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 .
Examiner’s Note
For Applicant' s benefit, portions of the cited reference(s) have been cited to aid in the review of the rejection(s). While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection it is noted that the PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, including disclosures that teach away from the claims. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
“The use of patents as references is not limited to what the patentees describe as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain.” In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). A reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art, including non-preferred embodiments. Merck & Co. v.Biocraft Laboratories, 874 F.2d 804, 10 USPQ2d 1843 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975 (1989). See also Upsher-Smith Labs. v. Pamlab, LLC, 412 F.3d 1319, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1213, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2005) See MPEP 2123.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on 6 April, 2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment filed 6 April, 2026 is acknowledged and has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s remarks filed 6 April, 2026 has been fully considered but is moot in view of a new ground of rejection.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-8, 12, 14-19, 22, and 29-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma et al. (US 2024/0345209 A1 “MA”), in view of Tsvelykh et al. (US 2020/0319327 A1 “TSVELYKH”), and further in view of Rao et al. (US 2016/0061942 A1 “RAO”).
Regarding claim 1, MA discloses (Examiner’s note: What MA fails to explicitly disclose is strike-through) an apparatus for wireless communication at a first wireless device (wireless terminal 10 [0077]), comprising: at least one memory (storage unit 110 [0077]); and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory (processor 100 [0077]) and, based at least in part on information stored in the at least one memory, the at least one processor is configured to:
and transmit or receive the FMCW waveform (the sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs are used for communications signal [0090]); (the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]) via the set of time-frequency resources there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN (i.e., M×N) resource elements (REs) [0089])
wherein the FMCW waveform is separated from as shown in FIG. 9, there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN resource elements (Res), where 0<m<M, and 0≤n<N. There are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain. The sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs except guard bands are used for communications signal. The sensing part in the ISAC signal includes a wideband signal in the n-th symbol and a single-tone signal in the other symbols. The wideband sensing signal can be FMCW [0013-0114]),
2
a
τ
m
a
x
τ
m
a
x
a
MA further discloses that the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Orthogonal Frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]. Guard band(s) is inserted between the sensing signal(s) and the communications signal [0172].
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH relates to a millimeter-wave system that operates as an FMCW radar and as a 5G communication system [0023]. Specifically, TSVELYKH teaches that the millimeter-wave system may operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously. In some embodiments, the communication link is established in a particular millimeter-wave band and the radar operations are performed in an adjacent band(s) [0024]. As shown in FIG. 3C, a partition of millimeter-wave system 300 may operate in communication mode during transmission of a first OFDM symbol, and may operate in radar mode during transmission of a subsequent OFDM symbol [0076]. Modem 102 may use any known modulation/demodulation methods and techniques, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and frequency modulated continuous waveform (FMCW) for radar. Controller 120 may dynamically change the particular modulation/demodulation scheme used. For example, the modulation scheme used for radar operations may be different than the modulation scheme used for communication operations [0036]. In addition, during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [0078]. Furthermore, TSVELYKH teaches that one interface (e.g., 301) may be used for FMCW radar operations while the other interface (e.g., 303) may be used for 5G communication. Time separation may be used where vertical and horizontal polarization are used for FMCW radar operations at a first time and vertical and horizontal polarization are used for 5G communication at a second time. Millimeter-wave system 300 may also use a combination of spatial, frequency, and time separation [0072].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because performing the radar functions in an adjacent ISM band advantageously introduces a separation in frequency that allows for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
MA, as modified by TSVELYKH, discloses the invention as set forth herein, but does not disclose wherein the first gap in frequency is greater than
2
a
τ
m
a
x
, where
τ
m
a
x
is a maximum one-way propagation delay and
a
is a slope of the FMCW waveform.
In a same or similar field of endeavor, RAO teaches that the start frequency is less than the first frequency by at least a product an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and positive. The start frequency is greater than the first frequency by at least a product of an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and negative [0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of RAO, because doing so would improve range resolution and optimize performance level and accuracy, as recognized by RAO.
Regarding claim 2, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit or receive the FMCW waveform via the set of time-frequency resources at a same time as the at least one processor is configured to transmit the OFDM waveform (operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously [TSVELYKH 0024], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1). It is further noted that the limitation “transmit or receive the FMCW waveform” is in alternative form; therefore, only one alternative was given patentable weight.
Regarding claim 3, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive the OFDM waveform via the set of time-frequency resources after the at least one processor is configured to receive the indication of the scheduled transmission (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 7, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the indication of the scheduled transmission periodically or semi-persistently (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 8, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit the FMCW waveform to a second wireless device, or wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit or receive the FMCW waveform by the first wireless device (the sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs are used for communications signal [MA 0090]); (the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [MA 0004], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1). It is further noted that the limitation is in alternative form; therefore, only one alternative was given patentable weight.
Regarding claim 12, MA, as modified, discloses the apparatus of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH teaches that the beamforming function may be performed by analog control of channel power levels by controlling VGA 114, as well as by controlling the phase shifts of phase-shifter circuits 112, e.g., via corresponding register programming through a digital interface control, e.g., such as serial peripheral interface (SPI) [0041].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because doing so would allow for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
Regarding claim 14, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interference level is further based on at least one of: one or more subcarriers for the OFDM waveform or a symbol duration of the OFDM waveform (there are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain [MA 0013], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 15, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first wireless device is a user equipment (UE) (the wireless terminal 10 may be a user equipment (UE), a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, an electronic book or a portable computer system [MA 0077]), and wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive the indication of the scheduled transmission from a network entity (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 16, MA discloses a method of wireless communication at a first wireless device (wireless terminal 10 [0077]), comprising:
and transmitting or receiving the FMCW waveform (the sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs are used for communications signal [0090]); (the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]) via the set of time-frequency resources there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN (i.e., M×N) resource elements (REs) [0089])
wherein the FMCW waveform is separated from as shown in FIG. 9, there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN resource elements (Res), where 0<m<M, and 0≤n<N. There are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain. The sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs except guard bands are used for communications signal. The sensing part in the ISAC signal includes a wideband signal in the n-th symbol and a single-tone signal in the other symbols. The wideband sensing signal can be FMCW [0013-0114]),
2
a
τ
m
a
x
τ
m
a
x
a
MA further discloses that the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Orthogonal Frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]. Guard band(s) is inserted between the sensing signal(s) and the communications signal [0172].
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH teaches that the millimeter-wave system may operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously. In some embodiments, the communication link is established in a particular millimeter-wave band and the radar operations are performed in an adjacent band(s) [0024]. As shown in FIG. 3C, a partition of millimeter-wave system 300 may operate in communication mode during transmission of a first OFDM symbol, and may operate in radar mode during transmission of a subsequent OFDM symbol [0076]. Modem 102 may use any known modulation/demodulation methods and techniques, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and frequency modulated continuous waveform (FMCW) for radar. Controller 120 may dynamically change the particular modulation/demodulation scheme used. For example, the modulation scheme used for radar operations may be different than the modulation scheme used for communication operations [0036]. In addition, during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [0078]. Furthermore, TSVELYKH teaches that one interface (e.g., 301) may be used for FMCW radar operations while the other interface (e.g., 303) may be used for 5G communication. Time separation may be used where vertical and horizontal polarization are used for FMCW radar operations at a first time and vertical and horizontal polarization are used for 5G communication at a second time. Millimeter-wave system 300 may also use a combination of spatial, frequency, and time separation [0072].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because performing the radar functions in an adjacent ISM band advantageously introduces a separation in frequency that allows for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
MA, as modified by TSVELYKH, discloses the invention as set forth herein, but does not disclose wherein the first gap in frequency is greater than
2
a
τ
m
a
x
, where
τ
m
a
x
is a maximum one-way propagation delay and
a
is a slope of the FMCW waveform.
In a same or similar field of endeavor, RAO teaches that the start frequency is less than the first frequency by at least a product an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and positive. The start frequency is greater than the first frequency by at least a product of an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and negative [0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of RAO, because doing so would improve range resolution and optimize performance level and accuracy, as recognized by RAO.
Regarding claim 17, MA discloses an apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity (wireless terminal 10 [0077]), comprising: a memory (storage unit 110 [0077]); and at least one processor coupled to the memory (processor 100 [0077]) and, based at least in part on information stored in the memory, the at least one processor is configured to:
wherein the FMCW waveform is separated as shown in FIG. 9, there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN resource elements (Res), where 0<m<M, and 0≤n<N. There are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain. The sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs except guard bands are used for communications signal. The sensing part in the ISAC signal includes a wideband signal in the n-th symbol and a single-tone signal in the other symbols. The wideband sensing signal can be FMCW [0013-0114]),
2
a
τ
m
a
x
τ
m
a
x
a
and transmit the sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs are used for communications signal [0090]); (the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Orthogonal Frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]) via the set of time-frequency resources (there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN (i.e., M×N) resource elements (REs) [0089])
MA further discloses that guard band(s) is inserted between the sensing signal(s) and the communications signal [0172].
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH teaches that the millimeter-wave system may operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously. In some embodiments, the communication link is established in a particular millimeter-wave band and the radar operations are performed in an adjacent band(s) [0024]. As shown in FIG. 3C, a partition of millimeter-wave system 300 may operate in communication mode during transmission of a first OFDM symbol, and may operate in radar mode during transmission of a subsequent OFDM symbol [0076]. Modem 102 may use any known modulation/demodulation methods and techniques, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and frequency modulated continuous waveform (FMCW) for radar. Controller 120 may dynamically change the particular modulation/demodulation scheme used. For example, the modulation scheme used for radar operations may be different than the modulation scheme used for communication operations [0036]. In addition, during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [0078]. Furthermore, TSVELYKH teaches that one interface (e.g., 301) may be used for FMCW radar operations while the other interface (e.g., 303) may be used for 5G communication. Time separation may be used where vertical and horizontal polarization are used for FMCW radar operations at a first time and vertical and horizontal polarization are used for 5G communication at a second time. Millimeter-wave system 300 may also use a combination of spatial, frequency, and time separation [0072].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because performing the radar functions in an adjacent ISM band advantageously introduces a separation in frequency that allows for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
MA, as modified by TSVELYKH, discloses the invention as set forth herein, but does not disclose wherein the first gap in frequency is greater than
2
a
τ
m
a
x
, where
τ
m
a
x
is a maximum one-way propagation delay and
a
is a slope of the FMCW waveform.
In a same or similar field of endeavor, RAO teaches that the start frequency is less than the first frequency by at least a product an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and positive. The start frequency is greater than the first frequency by at least a product of an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and negative [0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of RAO, because doing so would improve range resolution and optimize performance level and accuracy, as recognized by RAO.
Regarding claim 18, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: transmit at least one of the FMCW waveform or the OFDM waveform via the set of time-frequency resources after the at least one processor is configured to transmit the indication of the scheduled transmission (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 17), wherein the FMCW waveform is configured to be transmitted via the set of time-frequency resources at a same time as the OFDM waveform is configured to be transmitted (operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously [TSVELYKH 0024], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 17).
Regarding claim 19, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive at least one of the FMCW waveform or the OFDM waveform via the set of time-frequency resources after the at least one processor is configured to transmit the indication of the scheduled transmission (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 17).
Regarding claim 22, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit the indication of the scheduled transmission periodically or semi-persistently (during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [TSVELYKH 0078], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 17).
Regarding claim 29, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17, wherein the interference level is further based on at least one of: one or more subcarriers for the OFDM waveform or a symbol duration of the OFDM waveform (there are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain [MA 0013], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 17).
Regarding claim 30, MA discloses a method of wireless communication at a network entity, comprising:
wherein the FMCW waveform is separated as shown in FIG. 9, there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN resource elements (Res), where 0<m<M, and 0≤n<N. There are guard bands between sensing signal and communications signal to avoid interference, and the guard band takes up one sub-carrier at both sides of the sensing signal in the frequency domain. The sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs except guard bands are used for communications signal. The sensing part in the ISAC signal includes a wideband signal in the n-th symbol and a single-tone signal in the other symbols. The wideband sensing signal can be FMCW [0013-0114]),
2
a
τ
m
a
x
τ
m
a
x
a
and transmitting the sensing signal uses M+N−1 REs, and the remaining REs are used for communications signal [0090]); (the sensing signal in existing ISAC schemes can be Orthogonal Frequency-division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) signal [0004]) via the set of time-frequency resources (there are in total M sub-carriers in the frequency domain and N symbols in the time domain, which also represents MN (i.e., M×N) resource elements (REs) [0089])
MA further discloses that guard band(s) is inserted between the sensing signal(s) and the communications signal [0172].
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH teaches that the millimeter-wave system may operate as a communication device and as a radar device simultaneously. In some embodiments, the communication link is established in a particular millimeter-wave band and the radar operations are performed in an adjacent band(s) [0024]. As shown in FIG. 3C, a partition of millimeter-wave system 300 may operate in communication mode during transmission of a first OFDM symbol, and may operate in radar mode during transmission of a subsequent OFDM symbol [0076]. Modem 102 may use any known modulation/demodulation methods and techniques, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and frequency modulated continuous waveform (FMCW) for radar. Controller 120 may dynamically change the particular modulation/demodulation scheme used. For example, the modulation scheme used for radar operations may be different than the modulation scheme used for communication operations [0036]. In addition, during normal operation, resource scheduler 402 dynamically configures millimeter-wave hardware 404 of millimeter-wave system 300 based on requests received from signal processing and data management module 410 [0078]. Furthermore, TSVELYKH teaches that one interface (e.g., 301) may be used for FMCW radar operations while the other interface (e.g., 303) may be used for 5G communication. Time separation may be used where vertical and horizontal polarization are used for FMCW radar operations at a first time and vertical and horizontal polarization are used for 5G communication at a second time. Millimeter-wave system 300 may also use a combination of spatial, frequency, and time separation [0072].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because performing the radar functions in an adjacent ISM band advantageously introduces a separation in frequency that allows for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
MA, as modified by TSVELYKH, discloses the invention as set forth herein, but does not disclose wherein the first gap in frequency is greater than
2
a
τ
m
a
x
, where
τ
m
a
x
is a maximum one-way propagation delay and
a
is a slope of the FMCW waveform.
In a same or similar field of endeavor, RAO teaches that the start frequency is less than the first frequency by at least a product an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and positive. The start frequency is greater than the first frequency by at least a product of an absolute value of the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the maximum round trip delay when the slope of the first ramp segment 202 and the second ramp segment 204 are equal and negative [0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of RAO, because doing so would improve range resolution and optimize performance level and accuracy, as recognized by RAO.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MA, in view of TSVELYKH, and RAO, and further in view of Pandharipande et al. (US 2024/0125918 A1 “PANDHARIPANDE”).
Regarding claim 4, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 3,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, PANDHARIPANDE teaches that the transmitter 102 may transmit a beam 160 which carries communication symbols in the direction of a remote device in the communication range of the system 100 during a communication session between the transmitter 102 and the remote device [0017]. The remote device may take the form of a wireless device or application-specific or personal computerized devices such as, for example, transponder cards, personal digital assistants, tablets, cellular phones, smart phones, or key fobs [0012].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of PANDHARIPANDE, because doing so would enable dynamic transmission between multiple devices and users, thereby facilitating communication, as recognized by PANDHARIPANDE.
Claim(s) 6, and 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MA, in view of TSVELYKH, and RAO, and further in view of Hassan et al. (US 2016/0056916 A1 “HASSAN”).
Regarding claim 6, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, HASSAN teaches that a signal activity threshold is defined that specifies a threshold rate and/or number of data errors. If data errors detected in a guard band channel exceed the signal activity threshold, usage of the guard band channel can be adjusted to mitigate interference with signal activity in an adjacent channel. For instance, a width of the guard band channel may be reduced to increase the size of a buffer region between the guard band channel and an adjacent channel [0020].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of HASSAN, because doing so would help utilize portions of the radio spectrum that are underutilized, and mitigate interference, thereby improve the system for wireless data communication, as recognized by HASSAN.
Regarding claim 20, MA, as modified, discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TSVELYKH teaches that one interface (e.g., 301) may be used for FMCW radar operations while the other interface (e.g., 303) may be used for 5G communication. Additional permutations of the dual polarization mode and the modes described with respect to FIGS. 2B-2G are also possible. For example, time separation may be used where vertical and horizontal polarization are used for FMCW radar operations at a first time and vertical and horizontal polarization are used for 5G communication at a second time. Millimeter-wave system 300 may also use a combination of spatial, frequency, and time separation [0072].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of TSVELYKH, because doing so would allow for radar and communication functions to be performed simultaneously without substantial deteriorating performance of the radar or of the communication operations that may be caused by interference between radar and communication radiation, thereby improving system efficiency while still having support of existing standard (i.e. 5G), as recognized by TSVELYKH.
MA, as modified by TSVELYKH and RAO, discloses the invention as set forth above, but does not disclose wherein the FMCW waveform is associated with an error range.
In a same or similar field of endeavor, HASSAN teaches that a signal activity threshold is defined that specifies a threshold rate and/or number of data errors. If data errors detected in a guard band channel exceed the signal activity threshold, usage of the guard band channel can be adjusted to mitigate interference with signal activity in an adjacent channel. For instance, a width of the guard band channel may be reduced to increase the size of a buffer region between the guard band channel and an adjacent channel [0020].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of HASSAN, because doing so would help utilize portions of the radio spectrum that are underutilized, and mitigate interference, thereby improve the system for wireless data communication, as recognized by HASSAN.
Regarding claim 21, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO/ HASSAN discloses the apparatus of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: adjust at least one of the first gap in frequency or the second gap in time based on the error range (a signal activity threshold is defined that specifies a threshold rate and/or number of data errors. If data errors detected in a guard band channel exceed the signal activity threshold, usage of the guard band channel can be adjusted to mitigate interference with signal activity in an adjacent channel. For instance, a width of the guard band channel may be reduced to increase the size of a buffer region between the guard band channel and an adjacent channel [HASSAN 0020], cited and incorporate in the rejection of claim 20).
Claim(s) 10 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MA, in view of TSVELYKH, and RAO, and further in view of Aydogdu et al. (US 2021/0003662 A1 “AYDOGDU”).
Regarding claim 10, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, AYDOGDU teaches that assuming a perfect low-pass filter with bandwidth Bmax is used [0074]. Any radar interference with a larger propagation delay than Tmax will have an IF frequency larger than Bmax and filtered out at radar receiver [0050]. It is further noted that the limitation is in alternative form; therefore, only one alternative was given patentable weight.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of AYDOGDU, because doing so would mitigate interference between different radar units and provide an improved radar communication system, as recognized by AYDOGDU.
Regarding claim 24, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, AYDOGDU teaches that assuming a perfect low-pass filter with bandwidth Bmax is used [0074]. Any radar interference with a larger propagation delay than Tmax will have an IF frequency larger than Bmax and filtered out at radar receiver [0050].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of AYDOGDU, because doing so would mitigate interference between different radar units and provide an improved radar communication system, as recognized by AYDOGDU.
Claim(s) 11, 13, 25-26, and 28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MA, in view of TSVELYKH, and RAO, and further in view of Bayesteh et al. (US 2021/0286045 A1 “BAYESTEH”).
Regarding claim 11, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, BAYESTEH teaches that the frame structure should be defined in such a way to reserve certain time slots for sensing-only. A non-limiting example is shown in FIG. 3B, in which the transmission frame 350 includes consecutive slots/symbols of UUUUSSSSSSDDDD, where U denotes the uplink slots or symbols, S denotes the sensing-only slots/symbols and D denotes the downlink slots/symbols [0247].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of BAYESTEH, because doing so would design and structure the waveform to balance or optimize sensing performance and efficient utilization of communication resources, as recognized by BAYESTEH.
Regarding claim 13, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, BAYESTEH teaches that beam sweeping can be performed using analog beamforming to form a beam along a desired direction using phase shifters, for example. Digital beamforming and hybrid beamforming are also possible. During beam sweeping, a sensing node may transmit multiple sensing signals according to a beam sweeping pattern [0172]. Furthermore, BAYESTEH teaches that if the sensing signal is transmitted as 4 separate sensing BWPs, with or without hopping, the UE can receive and process the entire signal bandwidth. In this case, the frequency hopping pattern can also be regarded as frame structure parameter and should be specified in addition to other sensing signal parameters [0243].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of BAYESTEH, because doing so would design and structure the waveform to balance or optimize sensing performance and efficient utilization of communication resources, as recognized by BAYESTEH.
Regarding claim 25, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, BAYESTEH teaches that the frame structure should be defined in such a way to reserve certain time slots for sensing-only. A non-limiting example is shown in FIG. 3B, in which the transmission frame 350 includes consecutive slots/symbols of UUUUSSSSSSDDDD, where U denotes the uplink slots or symbols, S denotes the sensing-only slots/symbols and D denotes the downlink slots/symbols [0247].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of BAYESTEH, because doing so would design and structure the waveform to balance or optimize sensing performance and efficient utilization of communication resources, as recognized by BAYESTEH.
Regarding claim 26, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, BAYESTEH teaches that the frame structure should be defined in such a way to reserve certain time slots for sensing-only. A non-limiting example is shown in FIG. 3B, in which the transmission frame 350 includes consecutive slots/symbols of UUUUSSSSSSDDDD, where U denotes the uplink slots or symbols, S denotes the sensing-only slots/symbols and D denotes the downlink slots/symbols [0247].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of BAYESTEH, because doing so would design and structure the waveform to balance or optimize sensing performance and efficient utilization of communication resources, as recognized by BAYESTEH.
Regarding claim 28, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, BAYESTEH teaches that beam sweeping can be performed using analog beamforming to form a beam along a desired direction using phase shifters, for example. Digital beamforming and hybrid beamforming are also possible. During beam sweeping, a sensing node may transmit multiple sensing signals according to a beam sweeping pattern [0172]. Furthermore, BAYESTEH teaches that if the sensing signal is transmitted as 4 separate sensing BWPs, with or without hopping, the UE can receive and process the entire signal bandwidth. In this case, the frequency hopping pattern can also be regarded as frame structure parameter and should be specified in addition to other sensing signal parameters [0243].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of BAYESTEH, because doing so would design and structure the waveform to balance or optimize sensing performance and efficient utilization of communication resources, as recognized by BAYESTEH.
Claim(s) 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MA, in view of TSVELYKH, and RAO, and further in view of Khosravirad et al. (US 2023/0284122 A1 “KHOSRAVIRAD”).
Regarding claim 27, MA/ TSVELYKH/ RAO discloses the apparatus of claim 17,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, KHOSRAVIRAD teaches that the continuous low-resolution sensing function 303 may re-use the one or more reference signals to perform preliminary sensing over a sensing area of interest [0060]. Some examples of those reference signals are: primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc. The PSS and SSS together with the PBCH may also be jointly referred to as a synchronization signal block (SSB) [0062]. Based on the input (object detection notification) 311 from the continuous low-resolution sensing function 303, the sensing scheduling interface function 302 may create a trigger 313 to initiate high-resolution sensing at the high-resolution sensing function 304. For example, the trigger may be based on a detection confidence level threshold to satisfy a desired detection rate and/or a desired false alarm rate. The sensing scheduling interface may transmit a resource request 315 to the radio scheduler function 301 to request radio resources for the high-resolution sensing function 304, when triggering it [0064].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of MA to include the teachings of KHOSRAVIRAD, because doing so would enable and improve resource sharing in joint communication and sensing, as recognized by KHOSRAVIRAD.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yao et al. (US 2024/0196258 A1) is considered pertinent art for the disclosure overall, and particularly the details of the configuration information of the sensing signal including at least one of the following: a waveform of the sensing signal, such as OFDM, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS), Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW), and a pulse signal; a guard interval of the sensing signal, that is, a time interval between a moment at which a signal whose sending ends and a moment at which a latest echo signal of the signal is received, where the parameter is proportional to a maximum sensing distance and may be obtained by means of calculation by using 2dmax/c, where dmax is the maximum sensing distance, for example, for a self-transmitting and self-receiving sensing signal, dmax represents a maximum distance from a receive point of the sensing signal to a transmit point of the signal; and in some cases, a cyclic prefix (CP) of an OFDM signal may serve as a minimum guard interval [0070].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAILEY R LE whose telephone number is (571)272-4910. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, WILLIAM J KELLEHER can be reached at (571) 272-7753. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Hailey R Le/Examiner, Art Unit 3648 May 13, 2026
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