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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. EP23159736.0, filed on 03/02/2023.
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed 04/07/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-4, 6-11, 13-14, 16-19, and 21-22 are pending in the application, where claims 5, 12, 15, and 20 have been cancelled.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/07/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 102 rejection of claim 1, Applicant argues on pg. 7 of the Remarks,
“However, Yen does not disclose or otherwise render obvious a communication device including "a controller configured to switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the distance determination unit; and wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking," as recited in independent claim 1;”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Yen discloses a controller able to switch between communication modes if a distance threshold is exceeded or met. The communication modes can vary in range and distance accuracy. See the 102 rejection of claim 1 later in this office action for detailed citations of Yen.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 102 rejection of claim 13, Applicant argues on pg. 7 of the Remarks,
“Yen does not disclose …a communication device including a controller configured to "switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the ranging mode back to the first radar mode or into the second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the ultra-wideband communication unit; and wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking," as recited in independent claim 13;”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. A similar rejection of claim 1 is applied to claim 13. See 102 rejection of claim 13 included later in this office action for detailed citations from Yen.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 102 rejection of claim 14, Applicant argues on pg. 7 of the Remarks,
“Yen does not disclose… a method including "switching, by the controller, the ultra-wideband communication unit from a first radar mode into a ranging mode such that the ultra-wideband communication unit determines a distance between the communication device and an external device when the distance falls below a predefined threshold to provide a higher range resolution than the first radar mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking; and switching, by the controller, the ultra-wideband communication unit from the ranging mode back to the first radar mode or into a second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the ultra-wideband communication unit when the distance is greater than the predefined threshold," as recited in independent claim 14;”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As previously established, Yen discloses switching between communication ranging modes. Yen also discloses a distance threshold to determine the switching of the ranging mode. See the 102 rejection of claim 14 later in this office action for detailed citations of Yen.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 102 rejection of claim 16, Applicant argues on pgs. 7-8 of the Remarks,
“Yen does not disclose …and a method including "switching, by the controller, the ultra-wideband communication unit from a first radar mode into a second radar mode when in dependence on the distance determined by the distance determination unit falls below a predetermined threshold; and wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking," as recited in independent claim 16.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The same cited sections and rationale from claims 1 and 14 are applied to claim 16. As previously established, Yen discloses switching between communication ranging modes. Yen also discloses a distance threshold to determine the switching of the ranging mode. See the 102 rejection of claims 1 and 14 later in this office action for detailed citations of Yen.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments for the USC § 103 rejection of claim 7, Applicant argues on pg. 8 of the Remarks,
“However, the combination of Yen and Sethuraman does not disclose or otherwise render obvious a communication device including "a controller configured to switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the distance determination unit; and wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking," as recited in independent claim 1.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As previously established, Yen discloses a controller able to switch between communication modes based on detected distance. The communication modes can vary in range and distance accuracy. See the 102 rejection of claim 1 later in this office action for detailed citations of Yen.
For at least these reasons, Examiner is unpersuaded and maintains previous rejections corresponding to the USC § 102 rejection of claims 1, 13, 14, and 16. Yen discloses all the steps of the methods of claims 14 and 16, as well as the structure of devices of claims 1 and 13. The teachings of Yen are capable of carrying out the methods of claims 14 and 16. Therefore, the Examiner asserts that Yen et al. (US 20240361821 A1) discloses each and every limitation of independent claims 1, 13, 14, and 16 based on the broadest reasonable interpretation these claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-11, 13-14, 16-19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yen et al. (US 20240361821 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yen discloses
A communication device (see Fig. 1, electronic device 100 communicates with external device 108) comprising:
an ultra-wideband communication unit (see pg. 2, paragraph 0022, “the wireless transceiver may exchange data communications using a wireless connection such as…an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication”) configured to operate in a first radar mode and in a second radar mode (see Fig. 5B, various stages and working modes of the device);
a distance determination unit configured to determine a distance between the communication device and an external device (see Fig. 1; pg. 2, paragraph 0024, “processor 106 may monitor a distance between electronic device 100 and external device 108 via first wireless transceiver 102”); and
a controller configured to switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the distance determination unit (see Fig. 3A, distance determining and state controlling capabilities within device 300; pg. 6, paragraph 0070, “When the monitored distance is between second threshold 504 (e.g., 5 meters) and third threshold 506 (e.g., 30 centimeters), electronic device 400 may be operated in the third power state at stage 3. In an example third power state, electronic device 400 may be switched to a modern standby mode from the hibernated mode”); and
wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking (see pg. 2, paragraph 0022, “a device or circuit that is able to both transmit and receive the radio frequency signals through a transmission medium. The wireless transceiver may exchange data communications using a wireless connection such as a Bluetooth communication, an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, a Near-Field Communication (NFC), a Zigbee communication, an Infrared communication, or the like. In an example, first wireless transceiver 102 and second wireless transceiver 104 may be a Bluetooth transceiver and a UWB transceiver, respectively, to exchange wireless communications in accordance with a corresponding one of a Bluetooth communication protocol and a UWB communication protocol”; pg. 2, paragraph 0016, “In response to a determination that the monitored distance is less than a first threshold, the processor may establish a second wireless communication with the external device via the second wireless transceiver. The second wireless communication may have a property (e.g., a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like) different from the first wireless communication.”; pg. 3, paragraph 0026, “The first wireless communication may have a property different from the second wireless communication. An example property may include a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like. For example, the first wireless communication may be a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication that measures a signal strength of a received signal to estimate the distance and the second wireless communication may be an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication that measures a ToF of a received signal to estimate the distance.”; see pg. 6, paragraph 0070, “Further, in the third stage, the distance monitoring may be transferred from the BLE transceiver to the UWB transceiver. For example, the UWB technology may have an accuracy greater than the BLE technology to monitor the user's range. For example, the accuracy of UWB technology may be up to 30 centimeters, while the accuracy of the BLE technology may be up to 1 meter.”).
Regarding claim 2, Yen further discloses
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the distance determination unit is configured to determine said distance using ultra-wideband communication in a ranging mode, Wi- Fi communication or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication (see pg. 3, paragraph 0026, “For example, the first wireless communication may be a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication that measures a signal strength of a received signal to estimate the distance and the second wireless communication may be an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication that measures a ToF of a received signal to estimate the distance”).
Regarding claim 3, Yen further discloses
The communication device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the second radar mode if the distance determined by the distance determination unit falls below a predefined threshold (see Figs. 5A and 5B; pg. 5, paragraph 0058, “When the monitored distance is greater than a first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 508), processor 412 may operate electronic device 400 in a first power state. When the monitored distance is less than first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 510), processor 412 may transition electronic device 400 from the first power state to a second power state”).
Regarding claim 4, Yen further discloses
The communication device claim 1, wherein the first radar mode is a low-power mode and the second radar mode is a high-power mode (see pg. 5, paragraph 0055, “For example, processor 302 may detect that the user is static and place electronic device 300 into a low power state. In another example, processor 302 may detect that the user is actively moving towards electronic device 300 and transition electronic device 300 into a higher power state from the low power state”).
Regarding claim 6, Yen further discloses
The communication device claim 1, wherein the first radar mode involves operating the ultra-wideband communication unit at a first channel frequency and wherein the second radar mode involves operating the ultra-wideband communication unit at a second channel frequency (see pg. 2, paragraph 0022, “a device or circuit that is able to both transmit and receive the radio frequency signals through a transmission medium. The wireless transceiver may exchange data communications using a wireless connection such as a Bluetooth communication, an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, a Near-Field Communication (NFC), a Zigbee communication, an Infrared communication, or the like. In an example, first wireless transceiver 102 and second wireless transceiver 104 may be a Bluetooth transceiver and a UWB transceiver, respectively, to exchange wireless communications in accordance with a corresponding one of a Bluetooth communication protocol and a UWB communication protocol”).
Regarding claim 8, Yen further discloses
The communication device claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the second radar mode in dependence on location information, wherein said location information is indicative of the location of the external device (see Figs. 5A and 5B; device can switch between modes depending on distance to external device; pg. 5, paragraph 0058, “When the monitored distance is greater than a first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 508), processor 412 may operate electronic device 400 in a first power state. When the monitored distance is less than first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 510), processor 412 may transition electronic device 400 from the first power state to a second power state”).
Regarding claim 9, Yen further discloses
The communication device of claim 8, wherein said location information has been provided by one or more of the distance determination unit or one or more external localization devices (see pg. 2, paragraph 0024, “processor 106 may monitor a distance between electronic device 100 and external device 108 via first wireless transceiver 102”).
Regarding claim 10, Yen further discloses
A lighting device comprising: the communication device of claim 1 (see pg. 5, paragraph 0056, “An example display panel may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED), electro-luminescent (EL) display, or the like. In other examples, display housing 404 and base housing 402 may house other components such as a camera, audio/video devices, and the like, depending on the functions of electronic device 400”).
Regarding claim 11, Yen further discloses
A speaker comprising the communication device of claim 1 (see pg. 2, paragraph 0020, “Example electronic device 100 may include a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a gaming laptop, a convertible device, or any other computing device that can operate in multiple power states.”).
Regarding claim 13, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 1 are applied. Yen further discloses
an ultra-wideband communication unit configured to operate in a first radar mode, a second radar mode and a ranging mode (see pg. 2, paragraph 0016, “The second wireless communication may have a property (e.g., a distance detection range”);
a controller configured to:
switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the first radar mode into the ranging mode such that the ultra-wideband communication unit determines a distance between the communication device and an external device (see Fig. 5B; pg. 6, paragraph 0071, “When the monitored distance via the UWB transceiver is less than third threshold 506, a check may be made to determine whether a display panel of electronic device 400 is in an open position relative to a base of electronic device 400. When the display panel is in the open position, ToF camera 410 may be triggered to oversee the user's distance and range”; pg. 4, paragraph 0038, “the lower power state or the higher power state may be activated based on the monitored distance via wireless transceiver 202”);
switch the ultra-wideband communication unit from the ranging mode back to the first radar mode or into the second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the ultra-wideband communication unit (see Figs. 5A and 5B; device can switch between modes depending on distance to external device; pg. 5, paragraph 0058, “When the monitored distance is greater than a first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 508), processor 412 may operate electronic device 400 in a first power state. When the monitored distance is less than first threshold 502 (e.g., as shown by 510), processor 412 may transition electronic device 400 from the first power state to a second power state”); and
wherein the first radar mode is a low range resolution mode and the second radar mode is a high range resolution mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking (see pg. 2, paragraph 0022, “a device or circuit that is able to both transmit and receive the radio frequency signals through a transmission medium. The wireless transceiver may exchange data communications using a wireless connection such as a Bluetooth communication, an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, a Near-Field Communication (NFC), a Zigbee communication, an Infrared communication, or the like. In an example, first wireless transceiver 102 and second wireless transceiver 104 may be a Bluetooth transceiver and a UWB transceiver, respectively, to exchange wireless communications in accordance with a corresponding one of a Bluetooth communication protocol and a UWB communication protocol”; pg. 2, paragraph 0016, “In response to a determination that the monitored distance is less than a first threshold, the processor may establish a second wireless communication with the external device via the second wireless transceiver. The second wireless communication may have a property (e.g., a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like) different from the first wireless communication.”; pg. 3, paragraph 0026, “The first wireless communication may have a property different from the second wireless communication. An example property may include a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like. For example, the first wireless communication may be a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication that measures a signal strength of a received signal to estimate the distance and the second wireless communication may be an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication that measures a ToF of a received signal to estimate the distance.”; see pg. 6, paragraph 0070, “Further, in the third stage, the distance monitoring may be transferred from the BLE transceiver to the UWB transceiver. For example, the UWB technology may have an accuracy greater than the BLE technology to monitor the user's range. For example, the accuracy of UWB technology may be up to 30 centimeters, while the accuracy of the BLE technology may be up to 1 meter.”).
Regarding claim 14, the same cited sections and rationale from claim 13 are applied. The only difference between claim 13 and claim 14 is that claim 13 refers to an apparatus while claim 14 refers to a method. The examiner considers Yen pg. 1, paragraph 0009 (“FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram, depicting an example operation to return the electronic device of FIG. 4 to the working state from the power saving mode based on the monitored distance”) to show that the radar apparatus performs the radar method of claim 14.
Yen further discloses
A method of operating a communication device, the communication device comprising an ultra-wideband communication unit and a controller, and the method comprising:
switching, by the controller, the ultra-wideband communication unit from a first radar mode into a ranging mode such that the ultra-wideband communication unit determines a distance between the communication device and an external device when the distance falls below a predefined threshold to provide a higher range resolution than the first radar mode to increase accuracy of movement tracking (see pg. 2, paragraph 0016, “In response to a determination that the monitored distance is less than a first threshold, the processor may establish a second wireless communication with the external device via the second wireless transceiver. The second wireless communication may have a property (e.g., a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like) different from the first wireless communication.”; pg. 3, paragraph 0026, “The first wireless communication may have a property different from the second wireless communication. An example property may include a distance detection range, a power consumption, a distance detection accuracy, or the like. For example, the first wireless communication may be a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication that measures a signal strength of a received signal to estimate the distance and the second wireless communication may be an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication that measures a ToF of a received signal to estimate the distance.”); and
switching, by the controller, the ultra-wideband communication unit from the ranging mode back to the first radar mode or into a second radar mode in dependence on the distance determined by the ultra-wideband communication unit when the distance is greater than the predefined threshold (see pg. 2, paragraph 0017, “Furthermore, the processor may control the electronic device to operate in a first power state when the monitored distance is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and to operate in a second power state when the monitored distance is less than the first threshold.”).
Regarding claims 16, the same cited sections and rationale for claims 1 and 14 are applied.
Regarding claims 17-19, the same cited sections and rationale for claims 2-4 are applied. The only difference between claims 2-4 and claims 17-19 is that claims 2-4 refer to an apparatus while claims 17-19 refer to a method. The examiner considers Yen pg. 1, paragraph 0009 (“FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram, depicting an example operation to return the electronic device of FIG. 4 to the working state from the power saving mode based on the monitored distance”) to show that the radar apparatus performs the radar method of claims 17-19.
Regarding claim 21, the same cited sections and rationale for claim 6 are applied.
Regarding claim 22, Yen further discloses
A computer program comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a communication device, cause said communication device to carry out the method of claim 16 (see Fig. 3B, various instructions within machine-readable storage medium 304).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yen et al. (US 20240361821 A1) in view of Sethuraman (US 20240168128 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Sethuraman discloses
The communication device claim 1, wherein the first radar mode involves using a first radar code, in particular a code generated at a low pulse repetition frequency (LPRF) (see pg. 4, paragraph 0074, “To get to static object detection, a switch to a low PRF radar mode is done, where there is sufficient gap between pulses”), and wherein the second radar mode involves using a second radar code, in particular a code generated at a high pulse repetition frequency (HPRF) (see pg. 1, paragraph 0002, “For example, ultra-wide band technology may use the frequency spectrum of 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and may feature a high-frequency bandwidth of more than 500 MHz and very short pulse signals, resulting in high data rates”).
It would have been obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the features as disclosed by Sethuraman into the invention of Yen. Both Yen and Sethuraman are considered analogous arts to the claimed invention as they both disclose UWB communication devices that can detect movement and distance. Yen discloses the limitations of claim 1; however, Yen fails to disclose using a radar code at LPRF and at HPRF. This feature is disclosed by Sethuraman where the radar device may use LPRF and HPRF to send signals. The combination of Yen and Sethuraman would be obvious with a reasonable expectation of success in order to efficiently detect close distance static objects (see Sethuraman pg. 4, paragraph 0074) as well as further distanced moving objects with the same device to allow the device to track an object in multiple position and speed scenarios.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 ISABELLA A EDRADA whose telephone number is (571)272-4859. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 9am-5pm ET.
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, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at (571) 270-5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ISABELLA A EDRADA/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/BERNARR E GREGORY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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