inerDETAILED ACTION
This Action addresses the communication received on 20 May 2026. Applicant has amended Claims 1, 12, and 18; The Office rejects pending Claims 1-20- as detailed below.
Response to Amendments
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 1, 12, 18, and any corresponding dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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 at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The independent claims recite "selecting a first frequency, and a second frequency different from the first frequency, from a set of non-interfering frequencies comprising frequencies not used by other electronic equipment and having harmonics not used by the other electronic equipment….” The Spec. (¶s 19-20), however, discloses “other types of electronic equipment (e.g., cell phones or global positioning devices)….” Removing the “type” significantly expands the scope of what is recited from what is supported in the Spec. and original claims. For the rejections below, the Office will interpret the limitation as referring to an electronic equipment “type” (e.g., cell phone or GPS device) as supported by the Spec.
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.
Claims 1, 12, 18, and any corresponding dependent claims are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The independent claims recite "selecting a first frequency, and a second frequency different from the first frequency, from a set of non-interfering frequencies comprising frequencies not used by other electronic equipment and having harmonics not used by the other electronic equipment….” This limitation is indefinite. A set comprising frequencies and harmonics not used by other electronic equipment, i.e. any other or all other, is both indefinite and unknowable.
For the rejections below, the Office will interpret the claim limitation, consistent with the Spec., as being bound to a particular type of electronic equipment, i.e. a set of non-interfering frequencies comprising frequencies not used by a different type of electronic equipment (e.g., cell phones or global positioning devices).
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)(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.
+_+_+ Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Waligorski - U.S. Pub. 20140362364 +_+_+
As for Claim 1, Waligorski teaches selecting a first frequency, and a second frequency different from the first frequency, from a set of non-interfering frequencies comprising frequencies not used by a different type of electronic equipment and having harmonics not used by the different type of electronic equipment (¶26|1: “In an embodiment, the modulated signal 108 may be an optical signal. For example, an optical signal may include infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, or the like.” The visible light spectrum including IR, visible, and UV does not interfere with, for example, the cell phone spectrum (i.e., another type of electronic equipment), which operates in the RF and microwave spectrum. Further, the harmonics of the selected frequencies would be in an even higher range, meaning they also could not interfere with the lower frequency spectrums.), wherein at least one of the first frequency or the second frequency is an irrational number and a ratio FN of the first frequency and the second frequency or the ratio of the second frequency and the first frequency is an irrational number (¶74|1: “Moreover, although frequencies that are integer multiples of each other have been described above, in other embodiments, frequencies of the pulses may be non-integer multiples. For example, in an embodiment the ratio of the frequencies or the periods may be a rational number, i.e. a fraction of two integers. However, in other embodiments, the ratio may be an irrational number [i.e., if the ratio is irrational, at least one frequency is irrational].”); transmitting a first signal at the first frequency; receiving a reflected portion of the first signal after the reflected portion of the signal is reflected off of an object, and determining a first phase PH1 based on the reflected portion of the first signal (¶48|1: “Using an optical signal generator 310 as an example, a light source may emit a modulated signal 308 having a modulated intensity similar to signal 700. The light beam may travel to an object 320, reflect from it, and then travel to the receiver 318.”); transmitting, after the transmitting of the first signal and the receiving of the reflected portion of the first signal (¶37|1: “Although a single lower amplitude pulse 404 [second signal] has been described as being interleaved with a single higher amplitude pulse 402 [first signal], different numbers of pulses may be interleaved. For example, two or more higher amplitude pulses 402 may be interleaved with one or more lower amplitude pulses 404. The pulses may be selected to achieve the desired frequency components, achieve a desired accuracy, or the like. In an embodiment, every n-th pulse may be higher or lower than other pulses.” That is, the first signal may be emitted, reflected, and received, before the second signal is transmitted.), a second signal at the second frequency; receiving a reflected portion of the second signal after the second portion of the second signal is reflected off the object, and determining a second phase PH2 based on the reflected portion of the second signal (¶36|1: “In this embodiment, the pulses 402 and 404 alternate with each other. The higher amplitude pulse 402 alternates with the lower amplitude pulse 404. Accordingly, the modulation of the modulated signal 400 includes both a higher frequency component from the individual pulse repetition and a lower frequency component from the change in amplitude of the pulses. Accordingly, the modulated signal 400 may include a substantially continuous dual-frequency amplitude modulation.” Further (¶38|1) “[0038] As will be described in further detail below, a system such as system 300 described above, may integrate or demodulate the modulated signal 400 in different ways designed to measure multiple phases of the modulated signal 400.”); and identifying phase relationship data associated with the object based on the first phase PH1 of the reflected portion of the first signal and the second phase PH2 of the reflected portion of the second signal and identifying a location of the object based on the phase relationship data (¶3|1: “An embodiment includes …receiving a modulated signal having modulation; generating a first signal in response to the modulation and a first sampling signal; generating a second signal in response to the modulation and a second sampling signal; and generating a distance in response to the first signal and the second signal.”)
As for Claim 2, which depends on Claim 1, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying the location of the object based on a correspondence DT of the phase relationship data with the ratio FN calculated based on DT = PH2 - (PH1 * FN) (¶3|1: “An embodiment includes …receiving a modulated signal having modulation; generating a first signal in response to the modulation and a first sampling signal; generating a second signal in response to the modulation and a second sampling signal; and generating a distance in response to the first signal and the second signal.” That is, the distance to an object is a fact. The claim and the reference are determining the same fact with the same data.)
As for Claim 3, which depends on Claim 2, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying the location of the object based on storing data associated with a period of the first frequency to associate with a wrapped first phase mapping that includes a first number of periods of the first frequency; and storing data associated with a period of the second frequency to associate with the first phase mapping, wherein the phase mapping includes a second number of periods of the second frequency and wherein the second number of periods is larger than the first number of periods (¶2|9: “After several repetitions of this procedure, it is possible to calculate from the saved results of the integration the phase shift of the echo signal modulation relative to the original signal modulation.”)
As for Claim 4, which depends on Claim 3, Waligorski teaches further comprising: associating a first portion of a first period of the first frequency with a first index value of a second mapping that maps index values to phase values, wherein the first portion of the first period of the first frequency spans a first number of degrees that is less than 360 degrees of the first frequency; associating a second index value of the second mapping with a second number of degrees of the first frequency that spans from the first number of degrees of the first frequency to the 360 degrees of the first frequency; and associating a third index value of the second mapping with a first portion of a second period of the second frequency (¶2|2: “The system repeatedly integrates the returning "echo" of this signal over a preset fraction (typically 1/2) of the signal's modulation period, starting and ending at specific modulation phases. At certain times, the system saves a result of the integration, shifts the start and end of the integration time by a preset fraction of the signal modulation period (typically 1/4), and resumes the integration. After several repetitions of this procedure, it is possible to calculate from the saved results of the integration the phase shift of the echo signal modulation relative to the original signal modulation.”)
As for Claim 5, which depends on Claim 4, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying that the location of the object corresponds to a phase associated with the first index value, wherein the location of the object is identified based on a number of degrees of the phase relationship data and the association with the first index value (¶2|12: “This phase shift is a periodic function of the distance traveled by the light signal, which can be used to measure light travel distances and, by extension, distances to objects reflecting light toward the TOF system.”)
As for Claim 6, which depends on Claim 4, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying that the location of the object corresponds to a phase associated with the second index value, wherein the location of the object is identified based on a number of degrees of the phase relationship data being associated with the second index value (¶2|12: “This phase shift is a periodic function of the distance traveled by the light signal, which can be used to measure light travel distances and, by extension, distances to objects reflecting light toward the TOF system.”)
As for Claim 7, which depends on Claim 4, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying that the location of the object corresponds to a phase associated with the third index value, wherein the location of the object is identified based on a number of degrees of the phase relationship data being associated with the third index value (¶2|12: “This phase shift is a periodic function of the distance traveled by the light signal, which can be used to measure light travel distances and, by extension, distances to objects reflecting light toward the TOF system.”)
As for Claim 8, which depends on Claim 1, Waligorski teaches further comprising: identifying the location of the object based on identifying a value to associate with the phase relationship data such that the location of the object can be identified; and identifying location of the object based on the identified value and the identified phase relationship data (¶2|12: “This phase shift is a periodic function of the distance traveled by the light signal, which can be used to measure light travel distances and, by extension, distances to objects reflecting light toward the TOF system.”)
As for Claim 9, which depends on Claim 8, Waligorski teaches wherein the value associated with the phase relationship data is an index value of a plurality of index values that correspond to a mapping of changing phases of the first and the second frequency (¶2|12: “This phase shift is a periodic function of the distance traveled by the light signal, which can be used to measure light travel distances and, by extension, distances to objects reflecting light toward the TOF system.”)
As for Claim 10, which depends on Claim 8, Waligorski teaches further comprising: accessing a lookup table to identify the location of the object based on the identified value and the phase relationship data being associated with data stored at the lookup table (¶2|9: “After several repetitions of this procedure, it is possible to calculate from the saved results of the integration the phase shift of the echo signal modulation relative to the original signal modulation.”)
As for Claim 11, which depends on Claim 1, Waligorski teaches wherein the ratio FN has a non-integer value (¶3|1: “An embodiment includes …receiving a modulated signal having modulation; generating a first signal in response to the modulation and a first sampling signal; generating a second signal in response to the modulation and a second sampling signal; and generating a distance in response to the first signal and the second signal. A ratio of a frequency of the first sampling signal to a frequency of the second sampling signal is a rational number.” The set of rational numbers includes non-integer values.)
Claims 12-17 recite substantially the same subject matter as Claims 1-6, respectively, and stand rejected on the same basis accordingly.
Claims 18-20 recite substantially the same subject matter as Claims 1-2 and 10, respectively, and stand rejected on the same basis accordingly.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 20 May 2026 relate to newly amended claims and are not addressed in this section; the rejections above, however, address the latest version of the claims in detail.
Conclusion
Applicants should direct any inquiry concerning this or earlier communications to CLINT THATCHER at phone 571.270.3588. Examiner is normally available Mon-Fri, 9am to 5:30pm ET and generally keeps a daily 2:30pm timeslot open for interviews.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, Examiner’s supervisor, Yuqing Xiao, can be reached at (571) 270-3603.
Though not relied on, the Office considers the additional prior art listed in the Notice of Reference Cited form (PTO-892) pertinent to Applicant's disclosure.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Clint Thatcher/
Examiner, Art Unit 3645
/YUQING XIAO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3645
Prosecution Insights