DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claim 1 is amended.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jungmaier (US 20230258771) in view of Gulden (US 20220334217).
Regarding Claim 1, Jungmaier teaches the following limitations:
A method, comprising: transmitting, by a first radar transceiver integrated circuit (IC), a trigger signal; (Jungmaier – [0007] In accordance with an embodiment, a method for testing a millimeter-wave radar module includes: [0009] a millimeter-wave radar sensor integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the PCB; a switching power converter IC coupled to the millimeter-wave radar sensor IC via the PCB; and a test controller coupled to the millimeter-wave radar sensor IC via the PCB, the test controller configured to: perform a plurality of tests indicative of a performance level of the millimeter-wave radar module; compare respective results from the plurality of tests with corresponding test limits; and generate a flag when a result from a test of the plurality of test is outside the corresponding test limits, where performing the plurality of tests includes: transmitting a signal with a transmitting antenna coupled to the millimeter-wave radar sensor IC, modulating the transmitted signal with a test signal, and capturing first data from a first receiving antenna using an analog-to-digital converter of the millimeter-wave radar module, where generating the flag includes generating the flag based on the captured first data. Jungmaier does not explicitly teach “transceiver”.)
in response to the trigger signal, transmitting a chirp signal with a set frequency by the first radar transceiver IC; (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050] During normal operation, VCO 136 generates radar signals, such as a linear frequency chirps (e.g., from 57 GHz to 64 GHz, or from 76 GHz to 77 GHz, or other frequencies, e.g., between 20 GHz and 122 GHz or above), which are transmitted by transmitting antenna 114 towards scene 120. The VCO 136 is controlled by PLL 134, which receives a reference clock signal (e.g., 80 MHz) from reference oscillator 132. PLL 134 is controlled by a loop that includes frequency divider 138 and amplifier 140.)
in response to receiving the trigger signal and the chirp signal from the first radar transceiver IC, (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050])
generating, by at least one second radar transceiver IC, a local chirp signal that is parameterized by a sum of the set frequency and a frequency offset to down-convert the received chirp signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal; and (Jungmaier – [0051] The radar signals 106 transmitted by transmitting antenna 114 are reflected by objects in scene 120 and the reflected signals are received by receiving antenna 116. The received reflected radar signals 108 are mixed with replicas of the signals transmitted by transmitting antenna 114 using mixer 146 to produce intermediate frequency (IF) signals x.sub.IF(t) (also known as the beat signal). The beat signal x.sub.IF(t) is filtered with low-pass filter (LPF) 148 and then sampled by analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 112 to generate raw digital data x.sub.out_dig(n). [0053] Although FIG. 1 illustrates a radar system with one receiving antennas 116, it is understood that more than one receiving antenna 116, such as two, three, or more, may be used. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a radar system with a single transmitting antenna 114, it is understood that more than one transmitting antenna 114, such as two or more, may also be used. [0230] During step 3202, a test controller, such as controller 404, 604 or 704), injects a test tone into an output of a mixer (e.g., mixer 146). For example, in some embodiments, a 200 kHz sinewave is injected at an output of a mixer (e.g., mixer 146). Other frequencies (e.g., 250 kHz or higher, such as 400 kHz) and waveforms other than sinewaves (e.g., sawtooth wave) may also be used. In embodiments in which the mixer includes a gain stage, the test tone may be injected at the input of the gain stage of the mixer. In some embodiments, the test tone may be injected by modulating radar signals transmitted by a transmitting antenna (e.g., in a similar manner as in step 3002).)
determining a level of synchronization of the first radar transceiver IC with the at least one second radar transceiver IC based on comparing a beat frequency to the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0051], [0222] During step 3004, data from the transmitting antenna is compared with data from the receiving antenna to determine transmitter-receiver coupling. For example, in some embodiments, the power at the output of an ADC (e.g., ADC 112) is measured for a receiving antenna (e.g., 116) and compared with the power transmitted during step 3002 (which may be known, e.g., by design, or may be otherwise determined). If the measured power compared to the transmitted power is below a predetermined threshold, the test is considered a pass. Otherwise, the test is considered a fail.)
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094] A method in which at least two spatially separated transceiver units transmit and receive and possibly mix signals simultaneously,)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 2, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein generating the local chirp signal comprises generating the frequency offset in a frequency range between a high-pass filter cut-off frequency and a low-pass filter cut-off frequency. (Jungmaier – [0050], [0067] As another example, millimeter-wave radar sensor IC 202 may include LPF 148 and amplifier 218, e.g., so that the millimeter wave radar module does not include a dedicated IC for baseband amplifier and filtering. As yet another example, in some embodiments, baseband amplifier and filter IC may include a high-pass filter (HPF),)
Regarding Claim 3, 11, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC flags a functional safety error in response to the beat frequency exceeding the frequency range. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0222])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 4, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein generating the local chirp signal comprises: generating the local chirp signal by a frequency synthesizer of the at least one second radar transceiver IC. (Jungmaier – [0050])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 5, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein generating the local chirp signal by the frequency synthesizer is performed during a test mode. (Jungmaier – [0050], [0230])
Regarding Claim 6, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the beat frequency comprises a difference between the chirp signal that is received by the at least one second radar transceiver IC and the local chirp signal. (Jungmaier – [0051])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 7, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein comparing the beat frequency to the frequency offset comprises: determining a signal strength of the chirp signal that is received; and in response to the signal strength exceeding a power threshold, determine the beat frequency to compare to the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0051], [0222])
Regarding Claim 8, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein generating the local chirp signal occurs simultaneously to generation and transmission of the chirp signal. (Jungmaier – [0050] Jungmaier does not explicitly teach “generating the local chirp signal occurs simultaneously to generation and transmission of the chirp signal”.)
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
simultaneous generation (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 9, Jungmaier teaches the following limitations:
A radar system, comprising: at least one second radar transceiver integrated circuit (IC) (Jungmaier – [0009] Jungmaier does not explicitly teach “transceiver”.)
configured to receive a chirp signal transmitted from a first radar transceiver IC and (Jungmaier – [0050])
generate a local chirp signal parameterized by a set frequency and a frequency offset in response to receiving a trigger signal from the first radar transceiver IC to test a level of synchronization of the first radar transceiver IC with the at least one second radar transceiver IC based on comparing a beat frequency to the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0051], [0053], [0222], [0230])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 10, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC is further configured to: generate the frequency offset in a frequency range between a high-pass filter cut-off frequency and a low-pass filter cut-off frequency. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050], [0067])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 11, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC is further configured to: flag a functional safety error in response to the beat frequency exceeding the frequency range. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0053], [0222]
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 12, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC is further configured to: generate the local chirp signal by a frequency synthesizer. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 14, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC is further configured to: determine the beat frequency based on a difference between the chirp signal that is received and the local chirp signal. (Jungmaier – [0050], [0051])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 15, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the at least one second radar transceiver IC is further configured to: determine a signal strength of the chirp signal that is received; and in response to the signal strength exceeding a power threshold, determine the beat frequency to compare to the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0051], [0222])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 16, Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the first radar transceiver IC is cascaded with the at least one second radar transceiver IC. (Gulden – [0029] A signal received and transmitted by the respective transceiver unit is to be understood in particular as a signal which is transmitted from the respective (for example first) transceiver unit to another (for example second transceiver unit), wherein preferably the corresponding received signal is the signal originating from the other (for example second) transceiver unit. A first mixed signal is s.sub.1k,mix(t) preferably formed in the first transceiver unit. A second comparison signal, in particular mixed signal s.sub.2k,mix(t), is preferably formed in the second transceiver unit.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix transceiver signals (Gulden – [0029]).
Regarding Claims 17, Jungmaier teaches the following limitations:
A method, comprising: transmitting, by a first radar transceiver integrated circuit (IC), a trigger signal; (Jungmaier – [0007])
generating and transmitting a chirp signal based on a set frequency and determined by a first synthesizer of the first radar transceiver IC; (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050])
receiving, by a plurality of second radar transceiver ICs, the chirp signal and generating a local chirp signal based on the set frequency and a frequency offset using a second synthesizer of each of the plurality of second radar transceiver ICs in response to receiving the trigger signal from the first radar transceiver IC; and (Jungmaier – [0009], [0050], [0053])
flagging a functional error in response to a beat frequency being different from the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0051], [0222]
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 18, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein the trigger signal is transmitted prior to normal operation of the first radar transceiver IC and the plurality of second radar transceiver ICs, or after normal operation of the first radar transceiver IC and the plurality of second radar transceiver ICs. (Jungmaier – [0009], [0053])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Regarding Claim 19, Jungmaier further teaches:
further comprising: down-converting the chirp signal with the local chirp signal to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. (Jungmaier – [0051])
Regarding Claim 20, Jungmaier further teaches:
wherein flagging a functional error comprises: comparing the beat frequency at each of the plurality of second radar transceiver ICs to the frequency offset to determine a difference between the beat frequency and the frequency offset. (Jungmaier – [0051], [0053], [0222])
Jungmaier does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Gulden, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
transceiver (Gulden – [0094])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the transmission and reception of Jungmaier with the transceiver units of Gulden in order to mix signals simultaneously (Gulden – [0094]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 6-12, filed 03/12/2026, with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been fully considered and are not persuasive. Applicant argues, see page 7, that the Office action does not identify what is relied upon to recite “trigger signal”. The examiner disagrees, the “test signal” of Jungmaier clearly maps to the claimed “trigger signal” when considering the instant specification [Fig. 4], [0024] FIG.4 illustrates a plot 400 of execution of a testing mode during transmission of the trigger signal 108 in accordance with some embodiments. In the depicted example, the test mode, Tsync Test 401, is initiated in response to transmission of the trigger signal 108”. Since the test signal is modulated onto the transmitted signal, and each signal can generally be considered a chirp, a received signal is then mixed with a “replica of the signal transmitted” to generate what the applicant defines as a “local chirp” that is parameterized by the “linear frequency chirp modulated by the test signal (sum of a set frequency and frequency offset)” parameters. This mixing inherently involves a down conversion to produce a “beat signal” or “intermediate frequency (IF)” as described in Jungmaier [0051]. This understanding maps to the BRI of instant specification [0017] and seems to describe the same beat frequency modulation process.
Applicant argues, see pages 9-11, that “determining a level of synchronization of the first radar transceiver IC with the at least one second radar transceiver IC based on comparing a beat frequency to the frequency offset.” is not disclosed by Jungmaier. The examiner disagrees, data from the transmitting antenna includes the frequency offset of the test signal and the data from the receiving antenna includes the beat frequency. Since a beat frequency is generally a measurement of the synchronization of the transmitter signal and the receiver signal, a measured power compared to a transmitted power being below a predetermined threshold would map to “determining a level of synchronization”.
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 12, filed 03/12/2026, with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103 have been fully considered and are not persuasive. Applicant argues that the dependent claims are allowable due to the dependency on the independent claims. As noted above, the examiner maintains Jungmaier in view of Gulden teaches the independent claims and therefore the dependent claims remain rejected.
Applicant's remaining arguments amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims is understandable and distinguishable from other inventions.
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 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 BRANDON JAMES HENSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Resha H. Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDON JAMES HENSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Prosecution Insights