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
1. Claims 1, 6-11, and 16-28 are currently pending.
2. Claims 2-5 and 12-15 are canceled.
3. Claims 1 and 11 are currently amended.
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.
4. Claims 1, 6-11, and 16-28 are 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. Any claim not specifically mentioned, including Claims 6-10 and 16-28, have been included based on its dependency.
5. Claim 1 recites the limitation "a measured system momentum H – J(ω+b)+h, determining a magnitude of the measured system momentum HTH=ǁHǁ2 in Lines 14-15. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. More specifically, it is unclear what the variables ω, b, and h are representing. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the variables are interpreted as any variable used to determine a measured system momentum. Claim 11 has the same limitations as Claim 1 except for it is a separate independent claim but is rejected for the same reasoning.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 7-9, filed 5/29/2026, with respect to the U.S.C. 103 rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The U.S.C. 103 rejections of Claims 1, 6-11, and 16-28 have been withdrawn.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 1 and 11 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), set forth in this Office action.
8. Claims 6-10 and 16-28 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if the independent claims are rewritten or amended to overcome their own rejections.
9. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Independent Claim 1 contains allowable subject matter as the closest prior art references do not teach or render and obvious combination for the following limitations: “determining, based on the readings from the inertial measurement unit, a rigid body inertia J, and the outputs of the internal momentum storage device, a measured system momentum H = J(ω +b)+h, determining a magnitude of the measured system momentum HTH=ǁHǁ2, computing a residual between a predicted magnitude of system momentum and the magnitude of the measured system momentum, and updating the estimate of bias of magnitude of momentum and estimates of bias of directional rotational rates based on the residual.”
Independent Claim 11 contains allowable subject matter as the closest prior art references do not teach or render and obvious combination for the following limitations: “determining, based on the readings from the inertial measurement unit, a rigid body inertia J, and the outputs of the internal momentum storage device, a measured system momentum H = J(ω +b)+h, determining a magnitude of the measured system momentum HTH=ǁHǁ2, computing a residual between a predicted magnitude of system momentum and the magnitude of the measured system momentum, and updating the estimate of bias of magnitude of momentum and estimates of bias of directional rotational rates based on the residual.”
Conclusion
10. 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.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL T SILVA whose telephone number is (571)272-6506. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Tues: 7AM - 4:30PM ET; Wed-Thurs: 7AM-6PM ET; Fri: OFF.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Angela Ortiz can be reached at 571-272-1206. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL T SILVA/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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