DETAILED ACTION
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 amendments, filed 9/11/2025, have been entered into the record. Applicant’s amendments overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and 35 U.S.C. 101 set out in the previous office action. Said rejections are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1, 12, and 18, the applicant argues that Benari et al. fails to teach how a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data may be determined and further argues that Benari et al. fails to teach that calibrating data may be selected based on a rate of change of environmental conditions, thus rendering the limitation, “wherein a frequency of selection of set of calibrating data is dependent on a rate of change of environmental conditions and a measuring frequency” non-obvious. The examiner disagrees.
The examiner notes that “a frequency of selection of set of calibrating data” is understood to mean how often calibrating data is selected. The measurements on the reference channel are being understood to be analogous to a set of calibrating data, because they are used to select appropriate stored reference values to correct (i.e., calibrate) a measurement (see para. 0027). The examiner further notes that the device of Benari et al. is a pulse radar device. Thus, when a temperature changes by a preset number of degrees between pulses, as taught in para. 0028, said temperature change can be reasonably understood to be a rate of change of temperature, because the temperature is changing by a preset number of degrees over a preset time. Said temperature change is used to determine that a reference channel measurement should be sent, thus determining how frequently calibrating data is selected. Therefore, Benari et al. teaches the limitation, “a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data is dependent on a rate of change of environmental conditions and measuring frequency.”
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 reads, "wherein a frequency of selection of set of calibrating data," but should read, "wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data".
Claim 12 reads, “wherein a frequency of section of a set of calibrating data,” but should read, “wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data.” The examiner notes that “selection” was the term used in applicant’s cancelled claim 16, the limitations of which the applicant noted were added to claim 12.
Claim 18 reads, “wherein a frequency of section of a set of calibrating data,” but should read, “wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data.” The examiner notes that “selection” was the term used in applicant’s cancelled claim 16, the limitations of which the applicant noted were added to claim 18.
The examiner notes that, for examination purposes, the limitations above will be quoted as they should read (i.e., as they would read if the informalities above were fixed) to ensure clarity of the record. The examiner further notes that failing to correct the informalities to claims 12 and 18 would change the scope of the invention, introducing questions of patentability under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and 112(b)
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7, 9-12, 14-15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karweck et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2023/0273064 A1) in view of Welle et al. (U.S. Pu. No. 2017/0184437 A1) and further in view of Benari et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2009/0189800 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Karweck et al. discloses (note: what Karweck et al. does not disclose is struck through),
A (fig. 0001, “The invention relates to a method for producing and calibrating modular fill-level gauges.” The examiner notes that, although topology is not explicitly mentioned in this), comprising a. a radar unit (para. 0052, “The horn antenna of the fill-level gauge 1 shown in FIG. 1, by means of which the radar-, or ultrasonic signal SHF is transmitted to fill substance 2 and after reflection received as received signal RHF, is a component of the transmission module 10.”), b. an antenna with at least one transmitting element (para. 0007, “In the case of freely radiating radar (FMCW and pulse travel time measuring), the transmission module is composed essentially of an antenna, which is matched to the frequency and into which the radar signal is coupled, for example, via a hollow conductor.” The examiner notes that the reference also teaches signal reception (see, e.g., para. 0010), but is silent as to the number of receiving elements), c. a control unit (para. 0064, “Also the distances dj used in the measuring series can be either manually input into the data processing unit, or the data processing unit is connected for this with a corresponding control unit used in the setup.”), and d. storage (fig. 3, memory 5), wherein at least two different sets of calibrating data are stored in said storage (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables),
Welle et al. discloses (note: Welle et al. does not disclose is struck through),
A topology-detecting radar level measuring device for determining a filling level and a topology of a filling material (para. 0001 “The invention relates to fill level measurement devices and to the determination of fill levels in containers by determining a surface topology.”) comprising a. a radar unit (para. 0006, “The fill level measurement device comprises an antenna apparatus for emitting electromagnetic signals and/or receiving echoes of said signals.” The examiner notes that in para. 0011 the reference suggests that the emitted signals can be radar signals), b. an antenna with at least one transmitting element and at least two receiving elements (para. 0057, “In one example, an antenna element 402 arranged in the centre of the antenna array 401 can be used to uniformly emit high-frequency energy…The signals reflected by the filling material surface 307 are received by each of the antenna elements 402…” The examiner notes that there are seven antenna elements 402), c. a control unit (fig. 3, control unit 312), and d. storage (para. 0029, “This evaluation unit can, for example, comprise a processor having a memory unit”),
Benari et al. discloses,
… and the radar level measuring device is configured for automated selection of a set of calibrating data (para. 0038, “During the operation the pulse radar ranging system will measure the ∆T delay of the second transmit pulse portions TX2 over the reference channel and the microcontroller 2 will use this value and the stored reference value to calculate a correction for the measured distance of the target 8. “)wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data is dependent on a rate of change of environmental conditions (para. 0028, “Preferably, the measurement on the reference channel is done after a preset number of level measurements or when the temperature changes by a preset number of degrees. Thus, the temperature drift can be reduced below +/-10 ppm/oC.”) and a measuring frequency (para. 0026, “The thus obtained second intermediate frequency signal is processed in the same way as the first intermediate frequency signal in the measurement channel to determine the delay time of the signal delay means.”).
Karweck et al. and Welle et al. are analogous to the claimed invention because they both disclose radar-based level monitoring systems. Benari et al. is analogous to the claimed invention because it discloses a temperature-sensitive radar ranging system. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the level detecting device of Karweck et al. with the topology-detecting device of Welle et al. because measuring the topology of the material allows for accurate determination of fill levels for a variety of different materials, including solids and turbulent liquids (see Welle et al., para. 0002). Furthermore, the device of Welle et al. uses an FMCW radar (see Welle et al., para. 0011), and therefore could be integrated into Karweck et al.’s device by a person of ordinary skill in the art with predictable results.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the device of Karweck et al. (with an unspecified number of receive antennas) with the multiple receive antennas of Welle et al. because Karweck et al. is silent as to the number of receive antennas Welle et al.’s further addition of multiple receive antennas is a common technique in the art that allows for implementation of techniques such as digital beamforming, thus enhancing angular resolution of radar measurements and allowing a user to change the emission and/or receiving angle of the device without mechanically moving the apparatus (see Welle et al., para. 0026).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Karweck et al. with the selection of calibrating data based on rate of change of environmental conditions of Benari et al. because basing calibrating data selection on rate of change of environmental conditions results in readings that account for temperature drift without slowing down the level measuring process (as recalibrating data for every level measurement sequence might). See Benari et al., para. 0028.
Regarding claim 2, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 1. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein the radar level measuring device is configured to determine at least one further measurement value in addition to the filling level and the topology (para. 0040, “In subsequent measurement operation, the temperature compensation can be applied when the sensor module includes a temperature sensor, by means of which the ambient temperature can be measured.”).
Regarding claim 3, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 2. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein a set of calibrating data used for measuring the filling level and topology is selected depending on the further measurement value (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.”).
Regarding claim 4, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 1. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein the radar level measuring device has at least one additional sensor (para. 0040, “In subsequent measurement operation, the temperature compensation can be applied when the sensor module includes a temperature sensor, by means of which the ambient temperature can be measured.”).
Regarding claim 5, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 4. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein the additional sensor comprises at least one temperature sensor (para. 0040, “In subsequent measurement operation, the temperature compensation can be applied when the sensor module includes a temperature sensor, by means of which the ambient temperature can be measured.”).
Regarding claim 6, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 5. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein said temperature sensor is disposed in the region of the antenna (para. 0057, “In order that the fill-level gauge 1 can implement a compensation, the fill-level gauge 1, e.g. the sensor module 11, does need to be able to measure the ambient temperature, for example, by means of a correspondingly integrated PT 100 temperature sensor.” The examiner notes that, per fig. 2, the taught sensor module 11 used to measure temperature via an integrated sensor is disposed in the region of the transmission module 10).
Regarding claim 7, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 5. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein said temperature sensor is disposed in the region of an electronic system (para. 0057, “In order that the fill-level gauge 1 can implement a compensation, the fill-level gauge 1, e.g. the sensor module 11, does need to be able to measure the ambient temperature, for example, by means of a correspondingly integrated PT 100 temperature sensor.” The examiner notes that, per fig. 2, the taught sensor module 11 used to measure temperature via an integrated sensor is disposed in the region of the transmission module 10).
Regarding claim 9, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 4. Karweck et al. does not further disclose,
…wherein the additional sensor comprises a position sensor.
Welle et al. discloses,
…wherein the additional sensor comprises a position sensor (para. 0030, “According to an embodiment of the invention, the fill level measurement device comprises a position sensor designed to detect a spatial position of the antenna apparatus relative to the container”).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the level measuring device of Karweck et al. with the position sensor of Welle et al. because the position sensor helps determine, “a position of the partial surface of the filling material surface measured” (see Welle et al., para 0030), and is therefore helpful for accurately mapping surface topology.
Regarding claim 12, Karweck et al. discloses (note: what Karweck et al. does not disclose is struck through),
A method for operating a (para. 0001, “The invention relates to a method for producing and calibrating modular fill-level gauges.”) with a radar unit (para. 0052, “The horn antenna of the fill-level gauge 1 shown in FIG. 1, by means of which the radar-, or ultrasonic signal SHF is transmitted to fill substance 2 and after reflection received as received signal RHF, is a component of the transmission module 10.”), the device comprising an antenna with at least one transmitting element (para. 0007, “In the case of freely radiating radar (FMCW and pulse travel time measuring), the transmission module is composed essentially of an antenna, which is matched to the frequency and into which the radar signal is coupled, for example, via a hollow conductor.” The examiner notes that the reference also teaches signal reception (see, e.g., para. 0010), but is silent as to the number of receiving elements), a control unit (para. 0064, “Also the distances dj used in the measuring series can be either manually input into the data processing unit, or the data processing unit is connected for this with a corresponding control unit used in the setup.”) and a storage (fig. 3, memory 5) containing at least two sets of calibrating data, the method comprising selecting one of said at least two sets of calibrating data (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables),
Welle et al. discloses,
A method for operating a topology-detecting radar level measuring device for determining a filling level and a topology of a filling material (para. 0001 “The invention relates to fill level measurement devices and to the determination of fill levels in containers by determining a surface topology.”) with a radar unit (para. 0006, “The fill level measurement device comprises an antenna apparatus for emitting electromagnetic signals and/or receiving echoes of said signals.” The examiner notes that in para. 0011 the reference suggests that the emitted signals can be radar signals), the device comprising an antenna with at least one transmitting element and at least two receiving elements (para. 0057, “In one example, an antenna element 402 arranged in the centre of the antenna array 401 can be used to uniformly emit high-frequency energy…The signals reflected by the filling material surface 307 are received by each of the antenna elements 402…” The examiner notes that there are seven antenna elements 402), a control unit (fig. 3, control unit 312) and a storage (para. 0029, “This evaluation unit can, for example, comprise a processor having a memory unit”)...
Benari et al. teaches,
…wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data is dependent on a rate of change of environmental conditions (para. 0028, “Preferably, the measurement on the reference channel is done after a preset number of level measurements or when the temperature changes by a preset number of degrees. Thus, the temperature drift can be reduced below +/-10 ppm/oC.”) and a measuring frequency (para. 0026, “The thus obtained second intermediate frequency signal is processed in the same way as the first intermediate frequency signal in the measurement channel to determine the delay time of the signal delay means.”).
Karweck et al. and Welle et al. are analogous to the claimed invention because they both disclose methods of calibrating radar-based level monitoring systems. Benari et al. is analogous to the claimed invention because it discloses a temperature-sensitive radar ranging system. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the level detecting method of Karweck et al. with the topology-detecting method of Welle et al. because measuring the topology of the material allows for accurate determination of fill levels for a variety of different materials, including solids and turbulent liquids (see Welle et al., para. 0002). Furthermore, the method of Welle et al. uses an FMCW radar (see Welle et al., para. 0011), and therefore could be integrated into Karweck et al.’s device by a person of ordinary skill in the art with predictable results.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the device of Karweck et al. (with an unspecified number of receive antennas) with the multiple receive antennas of Welle et al. because Karweck et al. is silent as to the number of receive antennas Welle et al.’s further addition of multiple receive antennas is a common technique in the art that allows for implementation of techniques such as digital beamforming, thus enhancing angular resolution of radar measurements and allowing a user to change the emission and/or receiving angle of the device without mechanically moving the apparatus (see Welle et al., para. 0026).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Karweck et al. with the selection of calibrating data based on rate of change of environmental conditions of Benari et al. because basing calibrating data selection on rate of change of environmental conditions results in readings that account for temperature drift without slowing down the level measuring process (as recalibrating data for every level measurement sequence might). See Benari et al., para. 0028.
Regarding claim 14, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the method according to claim 12. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected depending on environmental conditions of the radar level measuring device (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables. The examiner notes that the measured ambient temperature is an environmental condition).
Regarding claim 15, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the method according to claim 14. Karweck et al. further discloses,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected depending on a temperature and/or a distance and/or a position (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables).
Regarding claim 17, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the method according to claim 12. Karweck et al. does not further disclose,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected prior to each measurement.
Benari et al. discloses,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected prior to each measurement (para. 0028, “The measurement on the reference channel can be done for each level measurement sequence”).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Karweck et al. with the recalibration prior to each measurement sequency of Benari et al. because doing so maximizes the accuracy of the measurement data by recalibrating the system regardless of the magnitude of temperature change.
Regarding claim 18, Karweck et al. discloses,
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of a computer program code to be executed by a processor of a topology-detecting radar level measuring device (para. 0041, “The terms “module” and “unit” mean in the context of the invention, in principle, any electrical circuit and any sensor suitably designed for the contemplated application. It can thus, depending on requirement, be an analog circuit for producing, or processing, corresponding analog signals. It can also be a digital circuit, such as an FPGA or a storage medium interacting with a program. In such case, the program is designed to perform the corresponding method steps, or to apply the necessary computer operations of the particular unit.”), the device capable of determining a filling level (para. 0052, “The horn antenna of the fill-level gauge 1 shown in FIG. 1, by means of which the radar-, or ultrasonic signal SHF is transmitted to fill substance 2 and after reflection received as received signal RHF, is a component of the transmission module 10.”), and comprising an antenna with at least one transmitting element and at least two receiving elements (para. 0007, “In the case of freely radiating radar (FMCW and pulse travel time measuring), the transmission module is composed essentially of an antenna, which is matched to the frequency and into which the radar signal is coupled, for example, via a hollow conductor.” The examiner notes that the reference also teaches signal reception (see, e.g., para. 0010), but is silent as to the number of receiving elements), a control unit (para. 0064, “Also the distances dj used in the measuring series can be either manually input into the data processing unit, or the data processing unit is connected for this with a corresponding control unit used in the setup.”), and storage containing at least two sets of calibrating data (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables), the instructions causing the processor of the device to execute a method comprising selecting one of said at least two sets of calibrating data (para. 0059, “Thus, the sensor module 11, e.g. the evaluation unit 111, can create a compensation function based on such received signals RHF,i and based on the corresponding temperatures Tj. Analogously to the calibration function di(RHF,i), also the compensation function can be an analytical function or a pure lookup table. Another option in this connection is that the compensation function be created not as an independent function, but, instead, that the calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj) is created based on the data from the compensation test series in such a manner that it contains the ambient temperature as another variable. Thus, it is possible for the sensor module 11 in the case of corresponding design to output the sensor signals xi temperature compensated by means of the compensation function (or by means of the expanded calibration function di(RHF,i, Tj)) and the measured ambient temperature.” The examiner notes that the “two sets of calibrating data” here are the calibration and compensation functions, regardless of whether they are stored as functions or look-up tables),
Welle et al. teaches,
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions of a computer program code to be executed by a processor of a topology-detecting radar level measuring device (para. 0001 “The invention relates to fill level measurement devices and to the determination of fill levels in containers by determining a surface topology.”), the device capable of determining a filling level and a topology of a filling material with a radar unit (para. 0001 “The invention relates to fill level measurement devices and to the determination of fill levels in containers by determining a surface topology.” See also para. 0006, “The fill level measurement device comprises an antenna apparatus for emitting electromagnetic signals and/or receiving echoes of said signals.” The examiner notes that in para. 0011 the reference suggests that the emitted signals can be radar signals), and comprising an antenna with at least one transmitting element and at least two receiving elements (para. 0057, “In one example, an antenna element 402 arranged in the centre of the antenna array 401 can be used to uniformly emit high-frequency energy…The signals reflected by the filling material surface 307 are received by each of the antenna elements 402…” The examiner notes that there are seven antenna elements 402), a control unit (fig. 3, control unit 312), and storage (para. 0029, “This evaluation unit can, for example, comprise a processor having a memory unit”)
Benari et al. teaches,
…wherein a frequency of selection of a set of calibrating data is dependent on a rate of change of environmental conditions (para. 0028, “Preferably, the measurement on the reference channel is done after a preset number of level measurements or when the temperature changes by a preset number of degrees. Thus, the temperature drift can be reduced below +/-10 ppm/oC.”) and a measuring frequency (para. 0026, “The thus obtained second intermediate frequency signal is processed in the same way as the first intermediate frequency signal in the measurement channel to determine the delay time of the signal delay means.”).
Karweck et al. and Welle et al. are analogous to the claimed invention because they both disclose radar-based level monitoring systems. Benari et al. is analogous to the claimed invention because it discloses a temperature-sensitive radar ranging system. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the level detecting device of Karweck et al. with the topology-detecting device of Welle et al. because measuring the topology of the material allows for accurate determination of fill levels for a variety of different materials, including solids and turbulent liquids (see Welle et al., para. 0002). Furthermore, the device of Welle et al. uses an FMCW radar (see Welle et al., para. 0011), and therefore could be integrated into Karweck et al.’s device by a person of ordinary skill in the art with predictable results.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the device of Karweck et al. (with an unspecified number of receive antennas) with the multiple receive antennas of Welle et al. because Karweck et al. is silent as to the number of receive antennas Welle et al.’s further addition of multiple receive antennas is a common technique in the art that allows for implementation of techniques such as digital beamforming, thus enhancing angular resolution of radar measurements and allowing a user to change the emission and/or receiving angle of the device without mechanically moving the apparatus (see Welle et al., para. 0026).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Karweck et al. with the selection of calibrating data based on rate of change of environmental conditions of Benari et al. because basing calibrating data selection on rate of change of environmental conditions results in readings that account for temperature drift without slowing down the level measuring process (as recalibrating data for every level measurement sequence might). See Benari et al., para. 0028.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Shameli et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0272866 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the device according to claim 4. Karweck et al. does not further disclose,
…wherein the additional sensor comprises a distance sensor for determining a distance of the filling level from the antenna
Shameli et al. discloses,
…wherein the additional sensor comprises a distance sensor for determining a distance of the filling level from the antenna (para. 0009, “In some examples, the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors each generating at least one corresponding sensed distance and the process controller is configured to generate the control signal based on a plurality of sensed distances.”).
Shameli et al. is analogous to the claimed invention because it discloses a radar-based level-measuring device. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the sensor of Karweck et al. with the additional distance sensor of Shameli et al. because measuring multiple distances between the filling level and the antenna can be used to provide a surface topology or, alternatively, be used to more accurately measure level by averaging a variety of distance measurements made over the surface of the material whose level is being measured (see Shameli et al., paras. 0010 and 0093).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Ashrafzadeh et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0101317 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Karweck et al. in view of Welle et al. and further in view of Benari et al. discloses the method according to claim 12. Karweck et al. does not further disclose,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected by a user
Ashrafzadeh et al. discloses,
…wherein a set of calibrating data is selected by a user (para. 0074, “As discussed above, stored data 42 may include an identifier to assist the control unit 70 and the user in determining the amount of substance 30 associated with a particular container 16. Control unit 70 may allow a user to associate an identifier with a particular substance. For instance, if container 16 may be refilled with multiple different substances 30, control unit 70 may allow the user to associate a name or label with an identifier.” The examiner notes that the identifier input by the user is used to select calibrating data).
Ashrafzadeh et al. is analogous to the claimed invention because it discloses a level-measuring device a method that uses radar to measure fill levels. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the method of Karweck et al. with the user-selected calibrating data of Ashrafzadeh et al. because user identification of material (and therefore selection of calibrating data) of Ashrafzadeh et al. allows the level-measuring unit of Karweck et al. to be used with a variety of different materials.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Wenger et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0010838 A1) discloses a method of calibrating and using a radar level measuring device.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/Anna K. Gosling/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648