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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-8, filed 1/20/2026 with respect to claims 1, 14 and 20 have been fully considered and are persuasive and overcome the rejection on record.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Faragher et al (US 20200319347 A1), hereinafter Faragher in view of Hawker et al (US 20190265350 A1), hereinafter Hawker.
Regarding claim 1, Faragher discloses:
An apparatus configured to process radio signals, comprising (Faragher, Abstract, A system is disclosed for determining a physical metric such as position. The system comprises a local signal generator (8) configured to provide a local signal and a receiver (4) configured to receive a signal having properties corresponding to those in a signal transmitted by a trusted remote source. An inertial measurement unit (12) is configured to provide a measured or assumed movement of the receiver. A correlator (6) is configured to provide a correlation signal by correlating the local signal with the received signal. A motion compensation unit (14) is configured to provide motion compensation of at least one of the local signal, the received signal, and the correlation signal based on the measured or assumed movement. A signal analysis unit (16) is configured to determine whether the received signal includes a component received in a direction that is different to a line-of-sight direction between the receiver and the trusted remote source, wherein the determination is based on the correlation signal. Finally, a metric determination unit or positioning unit (20) is configured to determine a physical metric associated with the receiver, such as its position, based on the determination made by the signal analysis unit (16)) and (para [0216], As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the computer program 710 may arrive at the apparatus 800 via any suitable delivery mechanism 700. The delivery mechanism 700 may be, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a record medium such as a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or digital versatile disc (DVD) or solid state memory, an article of manufacture that tangibly embodies the computer program 710. The delivery mechanism may be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer program 710. The apparatus 800 may propagate or transmit the computer program 710 as a computer data signal):
an antenna configured to receive a signal from a remote source in a first direction (Faragher, Abstract, para [0072], At step S108 the receiver 2 selects a signal and a direction in which to perform motion compensation. In this example, and with reference to FIG. 22, the receiver 2 initially selects a direction corresponding to the line-of-sight direction 21, 26 for each satellite 22, 24 in turn);
a movement mechanism mounted on the platform (Faragher, para [0007]),
wherein the antenna is mounted on the movement mechanism (Faragher, para [0007]),
and a controller configured to (Faragher, para [0057], FIG. 16A illustrates an example of a controller) and (para [0210], A controller 800 may be used to perform one or more of the before described methods, the before described blocks and or all or part of a motion-compensated correlator 300) and further reference (paras [0211-0212]):
generate a local signal (Faragher, Abstract, and para [0070], FIG. 21 is a flow diagram showing steps that can be undertaken in an embodiment of the invention with reference to the environment shown in FIG. 22, by way of example. At step S100 the receiver 2 receives a signal from a trusted remote positioning source which may be a GNSS satellite 22, 24, or some other trusted remote source. At step S102 the receiver 2 generates a local signal, using the local signal generator 8. At step S104 the receiver 2 determines the antenna motion using the IMU 12. Alternatively, at step S104 the receiver 2 may assume a motion of the antenna 4 based on a detected pattern of movement. For instance, if previous measurements indicate that the receiver is moving in a constant direction and at a constant speed then it may be assumed that the current movement is the same as movement in previous epochs. Steps 100, 102 and 104 are, in fact, performed by the receiver 2 in a continuous manner while position is being determined);
determine a component of motion of the antenna, along the first direction (Faragher, Abstract, paras [0070]) and (para [0073], Dealing with the signals from the first satellite 22, at step S110 the motion compensation unit 14 performs motion compensation for the selected signal in the line-of-sight direction 21. Thus, motion compensation phasors corresponding to the motion of the antenna 4 along the selected direction are constructed and applied to the local signal, the received signal, or a combination of the local signal and the received signal. The motion compensation unit may optionally also compensate for the known or expected or assumed motion of the source if applicable, and optionally construct the motion compensated phasors accordingly. At step S112 the correlator 6 correlates the local signal and the received signal, with motion compensation applied. This yields a motion compensated correlation signal for which a signal-to-noise ratio can be calculated. A higher signal-to-noise ratio is achieved for the line-of-sight signal 21 when motion compensation is performed in the direction in which the signal is received. This means that the line-of-sight signal 21 is provided with gain preferentially in comparison to signals received in a different direction (i.e. the reflected signals 23, 25 in the example of FIG. 22). This technique can improve the ability to detect and use line-of-sight positioning signals in challenging environments, such as indoors. In the example of FIG. 22 it may mean that the line-of-sight signal 21, which is significantly attenuated by a building, is made available for positioning calculations, which would not be possible in a standard GNSS receiver because the signal would be too weak);
correlate the local signal with the received signal to generate a correlation signal (Faragher, para [0073]);
and motion compensate at least one of the local signal (Faragher, para [0073]),
the received signal (Faragher, Abstract and para [0066], FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a positioning system. A receiver 2 includes an antenna 4 for receiving radio signals, including GNSS signals. Received signals are correlated in a correlator 6 against a local signal generated by a local signal generator 8. The local signal generator 8 is configured to generate local copies of known correlation sequences (such as pseudorandom number (PRN) codes for GNSS satellites), using a frequency reference of a local oscillator (LO) 10),
and the correlation signal based on the determined motion of the antenna in the first direction (Faragher, Abstract).
Hawker discloses:
a mobile platform (Hawker, Abstract, Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide relatively accurate position data from a plurality of separate position sensors. A system includes a logic device configured to communicate with a position sensor coupled to a mobile structure. The logic device is configured to receive positions of the position sensor and/or velocities corresponding to motion of the position sensor from the position sensor and determine an estimated relative position of the mobile structure based, at least in part, on the received Doppler-derived velocity and a prior estimated relative position of the mobile structure),
the movement mechanism being configured to move the antenna relative to the platform (Hawker, Abstract),
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: a mobile platform,
the movement mechanism being configured to move the antenna relative to the platform. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved signal reception, improved reduction of multipath interference and improved accuracy during motion.
Regarding claim 2, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna cyclically relative to the platform (Hawker, Abstract and para [0143], For example, in the event that a first one of three position sensors is experiencing a position data excursion event, and the three position sensors have negotiated a complete cyclical target measurement, phase distribution (e.g., each position sensor only repeats its measurement after the other two position sensors have made their measurements), the measured position of mobile structure 101, at the time of the first position sensor target measurement phase, may be determined by extrapolating from the trend in position indicated by the adjacent position data from the second and third position sensors. In alternative embodiments, other sensor data may be used to help guide and/or refine such extrapolation, such as combining heading data (e.g., provided by orientation sensor 140) and speed data (e.g., provided by speed sensor 142) and the most recent viable position data to determine an estimated updated position for mobile structure 101 at the time of the first position sensor target measurement phase, and using the estimated updated position as the measured position of mobile structure 101, or combining such estimated updated position with the extrapolated position according to a preselected weighting function, for example)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna cyclically relative to the platform. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved signal reception, improved reduction of multipath interference and improved accuracy during motion
Regarding claim 3, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 2 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism is configured to provide a substantially circular or elliptical motion of the antenna relative to the platform (Hawker, Abstract and Fig. 3)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism is configured to provide a substantially circular or elliptical motion of the antenna relative to the platform. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved signal reception, improved reduction of multipath interference and improved accuracy during motion
Regarding claim 4, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 3 (Faragher, Abstract),
w(Faragher, para [0145]).
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism comprises a turntable on which the antenna is mounted (Hawker, Fig.3, para [0121], FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram of a remote sensing system 300 including a position sensor 190 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, remote sensing imagery system 300 is implemented as a radar system including a radar sensor assembly 310, housing 311, and radar antenna 364 shielded from system controller 320 and OPS 190 by shielding 319, which correspond to and/or may be implemented similarly to remote sensing assembly 210, housing 211, sensing element 264, controller 220, OPS 190, and shielding 319 of FIG. 2, respectively. Also shown are antenna platform 314 and platform actuator 316 configured to rotate antenna 364, shielding 319, controller 320, and OPS 190 about axis 313, and sensing element (e.g., radar antenna) angle sensor 317 configured to measure an angle between an orientation of antenna 364 and a longitudinal axis of housing 311 (e.g., a vertical line passing perpendicularly through the antenna surface in the orientation shown in FIG. 3). In various embodiments, OPS 190 may be configured to determine an orientation and/or position of remote sensing imagery system 300 while antenna platform 314 is rotating within housing 311. Implementations for corresponding methods are provided in FIGS. 5 through 10 of the present disclosure.)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism comprises a turntable on which the antenna is mounted. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved signal reception, improved reduction of multipath interference and improved accuracy during motion
Regarding claim 5, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna in one, two or three dimensions (Hawker, Fig. 3, para [0104], Also shown in FIG. 1B is radar system 160, which includes integrated OPS 190 and a radar antenna platform and actuator configured to rotate the radar antenna about a vertical axis substantially aligned with vertical axis 104 of mobile structure 101. In some embodiments, user interface/controller/OPS 120/130/190 may be configured to receive radar returns from a radar sensor assembly of radar system/OPS 160/190, and corresponding orientation and/or position data from radar system/OPS 160/190 (e.g., corresponding to an orientation and/or position of an antenna of radar system 160 when the radar returns are received), and then generate radar image data based, at least in part, on the radar returns and the corresponding orientation and/or position data.)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna in one, two or three dimensions. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved spatial optimization, improve visibility, and improved environment mapping.
Regarding claim 6, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
further comprising a motion sensor configured to measure a motion of the platform (Faragher, para [0067], An inertial measurement unit (IMU) 12 includes sensors that can determine the motion of the receiver 2, in particular the motion of the antenna 4. The IMU 12 can include accelerometers, gyroscopic sensors and other inertial sensors. A motion compensation unit 14 receives data from the IMU 12 and calculates motion compensation phasors that can be applied to the local signal, the received signal or the correlation signal),
wherein the controller is configured to determine the motion of the platform based on a measurement performed by the motion sensor (Faragher, para [0057], [0067] and para [0220], As illustrated in FIG. 17, a chip set 840 may be configured to provide functionality of the controller 800, for example, it may provide all or part of a motion-compensated correlator 300).
Regarding claim 7, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 6 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the controller is configured to instruct the movement mechanism to move the antenna and to perform motion compensation in response to determining that the platform is moving below a threshold velocity, at least in the first direction (Hawker, para [0090], Other modules 180 may include other and/or additional sensors, actuators, communications modules/nodes, and/or user interface devices used to provide additional environmental information of mobile structure 101, for example. In some embodiments, other modules 180 may include a humidity sensor, a wind and/or water temperature sensor, a barometer, a radar system, a visible spectrum camera, an infrared camera, and/or other environmental sensors providing measurements and/or other sensor signals that can be displayed to a user and/or used by other devices of system 100 (e.g., controller 130) to provide operational control of mobile structure 101 and/or system 100 that compensates for environmental conditions, such as wind speed and/or direction, swell speed, amplitude, and/or direction, and/or an object in a path of mobile structure 101, for example.) and (further reference para [0127])
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the controller is configured to instruct the movement mechanism to move the antenna and to perform motion compensation in response to determining that the platform is moving below a threshold velocity, at least in the first direction. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal, and Faragher discloses the motion compensation of the antenna platform; however, does not disclose the controller configured to instruct the movement mechanisms to move the antenna as disclosed by Hawker. The modification would render the predictable results of improved target localization, improved radar imaging, and improved moving target tracking.
Regarding claim 8, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of any of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna continuously regardless of whether the controller determines the platform to be in motion or stationary (Hawker, para [0078], In some embodiments, user interface 120 may be adapted to accept user input including a user-defined target heading, route (e.g., track for radar system 160), and/or orientation for a transducer module, for example, and to generate control signals for steering sensor/actuator 150 and/or propulsion system 170 to cause mobile structure 101 to move according to the target heading, route, and/or orientation. In further embodiments, user interface 120 may be adapted to accept user input including a user-defined target attitude/absolute angular frequency for an actuated device (e.g., sonar system 110, radar system 160) coupled to mobile structure 101, for example, and to generate control signals for adjusting an orientation or rotation of the actuated device according to the target attitude/angular frequency. More generally, user interface 120 may be adapted to display sensor information to a user, for example, and/or to transmit sensor information and/or user input to other user interfaces, sensors, or controllers of system 100, for instance, for display and/or further processing)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism is configured to move the antenna in one, two or three dimensions. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal. Faragher discloses continuous motion of the antennas; however, does not disclose the user device to configure the movement of the mobile structure as within Hawker. The modification would render the predictable results of improved target localization, improved radar imaging, and improved moving target tracking.
Regarding claim 9, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
wherein the platform is provided in or on a vehicle or human-portable device (Faragher, para [0031], In a preferred arrangement the system includes a GNSS positioning device. Positioning using GNSS positioning devices produces a number of difficulties indoors, where signals are weak, and in urban canyons, where there can be multipath signals. By allowing for phase change in the received positioning signal by virtue of the receiver's motion in the direction of the remote source, the correlation can be improved. It may also be possible to increase the coherent correlation period, in effect providing preferential gain for line-of-sight signals. The GNSS positioning device may be provided in an electronic user device such as a smartphone.).
Regarding claim 10, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
wherein the platform is provided in or on a body comprising locomotion equipment (Faragher, [0087], In some positioning environments there may be difficulties in successfully resolving all of the signals that have arrived from different propagation paths. One challenging situation may arise where the movement of a receiver is highly linear and there is a large planar reflector that is parallel to the direction of movement. This situation may arise when a vehicle is driving on a straight road alongside a large building. In this situation it may be difficult to distinguish a direct signal from a reflected signal where both signals are received along the surface of the same cone, extruded around the direction of movement. It is possible that this scenario could be anticipated based on the 3D city model, and particular signals that are potentially affected could be substantially omitted in the positioning calculation. However, in this scenario, the frequency information derived from these received signals may be used to improve the accuracy of the estimate of the behaviour of the local oscillator 10 and can be used to update the estimate of the velocity of the receiver.) Examiner interprets that a vehicle may have locomotion equipment such as tires.
Regarding claim 11, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
wherein the platform is provided in a mobile device, such as a smartphone or laptop computer (Faragher, para [0031]).
Regarding claim 12, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
comprising a plurality of movement mechanisms and a plurality of antennas mounted respectively to the plurality of movement mechanisms (Hawker, Abstract, and para [0066], Radar system 160 may be implemented as one or more electrically and/or mechanically coupled controllers, transmitters, receivers, transceivers, signal processing logic devices, various electrical components, antenna elements of various shapes and sizes, multichannel antennas/antenna modules, radar assemblies/sensor assemblies, assembly brackets, mast brackets, and/or various actuators adapted to adjust orientations of any of the components of radar system 160, as described herein. For example, in various embodiments, radar system 160 may be implemented according to various radar system arrangements (e.g., remote sensing system arrangements) that can be used to detect features of and objects on or above a terrestrial surface or a surface of a body of water),
wherein each of the plurality of movement mechanisms are configured to move a respective antenna of the plurality of antennas relative to the platform (Hawker, Abstract, and para [0091], n other embodiments, other modules 180 may include one or more actuated devices (e.g., spotlights, infrared illuminators, cameras, radars, sonars, and/or other actuated devices) coupled to mobile structure 101, where each actuated device includes one or more actuators adapted to adjust an orientation of the device, relative to mobile structure 101, in response to one or more control signals (e.g., provided by controller 130). Other modules 180 may include a sensing element angle sensor, for example, which may be physically coupled to a radar sensor assembly housing of radar system 160 and be configured to measure an angle between an orientation of an antenna/sensing element and a longitudinal axis of the housing and/or mobile structure 101. Other modules 180 may also include a rotating antenna platform and/or corresponding platform actuator for radar system 160. In some embodiments, other modules 180 may include one or more Helmholtz coils integrated with OPS 190, for example, and be configured to selectively cancel out one or more components of the Earth's magnetic field)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: comprising a plurality of movement mechanisms and a plurality of antennas mounted respectively to the plurality of movement mechanisms, wherein each of the plurality of movement mechanisms are configured to move a respective antenna of the plurality of antennas relative to the platform. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved beamforming, increased field of view, and improved dynamic environment adaptation.
Regarding claim 13, Faragher discloses:
the apparatus of claim 1 (Faragher, Abstract),
Hawker discloses:
wherein the movement mechanism comprises a further antenna (Hawker, para [0070]) Examiner interprets antenna assembly as further antenna
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Faragher with Hawker to incorporate the features of: wherein the movement mechanism comprises a further antenna. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal The modification would render the predictable results of improved beamforming, improved orientation, and improved localization.
Claim 14 is rejected under the same analysis to claim 1.
Claim 15 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 2.
Claim 16 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 3.
Claim 17 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 7
Claim 18 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 8.
Claim 19 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 5
Claim 20 is rejected under the same analysis as claim 1.
References Cited But Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as thus:
Banniza US 20070155333 A1 discloses Doppler effect compensation method for trains with respect to a base station
Hopkins et al US 9806397 B2 discloses a signal tracking and antenna positioning system
Manholm et al US 20230075873 A1 discloses a method and system for mast sway compensation
Gurewitz US 20160126625 A1 discloses an indoor satellite communication that comprises a rotational antenna platform
Kelly et al US 20050146477 A1 discloses a vehicle mounted satellite antenna system that comprises a rotational antenna platform
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY JENKINS whose telephone number is (571)272-0404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8a-5p EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at 517.270.5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIMBERLY JENKINS/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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