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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on March 11, 2026 has been entered.
Allowable Subject Matter
The indicated allowability of claim 18 is withdrawn in view of a new interpretation of previously discovered reference Rimini et al US 20210055386. Rejections based on the cited references follow below.
Claims 1-17 and 21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claims 1 and 11 are allowed in view of the amendments to the claim and associated remarks submitted March 11, 2026, which overcome the closest prior art of record, Rimini et al US 20210055386.
Claims 2-10 and 21 are allowed by virtue of being dependent on claim 1. Claims 12-17 are allowed by virtue of being dependent on claim 11.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim 19 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Rimini et al US 20210055386 (hereinafter Rimini).
Regarding claim 18, Rimini discloses wireless circuitry (see fig. 3) comprising:
radio circuitry (120, see fig. 3, [0043]) configured to transmit and receive first signals and configured to transmit and receive second signals, the first signals including a first tone and a second tone separated from the first tone by a frequency gap (see figs. 2 and 3, [0038], [0040]); and
one or more processors (see fig. 3, [0049]-[0051]) configured to detect an external object based on the second signals ([0051]), the radio circuitry being configured to distort the second signals based on the first signals (mutual coupling; (examiner’s note: mutual coupling distorts the signal going into the receiver), see fig. 3, [0050]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Waheed et al US 9,584,174 discloses an integrated circuit having a constant envelope transceiver and a method for testing the transceiver. The transceiver may be implemented on an integrated circuit with a processor. The transmitter and the receiver are enabled simultaneously for loopback operation so that the modulated PLL signal is provided from the transmitter to an input of the receiver.
Plevridis et al US 7,869,782 discloses multimode-mode transmit and receive PLL connected to the mixing module of the transmit and receive chains.
Cova US 9,787,336 discloses predistortion of power amplifier input signals in a wireless circuit.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLUMIDE T AJIBADE AKONAI whose telephone number is (571)272-6496. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-4PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, CHARLES N APPIAH can be reached at 571-272-7904. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/OLUMIDE AJIBADE AKONAI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648