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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the Amendment filed on 07/24/2026
Claims 1-19 are pending in this action. Claims 20-21 have been canceled. Claims 1 and 13 are independent
This application claims the benefit of domestic priority from provisional application 63/607,125 filed on 12/07/2023
Priority
Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has not complied with one or more conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 120 as follows:
The later-filed application must be an application for a patent for an invention which is also disclosed in the prior application (the parent or original nonprovisional application or provisional application). The disclosure of the invention in the parent application and in the later-filed application must be sufficient to comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, except for the best mode requirement. See Transco Products, Inc. v. Performance Contracting, Inc., 38 F.3d 551, 32 USPQ2d 1077 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
The disclosure of the prior-filed application, Application No. 63/607,125, fails to provide adequate support or enablement in the manner provided by 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph for one or more claims of this application. The prior filed application does not appear to provide disclosure for claims 1-19 of the instant application. For example, the prior filed application does not provide disclosure for the limitations, “modulating via the transceiver unit the digital packet onto a carrier wave” for independent claim 1 and “demodulating the signal into a digital packet”, “modulating via the transceiver unit the digital packet onto a carrier wave” for independent claim 13. The prior filed application discloses using LoRa which may be a subset of but not modulation in general.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the 08/07/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 8/03/2026 was filed after the mailing date of the 08/07/2024. The submission 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 8, 14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 5, 14, and 16 recites “about 8KHZ of spectrum”, “about 25 KHZ”, and “about 8 KHZ” respectively. MPEP 2173.05(b) is as follows:
In determining the range encompassed by the term "about," one must consider the context of the term as it is used in the specification and claims of the application. Ortho-McNeil Pharm., Inc. v. Caraco Pharm. Labs., Ltd., 476 F.3d 1321, 1326, 81 USPQ2d 1427, 1432 (Fed. Cir. 2007). In W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d 1540, 220 USPQ 303 (Fed. Cir. 1983), the court held that a limitation defining the stretch rate of a plastic as "exceeding about 10% per second" is definite because infringement could clearly be assessed through the use of a stopwatch. However, in another case, the court held that claims reciting "at least about" were invalid for indefiniteness where there was close prior art and there was nothing in the specification, prosecution history, or the prior art to provide any indication as to what range of specific activity is covered by the term "about." Amgen, Inc. v. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., 927 F.2d 1200, 18 USPQ2d 1016 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
Paragraph [0094] and [0095] of the specification is as follows:
[0094] As mentioned above, the digital packet 1101 is modulated onto a carrier wave by a modulation technique preferably such as is used for IoT communication. For example, the LoRa standard is implemented by a variety of commercially available chips that may be used in the device 101. When a modulation technique such as LoRa or a similar chirp spread spectrum is used on the packet 1101 and the modulated signal is converted into the designated band, the modulated signal will use less than about 8 KHz of spectrum, and even significantly less depending on specifics of compressing, modulation, packet size, etc.
[0095] FIG. 12 illustrates how several signals with about 7.8 KHz of spectrum may simultaneously occupy a satellite channel with about 25 KHz of spectrum. In the illustrated embodiment, three signals may be handled simultaneously. However, using an IoT modulation protocol for channels of a geostationary satellite (or another similar combination of satellite network and modulation waveform), a larger number (e.g., 12) of signals may be simultaneously sent within one channel. That is, using for example, a chirp spread spectrum waveform, one signal may use a bandwidth less than about a third, even less than about 1/12, of a satellite channel bandwidth. Preferably, the chirp spread spectrum waveform conforms to the LoRa standard or another defined standard for “internet-of-things” (IT) communication.
Nothing in the above paragraphs or elsewhere in the specification provide any indication as to what range is covered by the term “about”. As such, the term “about” in claims 5, 14, and 16 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite.
Claim 8 recites “the recipient is a registered user” and “encoding, by the mobile app, the recipient into the digital packet”. It is unclear how a “user”, which could be a person, could be encoded. Examiner suggests “encoding, by the mobile app, an identity of the recipient into the digital packet”
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.
Claims 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Besquin, U. S. Patent Publication No. 11973530 filed on 2023-04-19 (hereinafter Besquin) in view of Kim, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20210184760 published on 2021-06-17 (hereinafter Kim).
As for independent claim 1, Besquin discloses A communication method comprising: using a mobile app on a local computing device to initiate sending a message to a recipient
(Besquin discloses receiving a request through a platform (equivalent to a mobile app) to send a message to a device, “In one embodiment, through the at least one map interface, the platform is able to receive a message transmittal request from at least one tracking user device and send a message associated with the request to at least one tracked user device.” Col 16, Lines 17-21)
determining by the local computing device that a cellular network is not available to the local computing device
(Besquin discloses a device which determines if a network (including a cellular network) is able to connect, one option being if it is not able to connect, “In one embodiment, the network connectivity display interface includes a list of external networks to which each network node device is able to connect, whether each network node device is connected to an external network, and/or to which external network each network node device is currently connected. In one embodiment, each network node device within the mesh network periodically transmits signals of the other network devices at predefined intervals (e.g., every second, every five seconds, every 30 seconds, every minute, every ten minutes, etc.) in order to determine connectivity status.” Col 17 Lines 2-16)
sending, by the mobile app, the message as a digital packet by a personal area network (PAN) connection to a device paired with the local computing device
(Besquin discloses sending messages over a WPAN, “In one embodiment, the mesh network is configured as a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., WI-FI) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) for transmission to at least one user device.” Col 10 Lines 42-46)
Besquin does not appear to disclose a method wherein the device comprises a controller unit coupled to a transceiver unit, the controller unit operable to control operations of the transceiver unit comprising modulating via the transceiver unit the digital packet onto a carrier wave and transmitting the wave via an antenna of the transceiver unit to a satellite over a designated band of frequency
However, Kim does disclose a method wherein the device comprises a controller unit coupled to a transceiver unit, the controller unit operable to control operations of the transceiver unit
(Kim discloses a transportable base station (the device) shown in figure one having a controller (118) and a transceiver unit (flat panel antenna 112))
comprising modulating via the transceiver unit the digital packet onto a carrier wave and transmitting the wave via an antenna of the transceiver unit to a satellite over a designated band of frequency
(Kim discloses the base station communicating (equivalent to sending) with a satellite through a transceiver (a flat panel antenna 112) through a designated frequency band by encoding (equivalent to modulating) and transmitting to the satellite, “The transportable base station 102 can include a flat panel antenna 112 coupled to a satellite receiver/transmitter (Rx/Tx) 114 configured to communicate with the satellite 104 orbiting the Earth in the LEO or the GEO position. The flat panel antenna 112 can be configured to support frequencies in a Ku frequency band” [0023], “encoding an up-link satellite packet from the satellite data in a block 512; and transmitting the up-link satellite packet through the flat panel antenna to the satellite in a block 514.” [0053])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Kim, adding a transceiver designed for satellite communication and the extra step of encoding the packet, to the communication manager of Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
As for claim 3, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the satellite relays the message to a satellite ground station and the method includes passing the message from the satellite ground station to a server system.
(Besquin discloses a satellite relaying data by sending it to a server system (called a network node) then to an external source (the ground station), “the present invention includes a plurality of network node devices that collectively form a mesh network. The mesh network preferably transmits signals between network nodes via LoRa, with the individual network node devices connected to user devices… The mesh network is able to transmit or receive signals via the other networks, such as the satellite or cellular networks, to or from external sources.” Col 10, Lines 7-21)
As for claim 4, the limitations of the parent claim 3 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method comprising sending the digital packet via internet protocol (IP) to the server system
(Besquin discloses sending messages over IP (called WLAN) to a server system (network node), “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61)
Besquin does not appear to disclose a method comprising receiving, at a transceiver array communicatively positioned between the satellite ground station and the server system, the message, and demodulating, by the transceiver array, the message to recover the digital packet
However, Kim discloses a method comprising receiving, at a transceiver array communicatively positioned between the satellite ground station and the server system, the message,
(Kim discloses the transceiver receiving a packet from a satellite (since it is a satellite package it is modulated), “receiving, by a transceiver array communicatively coupled to a satellite ground station, a spread spectrum modulated signal from a satellite” [0053])
demodulating, by the transceiver array, the message to recover the digital packet
(Kim discloses decoding (equivalent to demodulating) the package, “decoding the down-link satellite packet including storing the satellite data in a block 504;” [0053])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Kim, adding demodulating a received message, to the communication manager of Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
As for claim 6, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein a user uses the mobile app to send a voice or text message from the local computing device to a recipient
(Besquin discloses sending text messages over the network, “For example, if a transmitting device tries to send 40 text messages and 10 images via a satellite network and these messages are then added to a queue,”)
wherein the PAN connection comprises a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) connection
(Besquin discloses the WPAN using BLE, “In one embodiment, the WPAN includes at least one BLUETOOTH network. In one embodiment, the at least one BLUETOOTH network includes a BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY network.” Col 10, Lines 51-53)
wherein the mobile app writes the message as a digital packet and the local computing device sends the digital packet to the device via the BLE connection
(Besquin discloses the devices using the WPAN to send data in the form of a packet, “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61, “LoRa, when used in combination with BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY (BLE), … LoRa signals have a specific packet structure” Col 17, Lines 31-45)
As for claim 8, the limitation of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the user selects a message recipient using the mobile app, the method comprising: encoding, by the mobile app, the recipient into the digital packet
(Besquin discloses the information packet including a code for the destination and the packet including the code, “In a preferred embodiment, the payload includes a header, including unique code of the network node device that generated the data packet, a unique code for the destination node for the packet…Each time a packet is received, each node updates the routing table and checks the header of the packet to determine what to do with the packet. If the destination address” Col 17 Line 62 to Col 18 to Line 29)
identifying, by a connected server system, that the recipient is a registered user
(Besquin discloses comparing the destination address to a list of known devices in a routing table (confirming it has register since it is on the list), “If the destination address is the special broadcast address, then all nodes ingest the packet and re-transmit it in order to flood the mesh network. If the destination address is not the special broadcast address and is not equal to the receiving node's own address, then the network node device checks the routing table to determine which node should receive the packet next.” Col 18, Lines 29-35)
routing, by the server system, the message to the recipient
(Besquin discloses searching a routing table to send it to the recipient by the route, “If the destination address is the special broadcast address, then all nodes ingest the packet and re-transmit it in order to flood the mesh network. If the destination address is not the special broadcast address and is not equal to the receiving node's own address, then the network node device checks the routing table to determine which node should receive the packet next.” Col 18, Lines 29-35)
As for claim 10, the limitations of the parent claim 8 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the server system determines that a cellular connection is available to the recipient
(Besquin discloses a device which determines if a network (including a cellular network) is able to connect, one option being if it is able to connect and using all of the networks to communicate including a cellular, “In one embodiment, the network connectivity display interface includes a list of external networks to which each network node device is able to connect, whether each network node device is connected to an external network, and/or to which external network each network node device is currently connected. In one embodiment, each network node device within the mesh network periodically transmits signals of the other network devices at predefined intervals (e.g., every second, every five seconds, every 30 seconds, every minute, every ten minutes, etc.) in order to determine connectivity status.” Col 17 Lines 2-16)
and sends the message via the cellular connection to a recipient smartphone.
(Besquin discloses using the cellular network to send data (or send a message) to a device which could be a smartphone, “The network node device is operable to connect or pair with at least one user device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, etc.) such that it is able to receive data or commands from the at least one user device and transmit data to the at least one user device.” Col 10 Lines 31-36 “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61
As for claim 12, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the mobile app is operable to: determine when the cellular network becomes available to the local computing device;
(Besquin discloses a device which determines if a network (including a cellular network) is able to connect, one option being if it is able to connect and using all of the networks to communicate including a cellular, “In one embodiment, the network connectivity display interface includes a list of external networks to which each network node device is able to connect, whether each network node device is connected to an external network, and/or to which external network each network node device is currently connected. In one embodiment, each network node device within the mesh network periodically transmits signals of the other network devices at predefined intervals (e.g., every second, every five seconds, every 30 seconds, every minute, every ten minutes, etc.) in order to determine connectivity status.” Col 17 Lines 2-16, “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61)
and to send packets to destination app via the cellular network when the cellular network is available.
(Besquin discloses choosing which network to send data over (including a cellular network) is based on at least the connectivity, “The mesh network is able to transmit or receive signals via the other networks, such as the satellite or cellular networks, to or from external sources. In one embodiment, which external network is used to transmit data is determined, in real time, by the network node device transmitting the data based on characteristics of connectivity to each network, including, but not limited to, signal strength, latency, cost, signal-to-noise ratio, and/or other network characteristics.” Col 10, Lines 21-29)
Claims 2 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Besquin, in view of Kim in further view of Medford, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20070174875 published on 2007-07-26 (hereinafter Medford).
As for claim 2, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the modulating uses a modulation technique selected from the list consisting of: chirp spread spectrum modulation, phase shift keying, and amplitude shift keying.
(Besquin discloses using chirp spread spectrum modulation, “wherein each of the plurality of network node devices is operable to communicate with other network node devices using chirp spread spectrum-based communication” Col 7 Lines 11-14)
Besquin does not appear to disclose a method wherein the designated band of frequency is selected from the list consisting of the L-, S-, C-, X-, Ku, Ka, Q-, and V-Band.
However, Medford does disclose a method wherein the designated band of frequency is selected from the list consisting of the L-, S-, C-, X-, Ku, Ka, Q-, and V-Band.
(Medford discloses a satellite communication system using L, C, and Ku, frequency bands, “In an illustrative embodiment, the satellite signal 104 can be received at the dish via C-band transport frequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-band transport frequencies (11,700 MHz-12,200 MHz), and the LNB converter 103 can convert the satellite signal 104 to L-band transport frequencies (500 MHz-1500 MHz).”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Medford, the usage of a standard frequency range, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
As for claim 7, the limitations of the parent claim 6 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the device: receives the digital packet via the BLE connection
(Besquin discloses devices using BLE network to communicate, “In one embodiment, the WPAN includes at least one BLUETOOTH network. In one embodiment, the at least one BLUETOOTH network includes a BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY network. The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data.” Col 10, Lines 51-58)
generates, using chirp spread spectrum modulation by the transceiver unit, an RF signal that contains the digital packet modulated onto the carrier wave as a chirp spread spectrum waveform
(Besquin discloses using chirp spread spectrum to encode (equivalent to modulate) information into packets, “In one embodiment, the present invention is operable to utilize chirp spread spectrum techniques, such as LoRa, in order to transmit signals within the mesh network….Chirp spread spectrum techniques are digital spread spectrum techniques that utilize wideband chirp pulses to encode bits of information… LoRa is a particular technique utilizing chirp spread spectrum that enables long range transmission at notably low power levels, with spreading factors typically between 5 and 12. LoRa signals have a specific packet structure” Col 17, Lines 29-45)
Besquin does not appear to disclose a method comprising sending the RF signal via an L-Band to the satellite.
However, Medford does discloses a method comprising sending the RF signal via an L-Band to the satellite.
(Medford discloses sending signals to a satellite using an L-Band frequency, “In an illustrative embodiment, the satellite signal 104 can be received at the dish via C-band transport frequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-band transport frequencies (11,700 MHz-12,200 MHz), and the LNB converter 103 can convert the satellite signal 104 to L-band transport frequencies (500 MHz-1500 MHz).” [0018])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Medford, the usage of a standard frequency range, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Chen, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20120113890 published on 2012-05-10 (hereinafter Chen).
As for claim 5, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Chen discloses a method wherein the modulated carrier wave has a waveform that uses about 8 KHz of spectrum or less.
(Chen discloses using a bandwidth of 6.4 KHz which is less than 8, “An access terminal may be assigned one or two channels (resulting in bandwidth of 6.4 kHz or 12.8 kHz, respectively) to transmit data to the gateway via the satellite.” [0028])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Chen, adding the usage of a standard frequency bandwidth, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Besquin, in view of Kim, in further view of Ma, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20230198610 published on 2023-06-22 (hereinafter Ma).
As for claim 9, the limitations of the parent claim 8 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the server system: determines a location of the recipient
(Besquin discloses finding the location of a device for sending it data, “When the device is in a location where the file is able to be fully transmitted, the file is transmitted without transformation or with a lesser degree of transformation to replace the earlier sent transformed version of the file. FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile app interface for identifying the location of an individual associated with a network node device according to one embodiment of the present invention.” Col 15, Lines 44-51)
uses a connected transceiver array to send the message to the satellite for routing to the recipient
(Besquin discloses the information packet being sent having a route map information, “In a preferred embodiment, the payload includes a header, including unique code of the network node device that generated the data packet, a unique code for the destination node for the packet, a unique code for the node where the packet is coming from, a unique code for the next node that will receive the packet, a unique sequence number for the source network node device, a sum of received signal strength indicator (RSSI) values for the packet across the route, a number of necessary jumps between source and destination for the packet, a time to live (TTL) for the packet, and/or a designation whether the sending node includes backhaul capabilities.” Col 17 Line 62-Col 18 Line 6)
Besquin does not appear to disclose a method comprising identifying a beam of a satellite available to the recipient
However, Ma does disclose a method comprising identifying a beam of a satellite available to the recipient
(Ma discloses a UE receiving a message going through a ‘beam selection’ process in which it determines if a beam is suitable for its use, “A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may try multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals…. The single receive configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).” [0082])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Ma, adding a beam selection process, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient by improving the beam selection process to pick beams with the highest signal-to-noise ratio or other factors.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Besquin, in view of Kim, in further view of Edge, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20240171267 filed on 2022-02-23 (hereinafter Edge).
As for claim 11, the limitations of the parent claim 1 have been discussed. Edge discloses a method wherein the device maintains a database representing geographical extent of beams of the satellite as polygons
(Edge discloses a gNB (device or base station) having information about beam information that allow it to know the geodetic area of a beam which could be a polygon, “For example, a gNB 106/202/307 may have ephemeris (e.g. orbital) information for a satellite 102/202/302 that is supporting a radio cell 704 and information on past, current and future beam transmission(s) for the radio cell 704 at the satellite 102/202/302, which may include downward angles of transmission and angular width and spread of transmission. Such information may, for example, be provided to the gNB 106/202/307 using O&M. The gNB 106/202/307 may then be able to calculate the current and future geodetic areas of coverage for the radio cell 704…. An indication of a change may include an indication of: (i) a change of location (e.g. a change of latitude and longitude for some known or defined location point in the geodetic area of coverage such as the center of a circle, ellipse or regular polygon)” [0106])
wherein the device operates to change which beam the device is using by using a global positioning system (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) unit coupled to a controller unit within the device and wherein the controller unit is operable to obtain coordinates for a current location of the device from the GPS/GNSS unit and select from the polygons an active polygon representing a satellite beam available to the device.
(Edge discloses a network supporting the change of a UE going from one coverage area to another (called handover equivalent to changing beams) using a GPS or GNSS to determine the position of a UE to determine which radio cell (or which beam) should be used, “The AMF 122 may normally support network access and registration by UEs 105, mobility of UEs 105, including radio cell change and handover and may participate in supporting a signaling connection to a UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for a UE 105. One role of an AMF 122 may be to determine an RA for a UE, based on a current geodetic location of the UE” [0062], “For example, UE 105 may transfer location measurements to the location server to compute and return the location estimate. UEs 105 (or the LMF 124) may obtain a geodetic location estimate for UE 105 using position methods such as GPS, Assisted GPS (A-GPS), Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), DL-TDOA, Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), multi-cell RTT, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) positioning (e.g. using signals transmitted by IEEE 802.11 WiFi access points), sensors (e.g. inertial sensors) in UE 105, or some (hybrid) combination of these. A UE 105 may use the geodetic location for the UE 105 to determine whether a currently accessed radio cell provides coverage for the RA, e.g., based on whether the geodetic location is inside or outside the RA.” [0063])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Edge, adding a beam selection process, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more reliable in a more diverse set of circumstances.
Claims 13 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin.
As for independent claim 13, Kim discloses a method comprising receiving, by a transceiver array communicatively coupled to a satellite ground station, a spread spectrum modulated signal from a satellite
(Kim discloses the transceiver receiving a packet from a satellite (since it is a satellite package it is modulated), “receiving, by a transceiver array communicatively coupled to a satellite ground station, a spread spectrum modulated signal from a satellite” [0053])
demodulating the signal into a digital packet
(Kim discloses decoding (equivalent to demodulating) the package, “decoding the down-link satellite packet including storing the satellite data in a block 504;” [0053])
modulating via the transceiver unit the digital packet onto a carrier wave
(Kim discloses encoding (equivalent to modulating) the packet for satellite transmission, “encoding an up-link satellite packet from the satellite data in a block 512” [0053])
sending, by the transceiver array, a modulated waveform comprising the packet to the recipient device via the satellite.
(Kim discloses transmitting through eh transceiver (flat panel antenna) to the satellite, “transmitting the up-link satellite packet through the flat panel antenna to the satellite in a block 514.” [0053])
Kim does not appear to disclose a method comprising sending the digital packet via internet protocol (IP) from the transceiver array to a server system having stored therein identities of a plurality of satellite communication devices and reading, by the server system, an identify of a recipient device from the packet
However, Besquin does disclose a method comprising sending the digital packet via internet protocol (IP) from the transceiver array to a server system having stored therein identities of a plurality of satellite communication devices
(Besquin discloses sending messages over IP (called WLAN) to a server system (network node) which has the addresses of known devices, “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61, “In one embodiment, each network node device within the mesh network holds a routing table with entries, indexed by node address, for destination address, which intermediate nodes are to be used (if any), distance to destination nodes, average signal strength for a path, last time each entry was updated, and/or whether nodes are eligible for backhaul.” Col 18, Lines 21-26)
and reading, by the server system, an identify of a recipient device from the packet
(Besquin discloses the information packet including a code for the destination and the node checking the code, “In a preferred embodiment, the payload includes a header, including unique code of the network node device that generated the data packet, a unique code for the destination node for the packet…Each time a packet is received, each node updates the routing table and checks the header of the packet to determine what to do with the packet. If the destination address” Col 17 Line 62 to Col 18 to Line 29)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Besquin, adding a server system, to the communication manager of Kim in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
As for claim 15, the limitations of the parent claim 13 have been discussed. Kim discloses a method wherein the transceiver array shares a geographical site with the server system and communicates with the satellite ground station via internet protocol (IP); or the transceiver array shares a geographical site with the satellite ground station and with a local hub computer wherein the transceiver array sends the digital packet to the local hub computer at the satellite ground station wherein the local hub computer communicates with the server system via IP.
(Kim discloses the transceiver sharing a geographical location with the ground station (called base station and figure 1 shows them being attached) and sharing a geographical location (within 1 km) of a local computer hub (figure 1 shows devices which could be local computers used by local residents) and the transceiver being in communication with the local computer hub and the local computer hub having access to IP communication (WiFi), “It has been discovered that the transportable base station 102 can provide a number of communication services without the use of the local infrastructure 105 that may be damaged or without the power required to operate normally. The transportable base station 102 provides a communication base for exchanging information between the satellite 104, the cellular applications 106, the WiFi applications 108, and the global positioning system application (GPS) 110, that can support a few people, such as first responders, aid workers, emergency medical technicians, or a small town with hundreds of people. The transportable base station 102 can act as a temporary base for all emergency communication to provide a WiFi zone of at least 1 km. The transportable base station 102 can also provide a communication structure for a residence that is off-the-grid and has no wired power available.” [0052])
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Nardini, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20230179286 published on 2023-06-08 (hereinafter Nardini) in further view of Alminde, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20180227041 published on 2018-08-09 (hereinafter Alminde).
As for claim 14, the limitations of the parent claim 13 have been discussed. Nardini discloses a method wherein the satellite communicates with the satellite communication devices by a plurality of beams
(Nardini discloses satellites using multiple beams to communicate, “To increase the data gathering capability of the LEO satellite according to embodiments described herein (as compared to conventional LEO satellites), the LEO satellite communication subsystem of the present disclosure uses digital beamforming to form multiple digital beams simultaneously directed in different terrestrial directions to receive and/or transmit data.” [0070])
wherein the server system is operable to use the transceiver array to simultaneously send multiple signals using one channel of the satellite.
(Nardini discloses sending multiple signals or messages over a single channel or radio frequency band, “The LEO satellite of some embodiments further comprises a signal channeliser for channelising signals before processing by the reconfigurable digital logic processing device. Channelisation allows transmission or reception of multiple messages or multiple series of messages simultaneously or nearly simultaneously over a common radio frequency range/band.” [0035])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Nardini, adding a multi beam usage process, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient.
Neither Besquin, Kim, or Nardini appear to disclose a method wherein each satellite channel has a bandwidth of about 25 KHz.
However, Alminde does disclose a method wherein each satellite channel has a bandwidth of about 25 KHz.
(Alminde discloses satellite using a bandwidth of 25 KHz, “In one or more embodiments, the LEO satellite is further adapted for receiving a signal from a control tower, and to re-transmit said signal to an aircraft at a narrow transmission bandwidth of 8.33 kHz in regions where aviation VHF channels are operated with nominally 25 kHz separation. This will minimize the interference of the signal.” [0021])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Alminde, adding a usage of a standard bandwidth, to the communication manager of Nardini, Kim, and Besquin in order to minimize interference.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Medford in further view of Chen.
As for claim 16, the limitations of the parent claim 13 have been discussed. Medford discloses a method wherein the transceiver array receives the modulated waveform from the satellite in a C-Band of spectrum
(Medford discloses a satellite communication system using L, C, and Ku, frequency bands, “In an illustrative embodiment, the satellite signal 104 can be received at the dish via C-band transport frequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-band transport frequencies (11,700 MHz-12,200 MHz), and the LNB converter 103 can convert the satellite signal 104 to L-band transport frequencies (500 MHz-1500 MHz).”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Medford, the usage of a standard frequency range, to the communication manager of Kim and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Neither Medford, Kim, or Besquin appear to disclose a method wherein modulated waveform is encoded by chirp spread spectrum modulation with a bandwidth of about 8 KHz or less.
However, Chen does disclose a method wherein modulated waveform is encoded by chirp spread spectrum modulation with a bandwidth of about 8 KHz or less.
(Chen discloses using a bandwidth of 6.4 KHz which is less than 8, “An access terminal may be assigned one or two channels (resulting in bandwidth of 6.4 kHz or 12.8 kHz, respectively) to transmit data to the gateway via the satellite.” [0028])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Chen, adding the usage of a standard frequency bandwidth, to the communication manager of Medford, Kim, and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Medford in further view of Chen in further view of Nardini.
As for claim 17, the limitations of the parent claim 16 have been discussed. Nardini discloses a method wherein the transceiver array comprises a plurality of component units, each component unit comprising a controller unit coupled to a transceiver unit, wherein each transceiver unit can simultaneously send or receive three signals via one channel of the satellite.
(Nardini discloses a channel having multiple signals depending on the antenna which one embodiment is capable of receiving signals from 3 different beam angles, “The number of beamformed signals in a channel depends on the number of antennas in the antenna array 117.” [0105] “The array factor in graph 700 comprises three sidelobes 712, 714 and 716 corresponding to separate ranges of beam angles. Since the antenna array 117 as configured according to antenna array configuration parameters of table 2 has uniform excitation levels, the sidelobes 712, 714 and 716 are only around 12 dB lower in peak gain levels when compared to the main lobe 710. In embodiments where several beams are required on a common frequency channel, it may be necessary to have sidelobes with a more significantly lower gain level. FIG. 8 provides an example of a configuration of the antenna array where the sidelobes have a more significantly lower gain level.” [0124])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Nardini, adding the usage of a multi signal channel, to the communication manager of Chen, Medford, Kim, and Besquin in order to make the method more compact without sacrificing diverse usage.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Olson, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20180343055 published on 2018-11-29 (hereinafter Olson).
As for claim 18, the limitations of the parent claim 13 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein one device and a second device of the plurality of satellite communication devices are both registered in the server system
(Besquin discloses sending messages over IP (called WLAN) to a server system (network node) which has the addresses of known devices, “The use of the network node device enables the system to leverage any number of network types, including WLAN, WPAN, cellular networks, satellite networks, and radiofrequency networks (e.g., higher powered radio and low-powered radio) over which to communicate data, enabling use in both remote areas and higher density areas, for improving network resilience, improving data transfer speeds, minimizing cost, and/or reducing signal footprint, depending on the particular use case.” Col 10, Lines 53-61, “In one embodiment, each network node device within the mesh network holds a routing table with entries, indexed by node address, for destination address, which intermediate nodes are to be used (if any), distance to destination nodes, average signal strength for a path, last time each entry was updated, and/or whether nodes are eligible for backhaul.” Col 18, Lines 21-26)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Besquin, adding a server system, to the communication manager of Kim in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Neither Kim or Besquin appear to disclose a method wherein, when the one device and second device are within a beam of the satellite, the one device and the second device can send messages to each other via the satellite without the message passing through the server system, the transceiver array, or a terrestrial hub.
However, Olson does disclose a method wherein, when the one device and second device are within a beam of the satellite, the one device and the second device can send messages to each other via the satellite without the message passing through the server system, the transceiver array, or a terrestrial hub.
(Olson discloses a satellite system determining one device (the earth station) may send to a receiving device (gateway station) are in the same view of the satellite and sending it right back down (hence it does not go through any intermediate system, “Earth stations, which may be configured as or in association with a gateway station may receive and transmit signals, such as datagrams, between a satellite. This may be carried via immediate re-transception of the datagram to a gateway station in view of the same satellite (i.e., bent pipe), where the data is transmitted to the satellite from an earth station or gateway, and the satellite sends it right back down again.” [0061])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Olson, adding a bent pipe operation, to the communication manager of Besquin and Kim in order to make the method more efficient in a specific circumstance.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, in view of Besquin in further view of Olson, in further view of Medford.
As for claim 19, the limitations of the parent claim 18 have been discussed. Besquin discloses a method wherein the one device performs LoRa modulation on a digital packet that includes bits identifying the second device and sends the modulated digital packet
(Besquin discloses using LoRa to modulate a packet and the information packet including a code for the destination and the node checking the code, “In another embodiment, a first LoRa radio 106 is used to facilitate private communication channels between two individual nodes within the mesh network, while the second LoRa radio is used as the main channel for communicating with the wider mesh network, allowing a private channel without causing noise or data loss on the main channel.” Col 11 Lines 26-40 “In a preferred embodiment, the payload includes a header, including unique code of the network node device that generated the data packet, a unique code for the destination node for the packet…Each time a packet is received, each node updates the routing table and checks the header of the packet to determine what to do with the packet. If the destination address” Col 17 Line 62 to Col 18 to Line 29)
wherein the second device reads the bits identifying the second device and passes the digital packet via a PAN connection to a second smartphone.
(Besquin discloses using the identity of the recipient to the final location, which could be a smartphone, using a WPAN, “The network node device is operable to connect or pair with at least one user device (e.g., a smart phone, a tablet, a computer, a smart watch, etc.) such that it is able to receive data or commands from the at least one user device and transmit data to the at least one user device.” Col 10 Lines 31-36 “The network node device is also able to receive signals over a first network (e.g., a satellite network, a cellular network, etc.) and transmit corresponding signals to other network node devices within a mesh network. In one embodiment, the mesh network is configured as a wireless local area network (WLAN) (e.g., WI-FI) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) for transmission to at least one user device.” Col 10 Lines 39-46 “In a preferred embodiment, the payload includes a header, including unique code of the network node device that generated the data packet, a unique code for the destination node for the packet…Each time a packet is received, each node updates the routing table and checks the header of the packet to determine what to do with the packet. If the destination address” Col 17 Line 62 to Col 18 to Line 29)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Besquin, adding a WPAN and identity system, to the communication manager of Kim in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Neither Kim or Besquin appear to disclose a method wherein the satellite performs a bent-pipe return to pass the modulated digital packet.
However, Olson does disclose a method wherein the satellite performs a bent-pipe return to pass the modulated digital packet
(Olson discloses a satellite system determining a sending device and a receiving device are in the same view of the satellite and sending it right back down (hence it does not go through any intermediate system, “Earth stations, which may be configured as or in association with a gateway station may receive and transmit signals, such as datagrams, between a satellite. This may be carried via immediate re-transception of the datagram to a gateway station in view of the same satellite (i.e., bent pipe), where the data is transmitted to the satellite from an earth station or gateway, and the satellite sends it right back down again.” [0061])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Olson, adding a bent pipe operation, to the communication manager of Besquin and Kim in order to make the method more efficient in a specific circumstance.
Neither Kim, Olson, or Besquin appear to disclose a method that sends packets “via an L-band”.
However, Medford does disclose a method that sends packets “via an L-band”.
(Medford discloses a satellite communication system using L, C, and Ku, frequency bands, “In an illustrative embodiment, the satellite signal 104 can be received at the dish via C-band transport frequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-band transport frequencies (11,700 MHz-12,200 MHz), and the LNB converter 103 can convert the satellite signal 104 to L-band transport frequencies (500 MHz-1500 MHz).”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the communication manager of Medford, the usage of a standard frequency range, to the communication manager of Olson, Kim, and Besquin in order to make the method more efficient and add extra reliability.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Polizaotto, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20230319512 discloses using L band and C band frequencies for satellite communication in paragraph [0018]
Tofighbakhsh, U. S. Patent Publication No. 20150098393 discloses determining the connectivity status of a network in paragraph [0102]
Conclusion
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/JOHN CALEB LAWRENCE/Examiner, Art Unit 2646
/JEANETTE J PARKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2646
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