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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed March 20th, 2026 has been entered. Claims 1-16 remain pending in the application. Applicant's amendments to the Specification and Claims have overcome each and every objection and 112b rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final office Action mailed September 23rd, 2025.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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, 5-11, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Crouch et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20180224547 A1), hereinafter Crouch.
Regarding claim 1, Crouch teaches a LiDAR process executed by a signal processing component of a LiDAR apparatus ([0040] To most simply illustrate the technology of phase-encoded LIDAR, binary phase encoding is demonstrated.), including:
receiving LiDAR signal data representing a signal received at an optical receiver of a LiDAR apparatus and including a scattered and/or reflected portion of an optical signal transmitted by an optical transmitter of the LiDAR apparatus and encoded with a known digital signal ([0060] The phase-encoded optical signal output by the phase modulator 320 is transmitted through some optical couplers, such as the polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 322 or other circulator optics, after which it is scattered by any object 390 in the beam carrying the transmitted signal.),
the scattered and/or reflected portion of the transmitted optical signal having been scattered and/or reflected from an object spaced from the LiDAR apparatus by a distance, and having a Doppler shifted angular frequency due to radial motion of the object relative to the LiDAR apparatus ([0061] The returned signal R from the kth object intercepted by the transmitted beam is given by Equation 7a...where A.sub.k is a constant accounting for the loss of intensity due to propagation to and from the object 390 and scattering at the kth object 390, Δt.sub.k is the two way travel time between the LIDAR system and the kth object 390, and ω.sub.Dk=2πΔf.sub.D is the angular frequency of the Doppler frequency shift (called Doppler shift herein for convenience) of the kth object.);
processing the LiDAR signal data to generate corresponding frequency compensated signal data representing a frequency compensated signal corresponding to the received signal, but in which the Doppler shifted angular frequency has been removed and the known digital signal is encoded into the amplitude of the frequency compensated signal ([0067] The Doppler compensation module 371 then uses the signals I and Q to determine one or more Doppler shifts ω.sub.D, with corresponding speeds, and then uses the value of ω.sub.D and the values of B(t) from the digital code module 372 and the signals I and Q to produce a corrected correlation trace in which peaks indicate one or more Δt at each of the one or more speeds.); and
correlating the frequency compensated signal with a template of the known digital signal to generate a corresponding measurement of the distance of the object from the LiDAR apparatus ([0061] The returned signal 324 is directed by the optical coupler, e.g., PBS 322, to the optical mixer 360 where the return optical signal 324 is mixed with the reference optical signal (LO) 314 given by Equation 5.); wherein the processing includes:
processing the LiDAR signal data to generate corresponding second signal data representing a complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal ([0081] As indicated in Foucras 2014 equation 27, the time shift-theorem can be applied to achieve Doppler code compensation. Indeed, the time-shift frequency theorem is given by Equation 13; [0082] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13.); and
processing the LiDAR signal data and the second signal data to generate the frequency compensated data by multiplying the received signal by the complex-conjugated and time-delayed copy of the received signal ([0082] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13.).
Regarding claim 5, Crouch teaches the process of claim 1, wherein the known digital signal is amplitude-encoded in the optical signal ([0057] two amplitude-modulated sinusoids that are offset in phase by one-quarter cycle (π/2 radians). All three functions have the same frequency. The amplitude modulated sinusoids are known as in-phase component (I) at 0 phase and quadrature component (Q) at a phase of π/2. A laser 310 produces an optical signal at a carrier frequency fc. The laser optical signal, L, is represented mathematically by Equation 4.), and the processing includes:
determining in-phase and quadrature components of the received signal (Fig. 3B; [0066] The returned signal R is given by Equation 7a. The Hybrid mixer outputs four optical signals, termed I+, I−, Q+, and Q−, respectively, combining LO with an in-phase component of the return signal R, designated R.sub.I, and quadrature component of the return signal R, designated R.sub.Q, as defined in Equation 8a through 8d.); and
determining the frequency compensated signal as a magnitude of a complex vector corresponding to the in-phase and quadrature components of the received signal (Equation 11a; [0082] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13.).
Regarding claim 6, Crouch teaches the process of claim 1, including:
encoding an optical signal with the known digital signal ([0065] A laser 310 produces an optical signal at an optical carrier frequency fc.);
causing an optical transmitter of the LiDAR apparatus to transmit the encoded optical signal towards the object ([0066] The phase-encoded optical signal output by the phase modulator 320 is transmitted through some optical couplers, such as the polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 322, after which it is scattered by any object 390); and
receiving the signal at an optical receiver of the LiDAR apparatus (The returned signal 324 is directed by the optical coupler, e.g., PBS 322).
Regarding claim 7, Crouch teaches at least one computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a LiDAR apparatus, cause the at least one processor to execute the process of claim 1 ([0037] A method and apparatus and system and computer-readable medium are described for Doppler correction of optical phase-encoded range detection.).
Regarding claim 8, Crouch teaches at least one non-volatile storage medium having stored thereon FPGA configuration data that, when used to configure an FPGA, causes the FPGA to execute the process of claim 1 (Fig. 14; [0058] The phase modulator 320 imposes the phase changes on the optical carrier by taking digital lines out of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), amplifying them, and driving the EO phase modulator.).
Regarding claim 9, Crouch teaches at least one non-volatile storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions and FPGA configuration data that, when respectively executed by at least one processor of a LiDAR apparatus and used to configure an FPGA, causes the at least one processor and FPGA to execute the process of claim 1 (Fig. 14; [0058] The phase modulator 320 imposes the phase changes on the optical carrier by taking digital lines out of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), amplifying them, and driving the EO phase modulator.).
Regarding claim 10, Crouch teaches a LiDAR apparatus ([0040] To most simply illustrate the technology of phase-encoded LIDAR, binary phase encoding is demonstrated.), including:
a laser to generate an optical signal ([0056] laser source 310);
an optical modulator to encode the optical signal with a known digital signal ([0056] phase modulator 320);
an optical transmitter to transmit the encoded optical signal towards an object spaced from the LiDAR apparatus by a distance ([0060] The phase-encoded optical signal output by the phase modulator 320 is transmitted through some optical couplers, such as the polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 322 or other circulator optics, after which it is scattered by any object 390 in the beam carrying the transmitted signal.);
an optical receiver to receive a signal including a portion of the transmitted optical signal scattered and/or reflected from the object, the scattered and/or reflected portion of the transmitted optical signal having a Doppler shifted angular frequency due to motion of the object relative to the LiDAR apparatus ([0061] The returned signal R from the kth object intercepted by the transmitted beam is given by Equation 7a...where A.sub.k is a constant accounting for the loss of intensity due to propagation to and from the object 390 and scattering at the kth object 390, Δt.sub.k is the two way travel time between the LIDAR system and the kth object 390, and ω.sub.Dk=2πΔf.sub.D is the angular frequency of the Doppler frequency shift (called Doppler shift herein for convenience) of the kth object.); and
a digital signal processing component configured to execute the process of claim 1 ([0061] The returned signal 324 is directed by the optical coupler, e.g., PBS 322, to the optical mixer 360).
Regarding claim 11, Crouch teaches a LiDAR apparatus ([0040] To most simply illustrate the technology of phase-encoded LIDAR, binary phase encoding is demonstrated.), including:
a laser to generate an optical signal ([0056] laser source 310);
an optical modulator to encode the optical signal with a known digital signal ([0056] phase modulator 320);
an optical transmitter to transmit the encoded optical signal towards an object spaced from the LiDAR apparatus by a distance ([0060] The phase-encoded optical signal output by the phase modulator 320 is transmitted through some optical couplers, such as the polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 322 or other circulator optics, after which it is scattered by any object 390 in the beam carrying the transmitted signal.);
an optical receiver to receive a signal including a portion of the transmitted optical signal scattered and/or reflected from the object, the scattered and/or reflected portion of the transmitted optical signal having a Doppler shifted angular frequency due to radial motion of the object relative to the LiDAR apparatus ([0061] The returned signal R from the kth object intercepted by the transmitted beam is given by Equation 7a...where A.sub.k is a constant accounting for the loss of intensity due to propagation to and from the object 390 and scattering at the kth object 390, Δt.sub.k is the two way travel time between the LIDAR system and the kth object 390, and ω.sub.Dk=2πΔf.sub.D is the angular frequency of the Doppler frequency shift (called Doppler shift herein for convenience) of the kth object.); and
a digital signal processing component configured to: receive LiDAR signal data representing the signal received by the optical receiver ([0061] The returned signal 324 is directed by the optical coupler, e.g., PBS 322, to the optical mixer 360);
process the LiDAR signal data to generate corresponding frequency compensated signal data representing a frequency compensated signal corresponding to the received signal, but in which the Doppler shifted angular frequency has been removed and the known digital signal is encoded into the amplitude of the frequency compensated signal ([0067] The Doppler compensation module 371 then uses the signals I and Q to determine one or more Doppler shifts ω.sub.D, with corresponding speeds, and then uses the value of ω.sub.D and the values of B(t) from the digital code module 372 and the signals I and Q to produce a corrected correlation trace in which peaks indicate one or more Δt at each of the one or more speeds.); and
correlate the frequency compensated signal with a template of the known digital signal to generate a corresponding measurement of the distance of the object from the LiDAR apparatus ([0061] The returned signal 324 is directed by the optical coupler, e.g., PBS 322, to the optical mixer 360 where the return optical signal 324 is mixed with the reference optical signal (LO) 314 given by Equation 5.); wherein the processing of the LiDAR signal data includes the steps of:
processing the LiDAR signal data to generate corresponding second signal data representing a complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal ([0081] As indicated in Foucras 2014 equation 27, the time shift-theorem can be applied to achieve Doppler code compensation. Indeed, the time-shift frequency theorem is given by Equation 13; [0082] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13.); and
processing the LiDAR signal data and the second signal data to generate the frequency compensated data by multiplying the received signal by the complex-conjugated and time-delayed copy of the received signal ([0082] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13.).
Regarding claim 15, Crouch teaches the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the known digital signal is amplitude-encoded in the optical signal ([0057] The amplitude modulated sinusoids are known as in-phase component (I) at 0 phase and quadrature component (Q) at a phase of π/2.), and the processing of the LiDAR signal data includes the steps of:
determining in-phase and quadrature components of the received signal ([0064] Here an example hardware embodiment is designed to support the coherent detection of in-phase and quadrature (I/Q) signals of a phase coded transmitted signal); and
determining the frequency compensated signal as a magnitude of a complex vector corresponding to the in-phase and quadrature components of the received signal (Equations 8 a-k; [0067] The Doppler compensation module 371 then uses the signals I and Q to determine one or more Doppler shifts ω.sub.D, with corresponding speeds, and then uses the value of ω.sub.D and the values of B(t) from the digital code module 372 and the signals I and Q to produce a corrected correlation trace in which peaks indicate one or more Δt at each of the one or more speeds.).
Regarding claim 16, Crouch teaches the apparatus of claim 11, wherein the digital signal processing component is further configured to: cause an optical signal to be encoded with the known digital signal ([0065] A laser 310 produces an optical signal at an optical carrier frequency fc.); and
cause the optical transmitter to transmit the encoded optical signal towards the object ([0066] The phase-encoded optical signal output by the phase modulator 320 is transmitted through some optical couplers, such as the polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 322, after which it is scattered by any object 390).
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 2-4, and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Crouch in view of Crouch et al. (United States Patent Application Publication 20190011558 A1), hereinafter Crouch and Rupavatharam.
Regarding claim 2, Crouch teaches the process of claim 1,
Crouch fails to teach the process wherein the known digital signal is phase-encoded in the optical signal, and the Doppler-shifted portion of the optical signal is given by: s[nTs]=Ae^i(ωnTs+(β/2)c[nTs]+θ[nTs]) with amplitude A, angular frequency ω=2πf, time-varying phase θ[nTs], and c[nTs]is the known digital signal encoded in phase with modulation depth β; the complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal is given by: s’[(n-K)Ts]=Ae^-i(ω(n-K)Ts+(β/2)c[(n-K)Ts]+θ[(n-K)Ts]) where the time-delayed frequency ωKTs represents a constant phase shift, ϕ, relative to the unshifted signal s[n], and wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 ·c[nT s]·c[(n−K)T s]·e^iϕ
However, Crouch and Rupavatharam teaches the process wherein the known digital signal is phase-encoded in the optical signal ([0069] In some phase encoded embodiments, electro-optic modulators provide the modulation. The system is configured to produce a phase code of length M*N and symbol duration 2, for a total duration of D=M*N*τ; [0140] Any frequency shifter known in the art may be used.),
and the Doppler-shifted portion of the optical signal is given by: s[nTs]=Ae^i(ωnTs+(β/2)c[nTs]+θ[nTs]) (Equation 7a)
with amplitude A, angular frequency ω=2πf, time-varying phase θ[nTs], and c[nTs]is the known digital signal encoded in phase with modulation depth β ([0069] where A.sub.k is a constant accounting for the loss of intensity due to propagation to and from the object 390 and scattering at the kth object 390, Δt.sub.k is the two way travel time between the LIDAR system and the kth object 390, and ω.sub.Dk=2πΔf.sub.D is the angular frequency of the Doppler frequency shift (called Doppler shift herein for convenience) of the kth object.);
the complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal is given by: s’[(n-K)Ts]=Ae^-i(ω(n-K)Ts+(β/2)c[(n-K)Ts]+θ[(n-K)Ts]) (Equation 7a)
where the time-delayed frequency ωKTs represents a constant phase shift, ϕ, relative to the unshifted signal s[n] ([0086] Other schemes include the use of 3×3 s multimode interference (MMI) structures. These devices are more compact than free-space 90-degree hybrids. They produce a 120 degree phase shift at each output port.), and
wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 ·c[nT s]·c[(n−K)T s]·e^iϕ (Equation 13; [0108] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13. Equation 14b)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Crouch to comprise the phase-encoded optical signal similar to Crouch and Rupavatharam, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a more easily detectable signal when compared to the returned signal, using a mathematical derivation known to the art.
Regarding claim 3, Crouch, as modified above, teaches the process of claim 2, wherein the known digital signal is a pseudo-random bit sequence ([0072] In step 403 a code made up of a sequence of M*N symbols is generated for use in ranging, representing M blocks of N symbols, with no duplicates among the M blocks. In some embodiments, the Fourier transform of an RF signal with such phase encoding is also determined during step 403)
Crouch fails to teach the system wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 c[(n−M)T s]·e^iϕ, where M is a fixed sample delay relative to the received signal.
However, Crouch and Rupavatharam teaches the system wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 c[(n−M)T s]·e^iϕ, where M is a fixed sample delay relative to the received signal (Equation 13; [0108] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13. Equation 14b)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Crouch to comprise the frequency compensated signal similar to Crouch and Rupavatharam, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a clean signal from the returned signal to reduce the level of Doppler interference.
Regarding claim 4, Crouch, as modified above, teaches the process of claim 2, including estimating the Doppler shifted angular frequency fd according to: fd =ϕF s/2πRK where Fs=1/Ts J represents the sampling frequency used to generate the LiDAR signal data from the received optical signal, and R is the number of points in the phase-shift keying constellation ([0045] The observed frequency f′ of the return differs from the correct frequency f=fc+f.sub.0 of the return by the Doppler effect given by Equation 1... The difference between the two frequencies, Δf=f′−f, is the Doppler shift, Δf.sub.D,).
Regarding claim 12, Crouch teaches the apparatus of claim 11,
Crouch fails to teach the apparatus wherein the known digital signal is a maximal length sequence phase-encoded in the optical signal, and the Doppler-shifted portion of the optical signal is given by: s[nTs]=Ae^i(ωnTs+(β/2)c[nTs]+θ[nTs]) with amplitude A, angular frequency ω=2πf, sample number n and sampling period Ts, time-varying phase θ[nTs], and c[nTs] is the known digital signal encoded in phase with modulation depth β; the complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal is given by: s’[(n-K)Ts]=Ae^-i(ω(n-K)Ts+(β/2)c[(n-K)Ts]+θ[(n-K)Ts]) where K is the number of samples of the signal delay and the time-delayed frequency ωKTs represents a constant phase shift, ϕ, relative to the unshifted signal s[n], and wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 ·c[nT s]·c[(n−K)T s]·e^iϕ
However, Crouch and Rupavatharam teaches the apparatus wherein the known digital signal is a maximal length sequence phase-encoded in the optical signal ([0069] In some phase encoded embodiments, electro-optic modulators provide the modulation. The system is configured to produce a phase code of length M*N and symbol duration 2, for a total duration of D=M*N*τ; [0140] Any frequency shifter known in the art may be used.), and
the Doppler-shifted portion of the optical signal is given by: s[nTs]=Ae^i(ωnTs+(β/2)c[nTs]+θ[nTs]) (Equation 7a)
with amplitude A, angular frequency ω=2πf, sample number n and sampling period Ts, time-varying phase θ[nTs], and c[nTs] is the known digital signal encoded in phase with modulation depth β ([0069] where A.sub.k is a constant accounting for the loss of intensity due to propagation to and from the object 390 and scattering at the kth object 390, Δt.sub.k is the two way travel time between the LIDAR system and the kth object 390, and ω.sub.Dk=2πΔf.sub.D is the angular frequency of the Doppler frequency shift (called Doppler shift herein for convenience) of the kth object.);
the complex-conjugated and time-shifted copy of the received signal is given by: s’[(n-K)Ts]=Ae^-i(ω(n-K)Ts+(β/2)c[(n-K)Ts]+θ[(n-K)Ts]) (Equation 7a)
where K is the number of samples of the signal delay and the time-delayed frequency ωKTs represents a constant phase shift, ϕ, relative to the unshifted signal s[n] ([0086] Other schemes include the use of 3×3 s multimode interference (MMI) structures. These devices are more compact than free-space 90-degree hybrids. They produce a 120 degree phase shift at each output port.), and
wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 ·c[nT s]·c[(n−K)T s]·e^iϕ (Equation 13; [0108] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13. Equation 14b)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Crouch to comprise the phase-encoded optical signal similar to Crouch and Rupavatharam, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a more easily detectable signal when compared to the returned signal, using a mathematical derivation known to the art.
Regarding claim 13, Crouch, as modified above, teaches the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the known digital signal is a pseudo-random bit sequence ([0072] In step 403 a code made up of a sequence of M*N symbols is generated for use in ranging, representing M blocks of N symbols, with no duplicates among the M blocks. In some embodiments, the Fourier transform of an RF signal with such phase encoding is also determined during step 403),
Crouch fails to teach the apparatus wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 c[(n−M)T s]·e^iϕ where M is a fixed sample delay relative to the received signal
However, Crouch and Rupavatharam teaches the apparatus wherein the frequency compensated signal is given by: q[nT s]=A^2 c[(n−M)T s]·e^iϕ where M is a fixed sample delay relative to the received signal (Equation 13; [0108] In some embodiments, the correct spectrum is computed using Equation 14b, which removes the Doppler effect by multiplication with a complex exponential and then calculating the FFT, as indicated in Equation 13. Equation 14b)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of this invention to modify the invention of Crouch to comprise the frequency compensated signal similar to Crouch and Rupavatharam, with a reasonable expectation of success. This would have the predictable result of generating a clean signal from the returned signal to reduce the level of Doppler interference.
Regarding claim 14, Crouch, as modified above, teaches the apparatus of claim 12, wherein the digital signal processing component is further configured to estimate the Doppler shifted angular frequency fd according to: fd =ϕF s/2πRK where Fs=1/Ts J represents the sampling frequency used to generate the LiDAR signal data from the received optical signal, and R is the number of points in the phase-shift keyring constellation ([0045] The observed frequency f′ of the return differs from the correct frequency f=fc+f.sub.0 of the return by the Doppler effect given by Equation 1... The difference between the two frequencies, Δf=f′−f, is the Doppler shift, Δf.sub.D,).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed March 20th, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding the argument that the first Crouch prior art fails to teach generating compensated signal data with the features recited, the examiner notes that the prior art of Crouch teaches the process by which a Doppler shift is determined and then that shift is used in combination with the digital code generated to produce a corrected correlation trace. Without further limitations placed on the claim as written, this trace corrected for Doppler shift is the same under the broadest reasonable interpretation to one of reasonable skill in the arts as the frequency compensated signal data.
Further, the argument that Crouch teaches compensating shifts by first measuring the frequency of the received signal using an FFT, which is not used in immediate application, it is noted that while the immediate application may use a process that avoids the use of an FFT, such a method is not exclusively pointed to in the language of the claims. As such, under the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claims as written to one of reasonable skill in the art, the method outlined by Crouch teaches the same processing method outlined in the claims. As such, the rejection made previously is maintained in this Final Office Action.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/ROBERT W VASQUEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/HELAL A ALGAHAIM/SPE , Art Unit 3645
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