DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 USC 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 USC 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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.
Specification Objections
The disclosure is objected to under 37 CFR 1.71(a) because of the following informalities:
In ¶22, in the line before the final line, the comma should be canceled.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-8, 10-14, and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Faragher '347 (US 2020/0319347 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Faragher '347 discloses a method for locating at least one receiver using cellular signals, comprising:
receiving at least one cellular signal from at least one emitter at a respective antenna of the at least one receiver (4, Fig. 20; S100, Fig. 21; ¶23; ¶66);
determining a motion of the respective antenna of the at least one receiver that received the at least one cellular signal (12, Fig. 20; S104, Fig. 21; ¶67);
using the determined antenna motion, performing motion compensated correlation on the received at least one cellular signal to generate at least one motion compensated correlation result (14, 6, Fig. 20; S110, S112, Fig. 21; ¶67);
determining a direction of arrival for the received at least one cellular signal using the at least one motion compensated correlation result (16, Fig. 20; S117, Fig. 21; ¶68); and
determining a location of the at least one receiver using the determined direction of arrival of the received at least one cellular signal and location information related to the at least one emitter from which the at least one cellular signal was received (20, Fig. 20; S118, Fig. 21; ¶68).
In regard to claim 7, Faragher '347 discloses an apparatus for locating at least one receiver using cellular signals, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory for storing at least one of programs and instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving at least one cellular signal from at least one emitter at a respective antenna of the at least one receiver (4, Fig. 20; S100, Fig. 21; ¶23; ¶66);
determining a motion of the respective antenna of the at least one receiver that received the at least one cellular signal (12, Fig. 20; S104, Fig. 21; ¶67);
using the determined antenna motion, performing motion compensated correlation on the received at least one cellular signal to generate at least one motion compensated correlation result (14, 6, Fig. 20; S110, S112, Fig. 21; ¶67);
determining a direction of arrival for the received at least one cellular signal using the at least one motion compensated correlation result (16, Fig. 20; S117, Fig. 21; ¶68); and
determining a location of the at least one receiver using the determined direction of arrival of the received at least one cellular signal and location information related to the at least one emitter from which the at least one cellular signal was received (20, Fig. 20; S118, Fig. 21; ¶68).
In regard to claim 13, Faragher '347 discloses a system for locating at least one receiver using cellular signals, comprising:
at least one receiver (2, Fig. 20) comprising a respective antenna (4, Fig. 20);
a motion module (12, Fig. 20; ¶67);
at least one emitter (22, 24, Fig. 22; ¶23); and
an apparatus comprising at least one processor (810, Fig. 16A; ¶213) and at least one memory for storing at least one of programs and instructions (820, Fig. 16A; ¶214) that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
receiving at least one cellular signal from at least one emitter at a respective antenna of the at least one receiver (4, Fig. 20; S100, Fig. 21; ¶23; ¶66);
determining a motion of the respective antenna of the at least one receiver that received the at least one cellular signal (12, Fig. 20; S104, Fig. 21; ¶67);
using the determined antenna motion, performing motion compensated correlation on the received at least one cellular signal to generate at least one motion compensated correlation result (14, 6, Fig. 20; S110, S112, Fig. 21; ¶67);
determining a direction of arrival for the received at least one cellular signal using the at least one motion compensated correlation result (16, Fig. 20; S117, Fig. 21; ¶68); and
determining a location of the at least one receiver using the determined direction of arrival of the received at least one cellular signal and location information related to the at least one emitter from which the at least one cellular signal was received (20, Fig. 20; S118, Fig. 21; ¶68).
In regard to claims 2, 8, and 14, Faragher '347 further discloses motion compensated correlation is performed on cellular signals received from a plurality of cellular signal base stations (Fig. 22; ¶23; ¶66) [where Fig. 22 illustrates a plurality of signals from a plurality of signal sources being received by a receiver, and ¶23 states that cellular signals can be used in place of GNSS signals, where cellular signals are transmitted by cellular base stations].
In regard to claims 4, 10, and 16, Faragher '347 further discloses:
correlating at least one local signal with the at least one cellular signal from the at least one emitter to generate at least one respective correlation result (S112, Fig. 21; ¶6; ¶77);
generating a plurality of phasor sequences, where each phasor sequence represents a hypothesis comprising a sequence of signal phases related to a relative direction of motion of the antenna of the at least one receiver (¶33; ¶77; ¶79; ¶97-101; ¶144; ¶173) [where ¶77 discloses that phasor sequences correspond to directions and ¶79 discloses that directions correspond to position hypotheses, and thus the phase sequence that correspond to a direction corresponding to a position hypothesis is a corresponding phase sequence hypothesis];
compensating at least one phase of at least one of the local signal, the at least one cellular signal of the at least one emitter or the at least one correlation result, based on the generated plurality of phasor sequences, to determine at least one phase-compensated correlation result (600, Fig. 12; ¶33; ¶177; ¶198); and
identifying a phasor sequence in the plurality of phasor sequences that optimizes the at least one motion compensated correlation result based on the at least one phase-compensated correlation result (¶17; ¶73; ¶77; ¶198) [where ¶17 discloses to "identify the direction from which a reflected signal is received" and ¶73 discloses "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"].
In regard to claims 5, 11, and 17, Faragher '347 further discloses the location of the at least one receiver is determined for a plurality of time periods to determine a plurality of positions for the at least one receiver as it moves (¶36-38).
In regard to claims 6, 12, and 18, Faragher '347 further discloses the determining the location of the at least one receiver is further based on determined path lengths for the received at least one cellular signal transmitted from the at least one emitter (¶82).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim(s) 3, 9, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Faragher '347 in view of Faragher '317 (US 2020/0264317 A1)
Faragher '347 fails to disclose motion compensated correlation is performed on a plurality of received signals from a single cellular base station.
Faragher '317 teaches that (i) performing motion compensated correlation on cellular signals received from a plurality (¶255-257) of cellular signal base stations (¶12; ¶211); and (ii) performing motion compensated correlation on a plurality of received signals from a single (¶254; ¶311-312) cellular base station (¶12; ¶211) are known alternatives.
Since these two elements were art-recognized equivalents at the time of the invention, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to substitute performing motion compensated correlation on a plurality of received signals from a single cellular base station for the performing motion compensated correlation on cellular signals received from a plurality of cellular signal base stations of Faragher '347. Additionally, the substitution would allow the determination of the location of the receiver even when the only available signals are signals from a single cellular base station.
Response to Arguments
The Specification Objections have been withdrawn based on the amendments to the specification.
The Double Patenting Rejection has been withdrawn based on the Terminal Disclaimed submitted on 3-19-2026.
Applicant’s arguments on p. 8-9, with respect to the 35 USC 112 rejection(s), have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection(s) have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments on p. 9-13, with respect to the prior art rejection(s) have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues:
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Here, applicant argues that the term "direction of arrival" has a special definition in the art different from how it would be straightforwardly interpreted (i.e. as the signal arrival direction, where the phrase "signal arrival directions" is explicitly used by Faragher '347 in ¶86). However, this is simply an allegation without evidence. Attorney arguments cannot take the place of evidence in the record. This argument is refuted in that others in the art do not use "direction of arrival" in conformance with applicant's proffered definition. In contrast with "DOA requires processing phases or time delays to localize sources", Machado (Amplitude Only Direction of Arrival Estimation), p. 125, ¶2 and Kim (Direction of Arrival Estimation without Phase Measurements), p. 9-10, both teach determining direction of arrival using neither phases nor time delays. If applicant believes that the use of phase or time delays distinguishes over Faragher '347, applicant is free to claim this feature, provided that there is proper support in the originally-filed disclosure. It is noted, however, that simply replacing one known way of determining the signal direction with another known way of determining the signal direction would likely be a simple substitution of one known, equivalent element for another to perform the same function (determining signal direction) and to obtain predictable results.
Applicant argues:
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However, ¶77 of Faragher '347 states:
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Here, the candidate direction that corresponds to the actual direction is determined based on the motion compensated correlation result. The motion compensated correlation result is being used to determine the actual direction of the received signal. The claim does not require calculating the direction of arrival using the value of the motion compensated correlation result.
Applicant argues:
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However, this feature is disclosed in ¶32.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment of 3-5-2026 necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action, e.g., claim(s) 4 was/were amended, necessitating the new grounds of rejection. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Fred H. Mull whose telephone number is 571-272-6975. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from approximately 9-5:30 Eastern Time.
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Fred H. Mull
Examiner
Art Unit 3648
/F. H. M./
Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648