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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 01/23/2026 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendments
The amendment filed 03/11/2026 is entered.
Claims 1-2 and 16-20 are amended.
Claim 1-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 13, filed 03/11/2026, with respect to Claim Objections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous objections have been overcome.
Applicant’s arguments, see pgs. 13-14, filed 03/11/2026, with respect to Nonstatutory Double Patenting Rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous double patenting rejections have been overcome.
Applicant’s arguments, see pgs. 14-15, filed 03/11/2026, with respect to Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous 112(b) rejections have been overcome.
Applicant’s arguments, see pgs. 15-17, filed 03/11/2026, with respect to Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 have been considered but are moot because they do not apply to the specific combination of references being used in the current rejections.
Claim Objections
Claims 18 and 20 are objected to for the following informalities:
In Claim 18, the phrase “and generating third internal signal” should be “and generating a third internal signal”
In Claim 20, the phrase “configured to generate a control signal based a period of the detection signal” should be “configured to generate a control signal based on a period of the detection signal”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out
and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his
invention.
Claim 20 is 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.
Regarding Claim 20, the claim recites the limitations “a plurality of receiving antennas, configured to respectively receive a plurality of reflected signals” and “wherein the selection circuit is configured to … select only one of the receiving antennas … in each transceiving period.” Examiner interprets the “respectively receive a plurality of reflected signals” limitation to mean that all of the receiving antennas are activated at the same time and the “select only one of the receiving antennas” limitation to mean that only one receiving antenna is activated at a time. Therefore, it is unclear whether one or all of the receiving antennas are active during a transceiving period.
Regarding Claim 20, the claim recites the limitation “the one or more control signals.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claim 20 only introduces “a control signal” (singular).
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.
Claims 1-4, 12, 14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Natsume (US 2004/0183719) in view of Wintermantel (US 2011/0074621).
Regarding Claim 1, Natsume teaches:
A radar apparatus ([0004]: “radar device”; [0049]), comprising:
a transmitting circuit, configured to generate a transmission signal based on a detection signal, wherein the detection signal has periodic changes ([0004]: “a transmission signal Ss is frequency modulated by a modulation signal having triangular waveform so that the frequency thereof is gradually increased and reduced linearly with respect to time”; [0049]: “transceiver”);
a plurality of transmitting antennas, configured to transmit the transmission signal ([0022]: “a plurality of transmission antenna”; [0049]);
a plurality of receiving antennas, configured to receive a reflected signal, wherein the reflected signal is generated by the transmission signal being reflected by an external object ([0022]: “a plurality of reception antennas”; “a reception signal from a remote target”; [0050]);
a receiving circuit, configured to generate an internal signal based on the detection signal and a radio frequency signal ([0030]: “beat signal”; [0050]: “transceiver”; “beat signal”);
a selection controller, coupled to the transmitting circuit and configured to generate one or more control signals based on a period of the detection signal ([0057]: “the timing controller 30 generates the transmission selecting signal Xs”); and
a selection circuit, coupled to the transmitting antennas, the receiving antennas, the transmitting circuit, the receiving circuit, and the selection controller and configured to select one of the transmitting antennas to transmit the transmission signal and select one of the receiving antennas to receive the reflected signal based on the one or more control signals generated by the selection controller so as to generate the radio frequency signal ([0049]: “a transmission switch 17 for alternatively selecting any one of the m transmission antennas in accordance with a transmission selecting signal Xs and supplying the transmission signal Ss to the transmission antenna thus selected.”; [0050]: “a reception switch 22 for alternatively selecting any one of then reception antennas in accordance with a reception selecting signal Xr and supplying a reception signal Sr from the reception antenna thus selected to the rear stage.”);
wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods (Fig. 2, showing a plurality of measuring cycles.),
wherein the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal … ([0031]: “a switching control device successively switches the transmission antenna to be used to transmit electric wave every predetermined measuring cycle”).
Natsume does not appear to specifically disclose: wherein the selection circuit is configured to select only one of the transmitting antennas and select only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time.
However, Wintermantel is in the field of radar transceivers and teaches: wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods (Wintermantel Fig. 2, showing k “frame times” comprising m “transceiving periods.”),
wherein the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal and select only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to receive the reflected signal (Wintermantel [0059]: “in each case one of the two transmitter antennas and one of the 4 receiver antennas can be selected.”; Fig. 2, showing only one transmitting antenna and one receiving antenna is selected in each transceiving period.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and select only one transmission antenna and only one receiving antenna in each transceiving period, as taught by Wintermantel with a reasonable expectation of success. Selecting only one transmission antenna and only one receiving antenna is beneficial for improving accuracy and resolution of the angular measurement of a signal by temporally multiplexing the antennas (Wintermantel [0011-0015]). Additionally, modifying Natsume to implement Wintermantel’s antenna switching method comprises application of a known technique to achieve a predictable result.
Regarding Claim 2, Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Wintermantel teaches: the transceiving periods correspond to the period of the detection signal (Wintermantel [0061]; Fig. 2, showing the transceiving periods corresponding with the frequency ramp of the detection signal.). Because the correspondence between the transceiving periods and the period of the detection signal is merely a feature of Wintermantel’s antenna switching method, the rationale to modify Natsume with the teachings of Wintermantel persists from Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 3, Natsume teaches: wherein the transmitting antennas comprise a first transmitting antenna and a second transmitting antenna located on a first plane, and the receiving antennas comprise a first receiving antenna and a second receiving antenna located on the first plane ([Figs. 1, 4A]: showing a linear array).
Regarding Claim 4, Natsume teaches: wherein the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna are arranged in a first direction, and the first receiving antenna and the second receiving antenna are arranged in the first direction ([Figs. 1, 4A]: showing a linear array), and
in a second direction, a distance between the first transmitting antenna and the first receiving antenna is greater than or equal to zero, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, and the first plane is formed by the first direction and the second direction ([Fig. 1, 4A]: showing a linear array (i.e., the distance between antennas in the second direction is zero)).
Regarding Claim 12, Natsume teaches: the radar apparatus further comprising a frequency synthesizer, coupled to the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit and configured to generate the detection signal, the detection signal being a continuous wave signal, wherein the selection controller is coupled to the transmitting circuit via the frequency synthesizer ([0049]: “The transceiver 4 includes a D/A converter 10 for generating a modulation signal having a triangular waveform in response to a modulation instruction, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 14, a divider 16 for dividing the output power of the VCO 14 into a transmission signal Ss and a local signal L”; Fig. 1: showing the transmission switch 17 coupled to the divider 16).
Regarding Claim 14, Natsume teaches: the radar apparatus further comprising a clock generator, configured to generate a clock signal, wherein the selection controller synchronizes the detection signal based on the clock signal ([0051]: “timing controller 30”).
Regarding Claim 16, Natsume teaches:
A transceiving method of signals ([0022]), comprising:
generating a transmission signal based on a detection signal, wherein the detection signal has periodic changes ([0004]: “a transmission signal Ss is frequency modulated by a modulation signal having triangular waveform so that the frequency thereof is gradually increased and reduced linearly with respect to time”; [0049]: “transceiver”);
generating one or more control signals based on a period of the detection signal ([0057]: “the timing controller 30 generates the transmission selecting signal Xs”);
selecting one of a plurality of transmitting antennas to transmit the transmission signal and selecting one of a plurality of receiving antennas to receive a reflected signal based on the one or more control signals so as to generate a radio frequency signal, wherein the reflected signal is generated by the transmission signal being reflected by an external object ([0049]: “a transmission switch 17 for alternatively selecting any one of the m transmission antennas in accordance with a transmission selecting signal Xs and supplying the transmission signal Ss to the transmission antenna thus selected.”; [0050]: “a reception switch 22 for alternatively selecting any one of then reception antennas in accordance with a reception selecting signal Xr and supplying a reception signal Sr from the reception antenna thus selected to the rear stage.”); and
generating an internal signal based on the detection signal and the radio frequency signal ([0030]: “beat signal”; [0050]: “transceiver”; “beat signal”),
wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods (Fig. 2, showing a plurality of measuring cycles.),
wherein selecting one of the transmitting antennas to transmit the transmission signal and selecting one of the receiving antennas to receive a reflected signal based on the one or more control signals comprises:
based on the one or more control signals, selecting only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal … ([0031]: “a switching control device successively switches the transmission antenna to be used to transmit electric wave every predetermined measuring cycle”).
Natsume does not appear to specifically disclose: selecting only one of the transmitting antennas and selecting only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time.
However, Wintermantel is in the field of radar transceivers and teaches: wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods (Wintermantel Fig. 2, showing k “frame times” comprising m “transceiving periods.”),
wherein selecting one of the transmitting antennas to transmit the transmission signal and selecting one of the receiving antennas to receive a reflected signal based on the one or more control signals comprises:
based on the one or more control signals, selecting only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal and selecting only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to receive the reflected signal (Wintermantel [0059]: “in each case one of the two transmitter antennas and one of the 4 receiver antennas can be selected.”; Fig. 2, showing only one transmitting antenna and one receiving antenna is selected in each transceiving period.).
The rationale to modify Natsume with the teachings of Wintermantel persists from Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 17, Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Wintermantel teaches: the transceiving periods correspond to the period of the detection signal (Wintermantel [0061]; Fig. 2, showing the transceiving periods corresponding with the frequency ramp of the detection signal.). The rationale to modify Natsume with the teachings of Wintermantel persists from Claim 2.
Claims 5-11, 13, 15, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Natsume (US 2004/0183719) and Wintermantel (US 2011/0074621), as applied to Claims 1, 3, and 17 above, and further in view of Iwasa (US 2022/0003834).
Regarding Claim 5, Natsume teaches: wherein there is a first spacing between the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna, there is a second spacing between the first receiving antenna and the second receiving antenna … ([Figs. 1, 4A]: showing antenna spacings).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: … and the first spacing and the second spacing are equal (Iwasa [0184]: “transmission antennas 108 and reception antennas 202 are arranged at positions of an integral multiple of basic interval dH along a first axis and at positions of integral multiple of basic interval dV along a second axis”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use equal spacings between the transmitting antennas and the receiving antennas, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Uniform antenna arrays are considered ordinary and well-known for use in radar systems, and modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises substituting one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Regarding Claims 6 and 18, Natsume teaches: wherein in a first operation mode, the frame time comprises a first transceiving period, a second transceiving period, and … ([0032]: “different measuring cycles”); and the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select the first transmitting antenna and the first receiving antenna in the first transceiving period, select the first transmitting antenna and the second receiving antenna or select the second transmitting antenna and the first receiving antenna in the second transceiving period, and select the second transmitting antenna and the second receiving antenna … ([0049]: “alternatively selecting any one of the m transmission antennas”; [0050]: “alternatively selecting any one of the reception antennas”).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: a third transceiving period (Iwasa [Fig. 2]: showing at least four transmission periods).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use three transceiving periods, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claims 7 and 18, Natsume teaches: the apparatus further comprising a computing processor, coupled to the receiving circuit, wherein the receiving circuit generates a first internal signal corresponding to the first transceiving period; the receiving circuit generates a second internal signal corresponding to the second transceiving period; … ([0030-0031]: disclosing a plurality of channel switching intervals and generating beat signals for each channel); the internal signal comprises the first internal signal, the second internal signal, …; and the computing processor is configured to determine a spatial information of the external object based on the first internal signal, the second internal signal, and … ([0030-0031]: disclosing a plurality of channel switching intervals and generating beat signals for each channel; [0070]: “digital beam forming (DBF) processing is executed on the basis of the data of the channels A1 to A9 and the corrected data of the channels B2 to B9 (S220). The direction to the location of the target is determined on the basis of the above processing result (S230)”).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: the receiving circuit generates a third internal signal corresponding to the third transceiving period (Iwasa [0335]: “beat signal”; [Fig. 2]: showing at least four transmission periods).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume to generate a third internal signal corresponding to the third transceiving period and determine spatial information of the external object based on the three internal signals, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 8, Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: wherein a first radiation pattern formed by the first transmitting antenna is different from a second radiation pattern formed by the second transmitting antenna (Iwasa [0088]; [0194]: “One antenna system of each of transmission antennas 108 and reception antennas 202 may be constituted by sub-array antennas so as to form a beam pattern suitable for, for example, the angle of view of radar apparatus 10.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use different radiation patterns with the first and second transmitting antennas, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Using different radiation patterns is beneficial for controlling the angle of view of a radar apparatus and thereby improving target detection.
Regarding Claim 9, Natsume teaches: wherein the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna are arranged in a first direction … ([Figs. 1, 4A]).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: wherein the first transmitting antenna and the second transmitting antenna are arranged in a first direction, and the first receiving antenna and the second receiving antenna are arranged in a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction, and the first plane is formed by the first direction and the second direction (Iwasa [0184]: “two-dimensional plane”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and arrange the transmitting and receiving antennas in a 2D array, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. 2D arrays are considered ordinary and well-known in the art, and they are beneficial for improving beam steering and system performance.
Regarding Claims 10 and 19, Natsume teaches: wherein in a second operation mode, the frame time comprises a first transceiving period, a second transceiving period, … ([0032]: “different measuring cycles”); and the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select the first transmitting antenna and the first receiving antenna in the first transceiving period, select the first transmitting antenna and the second receiving antenna in the second transceiving period, select the second transmitting antenna and the second receiving antenna …, and select the second transmitting antenna and the first receiving antenna … ([0049]: “alternatively selecting any one of the m transmission antennas”; [0050]: “alternatively selecting any one of the reception antennas”).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: a third transceiving period, and a fourth transceiving period (Iwasa [Fig. 2]: showing at least four transmission periods).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use four transceiving periods, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claims 11 and 19, Natsume teaches: the apparatus further comprising a computing processor, coupled to the receiving circuit, wherein the receiving circuit generates a first internal signal corresponding to the first transceiving period; the receiving circuit generates a second internal signal corresponding to the second transceiving period; … … ([0030-0031]: disclosing a plurality of channel switching intervals and generating beat signals for each channel); the internal signal comprises the first internal signal, the second internal signal, …; and the computing processor is configured to determine a spatial information of the external object based on the first internal signal, the second internal signal, … ([0030-0031]: disclosing a plurality of channel switching intervals and generating beat signals for each channel; [0070]: “digital beam forming (DBF) processing is executed on the basis of the data of the channels A1 to A9 and the corrected data of the channels B2 to B9 (S220). The direction to the location of the target is determined on the basis of the above processing result (S230)”).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: the receiving circuit generates a third internal signal corresponding to the third transceiving period; the receiving circuit generates a fourth internal signal corresponding to the fourth transceiving period (Iwasa [0335]: “beat signal”; [Fig. 2]: showing at least four transmission periods).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume to generate third and fourth internal signals corresponding to the third and fourth transceiving periods and determine spatial information of the external object based on the four internal signals, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 13, Natsume teaches: the apparatus further comprising a … generator, coupled to the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit and configured to generate the detection signal, …, wherein the selection controller is coupled to the transmitting circuit via the … generator ([0049-0050]).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: a pulse generator, and the detection signal being a pulse signal (Iwasa [0076]: “pulse radar apparatus”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use a pulse generator to generate a pulse signal, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Pulse generators and pulse signals are considered ordinary and well-known in the art, and modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Regarding Claim 15, Natsume teaches: wherein … the receiving circuit further comprises a low noise amplifier; and the low noise amplifier is coupled to the receiving antennas ([0050]: “an amplifier 26”).
Natsume does not explicitly teach – but Iwasa teaches: wherein the transmitting circuit further comprises an amplifier (Iwasa [0111]: “amplifies the signal to predetermined transmission power P [dB] with a transmission amplifier”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Natsume and use an amplifier in the transmitting circuit, as taught by Iwasa with a reasonable expectation of success. Amplifiers in transmission circuits are considered ordinary and well-known in the art, and modifying Natsume with the teachings of Iwasa comprises combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwasa (US 2022/0003834) in view of Wintermantel (US 2011/0074621).
Regarding Claim 20, Iwasa teaches:
A radar apparatus ([0093]: “radar apparatus”), comprising:
a transmitting circuit, configured to generate a transmission signal based on a detection signal, wherein the detection signal has periodic changes ([0095]: “Radar transmitter 100 generates radar signals (radar transmitter signals) of a high frequency (radio frequency) based on a reference signal output from reference-signal generator 300.”);
a plurality of transmitting antennas, configured to transmit the transmission signal ([0095]: “plurality of transmission antennas”);
a plurality of receiving antennas, configured to respectively receive a plurality of reflected signals to generate a plurality of radio frequency signals, wherein the reflected signals are generated by the transmission signal being reflected by an external object ([0095]: “Radar receiver 200 receives reflected wave signals, which are radar transmitter signals reflected by a target object”; “plurality of reception antennas”;);
a receiving circuit, configured to generate an internal signal based on the detection signal and the radio frequency signals ([0120]: “outputs the received reflected wave signal to corresponding antenna system processor 201 as a receiver signal”);
a selection controller, coupled to the transmitting circuit and configured to generate a control signal based a period of the detection signal ([0108]: “switching controller 105 outputs, to transmission switch 106, a control signal”); and
a selection circuit, coupled to the transmitting antennas, the transmitting circuit, and the selection controller and configured to select one of the transmitting antennas to transmit the transmission signal based on the control signal generated by the selection controller ([0108]: “switching controller 105 outputs, to transmission switch 106, a control signal (hereinafter referred to as a “switching control signal”) to switch between transmission antennas 108 (that is, transmission radio units 107) in each radar transmission period Tr.”),
wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods ([0108]: “each radar transmission period”),
wherein the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal … ([0108]: “switching controller 105 outputs, to transmission switch 106, a control signal (hereinafter referred to as a “switching control signal”) to switch between transmission antennas 108 (that is, transmission radio units 107) in each radar transmission period Tr.”),
Iwasa does not appear to specifically disclose: wherein the selection circuit is configured to select only one of the transmitting antennas and select only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time.
However, Wintermantel is in the field of radar transceivers and teaches: wherein one frame time comprises a plurality of transceiving periods (Wintermantel Fig. 2, showing k “frame times” comprising m “transceiving periods.”),
wherein the selection circuit is configured to, based on the one or more control signals, select only one of the transmitting antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to transmit the transmission signal and select only one of the receiving antennas respectively in each of the transceiving periods within the frame time to receive the reflected signal (Wintermantel [0059]: “in each case one of the two transmitter antennas and one of the 4 receiver antennas can be selected.”; Fig. 2, showing only one transmitting antenna and one receiving antenna is selected in each transceiving period.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to modify Iwasa and select only one transmission antenna and only one receiving antenna in each transceiving period, as taught by Wintermantel with a reasonable expectation of success. Selecting only one transmission antenna and only one receiving antenna is beneficial for improving accuracy and resolution of the angular measurement of a signal by temporally multiplexing the antennas (Wintermantel [0011-0015]). Additionally, modifying Iwasa to implement Wintermantel’s antenna switching method comprises application of a known technique to achieve a predictable result.
Conclusion
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NOAH Y. ZHU whose telephone number is (571)270-0170. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8AM-4PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William J. Kelleher can be reached on (571) 272-7753. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NOAH YI MIN ZHU/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/BRADY W FRAZIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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