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 .
Priority
Examiner acknowledges Applicant’s claim to priority benefits of IN202241069325 filed 12/1/2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 9/3/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed by the Examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/24/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Argument: Regarding independent claims 1, 4, 10 and 18, the applicant argues that, these claims, amended, describe a solution for coherently combining information gathered by multiple radars, which solution bypasses RF synchronization and instead uses IF signals or downstream ADC samples. Moreover, the information shared by the radars need not include angle of arrival information. Rather, angle of arrival is determined based on information from the multiple devices, which information is combined to determine angle of arrival. The applicant argues that Crouch discloses the sharing of point and beamforming data generated by each of multiple radar sensors, and there is no disclosure for each radar sensor providing range-Doppler spectral information without angle of arrival information, and then, after all such information has been shared, determining angle of arrival information with respect to one or more objects in a field of view.
Response: The examiner disagrees. Claim amendment has changed the scope of invention. Claim 1 is now rejected with Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1) and independent claims 1, 4, 10 and 18 are rejected with Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1), in view of Crouch et al. (US 2022/0099817 A1).
Amendment to claims 1, 4, 10 and 18 has been acknowledged.
Amendment to claims 1, 3-4 overcomes 112(b) rejections.
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 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.
For applicant’s benefit portions of the cited reference(s) have been cited to aid in the review of the rejection(s). While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection it is noted that the PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, INCLUDING DISCLOSURES THAT TEACH AWAY FROM THE CLAIMS. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
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.
Claims 1-2 and 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Roger et al. (‘134) anticipates “a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system (paragraph 30: Figure 2: FMCW radar), comprising:
a first FMCW device (Figure 4: 410-1 MMIC 1) that includes a first processor (paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry) configured to receive a first set of FMCW signals corresponding to a field of view (FOV), generate first intermediate frequency (IF) signals based on the first set of FMCW signals and first FMCW chirps transmitted by the first FMCW device (paragraph 49: the receive signal reflected from a target is conjugately mixed with the transmit signal to produce a low-frequency beat signal (also referred to as baseband signal)1, whose frequency gives the range of the target…this operation can be repeated for P consecutive FMCW pulses…two-dimensional (2D) waveforms 210 in Figure 2 depict successive reflected pulses arranged across two time indices p, n…the so-called slow time index p simply corresponds to the pulse number… the so-called fast time index n assumes that for each pulse, the corresponding continuous beat signal is sampled with frequency fs to collect N samples within a pulse duration T) and process the first IF signals, to generate a first set of range-Doppler spectral information (paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to process first receive signals from the first antennas (#1, #2, #3)….the radar-MMIC 410-1 includes three receive chains… each receive chain may include for example a low noise amplifier, a mixer2 and an analog-to-digital converter…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria; paragraph 59: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to determine, for each antenna (#1, #2, #3) associated with the first radar-MMIC 410-1, an antenna-specific range-Doppler map…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is further configured to generate the first range-Doppler map based on a linear combination of the antenna specific range-Doppler maps) without angle of arrival information (paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps. While the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required. Instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing. In this way, an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced); and
the second FMCW device configured to receive a second set of FMCW signals corresponding to the FOV, generate second IF signals based on the second set of FMCW signals and second FMCW chirps transmitted by the second FMCW device (paragraph 49: the receive signal reflected from a target is conjugately mixed with the transmit signal to produce a low-frequency beat signal (also referred to as baseband signal), whose frequency gives the range of the target…this operation can be repeated for P consecutive FMCW pulses…two-dimensional (2D) waveforms 210 in Figure 2 depict successive reflected pulses arranged across two indices p, n…the so-called slow time index p simply corresponds to the pulse number…the so-called fast time index n assumes that for each pulse, the corresponding continuous beat signal is sampled with frequency fs to collect N samples within a pulse duration T), and
process the second IF signals, to generate a second set of range-Doppler spectral information (paragraph 60: the second radar-MMIC 410-2 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a second range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) without angle of arrival information (paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps…while the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required. Instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing. In this way, an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced) second receive signals);
wherein the second FMCW device is configured to transmit the second set of range-Doppler spectral information to the first FMCW device (paragraph 63: cell or bin indices (p, n) of the detected first and/or second subregions can be forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420…bin indices of subregions of no interest (non-detected subregions) may be selected not to be forwarded to the common processor. In this way, communication bandwidth can be reduced and/or processing can be sped up, and the common processor may nonetheless reconstruct the detected subregions…whether the first, the second or both detected subregions are selected to be forwarded via the data interface 420 depends on the implementation of the common processor. …it may be sufficient to only forward information related to the first detected subregion(s) to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 if the second radar-MMIC 410-2 acts as the common processor…optionally, complex amplitude values associated with the bin indices of the detected first and/or second subregions can be additionally forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420; paragraph 74: the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 are then communicated to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 via the data interface 420…as indicated in Figure 7a, the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 can already be combined (logical OR) with detected range-Doppler map subregions of another radar-MMIC (not shown)…a cascade of various radar-MMICs can be implemented wherein each radar-MMIC detects respective subregions and forwards these to the next radar-MMIC of the cascade), and
wherein the first processor is configured to determine angle of arrival information with respect to one or more objects in the FOV in response to the first and second sets of range-Doppler spectral information (paragraph 63: this can be done across all antennas of the respective radar-MMIC such that a discrete Fourier transform (FFT) on the detected subregions can be performed at a later stage for angle estimation; paragraph 64: based on the one or more combined subregions and additional phase information (across antennas) associated with the one or more combined subregions a third discrete Fourier transform across antennas for directional or angular processing can then be performed; Figure 6a; paragraph 74: the communication master can generate a final binary map at 750-2 indicating the final detected subregion(s) by combining the received binary map with its own binary map…this information on the final detected subregions indicated by the final binary map may then be distributed to each of the MMICs with a request to extract and send the related phase information (and amplitude information) to the communication master at 765-1…the communication master may then either calculate the angular FFT or send the data to an external ECU for calculating the angular FFT at 770-2).”
Regarding claim 2, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Roger et al. (‘134) anticipates the FMCW radar system of claim 1. Roger et al. (‘134) further anticipates “the first and second sets of range-Doppler spectral information are generated using one or more of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Bartlett Beamformer, or Minimum Variance Distortion less Response (MVDR) Beamformer (paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria…the predetermined criteria can comprise amplitude or energy levels of range-Doppler map FFT bins above or below a predefined threshold; paragraph 67: Multiple of such FFT spectra or range-Doppler maps, each associated with a respective receive antenna, can be coherently or non-coherently integrated in each of the first and second radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2).”
Regarding independent claim 4, Roger et al. (‘134) anticipates “a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system (paragraph 30: Figure 2: FMCW radar), comprising:
a first FMCW device (paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry), the first FMCW device including:
a first FMCW synthesizer (Figure 8a: Device #1 410-1, 1xLO-in (1x LO-out), Ramp gen. +clock; paragraph 20: FMCW LO signal of the first radar-IC) configured to generate first FMCW chirps (paragraph 49: transmits periodic FM pulses (also referred to as chirps or ramps), whose frequency increases linearly during the pulse);3
multiple transmitters (Figure1) configured to transmit the first FMCW chirps into a field of view (FOV) (paragraph 56: one of the MMIC chips can serve as a master and provide a system clock for clock synchronization, a trigger signal to provide a pulse start signal, and a high-frequency signal for phase synchronization, etc. …the other MMIC chips (slaves) provide additional transmission/reception channels for the radar system; paragraph 59: the first radar-MMIC 410-1…each of the first receive signals stems from a different antenna of the first antennas (#1, #2, #3));
multiple receivers configured to receive signals from the FOV based on the first FMCW chirps and generate first intermediate frequency (IF) signals (paragraph 49: the receive signal reflected from a target is conjugately mixed with the transmit signal to produce a low-frequency beat signal (also referred to as baseband signal)4, whose frequency gives the range of the target…this operation can be repeated for P consecutive FMCW pulses…two-dimensional (2D) waveforms 210 in Figure 2 depict successive reflected pulses arranged across two time indices p, n…the so-called slow time index p simply corresponds to the pulse number… the so-called fast time index n assumes that for each pulse, the corresponding continuous beat signal is sampled with frequency fs to collect N samples within a pulse duration T); and
a first processor configured to process the first IF signals, independently of a second FMCW device, to generate a first set of virtual antenna array signals (paragraph 71: each radar-MMIC 410-1, 410-2 is coupled to 8 receive antennas…thus, a virtual antenna array of 8 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas can be formed by using the radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2; paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to process first receive signals from the first antennas (#1, #2, #3)….the radar-MMIC 410-1 includes three receive chains… each receive chain may include for example a low noise amplifier, a mixer5 and an analog-to-digital converter…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria; paragraph 59: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to determine, for each antenna (#1, #2, #3) associated with the first radar-MMIC 410-1, an antenna-specific range-Doppler map…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is further configured to generate the first range-Doppler map based on a linear combination of the antenna specific range-Doppler maps) without angle of arrival information (paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps. While the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required…instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing…an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced); and
the second FMCW device (Figure 4: 410-2 MMIC2) configured to communicate with the first FMCW device (paragraph 63: cell or bin indices (p, n) of the detected first and/or second subregions can be forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420…bin indices of subregions of no interest (non-detected subregions) may be selected not to be forwarded to the common processor. In this way, communication bandwidth can be reduced and/or processing can be sped up, and the common processor may nonetheless reconstruct the detected subregions…whether the first, the second or both detected subregions are selected to be forwarded via the data interface 420 depends on the implementation of the common processor. …it may be sufficient to only forward information related to the first detected subregion(s) to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 if the second radar-MMIC 410-2 acts as the common processor…optionally, complex amplitude values associated with the bin indices of the detected first and/or second subregions can be additionally forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420; paragraph 74: the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 are then communicated to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 via the data interface 420…as indicated in Figure 7a, the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 can already be combined (logical OR) with detected range-Doppler map subregions of another radar-MMIC (not shown)…a cascade of various radar-MMICs can be implemented wherein each radar-MMIC detects respective subregions and forwards these to the next radar-MMIC of the cascade), the second FMCW device including: a second FMCW synthesizer (Figure 8a: Device #2 410-2, 1xLO-in (1x LO-out), Ramp gen. +clock; paragraph 20: FMCW LO signal of the second radar-IC) configured to generate second FMCW chirps (paragraph 49: transmits periodic FM pulses (also referred to as chirps or ramps), whose frequency increases linearly during the pulse);6
multiple transmitters (Figure1) configured to transmit the second FMCW chirps into the FOV (paragraph 56: one of the MMIC chips can serve as a master and provide a system clock for clock synchronization, a trigger signal to provide a pulse start signal, and a high-frequency signal for phase synchronization, etc. …the other MMIC chips (slaves) provide additional transmission/reception channels for the radar system; paragraph 60: the second radar-MMIC 410-2 is configured to process second receive signals from second antennas (#4, #5, #6) of the antenna array 414);
multiple receivers configured to receive signals from the FOV based on the second FMCW chirps and generate second IF signals (paragraph 49: the receive signal reflected from a target is conjugately mixed with the transmit signal to produce a low-frequency beat signal (also referred to as baseband signal), whose frequency gives the range of the target…this operation can be repeated for P consecutive FMCW pulses…two-dimensional (2D) waveforms 210 in Figure 2 depict successive reflected pulses arranged across two indices p, n…the so-called slow time index p simply corresponds to the pulse number…the so-called fast time index n assumes that for each pulse, the corresponding continuous beat signal is sampled with frequency fs to collect N samples within a pulse duration T); and
a second processor configured to process the second IF signals, independently of the first FMCW device processing the first IF signals, to generate a second set of virtual antenna array signals without angle of arrival information (paragraph 71: each radar-MMIC 410-1, 410-2 is coupled to 8 receive antennas. Thus, a virtual antenna array of 8 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas can be formed by using the radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2; paragraph 60: the second radar-MMIC 410-2 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a second range-Doppler map based on the (sampled); paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps…while the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required. Instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing. In this way, an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced) second receive signals);7;
wherein the second FMCW device is configured to transmit the second set of virtual antenna array signals to the first FMCW device (paragraph 71: each radar-MMIC 410-1, 410-2 is coupled to 8 receive antennas…thus a virtual antenna array of 8 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas can be formed by using the radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2; paragraph 63: cell or bin indices (p, n) of the detected first and/or second subregions can be forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420…bin indices of subregions of no interest (non-detected subregions) may be selected not to be forwarded to the common processor. In this way, communication bandwidth can be reduced and/or processing can be sped up, and the common processor may nonetheless reconstruct the detected subregions…whether the first, the second or both detected subregions are selected to be forwarded via the data interface 420 depends on the implementation of the common processor. …it may be sufficient to only forward information related to the first detected subregion(s) to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 if the second radar-MMIC 410-2 acts as the common processor…optionally, complex amplitude values associated with the bin indices of the detected first and/or second subregions can be additionally forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420; paragraph 74: the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 are then communicated to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 via the data interface 420…as indicated in Figure 7a, the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 can already be combined (logical OR) with detected range-Doppler map subregions of another radar-MMIC (not shown)…a cascade of various radar-MMICs can be implemented wherein each radar-MMIC detects respective subregions and forwards these to the next radar-MMIC of the cascade); and
wherein the first FMCW device is configured to use the first and second sets of virtual antenna array signals to determine angle of arrival information with respect to one or more objects in the FOV(paragraph 63: this can be done across all antennas of the respective radar-MMIC such that a discrete Fourier transform (FFT) on the detected subregions can be performed at a later stage for angle estimation; paragraph 64: Based on the one or more combined subregions and additional phase information (across antennas) associated with the one or more combined subregions a third discrete Fourier transform across antennas for directional or angular processing can then be performed; Figure 6a; paragraph 74: the communication master can generate a final binary map at 750-2 indicating the final detected subregion(s) by combining the received binary map with its own binary map…this information on the final detected subregions indicated by the final binary map may then be distributed to each of the MMICs with a request to extract and send the related phase information (and amplitude information) to the communication master at 765-1. The communication master may then either calculate the angular FFT or send the data to an external ECU for calculating the angular FFT at 770-2).”
Regarding claim 5, which is dependent on claim 4, Roger et al. (‘134) anticipates the FMCW radar system of claim 4. Roger et al. (‘134) further anticipates “a shared reference clock circuit configured to couple to the first FMCW device and to the second FMCW device, the shared reference clock circuit configured to generate a reference clock signal and to provide the reference clock signal to the first and second FMCW devices (paragraph 78: the radar-MMIC 410-2 provides is local oscillator (LO) signal as synchronization signal to the other radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-3, and 810-4. ..all radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2, 410-3, and 810-4 are connected via SPI…while radar-MMIC 410-3 acts as SPI master, the others act as SPI slaves…a communication cascade reaches from radar-MMIC 410-1 via radar-MIMIC 410-2 to radar-MMIC 410-3);
wherein the first FMCW device and the second FMCW device are both configured to use the reference clock signal to determine one or more of: a start frequency of respective FMCW chirps, a chirp slope of respective FMCW chirps, respective analog-to-digital converter (ADC) start times, or respective inter-chirp times (paragraph 56: one of the MMIC chips can serve as a master and provide a system clock for clock synchronization, a trigger signal to provide a pulse start signal, and a high-frequency signal for phase synchronization, etc. …the other MMIC chips (slaves) provide additional transmission/reception channels for the radar system).”
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.
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.
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1), and further in view of Breddermann et al. (US 2021/0293949 A1).
Regarding claim 3, which is dependent on independent claim 1, Roger et al. (‘134) discloses the FMCW radar system of claim 1. Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “the second processor is configured to perform Doppler compensation with respect to a deliberately included difference in transmission time between the first FMCW chirps corresponding to the first set of range-Doppler spectral information and the second FMCW chirps corresponding to the second set of range-Doppler spectral information.”
Breddermann et al. (‘949) relates to radar detection system. Breddermann et al. (‘949) teaches “the second processor is configured to perform Doppler compensation with respect to a deliberately included difference in transmission time between the first FMCW chirps corresponding to the first set of range-Doppler spectral information and the second FMCW chirps corresponding to the second set of range-Doppler spectral information (paragraph 15: the first detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the first transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the first transmit antenna and the first radar signal…the second detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the second transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the second transmit antenna and the second radar signal…the detection information can be divided into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the first receive antenna and into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the second, third receive antenna, etc. …these combinations thus result in M.Math.K detection information, which can be converted by the Fourier transform into a spectrum, also referred to as a range-Doppler map or an RV image (range-velocity)…the respective transmitted radar signal can have multiple frequency-modulated ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B…in this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna Tx as the respective radar signal; paragraph 16: the transit time differences between the transmit antennas, just like the transit time differences between the receive antennas, lead to phase differences that correspond to the angle of reflection or arrival; paragraph 17: the value Δφ can be added to the existing phase differences in the detection information (or the spectrum resulting therefrom); paragraph 42: Figure 5: the transmission of radar signals 221, 222 over the time t and with the schematic representation of the frequency f…the particular transmitted radar signal 221, 222 can have rapid ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B. In this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna 21, 22; paragraph 43; Figure 5).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Breddermann et al. (‘949) for improved radar detection (Breddermann et al. (‘949) – paragraph 5). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Breddermann et al. (‘949)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Claims 6-11 and 13-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1), and further in view of Crouch et al. (US 2022/0099817 A1).
Regarding claim 6, which is dependent on claim 4, Roger et al. (‘134) discloses the FMCW radar system of claim 4. Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “the first FMCW synthesizer includes a reference signal generator configured to generate a first reference clock signal, the first FMCW synthesizer configured to generate the first FMCW chirps in response to the first reference clock signal; and wherein the second FMCW device includes a reference signal generator configured to generate a second reference clock signal, the second FMCW synthesizer configured to generate the second FMCW chirps in response to the second reference clock signal .”
Crouch et al. (‘817) relates to radar system. Crouch et al. (‘817) teaches “the first FMCW synthesizer includes a reference signal generator configured to generate a first reference clock signal, the first FMCW synthesizer configured to generate the first FMCW chirps in response to the first reference clock signal; and wherein the second FMCW device includes a reference signal generator configured to generate a second reference clock signal, the second FMCW synthesizer configured to generate the second FMCW chirps in response to the second reference clock signal (paragraph 54: in the transmit channel of transceiver 202A as illustrated in F 4, a local oscillator (LO) 230 generates an FMCW radio frequency (RF) signal, e.g., in the range of 76 GHz to 81 GHz…the FMCW RF signal is amplified by an amplifier 232 to drive a transmit antenna 206A…the frequency of LO 230 is determined by a modulator block 234, which is capable of frequency modulating LO 230 to effectively generate pulsed signals or sweep signals referred to as chirps, e.g., using sawtooth or another form of frequency modulation…control over modulator block 234 may be provided by a controller 236, which in some instances may be controller 204, while in other instances may be other control logic, e.g., as may be integrated into transceiver 202A; paragraph 73: in some implementations, the radar sensors lack a common LO signal or clock signal, and in some implementations, the radar sensors may be completely separate units that operate independently and generate independent outputs that may be synthesized to form the distributed aperture, e.g., using a controller that is separate from any of the radar sensors…thus, the radar sensors may be considered to operate using separate local oscillators and separate clocks; Figure 4; Figure 7).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Crouch et al. (‘817) for improved radar detection (Crouch et al. (‘817) – paragraph 4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Crouch et al. (‘817)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding claim 7, which is dependent on claim 6, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses the FMCW radar system of claim 6. Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “the first FMCW device is configured to transmit a start time and an end time to the second FMCW device; and wherein the second FMCW device is configured to, in response to a number of clock cycles between the start time and the end time, determine one or more of: a start frequency of respective FMCW chirps, a chirp slope of respective FMCW chirps, respective analog-to-digital converter (ADC) start times, or respective inter-chirp times.”
Crouch et al. (‘817) relates to radar system. Crouch et al. (‘817) teaches “the first FMCW device is configured to transmit a start time and an end time to the second FMCW device; and wherein the second FMCW device is configured to, in response to a number of clock cycles between the start time and the end time, determine one or more of: a start frequency of respective FMCW chirps, a chirp slope of respective FMCW chirps, respective analog-to-digital converter (ADC) start times, or respective inter-chirp times (paragraph 72: the temporal relationship between different radar sensor is desirably controlled, e.g. by using a trigger signal or other synchronization signal (e.g., a Precision Time Protocol (PIP) signal) that synchronizes one or both of the sensing frames and chirps emitted by the radar sensors; paragraph 54: the frequency of LO 230 is determined by a modulator block 234, which is capable of frequency modulating LO 230 to effectively generate pulsed signals or sweep signals referred to as chirps, e.g., using sawtooth or another form of frequency modulation…control over modulator block 234 may be provided by a controller 236, which in some instances may be controller 204, while in other instances may be other control logic, e.g., as may be integrated into transceiver 202A…controller 236 may be used to control various parameters of the chirps, e.g., start frequency, phase, chirp rate, etc., as well as to trigger the initiation of a chirp; paragraph 69: the controller may be integrated wholly…into one or more of the radar sensors 302A, 302B).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Crouch et al. (‘817) for improved radar detection (Crouch et al. (‘817) – paragraph 4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Crouch et al. (‘817)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding claim 8, which is dependent on claim 7, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses the FMCW radar system of claim 6. Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “the start time and the end time correspond to Ethernet-PTP timestamps.”
Crouch et al. (‘817) relates to radar system. Crouch et al. (‘817) teaches “the start time and the end time correspond to Ethernet-PTP timestamps “the start time and the end time correspond to Ethernet-PTP timestamps (paragraph 72: the temporal relationship between different radar sensors is also desirably controlled, e.g. by using a trigger signal or other synchronization signal (e.g., a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) signal) that synchronizes one or both of the sensing frames).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Crouch et al. (‘817) for improved radar detection (Crouch et al. (‘817) – paragraph 4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Crouch et al. (‘817)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding claim 9, which is dependent on claim 4, Roger et al. (‘134) discloses the FMCW radar system of claim 4. Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “the first FMCW device is configured to provide a synchronization pulse to the second FMCW device; and wherein the second FMCW device is configured to determine a data frame start time in response to the synchronization pulse.”
Crouch et al. (‘817) relates to radar system. Crouch et al. (‘817) teaches “the first FMCW device is configured to provide a synchronization pulse to the second FMCW device; and wherein the second FMCW device is configured to determine a data frame start time in response to the synchronization pulse (paragraph 72: the temporal relationship between different radar sensors is also desirably controlled, e.g., by using a trigger signal…that synchronizes one or both of the sensing frames and chirps emitted by the radar sensors).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Crouch et al. (‘817) for improved radar detection (Crouch et al. (‘817) – paragraph 4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Crouch et al. (‘817)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding independent claim 10, which is a corresponding method claim of system claim 4 and system claim 6 combined, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses all the claimed invention as shown above for claims 4 and 6 combined.
Regarding claim 11, which is dependent on independent claim 10, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses the method of claim 10. Roger et al. (‘134) further discloses “the first set of virtual antenna array signals includes a first range-Doppler spectral estimation; and wherein the second set of virtual antenna array signals includes a second range-Doppler spectral estimation (paragraph 58: The first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria. For example, the predetermined criteria can comprise amplitude or energy levels of range-Doppler map FFT bins above or below a predefined threshold; paragraph 67: Multiple of such FFT spectra or range-Doppler maps, each associated with a respective receive antenna, can be coherently or non-coherently integrated in each of the first and second radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2).”
Regarding claim 13, which is dependent on independent claim 10, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses method of claim 10. Roger et al. (‘134) further discloses “a shared reference clock circuit configured to couple to the first FMCW device and to the second FMCW device, the shared reference clock circuit configured to generate a reference clock signal and to provide the reference clock signal to the first and second FMCW devices (paragraph 78: the radar-MMIC 410-2 provides is local oscillator (LO) signal as synchronization signal to the other radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-3, and 810-4...all radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2, 410-3, and 810-4 are connected via SPI…while radar-MMIC 410-3 acts as SPI master, the others act as SPI slaves…a communication cascade reaches from radar-MMIC 410-1 via radar-MIMIC 410-2 to radar-MMIC 410-3);
wherein the first FMCW device and the second FMCW device are both configured to use the reference clock signal to determine one or more of: a start frequency of respective FMCW chirps, a chirp slope of respective FMCW chirps, respective analog-to-digital converter (ADC) start times, or respective inter-chirp times (paragraph 56: one of the MMIC chips can serve as a master and provide a system clock for clock synchronization, a trigger signal to provide a pulse start signal, and a high-frequency signal for phase synchronization, etc. …the other MMIC chips (slaves) provide additional transmission/reception channels for the radar system).”
Regarding claim 14, which is dependent on independent claim 10, and which is a corresponding method claim of system claim 6, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses all the claimed invention as shown above for claim 6.
Regarding claim 15, which is dependent on claim 14, and which is a corresponding method claim of system claim 7, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses all the claimed invention as shown above for claim 7.
Regarding claim 16, which is dependent on claim 15, and which is a corresponding method claim of system claim 8, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses all the claimed invention as shown above for claim 8.
Regarding claim 17, which is dependent on independent claim 10, and which is a corresponding method claim of system claim 9, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses all the claimed invention as shown above for claim 9.
Regarding independent claim 18, Crouch et al. (‘817) anticipates “a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar (paragraph 30: Figure 2: FMCW radar), comprising:
a reference clock configured to generate a reference clock signal (paragraph 78: the radar-MMIC 410-2 provides is local oscillator (LO) signal as synchronization signal to the other radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-3, and 810-4...all radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2, 410-3, and 810-4 are connected via SPI…while radar-MMIC 410-3 acts as SPI master, the others act as SPI slaves…a communication cascade reaches from radar-MMIC 410-1 via radar-MIMIC 410-2 to radar-MMIC 410-3);
wherein the first FMCW device and the second FMCW device are both configured to use the reference clock signal to determine one or more of: a start frequency of respective FMCW chirps, a chirp slope of respective FMCW chirps, respective analog-to-digital converter (ADC) start times, or respective inter-chirp times (paragraph 56: one of the MMIC chips can serve as a master and provide a system clock for clock synchronization, a trigger signal to provide a pulse start signal, and a high-frequency signal for phase synchronization, etc. …the other MMIC chips (slaves) provide additional transmission/reception channels for the radar system)”,
“receive the FMCW signal samples (paragraph 49: the receive signal reflected from a target is conjugately mixed with the transmit signal to produce a low-frequency beat signal (also referred to as baseband signal)8, whose frequency gives the range of the target…this operation can be repeated for P consecutive FMCW pulses…two-dimensional (2D) waveforms 210 in Figure 2 depict successive reflected pulses arranged across two time indices p, n…the so-called slow time index p simply corresponds to the pulse number… the so-called fast time index n assumes that for each pulse, the corresponding continuous beat signal is sampled with frequency fs to collect N samples within a pulse duration T);
determine a first set of virtual antenna signals in response to the FMCW signal samples (paragraph 71: each radar-MMIC 410-1, 410-2 is coupled to 8 receive antennas…thus, a virtual antenna array of 8 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas can be formed by using the radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2; paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to process first receive signals from the first antennas (#1, #2, #3)….the radar-MMIC 410-1 includes three receive chains… each receive chain may include for example a low noise amplifier, a mixer9 and an analog-to-digital converter…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria; paragraph 59: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is configured to determine, for each antenna (#1, #2, #3) associated with the first radar-MMIC 410-1, an antenna-specific range-Doppler map…the first radar-MMIC 410-1 is further configured to generate the first range-Doppler map based on a linear combination of the antenna specific range-Doppler maps);
the first set of virtual antenna signals including range and Doppler information without angle of arrival information (paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps. While the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required. Instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing. In this way, an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced);
receive a second set of virtual antenna signals from the another FMCW radar (paragraph 60: the second radar-MMIC 410-2 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a second range-Doppler map based on the (sampled); paragraph 9: the present disclosure proposes a distributed signal processing of first and second receive signals of a common antenna array…the first receive signals are processed by the first radar IC, while the second signals are processed by the second radar IC to obtain respective range-Doppler maps…while the first and second radar ICs compute their respective 2D range-Doppler maps and the subregions of interest independently, the spatial or angular information inherent in the receive signals of the antenna array cannot be estimated independently since information indicative of phases of both the first and the second receive signals (phase progression across the first and second antennas of the antenna array) is required. Instead of exchanging raw receive data via the data interface, the present disclosure proposes to compute respective 2D range-Doppler maps in the first and second radar-ICs independently, to detect first and second subregions of interest based on coherent integration or non-coherent integration of the respective range-Doppler maps, and to then exchange information indicative of the detected first and second range-Doppler map subregions of interest together with phase information for further (for example, external) spatial or angular processing…in this way, an amount of data that is shared over the data interface can be significantly reduced) second receive signals; paragraph 71: each radar-MMIC 410-1, 410-2 is coupled to 8 receive antennas…thus a virtual antenna array of 8 transmit antennas and 16 receive antennas can be formed by using the radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2; paragraph 63: cell or bin indices (p, n) of the detected first and/or second subregions can be forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420…bin indices of subregions of no interest (non-detected subregions) may be selected not to be forwarded to the common processor. In this way, communication bandwidth can be reduced and/or processing can be sped up, and the common processor may nonetheless reconstruct the detected subregions…whether the first, the second or both detected subregions are selected to be forwarded via the data interface 420 depends on the implementation of the common processor. …it may be sufficient to only forward information related to the first detected subregion(s) to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 if the second radar-MMIC 410-2 acts as the common processor…optionally, complex amplitude values associated with the bin indices of the detected first and/or second subregions can be additionally forwarded to the common processor via the data interface 420; paragraph 74: the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 are then communicated to the second radar-MMIC 410-2 via the data interface 420…as indicated in Figure 7a, the detected range-Doppler map subregions of the first radar-MMIC 410-1 can already be combined (logical OR) with detected range-Doppler map subregions of another radar-MMIC (not shown)…a cascade of various radar-MMICs can be implemented wherein each radar-MMIC detects respective subregions and forwards these to the next radar-MMIC of the cascade)); and
determine an angle of arrival in response to the first and second sets of virtual antenna signals (paragraph 63: this can be done across all antennas of the respective radar-MMIC such that a discrete Fourier transform (FFT) on the detected subregions can be performed at a later stage for angle estimation; paragraph 64: Based on the one or more combined subregions and additional phase information (across antennas) associated with the one or more combined subregions a third discrete Fourier transform across antennas for directional or angular processing can then be performed; Figure 6a; paragraph 74: the communication master can generate a final binary map at 750-2 indicating the final detected subregion(s) by combining the received binary map with its own binary map. This information on the final detected subregions indicated by the final binary map may then be distributed to each of the MMICs with a request to extract and send the related phase information (and amplitude information) to the communication master at 765-1. The communication master may then either calculate the angular FFT or send the data to an external ECU for calculating the angular FFT at 770-2).”
Roger et al. (‘134) does not explicitly disclose “an analog to digital converter (ADC) configured to receive FMCW signals, and to sample the FMCW signals in response to the reference clock signal to generate FMCW signal samples; and a processor configured to: provide a start time and an end time to another FMCW radar in response to the reference clock signal.”
Crouch et al. (‘817) relates to radar system. Crouch et al. (‘817) teaches “an analog to digital converter (ADC) configured to receive FMCW signals, and to sample the FMCW signals in response to the reference clock signal to generate FMCW signal samples (paragraph 55: the mixed signal is filtered by a filter 242 and digitized by an analog to digital converter (ADC) 244 to generate a stream of digital signals; Figure 5: 244 ADC); and
a processor configured to: provide a start time and an end time to another FMCW radar in response to the reference clock signal (paragraph 72: the temporal relationship between different radar sensor is desirably controlled, e.g. by using a trigger signal or other synchronization signal (e.g., a Precision Time Protocol (PIP) signal) that synchronizes one or both of the sensing frames and chirps emitted by the radar sensors; paragraph 54: the frequency of LO 230 is determined by a modulator block 234, which is capable of frequency modulating LO 230 to effectively generate pulsed signals or sweep signals referred to as chirps, e.g., using sawtooth or another form of frequency modulation…control over modulator block 234 may be provided by a controller 236, which in some instances may be controller 204, while in other instances may be other control logic, e.g., as may be integrated into transceiver 202A…controller 236 may be used to control various parameters of the chirps, e.g., start frequency, phase, chirp rate, etc., as well as to trigger the initiation of a chirp; paragraph 69: the controller may be integrated wholly…into one or more of the radar sensors 302A, 302B);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the FMCW radar system of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Crouch et al. (‘817) for improved radar detection (Crouch et al. (‘817) – paragraph 4). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Crouch et al. (‘817)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Claim 12 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roger et al. (US 2020/0341134 A1)/Crouch et al. (US 2022/0099817 A1), and further in view of Breddermann et al. (US 2021/0293949 A1).
Regarding claim 12, which is dependent on independent claim 10, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses the method of claim 10. Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) does not explicitly disclose “performing, using the second FMCW device, Doppler compensation with respect to a deliberately included difference in transmission time between the first FMCW chirps corresponding to the first set of virtual antenna array signals and the second FMCW chirps corresponding to the second set of virtual antenna array signals.”
Breddermann et al. (‘949) relates to radar detection system. Breddermann et al. (‘949) teaches “performing, using the second FMCW device, Doppler compensation with respect to a deliberately included difference in transmission time between the first FMCW chirps corresponding to the first set of virtual antenna array signals and the second FMCW chirps corresponding to the second set of virtual antenna array signals (paragraph 15: the first detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the first transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the first transmit antenna and the first radar signal…the second detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the second transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the second transmit antenna and the second radar signal…the detection information can be divided into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the first receive antenna and into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the second, third receive antenna, etc. …these combinations thus result in M.Math.K detection information, which can be converted by the Fourier transform into a spectrum, also referred to as a range-Doppler map or an RV image (range-velocity)…the respective transmitted radar signal can have multiple frequency-modulated ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B…in this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna Tx as the respective radar signal; paragraph 16: the transit time differences between the transmit antennas, just like the transit time differences between the receive antennas, lead to phase differences that correspond to the angle of reflection or arrival; paragraph 17: the value Δφ can be added to the existing phase differences in the detection information (or the spectrum resulting therefrom); paragraph 42: Figure 5: the transmission of radar signals 221, 222 over the time t and with the schematic representation of the frequency f…the particular transmitted radar signal 221, 222 can have rapid ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B. In this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna 21, 22; paragraph 43; Figure 5).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Roger et al. (‘134) with the teaching of Breddermann et al. (‘949) for improved radar detection (Breddermann et al. (‘949) – paragraph 5). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Crouch et al. (‘817) and Breddermann et al. (‘949)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding claim 19, which is dependent on independent claim 18, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) discloses the frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar of claim 18. Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) does not explicitly disclose “the first set of virtual antenna signals include a first set of range-Doppler spectral estimations corresponding to the FMCW signal samples, and the second set of virtual antenna signals include a second set of range-Doppler spectral estimations that do not correspond to the FMCW signal samples.”
Breddermann et al. (‘949) relates to radar detection system. Breddermann et al. (‘949) teaches “the first set of virtual antenna signals include a first set of range-Doppler spectral estimations corresponding to the FMCW signal samples, and the second set of virtual antenna signals include a second set of range-Doppler spectral estimations that do not correspond to the FMCW signal samples (paragraph 15: the first detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the first transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the first transmit antenna and the first radar signal…the second detection information results in particular from received radar signals transmitted by the second transmit antenna and are therefore specific for the second transmit antenna and the second radar signal…the detection information can be divided into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the first receive antenna and into information resulting from a received radar signal that was received by the second, third receive antenna, etc. …these combinations thus result in M.Math.K detection information, which can be converted by the Fourier transform into a spectrum, also referred to as a range-Doppler map or an RV image (range-velocity)…the respective transmitted radar signal can have multiple frequency-modulated ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B…in this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna Tx as the respective radar signal; paragraph 16: the transit time differences between the transmit antennas, just like the transit time differences between the receive antennas, lead to phase differences that correspond to the angle of reflection or arrival; paragraph 17: the value Δφ can be added to the existing phase differences in the detection information (or the spectrum resulting therefrom); paragraph 42: Figure 5: the transmission of radar signals 221, 222 over the time t and with the schematic representation of the frequency f…the particular transmitted radar signal 221, 222 can have rapid ramps (chirps) of the duration TC and bandwidth B. In this regard, during a measurement period TM N ramps can be output per transmit antenna 21, 22; paragraph 43; Figure 5).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill-in-the-art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817) with the teaching of Breddermann et al. (‘949) for improved radar detection (Breddermann et al. (‘949) – paragraph 5). In addition, both of the prior art references, (Roger et al. (‘134), Crouch et al. (‘817) and Breddermann et al. (‘949)) teach features that are directed to analogous art and they are directed to the same field of endeavor, such as, angle of arrival determination from Range-Doppler map using multiple transmit/receive antennas.
Regarding claim 20, which is dependent on claim 19, Roger et al. (‘134)/Crouch et al. (‘817)/Breddermann et al. (‘949) discloses the FMCW radar of claim 19. Roger et al. (‘134) further discloses “the first and second sets of range-Doppler spectral estimations are generated using one or more of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Bartlett Beamformer, or Minimum Variance Distortionless Response (MVDR) Beamformer (paragraph 58: the first radar-MMIC 410-1 includes signal processing circuitry which is configured to determine a first range-Doppler map based on the (sampled) first receive signals and to determine a first subregion of the first range-Doppler map based on predetermined criteria…the predetermined criteria can comprise amplitude or energy levels of range-Doppler map FFT bins above or below a predefined threshold; paragraph 67: Multiple of such FFT spectra or range-Doppler maps, each associated with a respective receive antenna, can be coherently or non-coherently integrated in each of the first and second radar-MMICs 410-1, 410-2).”
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jansen et al. (US 2022/0066012 A1) describes a transceiver, as may be used in an automobile or roadside station, to send and detect reflected signals…the transceiver includes at least two sets of transmitters such as the transmitter sets 102 and 104 and also includes a set of multiple receivers 106…systems as in FIG. 1 may include, for example, two or four sets of multiple transmitters, while three may be optimal in terms of costs and spatial resolution with each such transmitter set being associated with a different FOV and associated operation mode…as in the illustrated example of Figure 1, each such transmitter set 102 and 104 includes front-end radio frequency (RF) circuitry and a related set of antennas for transmitting continuous-wave (CW) energy 120 and 122, as a signal concurrently sent from antennas of at least two of the transmitter sets 102 and 104…the CW-energy transmissions may reflect off a target such as automobile 140 to result in reflected signals 130, 132, and 134…the reflected signals may then be received by circuitry 106, also part of the transceiver one or more of a plurality of receivers and antennas…signal processing circuitry 150 may then assess differences in antenna gain and antenna position associated with the received reflections 130, 132, and 134 to mitigate or resolve at least one spatial ambiguity such as one or more directions of arrival dimensions (paragraph 26); Figure 2 illustrates an automobile 210 including a transceiver with circuitry for three FOVs respectively associated with: a short-range radar (SRR 220), a medium-range radar (MRR 224), and a long-range radar (LRR 226)…such a configuration of FOVs may be useful in connection with forward looking automotive radar designs and applications such as Automatic Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking and Front-Cross Traffic Alert. For each such application, there may be a FOV associated with a pre-defined area in front of the car in which objects should be detected…as some applications may require, each FOV may provide azimuth (lateral distance) and elevation (vertical distance) coverage for object detection as well as a maximum longitudinal distance and/or a maximum lateral distance…in FIG. 2, the longitudinal and lateral distances are respectively shown on X and Y axes…the maximum distance may be determined, for example, by the maximum measurement range of the sensor and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the received signal…the SNR may also depend on the gain of the antenna. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, one exemplary way of realizing the different FOV's is to use antennas with different directivities for the different modes, and each such FOV may be also determined by the antenna gain (transmit and receive)…the measurement range of the sensor depends on the waveform mode (or configuration) and sampling frequency of the radar transceiver, where such gain is primarily associated with that specific mode (paragraph 27); the multiple sets of transmit antennas included with transceiver circuitry are respectively associated with the plurality of different modes and with a plurality of different fields of view…each of the fields of view has an associated range…from each antenna in the multiple sets, continuous-wave energy transmitted as a signal carrying the multiple modes or waves shapes in one radar (transmission) cycle…the continuous-wave energy may be transmitted via one of the multiple sets of antenna associated with a FOV for the target and at least one or more auxiliary antennas (paragraph 28); multiple sets of transmit antennas may include a first set of antennas for shorter-range detection, a second set of antennas for a medium-range detection, and a third set of antennas for a longer-range detection…the first set, the second set and third set are respectively associated with a first wave-shape mode, a second wave-shape mode and a third wave-shape mode, and these sets are also used to mitigate or completely resolve spatial ambiguities associated with an actual direction of arrival of the received reflections (paragraph 30).
Park et al. (US 11,906,618 B2) describes a MIMO radar apparatus…the MIMO radar includes transmitter circuitry which includes a plurality of transmit channels…the transmitter circuitry is configured to transmit, via a first subset of the transmit channels and during a first time interval, concurrent first frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar signals with different phase offsets among different transmit channels of the first subset…the different phase offsets are selected in accordance with a first predefined Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) scheme…the transmitter circuitry is further configured to transmit, via a second subset of the transmit channels and during a second time interval subsequent to the first time interval, concurrent second FMCW radar signals with different phase offsets among different transmit channels of the second subset…the different phase offsets are chosen in accordance with a second predefined CDM scheme…the respective phase offsets selected in accordance with the CDM scheme(s) are maintained unchanged for a complete FMCW chirp while for the following FMCW chirp new phase offsets may be selected in accordance with the CDM scheme(s) and maintained unchanged for the complete FMCW chirp etc. …the CDM scheme(s) may chirp-wise CDM schemes where the specific phase settings for a CDM code are maintained for the respective subset of transmit channels over the complete period of the FMCW chirp and then changed for the next chirp (column 2 lines 2-32); a subset of transmit channels includes a first and at least a second transmit channel… embodiments are not limited to two transmit channel within a subset…the transmitter circuitry is configured to transmit first FMCW chirps of the first transmit channel with a first phase offset and to transmit second FMCW chirps of the second transmit channel with a second phase offset…the first FMCW chirps of the first transmit channel may be interleaved with the second FMCW chirps of the second transmit channel…the first and the second phase offsets may differ by a predetermined phase value…the transmitter circuitry may be configured to shift the phase of every second FMCW chirp of the second transmit branch by a predefined value (column 3 lines 8-24).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NUZHAT PERVIN whose telephone number is (571)272-9795. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-5:00PM.
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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.
/NUZHAT PERVIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
1 The examiner interprets claimed “IF” signal as beat signal or baseband signal.
2 The mixer produces claimed “IF” signal.
3 The set of all synthesizers one per TX antenna are synthesizer generating multiple chirps.
4 The examiner interprets claimed “IF” signal as beat signal or baseband signal.
5 The mixer produces claimed “IF” signal.
6 The set of all synthesizers one per TX antenna are synthesizer generating multiple chirps.
7 Hence processing independent of second FMCW device.
8 The examiner interprets claimed “IF” signal as beat signal or baseband signal.
9 The mixer produces claimed “IF” signal.
Prosecution Insights