DETAILED ACTION
This Final Office Action is responsive to the claims filed on June 18, 2026. Claims 1-20 are under examination.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 USC 112(a) as reciting new matter.
Claims 1-20 remain allowable over the art.
Response to Arguments Amendment
35 USC 101 Rejections: The Applicant’s arguments and amendments are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn.
35 USC 112(a) Rejections: The Applicant’s arguments and amendments are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn.
35 USC 112(a) Rejections: The Applicant’s arguments and amendments are persuasive. The rejections have been withdrawn.
Claims Remain Allowable Over Art: No new art rejection is presented in this action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Highest Overall Probability
The independent claims recite, “one of the identified effects having a highest overall probability of mitigating he active threat.” There is no support in the specification for a highest overall probability. For example, paragraph [0060] states, “deploying effects to mitigate the threats based on the overall probability and overall confidence intervals, at operation 340.”
Tasking message
The independent claims recite, “generating a machine-readable tasking message specifying platform, timing, and actuation of parameters derived from the values of A, R, T, and Q.” However, the specification fails to teach a tasking message, let alone one that specifies platform, timing, and actuation parameters, or the transmission of the tasking message, as recited in the claim.
Parameters Derived From The Values of A, R, T, and Q
The independent claims recite, “platform, timing, and actuation parameters derived from the values of A, R, T, and Q.” The specification fails to teach any parameters derived from A, R, T, and Q, that would be transmitted in a tasking message or otherwise.
Radar Tracking
The independent claims recite, “a radar system that tracks the active threat using sensor data.” However, tracking is not taught as an effect in the specification. The elements of tracking presented in the specification are inputs to determine the probability of a different effect, such as an interceptor.
Beam Steering
The independent claims recite, “or a directed energy device that steers a directed energy beam to the active threat.” However, beam steering is not in the specification.
Cyber Effect Platform
The independent claims recite, “a cyber effect platform that transmits an electromagnetic signal to interfere with the active threat.” However, the specification never discusses that a cyber effect includes a platform transmitting a signal to interfere with an active threat.
Claims Allowable Over Prior Art
The claims recite,
generating a normalized algorithm for the identified (threat, effect) pair based on the metrics, wherein the normalized algorithm is of the form Pk=AxRxTxQ, where Pk is a probability of mitigating damage, and A, R, T, Q are input parameters quantifying physical characteristics of the effect and threat and A, R, T, or Q are set to one if a given identified (threat, effect) pair does not depend thereon, the normalized algorithm operating based on input parameters of same units as other normalized algorithms, where A is angle, R is range, T is time, Q is error;
[…]
by automatically generating a machine-readable tasking message specifying platform, timing, and actuation parameters derived from A, R, T, and Q and transmitting the tasking message to a selected interceptor, radar, cyber effect, or directed energy device.
Claim 17 includes an additional parameter, “V.”
Hershey et al. (US 20190188342) teaches determining probabilities of defeat based on normalized factors. These may consist of sub-probabilities that are each defined in terms of normalized parameters representing physical threat mitigation parameters. See Hershey [0021]-[0030], [0045]-[0054], and [0066]-[0069].
Pederson et al. (US 7,473,876 B1) teaches parameters that are considered when intercepting a missile. These include angles, velocities, ranges and errors. See Pederson Column 6, Lines 6-9 and Column 15, Line 57 – Column 16, Line 62. Please note that the number previously provided for the Pederson reference was incorrect and has been corrected herein and has been properly added to the record.
Blitzstein et al. (NPL: “Probability!”) teaches that conditional probabilities that do not affect a final probability distribution are treated as having a probability of one. See Blitzstein, Page 12, Third-Eighth Paragraphs.
The claim recites a specific combination of values of parameters in an equation for determining a probability of successful intercept of a particular threat effect pair and uses those same parameter values to generate actuation parameters for the effect. The combined cited references could not teach this combination of features without the use of impermissible hindsight. A further search was conducted and yielded no references to remedy this deficiency in the art. Therefore, the claims are allowable over the cited art.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(From Prior Action)
US 20180038669 A1 to Hershey et al. (Teaches using algorithm normalization and probabilities in threat detection, including Monte Carlo simulation)
US 20170208084 A1 to Steelman et al. (Teaches a probability-based threat detection system)
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/J.M.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2188
/RYAN F PITARO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2188
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