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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 28 October 2024 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 § 102
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.
Claims 1, 3, 5, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US Patent No. 6,587,687 (Wiedeman).
Regarding Claim 1. Wiedeman discloses: “a wireless communication method with an NTN (FIG. 7: 100, 101, 102, 103; col. 10, lines: 20-28: “The first of these three components is a Weather Radar System (WRS) 101”; “The second component is an Attenuation Potential Signal Processing System (APSPS) 102. The third component is a Gateway Antenna Control Electronics (GACE) unit 103”), the wireless communication method comprising: extracting rainfall data of each of places between a plurality of relay stations (FIG. 6A: 50a, 50b, 50c; col. 8, lines: 63-65: “three satellites 50a, 50b, 50c which are being tracked by the three antennas 1a at the site 6”) moving in the sky in the NTN and a plurality of ground stations placed on the ground (FIG. 6A: 1a) in respective cells (FIG. 6A: 14, 14a) formed by the relay stations at predetermined time intervals (FIG. 6A: 1a, 6; col. 8, lines: 65-67: “The satellites 50 may move with respect to the ground coordinates of the site 6, the storm 14 and the rain cell 14a”) from rainfall prediction of each predetermined region based on observation data of a weather radar (FIG. 7: 101; col. 10, lines 29-34: “The system operates using any suitable weather radar system 101 to transmit bursts of RF energy in such a manner that received reflected radar signals from a rain storm 14 or rain cell 14a within the storm can be characterized as to the location, distance, and, if possible, intensity from the WRS 101”); predicting deterioration in communication of a feeder link of each of the plurality of relay stations caused by rainfall on the basis of the extracted rainfall data (FIG. 8: col. 10, lines 54-57: “FIG. 8 illustrates a representation of the mathematical model derived by the APSPS 102 of the resultant attenuation data for several clouds, storm, or rain cells 14a”); determining whether or not the feeder link of each of the plurality of relay stations satisfies a predetermined communication quality on the basis of the predicted deterioration in communication of each feeder link (col. 13, lines 41-44: “this invention enables preemptive communications link allocation and control based at least in part on predicted weather-related signal attenuation”); and in a case where it is determined that the feeder link of the relay station to which a service link is connected does not satisfy the predetermined communication quality (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-54: “As an example, reference is made to FIG. 13C where the link from the gateway 6 to Sat-1 is impaired by "n" dB. In this case several options are open to the gateway 6., controlling the feeder link such that the feeder link satisfies the predetermined communication quality” (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-54: “As an example, reference is made to FIG. 13C where the link from the gateway 6 to Sat-1 is impaired by "n" dB. In this case several options are open to the gateway 6. In a first option the gateway 6 may increase the power P on the feeder link to Sat-1, thus maintaining the overall link quality”).
With respect to claim 3, Wiedeman discloses: “in controlling the control step, in a case where it is determined that the feeder link of the relay station to which the service link is connected does not satisfy the predetermined communication quality (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-52: “As an example, reference is made to FIG. 13C where the link from the gateway 6 to Sat-1 is impaired by "n" dB. In this case several options are open to the gateway 6”), the controlling is performed to increase transmission power of the relay station (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 52-54: “In a first option the gateway 6 may increase the power P on the feeder link to Sat-1, thus maintaining the overall link quality”) or to change a modulation method or code rate of the relay station”.
With respect to claim 5, Wiedeman discloses: “a wireless communication system including an NTN (FIG. 7: 100, 101, 102, 103; col. 10, lines: 20-28: “The first of these three components is a Weather Radar System (WRS) 101”; “The second component is an Attenuation Potential Signal Processing System (APSPS) 102. The third component is a Gateway Antenna Control Electronics (GACE) unit 103”), the wireless communication system comprising: extraction circuitry configured to extract rainfall data of each of places between a plurality of relay stations (FIG. 6A: 50a, 50b, 50c; col. 8, lines: 63-65: “three satellites 50a, 50b, 50c which are being tracked by the three antennas 1a at the site 6”) moving in the sky in the NTN and a plurality of ground stations placed on the ground (FIG. 6A: 1a) in respective cells (FIG. 6A: 14, 14a) formed by the relay stations at predetermined time intervals (FIG. 6A: 1a, 6; col. 8, lines: 65-67: “The satellites 50 may move with respect to the ground coordinates of the site 6, the storm 14 and the rain cell 14a”) from rainfall prediction of each predetermined region based on observation data of a weather radar (FIG. 7: 101; col. 10, lines 29-34: “The system operates using any suitable weather radar system 101 to transmit bursts of RF energy in such a manner that received reflected radar signals from a rain storm 14 or rain cell 14a within the storm can be characterized as to the location, distance, and, if possible, intensity from the WRS 101”); prediction circuitry configured to predict deterioration in communication of a feeder link of each of the plurality of relay stations caused by rainfall on the basis of the rainfall data extracted by the extraction circuitry (FIG. 8: col. 10, lines 54-57: “FIG. 8 illustrates a representation of the mathematical model derived by the APSPS 102 of the resultant attenuation data for several clouds, storm, or rain cells 14a”); determination circuitry configured to determine whether or not the feeder link of each of the plurality of relay stations satisfies a predetermined communication quality on the basis of the deterioration in communication of each feeder link predicted by the prediction circuitry link (col. 13, lines 41-44: “this invention enables preemptive communications link allocation and control based at least in part on predicted weather-related signal attenuation”); and a controller that, in a case where the determination circuitry determine that the feeder link of the relay station to which a service link is connected does not satisfy the predetermined communication quality (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-52: “As an example, reference is made to FIG. 13C where the link from the gateway 6 to Sat-1 is impaired by "n" dB. In this case several options are open to the gateway 6”), control the feeder link such that the feeder link satisfies the predetermined communication quality” (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-52: “In a first option the gateway 6 may increase the power P on the feeder link to Sat-1, thus maintaining the overall link quality”).
Regarding Claim 7, Wiedeman discloses: “the wireless communication system according to claim 5, wherein in a case where the determination circuitry determine that the feeder link of the relay station to which the service link is connected does not satisfy the predetermined communication quality (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 50-52: “As an example, reference is made to FIG. 13C where the link from the gateway 6 to Sat-1 is impaired by "n" dB. In this case several options are open to the gateway 6”), the controller performs control to increase transmission power of the relay station or to change a modulation method or code rate of the relay station” (FIG. 13C; col. 14, lines 52-54: “In a first option the gateway 6 may increase the power P on the feeder link to Sat-1, thus maintaining the overall link quality”).
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.
Claims 2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiedeman in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 20060189275 (Karabinis).
Claims 2 and 6 are dependent upon claims 1 and 5, respectively. As discussed above, claims 1 and 5 are disclosed by Wiedeman. Thus, those limitations of claim 2 and 6 that are recited in claims 1 and 5, respectively, are also disclosed by Weidman.
However, Wiedeman, does not clearly disclose the remaining limitations of the claims. To that end regarding claim 2, Karabinis discloses: “in controlling, in a case where it is determined that the feeder link of the relay station to which the service link is connected does not satisfy the predetermined communication quality ([0066]: “feeder link spectrum may become temporarily unavailable to a satellite due to, for example, traffic conditions, atmospheric conditions, service/maintenance conditions, and/or for other reasons”; “a first satellite 110A may not be able to establish a direct feeder link connection 112A with the satellite gateway 160”), the controlling is performed to switch a propagation path such that any of other relay stations whose feeder links are determined to satisfy the predetermined communication quality relays the feeder link of the relay station to any of the ground stations” ([0066]: “the first satellite 110A may establish an indirect feeder link connection 112A' with the satellite gateway 160 by using an inter-satellite link 118 between the first satellite 110A and the second satellite 110B, and a direct satellite feeder link 112B between the second satellite 110B and the gateway 160”). It is respectfully submitted that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine Wiedeman with the invention of Karabinis in order to provide an switch/inter-satellite to switch a propagation path (i.e., see Karabinis @ [0066]).
With respect to claim 6, Karabinis discloses: “the wireless communication system according to claim 5, wherein in a case where the determination circuitry determines determine that the feeder link of the relay station to which the service link is connected does not satisfy the
predetermined communication quality ([0066]: “feeder link spectrum may become temporarily unavailable to a satellite due to, for example, traffic conditions, atmospheric conditions, service/maintenance conditions, and/or for other reasons”; “a first satellite 110A may not be able to establish a direct feeder link connection 112A with the satellite gateway 160”), the controller performs control to switch a propagation path such that any of other relay stations whose feeder links are determined by the determination circuitry to satisfy the predetermined communication quality relays the feeder link of the relay station to any of the ground stations” ([0066]: “the first satellite 110A may establish an indirect feeder link connection 112A' with the satellite gateway 160 by using an inter-satellite link 118 between the first satellite 110A and the second satellite 110B, and a direct satellite feeder link 112B between the second satellite 110B and the gateway 160”).
Claims 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiedeman in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 20240097808 (Tanaka et al).
Claims 4 and 8 are dependent upon claims 1 and 5, respectively. As discussed above, claims 1 and 5 are disclosed by Wiedeman. Thus, those limitations of claim 4 and 8 that are recited in claims 1 and 5, respectively, are also disclosed by Wiedeman.
However, Wiedeman, does not clearly disclose the remaining limitations of the claims. To that end with respect to claim 4, Tanaka et al. discloses: “calculating each rainfall section (FIG. 1: 90; [0042]: “the propagation-loss increasing part 95 where a rainfall or the like is generated from the cloud 90”) between the relay station (FIG. 1: 10; [0028]: “High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) (also called “High Altitude Pseudo Satellite” or “Stratospheric Platform”) 10 as an aerial-floating type communication relay apparatus (radio apparatus) located in an airspace”) and the ground station (FIG. 1: 70; [0034]: “In FIG. 1, a link between the HAPS 10 and a gateway station (also referred to as a “feeder station”, hereinafter referred to as a “GW station”) 70, which is a radio apparatus on the ground side, is called a “feeder link” FL, and a link between the HAPS 10 and a terminal apparatus located in a service area on or near the terrestrial surface is called a “service link” SL”) on the basis of the extracted rainfall data; and calculating an amount of radio wave propagation loss caused by the calculated rainfall section (FIG. 1: 90; [0042]: “the propagation-loss increasing part 95 where a rainfall or the like is generated from the cloud 90”), wherein in predicting, the deterioration in communication of the feeder link of each of the plurality of the relay stations caused by rainfall is predicted on the basis of each calculated amount of radio wave propagation loss” (FIG. 1: 90, 95; [0041]: “in FIG. 1, if there is a propagation-loss increasing part 95 such as a rainfall area, which is a space where the propagation loss (amount of radio signal attenuation) of cloud 90, rainfall (guerrilla downpour), snowfall, storm, sandstorm, and the like, is increasing, in a radio propagation path such as a millimeter wave or a microwave of the feeder link between the HAPS 10 and the GW station 70”). It is respectfully submitted that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to combine Wiedeman with the invention of Tanaka et al. in order to provide information on propagation loss (e.g., see Tanaka et al. @ [0041]).
With respect to claim 8, Wiedeman discloses: “the wireless communication system according to claim 5.
In addition, Tanaka et al. discloses: “section calculation circuitry configured to calculate each rainfall section between the relay station and the ground station (FIG. 1: 70; [0034]: “In FIG. 1, a link between the HAPS 10 and a gateway station (also referred to as a “feeder station”, hereinafter referred to as a “GW station”) 70, which is a radio apparatus on the ground side, is called a “feeder link” FL, and a link between the HAPS 10 and a terminal apparatus located in a service area on or near the terrestrial surface is called a “service link” SL”) on the basis of the rainfall data extracted by the extraction circuitry ([0084]: “In FIG. 9, the rainfall-attenuation prediction apparatus 20 is provided with the data acquisition section 21 and the estimation section 22. The data acquisition section 21 acquires the weather data”); and loss amount calculation circuitry configured to calculate an amount of radio wave propagation loss caused by the rainfall section calculated by the section calculation circuitry , (FIG. 1: 90; [0042]: “the propagation-loss increasing part 95 where a rainfall or the like is generated from the cloud 90”) wherein the prediction circuitry predict the deterioration in communication of the feeder link of each of the plurality of the relay stations (FIG. 9: 22; [0086]: “The estimation section 22 has, for example, a storage section 221, a correction-term update section 222, a weather estimation section 223 and an attenuation estimation section 224. The storage section 221 stores the weather data”) caused by rainfall on the basis of each amount of radio wave propagation loss calculated by the loss amount calculation circuitry” (FIG. 1: 90, 95; [0041]: “in FIG. 1, if there is a propagation-loss increasing part 95 such as a rainfall area, which is a space where the propagation loss (amount of radio signal attenuation) of cloud 90, rainfall (guerrilla downpour), snowfall, storm, sandstorm, and the like, is increasing, in a radio propagation path such as a millimeter wave or a microwave of the feeder link between the HAPS 10 and the GW station 70”).
Conclusion
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/Myron Wyche/ 16 September 2026
Primary Examner AU2644
Prosecution Insights