026]; [0030-0032]), and the updated mission plan is a first updated mission plan (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); the communication interface circuitry to access second aircraft operation data related to a second aircraft (Mitchell: [0080]); and the programmable circuitry to: identify a second anomaly (Mitchell: [0019]; [0081]) based on the second aircraft operation data received from a second aircraft telemetry system (Mitchell: [0080]); prepare a second updated mission plan for the second aircraft based on the second anomaly (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans); and communicate the second updated mission plan from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [ABS]) without ground-based communications or ground-based processing (Mitchell: [Claim 20]; [0018]) to the second aircraft to change an aircraft operating parameter of the second aircraft (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans), wherein the programmable circuitry is to prepare the first updated mission plan and the second updated mission at least partially simultaneously (Mitchell: [0080]; [0086]).
Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without ground-based communications or ground-based processing. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 19, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 17. Further, Mitchell also discloses, the aircraft is a first aircraft (Mitchell: [0045-0046]; [0080]) and the aircraft operation data is first aircraft operation data (Mitchell: [0076]; [0026]; [0030-0032]), the update mission is a first updated mission (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans), the method including: identifying, by executing instructions with one or more of the processor circuits located in space, the anomaly based on second aircraft operation datal (Mitchell: [0019] a constellation of satellites to detect and identify atmospheric anomalies, such as clear air turbulence (CAT)); and causing communication of a second updated mission plan to the second aircraft from the one or more satellites (Mitchell: [ABS]) without ground-based communications or ground-based processing (Mitchell: [0018]) to change of an aircraft operating parameter of the second aircraft (Mitchell: [ABS]; see [0077-0081] for changes to flight plans).
O’Dell in view of Mitchell does not explicitly recite the terminology without ground-based communications or ground-based processing. However, Mitchell does disclose, [0018] it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Brownjohn discloses, “[0042] provide for communications bridges to support aircraft without directly available Air-to-Ground Communications (DA2GC). Air-to-Air (A2A) Communications may be offloaded through neighboring aircraft”, for the benefit of ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include V2V communications taught by Brownjohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to improve ad-hoc networks according to the various aspects of the invention provide real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities.
In the alternative, and in the same field of endeavor, Garcia discloses, “[0018] a spaced-based ADS-B system 100 utilizing a satellite network like satellite network 20 may provide coverage of airspace over both land and sea regions without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed”, for the benefit of providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include satellite communications in the absence of ground communications taught by Garcia. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to providing vast areas of the world's airspace (e.g., over the oceans and poles, remote and/or mountainous regions, etc.) with satellite network coverage without being limited to areas where ground-based surveillance infrastructure has been installed.
REGARDING CLAIM 21, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 17. Further, Mitchell also discloses, selecting a communication beam from a plurality of satellite beams based on a predicted aircraft trajectory included in the updated mission plan (Mitchell: [0049] The configuration of the signals 206 for transmission may involve the utilization of beamforming techniques (e.g., electronically scanned arrays (ESAs)) to focus the signal energy along specific paths 218. For example, adaptive algorithms may be implemented to adjust the signal paths 218 in real-time to account for satellite 222 positions in orbit).
Claim(s) 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O'Dell (US 20130197725 A1) in view of Mitchell (US 20250259553 A1), in further view of Brownjohn (US 20160050013 A1) and Garcia (US 20180198516 A1), as applied to claim 1 and 11 above, and further in view of Montsma (US 20190191334 A1).
REGARDING CLAIM 3, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, Mitchell also discloses, dynamically shift communication beams based on the position of the aircraft, and the updated mission plan (Mitchell: [FIG. 2A]; [0049] The configuration of the signals 206 for transmission may involve the utilization of beamforming techniques (e.g., electronically scanned arrays (ESAs)) to focus the signal energy along specific paths 218. For example, adaptive algorithms may be implemented to adjust the signal paths 218 in real-time to account for satellite 222 positions in orbit).
O’Dell, as modified, does not explicitly disclose, dynamically shift communication beams based on air traffic.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Montsma discloses, dynamically shift communication beams based on air traffic (Montsma: [ABS] A dynamic satellite load balancing system measures geographic position and travel information of in-flight aircraft in a fleet of aircraft equipped to establish in-flight connectivity services from a plurality of satellite beams … The dynamic satellite load balancing system may transmit the load balanced satellite map parameters over an existing satellite data connection to make up-to-date adjustments to the communications load among the group of available satellite beams), for the benefit of load balancing in high traffic/volume scenarios.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include dynamic beaming taught by Montsma. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to load balance.
Claim(s) 7-8 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O'Dell (US 20130197725 A1) Mitchell (US 20250259553 A1), in further view of Brownjohn (US 20160050013 A1) and Garcia (US 20180198516 A1), as applied to claims 1 and 15 above, and further in view of von der Embse (US 5969674 A).
REGARDING CLAIM 7, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell, as modified, fails to disclose, the programmable circuitry is in the thermosphere.
However, in the same field of endeavor, von der Embse discloses, the programmable circuitry is in the thermosphere (von der Embse: The communication satellites 14 are preferably in multiple planes using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) although Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellations such as Iridium, Globalstar and Intermediate Circular Orbit (ICO) (Col. 2, Ln. 46-50)), for the benefit of providing navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include altitude minimums taught by von der Embse. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
REGARDING CLAIM 8, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell, as modified, fails to disclose, the communication interface circuitry and the programmable circuitry are at an altitude of at least 100 kilometers.
However, in the same field of endeavor, von der Embse discloses, the communication interface circuitry and the programmable circuitry are at an altitude of at least 100 kilometers (von der Embse: (Col. 2, Ln. 46-50)), for the benefit of providing navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include altitude minimums taught by von der Embse. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
REGARDING CLAIM 16, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell, as modified, fails to disclose, the satellites are in low Earth orbit.
However, in the same field of endeavor, von der Embse discloses, the satellites are in low Earth orbit (von der Embse: (Col. 2, Ln. 46-50)), for the benefit of providing navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include altitude minimums taught by von der Embse. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to provide navigation and tracking without limiting ranging.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O'Dell (US 20130197725 A1) in view of Mitchell (US 20250259553 A1), in further view of Brownjohn (US 20160050013 A1) and Garcia (US 20180198516 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Walter (US 20220063836 A1).
REGARDING CLAIM 9, O’Dell, as modified, remains as applied to claim 1. Further, O’Dell, as modified, fails to disclose, the aircraft operation data includes pilot facial expressions and pilot voice analysis.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Walter discloses, the aircraft operation data includes pilot facial expressions (Walter: [0084] Among the laws of degraded mode control is a law that addresses a pilot failure on board during the aircraft take-off. The failure of the pilot on board results, for example, from a sudden death of the pilot or from a physical or psychological incapacity of any kind occurring during the flight; [0149] The pilot monitoring system includes a camera that acquires images of the face, and in particular the eyes of the pilot on board) and pilot voice analysis (Walter: [0084] Among the laws of degraded mode control is a law that addresses a pilot failure on board during the aircraft take-off. The failure of the pilot on board results, for example, from a sudden death of the pilot or from a physical or psychological incapacity of any kind occurring during the flight; [0184] The voice analysis device compares the intonation of the pilot's voice with the voices contained in the personal voice database), for the benefit of determining an emergency situation and determining alternate control systems.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the process disclosed by a modified O’Dell to include monitoring cabin/cockpit oddities taught by Walter. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification, with a reasonable expectation of success, in order to determine an emergency situation and determining alternate control systems.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of the independent claim(s) under 35 USC §103, obviousness, have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combined references applied in the prior rejection of record for matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of the independent claims under 35 USC §101, ineligible subject matter, have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of the independent claims under 35 USC §101, ineligible subject matter, has been withdrawn.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Garcia (US 20180198516 A1)
Corcoran (US 20050230563 A1)
Walter (US 20220063836 A1)
Nichols (US 20060106506 A1)
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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/A.S./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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