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 communication is responsive to Application # 18848439 filed 09/18/2024. Claims 1-20 are subject to examination.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 recites “The communication device according to claim 1, (Transfer to a satellite station closer to a destination than an own position. 0094, 0100, and Fig. 7) The communication device according to claim 1”. It is recommended to remove the bracketed sentence.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 20 recites the limitation “the satellite station acquires ... and transmits”, which is unclear because it merely states functions of a satellite without providing any indication about how these functions are performed by "the communication device". The recited functions of the satellite do not follow from the structure recited in the claim, i.e., the communication device, so it is unclear whether the functions require some other structure or are simply a result of operating the claimed system in a certain manner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1-3, 6-9, 13, and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU et al. (HU hereinafter) (US 20240354590 A1) in view of Turner et al. (Turner hereinafter) (US 20190028197 A1).
Regarding Claim 1 and claim 18, HU teaches, A communication device comprising:
a first communication unit that performs first communication using a packet with a satellite station (HU; The communication module and the transmit/receive antennas belong to a communication subsystem, Par. 0109; the communication apparatus further includes the transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive a packet, send a packet, Par. 0074);
a second communication unit that performs second communication using a with the satellite station (HU; the APT module and the APT transmit/receive belong to an APT subsystem, Par. 0109); and
a control unit that transmits the packet via the first communication unit to the satellite station that can perform the second communication using the beacon via the second communication unit (HU; An inter-satellite communication system shown in FIG. 2 includes a satellite 1 and a satellite 2. Both the satellite 1 and the satellite 2 include a communication module, transmit/receive antennas, an APT module, and APT transmit/receive antennas, Par. 0109; The communication apparatus includes a processor, Par. 0069).
HU failed to explicitly teach,
a beacon.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Turner teaches,
a beacon (Turner; a laser beacon may allow another satellite to “see” where the satellite is located and additional optical components (e.g. telescopes) may search for laser beacons of other satellites, Par. 0110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of beacon as taught by Turner in order to locate other satellite (Turner; Par. 0110).
Specifically for Claim 18, HU teaches, A communication method comprising (HU; The communication solution provided in this application may be applied to an inter-satellite communication system, Par. 0109).
Regarding Claim 19, HU teaches, A communication system comprising:
a terminal device (HU; a terminal device in FIG. 1, Par. 0108);
a ground station that receives a signal from the terminal device (HU; wireless communication systems such as 5G, Par. 0110); and
wherein
the satellite station includes
a first communication unit that performs first communication using a packet with another satellite station (HU; The communication module and the transmit/receive antennas belong to a communication subsystem, Par. 0109; the communication apparatus further includes the transceiver. The transceiver is configured to receive a packet, send a packet, Par. 0074);
a second communication unit that performs second communication using a with the other satellite station (HU; the APT module and the APT transmit/receive belong to an APT subsystem, Par. 0109); and
a control unit that transmits the signal via the first communication unit to the other satellite station that can perform the second communication using the beacon via the second communication unit (HU; An inter-satellite communication system shown in FIG. 2 includes a satellite 1 and a satellite 2. Both the satellite 1 and the satellite 2 include a communication module, transmit/receive antennas, an APT module, and APT transmit/receive antennas, Par. 0109; The communication apparatus includes a processor, Par. 0069).
HU failed to explicitly teach,
a satellite station that receives the signal from the ground station;
a beacon.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Turner teaches,
a satellite station that receives the signal from the ground station (Turner; Satellite 100 may be communicatively coupled to at least one gateway (GW) 105 and a plurality of subscriber terminals ST (including subscriber terminals 107), Par. 0022);
a beacon (Turner; a laser beacon may allow another satellite to “see” where the satellite is located and additional optical components (e.g. telescopes) may search for laser beacons of other satellites, Par. 0110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of beacon as taught by Turner in order to locate other satellite (Turner; Par. 0110).
Regarding Claim 2, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires an own position, wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station according to the own position (Turner; a subscriber terminal ST in region 36 wishing to communicate with a subscriber terminal ST in region 30 will send a message to satellite 16, which will forward that message to satellite 12, which will forward that message to satellite 10, which will forward that message to the subscriber terminal ST in region 30, Par. 0035; A gimbal, and/or the like, can be used to control the steering of the transmitter optics 1240_1 and 1240_2 and a GPS unit can provide location information about the satellite, and other satellites in the constellation (or other components) so that optics 1240_1 and 1240_2 may be directed to the location of a satellite, Par. 0096).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of location as taught by Turner in order to forward message (Turner; Par. 0096).
Regarding Claim 3, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station according to a position of a ground station that is a transmission destination of the packet (Turner; a subscriber terminal ST in region 36 wishing to communicate with a subscriber terminal ST in region 30 will send a message to satellite 16, which will forward that message to satellite 12, which will forward that message to satellite 10, which will forward that message to the subscriber terminal ST in region 30, Par. 0035; destination address information may be passed from satellite to satellite, Par. 0110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of address as taught by Turner in order to forward message (Turner; Par. 0096).
Regarding Claim 6, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, (Transfer to a satellite station closer to a destination than an own position. 0094, 0100, and Fig. 7) The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the packet to a satellite station closer to a ground station that is a transmission destination of the packet than an own position (Turner; a subscriber terminal ST in region 36 wishing to communicate with a subscriber terminal ST in region 30 will send a message to satellite 16, which will forward that message to satellite 12, which will forward that message to satellite 10, which will forward that message to the subscriber terminal ST in region 30, Par. 0035; destination address information may be passed from satellite to satellite, Par. 0110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of address as taught by Turner in order to forward message (Turner; Par. 0096).
Regarding Claim 7, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the satellite station to which the packet is transmitted by using the beacon in a case of determining to transmit the packet via the first communication unit (Turner; a laser beacon may allow another satellite to “see” where the satellite is located and additional optical components (e.g. telescopes) may search for laser beacons of other satellites, Par. 0110).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Turner is the same as for Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 8, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the second communication with the at least one satellite station in advance, and determines the satellite station, to which the packet is transmitted, from among the at least one satellite station that performs the second communication in advance (Turner; First satellite 460 is in communication with second satellite 466 through inter satellite link (ISL) 462, Par. 0040; Once a beacon laser is found, main communication lasers on both sides may be aligned accordingly to establish two-way laser communication, Par. 0110).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Turner is the same as for Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 9, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the packet to a ground station that is a transmission destination of the packet in a case where direct communication with the ground station is possible (Turner; satellite 12, which will forward that message to satellite 10, which will forward that message to the subscriber terminal ST in region 30, Par. 0035).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of address as taught by Turner in order to forward message (Turner; Par. 0096).
Regarding Claim 13, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires satellite station information related to the satellite station via the second communication unit (Turner; a beacon laser may be found and communication may be established between satellites in a handshaking routine in which satellites confirm identity and exchange some basic information using the beacon laser, Par. 0111), and
transmits the packet to the satellite station in accordance with the satellite station information (Turner; Routing information may also be passed along, Par. 0111).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of Turner is the same as for Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 16, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication unit performs optical communication using a laser (Turner; optical ISL beam from one satellite to another, Par. 0028).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU to include the use of optical beam as taught by Turner in order to communicate (Turner; Par. 0028).
Regarding Claim 17, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the second communication unit performs optical communication using a laser (HU; The APT system may be an optical system, Par. 0109) or wireless communication using a radio frequency.
Claim 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU-Turner and in further view of WAN et al. (WAN hereinafter) (WO 2022160739 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 3.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the control unit specifies a position of the ground station on a basis of correspondence information in which a destination address of the packet and the position of the ground station are associated with each other.
However, in the same field of endeavor, WAN teaches,
wherein the control unit specifies a position of the ground station on a basis of correspondence information in which a destination address of the packet and the position of the ground station are associated with each other (WAN; FIG. 4 , taking the first packet as ... IPv6 packet ... The packet header includes the destination address of the server: 2002::20, which is the destination IP address of the server. The extension header includes ... ground station address: 2001::10, which is the IP address of the ground station connected to the server … the user equipment sends the first message, pg 10; It can combine the block information embedded in the IP address of the ground station connected to the service party, pg 11; obtaining the hemisphere information of the ground station according to the block location information recorded in the address of the ground station connected to the server, pg 13).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of IP address as taught by WAN in order to communicate with destination (WAN; Fig. 4).
Regarding Claim 5, HU-Turner-WAN teaches, The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit acquires the correspondence information from the ground station (WAN; the user equipment sends the first message, pg 10 [Note that user equipment sends message via ground station]).
The rational and motivation for adding this teaching of WAN is the same as for Claim 4.
Claim 10 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU-Turner and in further view of Wiedeman et al. (Wiedeman hereinafter) (US 20020032799 A1).
Regarding Claim 10, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station according to a position of the satellite station after a certain period.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wiedeman teaches,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station according to a position of the satellite station after a certain period (Wiedeman; a satellite 40 to temporarily store or buffer the UT-originated message if, for example, no ISL line of sight currently exists to another satellite, or if the satellite 40 determines that it will shortly be in a position to transmit the message directly to the desired gateway 50, Par. 0029).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of buffer as taught by Wiedeman in order to communicate at a later time (Wiedeman; Par. 0029).
Regarding Claim 14, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
further comprising a buffer that holds the packet, wherein the control unit causes the buffer to hold the received packet, and sequentially transmits the packet held by the buffer to the satellite station.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wiedeman teaches,
further comprising a buffer that holds the packet, wherein the control unit causes the buffer to hold the received packet, and sequentially transmits the packet held by the buffer to the satellite station (Wiedeman; a satellite 40 to temporarily store or buffer the UT-originated message if, for example, no ISL line of sight currently exists to another satellite, or if the satellite 40 determines that it will shortly be in a position to transmit the message directly to the desired gateway 50, Par. 0029).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of buffer as taught by Wiedeman in order to communicate at a later time (Wiedeman; Par. 0029).
Claim 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU-Turner and in further view of MUKAE (MUKAE hereinafter) (US 20240239518).
Regarding Claim 11, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station in a case where a difference between an orbit of an own satellite station and an orbit of the satellite station is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value.
However, in the same field of endeavor, MUKAE teaches,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station in a case where a difference between an orbit of an own satellite station and an orbit of the satellite station is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value. (MUKAE; FIG. 10 illustrates a situation in which a satellite 30-A1 communicates with surrounding satellites 30. Herein, a satellite 30-A2 and a satellite 30-A3 each orbit in the same orbit as an orbit of the satellite 30-A1 and a satellite 30-B1 and a satellite 30-C1 each orbit in an orbit adjacent to the satellite 30-A1, Par. 0122).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of orbit location as taught by MUKAE in order to communicate with satellite in same orbit or adjacent orbit (MUKAE; Par. 0122).
Claim 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU-Turner and in further view of Palermo et al. (Palermo hereinafter) (US 20220345210 A1).
Regarding Claim 12, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station in a higher orbit than an own satellite station.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Palermo teaches,
wherein the control unit transmits the packet to the satellite station in a higher orbit than an own satellite station (Palermo; Finally, FIG. 17E illustrates multi-orbital plane fast path routes ... Each starting or ending contact can start with any SV orbital plane, as typically the lower plane can offer lowest latency and if so can pass to other SVs in the same lower plane or if needed bump up to higher plane if that is the optimum fast path, Par. 0121).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of higher orbit plane as taught by Palermo in order to route in optimum fast path (Palermo; Par. 0121).
Claim 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over HU-Turner and in further view of NAGATA et al. (NAGATA hereinafter) (US 20250167891 A1).
Regarding Claim 15, HU-Turner teaches, The communication device according to claim 1.
HU-Turner failed to explicitly teach,
wherein the control unit stops transmission of the packet in a case where number of times of searching for a transmission destination of the packet exceeds predetermined number of times.
However, in the same field of endeavor, NAGATA teaches,
wherein the control unit stops transmission of the packet in a case where number of times of searching for a transmission destination of the packet exceeds predetermined number of times (NAGATA; in the case where the communication cannot be established for some reasons, optical communication unit 120 executes a retry a predefined number of times. In the case where the communication cannot be established even by the retry, satellite 100 may provide a notification of information representing the failure of communication establishment to relay satellite operator 30 and/or satellite operator 40 through earth station 50, Par. 0057).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of HU-Turner to include the use of retry as taught by NAGATA in order to establish communication (NAGATA; Par. 0057).
Claim 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WAN et al. (WAN hereinafter) (WO 2022160739 A1) in view of Turner.
Regarding Claim 20, WAN teaches, A communication device comprising:
a communication unit that is arranged on ground and that communicates with a satellite station (WAN; Fig. 1 element “20”; As shown in FIG. 1 ... the satellite node 101 ... called access satellites, which represent satellites connecting the ground station and the satellite network, pg 6); and
a control unit that transmits correspondence information in which a destination address of a packet and a position of a ground station are associated with each other to the satellite station via the communication unit (WAN; FIG. 4 , taking the first packet as ... IPv6 packet ... The packet header includes the destination address of the server: 2002::20, which is the destination IP address of the server. The extension header includes ... ground station address: 2001::10, which is the IP address of the ground station connected to the server … the user equipment sends the first message, pg 10; It can combine the block information embedded in the IP address of the ground station connected to the service party, pg 11; obtaining the hemisphere information of the ground station according to the block location information recorded in the address of the ground station connected to the server, pg 13), wherein
the satellite station acquires a position of the ground station that is a transmission destination of the packet on a basis of the correspondence information (WAN; Step 501, the satellite node receives the first message sent by the user equipment to the serving party, pg 12), and
transmits the packet to another satellite station, , in accordance with the position of the ground station (WAN; Step 502, the satellite node sends the first message to the ground station according to the address of the ground station connected to the serving party, pg 12).
WAN failed to explicitly teach,
another satellite station, with which communication using a beacon is performed.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Turner teaches,
another satellite station, with which communication using a beacon is performed (Turner; a laser beacon may allow another satellite to “see” where the satellite is located and additional optical components (e.g. telescopes) may search for laser beacons of other satellites, Par. 0110).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of WAN to include the use of beacon as taught by Turner in order to locate other satellite (Turner; Par. 0110).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art RAVISHANKAR et al. (US 20230269780 A1) teaches in Par. 0126 that “dynamically generate/update the routing table of labels for each ground network endpoint and the destination satellite endpoints, distribute the routing tables to all the routing agents in the relevant GSNB components as well as to the satellites with which it communicates”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHARMIN CHOWDHURY whose telephone number is (571)272-6419. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Tue 8:00 am - 5:00 pm; Wed 8 am - 12 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Noel Beharry can be reached at 5712705630. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SHARMIN CHOWDHURY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2416
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