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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I (claims 1-13) in the reply filed on May 4, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-13 and 24-32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 1:
Step 1: Yes.
Claim 1 is directed to “a method for finding a Kth element in a series of values…organizing…organizing…performing…and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on the coarse search”, which is a process.
Step 2, Prong One: Judicial exception? Yes.
Claim 1 recites the steps of “organizing…organizing…performing…and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on the coarse search” which falls into mathematical concepts and/or mental processes, that may be carried out in human mind or with the aid of pencil and paper in simple situations. The claim does not recite a particular equation or algorithm for making the recited combining and performing steps, this just means that the abstract idea is being recited broadly enough to monopolize all possible equations or algorithms that might be used (Please also see MPEP 2106.04(a)(2)(III)(A), (B), (C), and (D).
The broadest reasonable interpretation of the steps is that those steps fall within the mental process groupings of abstract ideas because they cover concepts performed in the human mind, including observation, evaluation, judgment, and opinion (See MPEP 2106.04(a)(2), subsection III.
Each of the recited step in the method claim 1 are mathematical concepts/calculations (see dependent claims such as 2 and 3 which further limit the steps “organizing…”, “performing…”).
The processor as recited in the preamble is merely a tool to perform the abstract idea.
Step 2A, Prong Two: Practical application? No.
The step “performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on results of the coarse search” encompass insignificant extra solution. The recited steps only the outcome without any deitals about how the outcome is accomplished. The “(performed) fine search” encompasses insignificant extra solution and merely data. The use of the “(performed) fine search” is unlimited. The steps are not performed by any particular device. The “processor” as recited in the preamble of claim 1 is not a particular device and is merely a tool used to the perform the abstract idea.
Claim 1 when viewed as a whole or in ordered combination does not provide meaningful limitations beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular environment to transform the judicial exception into patent-eligible subject matter (see MPEP 2106.05(e)). Per MPEP 2106.04(d)(1) and 2106.05(a), the claim as a whole does not provide an improvement to other technology or technical field.
Step 2B: the claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception, for reasons that are analogous to the discussion of additional elements at Prong 2.
Dependent claims 2-13 add limitations which are data merely extending the abstract idea without adding any additional elements.
The “OS-CFAR detector” as recited in dependent claim 6 is not a particular device. It is merely a field of use device and a tool used to perform the abstract idea.
Newly added claim 24 recites an integrated circuit which does not offer a meaningful limitation beyond generally linking the system to a particular technological environment, that is, implementation via an integrated circuit. In other words, the apparatus and the system claims are no different from the method claim 1 in substance; the method claim recites the abstract idea while the apparatus and system claims recite generic components configured to implement the same abstract idea. The claim does not amount to significantly more than the underlying abstract idea.
Dependent claims 25-32 add limitations which are data merely extending the abstract idea without adding any additional elements.
Claims 25-32 are further rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claims do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter.
Claim 25 recites “an integrated circuit configured to find a Kth element….” However, the claim recites “by performing a method comprising: organizing…and performing a fine search…coarse search”, which is neither a device nor a process. There is no recitation of what an integrated circuit is. Instead, the claim recites what circuit does.
Dependent claims 26-32 are rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Claims 1-13 and 24-32 are patentably distinguishable over the prior art of record.
Regarding claims 1 and 23, Mohamed El. Mashade; Performance Analysis of CFAR Detection of Fluctuating Radar targets in Nonideal Operating Envrionements; American Journal of Signal Processing. December 2012 discloses a method for finding a Kth element in a series of values, the method comprising, using a processor: organizing the series of values in a probability distribution histogram by finding a number of occurrences of each value of the series of values (Abstract; Pages 3-9).
However, Masahde does not explicitly disclose “organizing the series of values in a decimated accumulated histogram, wherein the decimated accumulated histogram includes adjacent bins of ranges of values; performing a coarse search on the decimated accumulated histogram; and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on results of the coarse search”.
Boskovic (USPN. 7275058) discloses a method and apparatus for finding a k order statistic in a union of sorted sets without the need to merge the sorted sets. The method takes advantage of the property of sorted sets to execute a, k order statistic search using O (n.sup.2 log k) comparisons, where n is the number of sorted sets, k is the order statistic, also referred to as a an index value, and O function describes the non-constant part of the upper-limit execution time of the algorithm (cols. 5-8).
However, Boskovic does not disclose “organizing the series of values in a decimated accumulated histogram, wherein the decimated accumulated histogram includes adjacent bins of ranges of values; performing a coarse search on the decimated accumulated histogram; and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on results of the coarse search”.
P. Tsakalides et al., Radar CFAR thresholding in heavy-tailed clutter and positive alpha-stable measurements; Conference Record of Thirty-Second Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers (Cat. No. 98 CH 36284); 01-04 November 1998 (submitted by Applicants) discloses Order Statistics CFAR (OS CFAR) for Heavy Tailed Measurements. The detection performance of the CA CFAR processor. It is apparent that for an appropriate choice of the rank order index k, the corresponding OS CFAR processor outperforms CA CFAR for the case of homogenous Pearson-distributed background clutter (Page 430, col. 1). P. Tsakalides et al does not disclose organizing the series of values in a decimated accumulated histogram, wherein the decimated accumulated histogram includes adjacent bins of ranges of values; performing a coarse search on the decimated accumulated histogram; and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on results of the coarse search”.
Regarding claims 1 and 24, the closest prior art of record either alone or in combination fails to anticipate or render obvious the combination wherein “organizing the series of values in a decimated accumulated histogram, wherein the decimated accumulated histogram includes adjacent bins of ranges of values; performing a coarse search on the decimated accumulated histogram; and performing a fine search in the probability distribution histogram, based on results of the coarse search” in combination with other limitations in the claims as defined by Applicants.
Claims 2-13 and 25-32 depend from claims 1 and 24 and therefore are also patentably distinguishable over the prior art of record.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Reis et al. (USPN. 5341142) discloses an automatic target acquisition and tracking system has been developed for a focal plane array seeker. The automatic target acquisition is achieved by three independent target acquisition algorithms, viz., the maximum likelihood classification, the video spatial clustering, and the target-to-interference ratio. Each algorithm operates asynchronously and provides independent target detection results. Target information is then combined hierarchically in a probabilistic fashion and prioritized. The highest priority target is handed off to a dual mode tracker consisting of a minimum absolute difference correlation tracker and a centroid tracker. The dual mode tracker subsequently provides a feedback signal to a proportional navigation system or other guidance/control system for directing the flight path of a munition (Abstract; cols. 13 and 14).
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
USPAP 20230090763 discloses methods, apparatus and systems for radio-based voice activity detection are described. In one example, a described system comprises: a transmitter configured to transmit a radio signal through a wireless channel of a venue; a receiver configured to receive the radio signal through the wireless channel, wherein the wireless channel is impacted by a voice activity of a target voice source in the venue; and a processor. The processor is configured for: computing a time series of channel information (CI) of the wireless channel based on the radio signal, and detecting the voice activity of the target voice source based on the time series of CI (TSCI) of the wireless channel, without using any media signal (Abstract; Pars. 78-90; and 219-222)
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/PHUONG HUYNH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857 July 25, 2026
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