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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/07/2026 has been entered.
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
Applicant's arguments and remarks filed on 6/17/2026 have been fully considered.
Claims 1 and 3 have been amended.
No New Matter was noticed.
Claims 1-9 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to amendments to independent claim 1 are moot based on the new grounds of rejection as necessitated by amendment.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “establish, via the second wireless interface, a first wireless links with each receiver node of the plurality of receiver nodes.” The phrase “a first wireless links” is grammatically incorrect. The article “a” is singular, but “links” is plural. It appears the claim should recite either “first wireless links” (plural, without the article “a”) or “a first wireless link” (singular).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, claim 1 recites “a source node including … at least one processor coupled to the first wireless interface and to the data storage device.” (Emphasis added.) The “first wireless interface” was previously introduced as a component of the plurality of receiver nodes (“the plurality of receiver nodes each including a first wireless interface configured for wireless communications according to a first wireless communications protocol”). However, the “at least one processor” is a component of the source node. It is unclear how a processor within the source node is “coupled to the first wireless interface” that is physically located within the receiver nodes. It appears that this recitation should instead read “coupled to the second wireless interface” — i.e., the wireless interface that is a component of the source node. As written, the claim is indefinite because a person of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to determine with reasonable certainty how a processor in the source node is structurally “coupled to” a wireless interface in a separate receiver node. For purposes of examination, the Examiner interprets “coupled to the first wireless interface” as “coupled to the second wireless interface.”
Claims 2-9 are rejected because they depend upon a rejected base claim.
Regarding claims 7 and 8, each claim recites “the at least one receiver node,” but neither claim nor claim 1 previously introduces “at least one receiver node.” Accordingly, it is unclear which receiver node or nodes are referenced. It appears claims 7 and 8 should be amended to introduce “at least one receiver node of the plurality of receiver nodes,” “a receiver node of the plurality of receiver nodes,” or other language that provides proper antecedent basis consistent with claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higgison et al. (US 2012/0116677 A1) in view of Basnayake et al. (US 2011/0068976 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Higgison et al. ('677) in view of Basnayake et al. ('976) teach:
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: A system for wireless initialization of GNSS receivers, the system comprising: (Abstract: “A position determining unit has an assistance data processing and relaying module (software client) (1318) that obtains localised assistance data, such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) assistance data… from an assisting peer position determining unit and relays the localised assistance data to an assisted peer position determining unit.”).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: a plurality of receiver nodes configured to track one or more GNSS satellites and to provide a navigation output, ([0200-0204] describing a cluster of multiple GPS positioning units; [0216]: “acquiring and tracking satellites” and “derive precise position and navigations solutions”; [0233]: “a single or multiple GNSS receiver(s)” use assistance to “derive their own position and or navigation fix”).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: the plurality of receiver nodes each including a first wireless interface configured for wireless communications according to a first wireless communications protocol; and ([0148]: “The device may also comprise a single or multiple trans-receivers system 13 to form a radio-link,” using wireless protocols including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, UWB, ZigBee, TETRA, and Infrared; [0250] describing short-range baseband 1313 for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or UWB).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: a source node including a second wireless interface configured for wireless communications according to the first wireless communications protocol, ([0207] describing a special device acting as a reference site within the cluster; [0233]: “the position fixed receivers can transmit assistance data directly to the marginal reception receivers”; [0250] describing the assisting/relaying GNSS receiver with short-range baseband 1313 for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or UWB).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: a data storage device configured to store GNSS configuration data, the GNSS configuration data including timing data and satellite almanac for a current location of the plurality of receiver nodes, ([0170]: GPS assistance data may comprise “satellite specific ephemeris, almanac, navigation messages and parameters” and “precise time information and estimated user receiver position”; [0175] describing an assistance-data information pool residing on one or more network nodes; [0204] describing “geo spatial data relevant to the present physical location of the cluster”; [0250] describing microcontroller and memory 1315).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: at least one processor coupled to the second wireless interface and to the data storage device ([0249-0250] describing assistance-data processing and relaying module 1318 implemented in microcontroller 1315, with memory 1315 and short-range baseband 1313).
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: the at least one processor being configured to execute instructions that control the source node to establish, via the second wireless interface, first wireless links with each receiver node of the plurality of receiver nodes using the first wireless communications protocol, and transfer the GNSS configuration data to the plurality of receiver nodes over the first wireless links, ([0157]: the software client controls the radio trans-receivers/network adapters and sends and receives assistance data in single or multiple networks; [0208]: “Devices A and B at least have already established a cluster data set, which they transmit to all other users within the cluster”; [0214] describing the assisting GPS device transmitting assistance data to the cluster; [0221] describing device A participating in three ad-hoc networks).
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches: wherein each receiver node of the plurality of receiver nodes uses the transferred GNSS configuration data after power-up to acquire one or more GNSS satellites and provide a navigation output ([0046]: a satellite navigation device is activated after having been switched off and communicates with a local portable wireless device to obtain satellite-related data; [0049]: “satellite navigation device 26 is switched on or activated after a period of time exceeding the ephemeris data update interval”; [0054] describing pre-populating the receiver with the wirelessly received satellite-related data; [0055] describing the receiver thereafter acquiring and tracking the timing part of the satellite signal; [0076] describing calculation of the geographic position).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to operate the assisted GNSS receiver nodes of Higgison et al. (‘677) according to the initialization-after-power-up procedure of Basnayake et al. (‘976). One would have been motivated to do so because Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches that obtaining current satellite-related data from a nearby wireless device after activation avoids the cold- or warm-start delay and permits the receiver to calculate its position in a few seconds ([0026-0028]). Applying that procedure to the plural, locally networked GNSS receivers of Higgison et al. (‘677) would predictably reduce time to first fix for each receiver after power-up. There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Higgison et al. (‘677) and Basnayake et al. (‘976) both use short-range wireless communication to deliver the same type of GNSS assistance data to a receiver for satellite acquisition and navigation.
Regarding Claim 3, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: wherein the plurality of receiver nodes includes a plurality of GNSS receivers, and wherein the source node is configured to establish the first wireless link with each of the plurality of GNSS receivers and to transfer the GNSS configuration data to the plurality of GNSS receivers substantially simultaneously ([0204]: “The devices exchange data relevant to that cluster with each other, either on an event driven or synchronised basis”; [0208] describing established cluster data transmitted to “all other users within the cluster”; [0233] describing “a single or multiple GNSS receiver(s)” that “can consequently receive data from one or more receivers of similar technical capability in the vicinity at the same time”).
Regarding Claim 5, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: wherein the first wireless link is one of an ultra-wideband radio frequency link or a wireless link configured according to an intra-soldier wireless (ISW) protocol ([0148] listing UWB among the wireless protocols used to form the radio link; [0250]: “This short range baseband could be of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or UWB or any future or current feasible technology suitable for short range communication”). The express UWB alternative of Higgison et al. (‘677) satisfies the claimed “or” alternative.
Regarding Claim 7, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches: wherein, to establish the first wireless link with the at least one receiver node, the source node is configured to pair with the at least one receiver node ([0046]: “satellite navigation device 26 may be paired with a specific portable wireless device and may be configured to receive satellite related data only from that device or from other devices with which satellite navigation device 26 has been paired”; [0050]: “At step 60, satellite navigation device 26 is paired with local portable wireless device 50”; claim 2). Pairing is a mutual link-establishment operation between the source and receiver.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further configure the assisting source node and assisted receiver node of Higgison et al. (‘677) to pair with one another when establishing the wireless link, as taught by Basnayake et al. (‘976). One would have been motivated to use pairing to establish an association between the intended nearby source and receiver and to ensure that the receiver obtains satellite-related data from an authorized paired device, as Basnayake et al. (‘976) expressly describes in paragraphs [0046] and [0050]. Pairing would have been a predictable link-establishment technique for managing the short-range peer-to-peer or ad-hoc wireless connections of Higgison et al. (‘677). There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Basnayake et al. (‘976) demonstrates pairing a satellite-navigation receiver with a local portable wireless device before transferring the same type of satellite-related assistance data, and the nodes of Higgison et al. (‘677) already include compatible short-range wireless transceivers for establishing such links.
Regarding Claim 8, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: wherein the GNSS configuration data includes satellite almanac data corresponding to a geographic location of the source node and the at least one receiver node ([0170] identifying satellite almanac and estimated user-receiver position as GPS assistance data; [0204] identifying “geo spatial data relevant to the present physical location of the cluster”; [0214] describing geo-tagging the assistance data; [0233] describing the assisting and assisted GNSS receivers within the same short-range wireless vicinity).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Higgison et al. (US 2012/0116677 A1) in view of Basnayake et al. (US 2011/0068976 A1), and further in view of Wu et al. (US 2021/0022155 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) teaches: wherein the source node is a GNSS receiver ([0233] describing position-fixed GNSS receivers transmitting assistance data to marginal-reception receivers; [0249-0250] describing the relaying GPS receiver with GNSS baseband 1311 and wireless baseband 1313).
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Wu et al. (‘155) teaches: comprising a full duplex transceiver ([0045]: “device 200, in which a GNSS receiver 220 and/or one or more RAT transceivers 210 are used in conjunction in a device to enable full duplex communication of the GNSS receiver and the RAT transceivers”; [0050]: “To enable full duplex operation of GNSS Receiver 220 and (e.g., concurrently with) RAT transceivers 210, several hardware components may be used”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the assisting GNSS receiver of Higgison et al. (‘677) with the full-duplex GNSS/RAT architecture taught by Wu et al. (‘155). One would have been motivated to do so to permit the source node to receive GNSS signals while concurrently communicating current assistance data over the wireless interface, thereby improving the timeliness of the assistance supplied to the receiver nodes. There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Wu et al. (‘155) expressly demonstrates full-duplex operation in a device containing a GNSS receiver and wireless transceiver, and the source node of Higgison et al. (‘677) contains the corresponding GNSS and wireless subsystems.
Claims 4 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Higgison et al. (US 2012/0116677 A1) in view of Basnayake et al. (US 2011/0068976 A1), and further in view of “Army wants small, lightweight wireless communications module to connect warfighter wearable electronics,” Military Aerospace, 2018 (hereinafter “Army ISW 2018”).
Regarding Claim 4, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Army ISW 2018 teaches: wherein the first wireless communications protocol is a secure protocol (pg. 3: “provide wireless data links that are secure from enemy attempts to intercept or jam these wireless links among the soldier’s field gear” and describing a secure intra-soldier wireless module supporting AES-256 encryption; pg. 3 describing encryption for secure-but-unclassified and secret-and-below operation).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the secure wireless protocol taught by Army ISW 2018 for the encrypted wireless assistance-data communications of Higgison et al. (‘677). One would have been motivated to do so to protect location and navigation data from interception, unauthorized access, and interference, particularly when the GNSS receiver nodes are incorporated into soldier-worn devices. There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Higgison et al. (‘677) already provides encryption functionality ([0157]: “means of packaging and encrypting assistance data and means of unpackaging and decrypting assistance data”), and Army ISW 2018, showing that this encryption is well-known at the time, requires the application of secure, encrypted communications to small, low-power wireless modules connecting wearable electronics.
Regarding Claim 9, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Army ISW 2018 teaches: wherein, for transfer over the first wireless link, the GNSS configuration data is encrypted using AES-256 bit encryption (pg. 3: “Army researchers envision a wireless communications module able to support AES-256 bit encryption that can enable soldier systems developers to address emerging requirements for small low-power intra-soldier wireless systems”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the AES-256 encryption taught by Army ISW 2018 for the encrypted GNSS assistance data of Higgison et al. (‘677). One would have been motivated to select AES-256 to provide the confidentiality required for sensitive position and navigation information transferred among soldier-worn wireless devices. There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Higgison et al. (‘677) already provides the data-encryption function ([0157]: “means of packaging and encrypting assistance data and means of unpackaging and decrypting assistance data”), and Army ISW 2018 demonstrates AES-256 as suitable for small, low-power intra-soldier wireless modules.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Higgison et al. (US 2012/0116677 A1) in view of Basnayake et al. (US 2011/0068976 A1), and further in view of Anderson et al. (US 2012/0194382 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, Higgison et al. (‘677) in view of Basnayake et al. (‘976) teaches the system according to Claim 1.
Higgison et al. (‘677) does not explicitly teach, but Anderson et al. (‘382) teaches: wherein the first wireless link is a short-range communication link having a maximum communication range of about 200 meters ([0029]: “802.11 versions “b” and “g” access points generally have a maximum range of 100 meters while “n” has an extended range to 200 meters”).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select IEEE 802.11n for the Wi-Fi link expressly contemplated by Higgison et al. (‘677), thereby providing the approximately 200-meter maximum range taught by Anderson et al. (‘382). One would have been motivated to make that selection to extend local GNSS-assistance coverage to additional nearby receiver nodes while retaining a limited-range wireless link appropriate for geographically localized data. There would have been a reasonable expectation of success because Higgison et al. (‘677) expressly identifies Wi-Fi as a suitable protocol, and Anderson et al. (‘382) supplies the known operating range of the 802.11n implementation.
Claims 10-20 previously withdrawn.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REMASH R GUYAH whose telephone number is (571)270-0115. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Resha H Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/REMASH R GUYAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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