DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 8 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang (US 20260100753 A1).
For Claim 1. Zhang discloses A device comprising: a plurality of antennas ([0148], [0149], [0100]); and one or more processors configured to: transmit, via a first antenna of the plurality of antennas and at a first time, a terrestrial communication signal ([0137], [0138], [0145], [0146]); and transmit, via the plurality of antennas and at a second time, a non-terrestrial communication signal, wherein transmitting the non-terrestrial communication signal comprises forming a beam using at least two antennas of the plurality of antennas, the at least two antennas including the first antenna ([0029], [0196], [0233], [0234], one reused phased array antenna includes at least two antennas for local network communication and satellite communication, or the two directional antennas 1 and 2 for local network communication and satellite communication).
For Claim 8. Zhang discloses A method comprising: transmitting, at a first time, via a first antenna within a device comprising a plurality of antennas ([0148], [0149], [0100]), a terrestrial communication signal ([0137], [0138], [0145], [0146]); and transmitting, at a second time, via the plurality of antennas, a non-terrestrial communication signal, wherein transmitting the non-terrestrial communication signal comprises forming a beam using at least two antennas of the plurality of antennas, the at least two antennas including the first antenna ([0029], [0196], [0233], [0234], one reused phased array antenna includes at least two antennas for local network communication and satellite communication, or the two directional antennas 1 and 2 for local network communication and satellite communication).
For Claim 15. Zhang discloses A non-transitory computer-readable storage media having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to: transmit, via a first antenna of a plurality of antennas ([0148], [0149], [0100]) and at a first time, a terrestrial communication signal ([0137], [0138], [0145], [0146]); and transmit, via the plurality of antennas and at a second time, a non-terrestrial communication signal, wherein transmitting the non-terrestrial communication signal comprises forming a beam using at least two antennas of the plurality of antennas, the at least two antennas including the first antenna ([0029], [0196], [0233], [0234], one reused phased array antenna includes at least two antennas for local network communication and satellite communication, or the two directional antennas 1 and 2 for local network communication and satellite communication).
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) 3 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 20260100753 A1) in view of Eitan (US 20190081693 A1).
For Claim 3. The device of claim 1, Zhang discloses further comprising: a signal generator; a first tuner connected between the signal generator and the first antenna; and a second tuner connected between the signal generator and a second antenna of the at least two antennas, wherein, to form the beam using at least the two antennas, the one or more processors control one or both of the first tuner and the second tuner to introduce a delay in a particular signal output by the signal generator ([0100] phase delays, [0137], figure 3a).
But fails to mention impedance tuner.
This teaching is disclosed by Eitan (figure 10, [0105] a phase shifter may include a plurality of selectable resistors).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the selection techniques taught by Eitan into the art of Zhang as to use impedance tuner to produce phase shifting as a further embodiment.
For claim 10, since it is method claim of claim 3 and has the similar limitation, so it’s rejected under the same basis as claim 3 set forth above.
Claim(s) 4 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 20260100753 A1) in view of Fujii (US 20240172201 A1).
For Claim 4. The device of claim 3, Zhang discloses wherein the signal generator is a non-terrestrial signal generator of a plurality of signal generators, the device further comprising: a terrestrial signal generator of the plurality of signal generators (figure 3a, [0137]).
Zhang fails to disclose a switch connected to the terrestrial signal generator and the non-terrestrial signal generator, wherein the switch is electrically positioned between the plurality of signal generators and the at least two antennas.
This teaching is disclosed by Fujii (figure 10, [0066]-[0069], [0102]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the selection techniques taught by Fujii into the art of Zhang as to use a switch to connect the reused antennas for different transceivers.
For claim 11, since it is method claim of claim 4 and has the similar limitation, so it’s rejected under the same basis as claim 4 set forth above.
Claim(s) 6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 20260100753 A1) in view of LEE (US 20240243473 A1).
For Claim 6. The device of claim 1, Zhang fails to disclose wherein a distance between the first antenna and a second antenna of the at least two antennas is within a range from about 0.5* wavelength of the non-terrestrial communication signal to 0.8*wavelength of the non-terrestrial communication signal.
This teaching is disclosed by LEE ([0061] in a general array antenna (e.g., an antenna array including a dipole antenna), a gap of about half a wavelength (λ/2) of a radiated signal has been required for the distance between the antenna elements for beamforming).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the selection techniques taught by LEE into the art of Zhang as to use the known antenna design for simplicity.
For claim 13, since it is method claim of claim 6 and has the similar limitation, so it’s rejected under the same basis as claim 6 set forth above.
Claim(s) 7, 14 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 20260100753 A1).
For Claim 7. The device of claim 1, Zhang discloses wherein: to transmit the non-terrestrial communication signal, the one or more processors transmit the non-terrestrial communication signal in a frequency band, and to transmit the terrestrial communication signal, the one or more processors transmit the terrestrial communication signal in a cellular band ([0137], [0147]-[0149]).
But fails to mention Band n255.
Official notice is taken that Band n255 is primarily designed for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), which include satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and drones.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the selection techniques into the art of Zhang as to use the known Band n255 in satellite communications.
For claim 14, since it is method claim of claim 7 and has the similar limitation, so it’s rejected under the same basis as claim 7 set forth above.
For Claim 17, since it is a non-transitory storage media claim of claim 7 and has the similar limitation, so it’s rejected under the same basis as claim 7 set forth above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5, 9, 12 and 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, because none of the references, either alone or in combination, discloses or renders obvious the claims 2, 5, 9, 12 and 16.
Conclusion
Any response to this Office Action should be faxed to (571) 273-8300, submitted online via the USPTO's Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web) (Registered eFilers only, Registered users of the USPTO's EFS-Web system may submit a response electronically through EFS-Web at https://efs.uspto.gov/TruePassSample/AuthenticateUserLocalEPF.html), or mailed to:
Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Rui Meng Hu whose telephone number is 571-270-1105, email is ruimeng.hu@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jinsong Hu can be reached on (571)272-3965. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Rui Meng Hu/
R.H./rh
September 16, 2026
/JINSONG HU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2643
