DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Double Patenting
2. The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
3. Claims 1-19 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-17 of U.S. Patent No. US 11792049.
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because, for example:
Claims of instant application:
A method for positioning using synthesized wideband channel estimation, comprising: capturing, at at least one receiver node, a first received signal of a reference signal from a transmitter at a first carrier frequency; performing a reconfiguration to enable signal reception at a second carrier frequency; capturing a second received signal of the reference signal from the transmitter at the second carrier frequency; continuing to capture subsequent received signals until a plurality of frequencies in a synthetic wideband channel are sufficiently represented in a set of received signals; calculating segment channel estimates by performing channel estimation on each of the set of received signals; and aligning overlapping sections of the calculated segment channel estimates to form a combined channel estimate of the synthetic wideband channel.
2. deriving a shortest path delay value from a plurality of delays based on the combined channel estimate; deriving a time of arrival for the first received signal from the shortest path delay value; and estimating a position of the transmitter using the derived time of arrival, thereby using a channel estimate of a synthesized wideband channel to estimate the position of the transmitter.
16. A method of positioning using a shortest path based on a synthesized wideband channel estimate, comprising: continuously capturing a reference signal across a plurality of carrier frequencies until frequency coverage for the synthetic wide band is achieved; removing frequency offset for each of the plurality of carrier frequency captures; calculating a plurality of channel estimates for the plurality of carrier frequency captures; aligning the plurality of channel estimates; and combining the plurality of channel estimates to construct a single channel estimate of the synthetic wide band.
Claim 17. deriving a shortest delay for the received reference signal using the single channel estimate of the synthetic wide band; and using the derived shortest delay to estimate a time of arrival and thereby determine an estimated location.
Claims 3-15
Claims 18-19
Claims of U.S. Patent No. US 11792049:
1. A method for positioning using synthesized wideband channel estimation, comprising: capturing, at at least one receiver node, a first received signal of a reference signal from a transmitter at a first carrier frequency; performing a reconfiguration to enable signal reception at a second carrier frequency; capturing a second received signal of the reference signal from the transmitter at the second carrier frequency; continuing to capture subsequent received signals until a plurality of frequencies in a synthetic wideband channel are sufficiently represented in a set of received signals; calculating segment channel estimates by performing channel estimation on each of the set of received signals; aligning overlapping sections of the calculated segment channel estimates to form a combined channel estimate of the synthetic wideband channel; deriving a shortest path delay value from a plurality of delays based on the combined channel estimate; deriving a time of arrival for the first received signal from the shortest path delay value; and estimating a position of the transmitter using the derived time of arrival, thereby using a channel estimate of a synthesized wideband channel to estimate the position of the transmitter.
15. A method of positioning using a shortest path based on a synthesized wideband channel estimate, comprising: continuously capturing a reference signal across a plurality of carrier frequencies until frequency coverage for the synthetic wide band is achieved; removing frequency offset for each of the plurality of carrier frequency captures; calculating a plurality of channel estimates for the plurality of carrier frequency captures; aligning the plurality of channel estimates; combining the plurality of channel estimates to construct a single channel estimate of the synthetic wide band; deriving a shortest delay for the received reference signal using the single channel estimate of the synthetic wide band; and using the derived shortest delay to estimate a time of arrival and thereby determine an estimated location.
Claims 2-16
Claim 16-17
The assignee of all applications of all applications is the same.
Claims 1-19 of the instant application are anticipated by patent claims 1-17 in those claims of the patent contain all the limitations of claims of the instant application. Claims 1-19 of the instant application therefore is not patently distinct from the earlier patent claims 1-17 and as such are unpatentable for obvious-type double patenting.
To the extent that the instant claims are broaden and therefore generic to the claimed invention of U.S. Patent No. US 11792049, in re Goodman 29 USPQ 2d 2010 CAFC 1993, states that a generic claim cannot be issued without a terminal disclaimer, if a species claim has been previously been claimed in a co-pending application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
5. Claims 8, 12-13 and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
(1) Claim 8 recites the limitation "the position of the transmitter" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This issue can be resolved by changing the "the position of the transmitter" to "a position of the transmitter".
(2) Claim 12 recites the limitation "the calculated channel estimates" in lines 2-4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This issue can be resolved by changing the "the calculated channel estimates" to "the calculated segment channel estimates".
(3) Claim 13 recites the limitation "the calculated channel estimates" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This issue can be resolved by changing the "the calculated channel estimates" to "the calculated segment channel estimates".
(4) Claim 16 recites the limitation "the synthetic wide band" in line 4 and line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This issue can be resolved by changing the "the synthetic wide band" to "a synthetic wideband channel" in line 4 and "the synthetic wideband channel" in line 10.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 1-19 would be allowable if overcome the above nonstatutory double patenting rejection and the 35 USC 112(b) rejection above.
7. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record, Muqaibel does not teach or suggest capturing, at at least one receiver node, a first received signal of a reference signal from a transmitter at a first carrier frequency; performing a reconfiguration to enable signal reception at a second carrier frequency; capturing a second received signal of the reference signal from the transmitter at the second carrier frequency; continuing to capture subsequent received signals until a plurality of frequencies in a synthetic wideband channel are sufficiently represented in a set of received signals; calculating segment channel estimates by performing channel estimation on each of the set of received signals; andaligning overlapping sections of the calculated segment channel estimates to form a combined channel estimate of the synthetic wideband channel.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Muqaibel et al. (US 9154263) disclose a method of mitigating narrow band interference (NBI) in ultra wide band (UWB) systems operating around 10 GHz mitigates multiuser interference from IEEE 802.22 and WiMAX, wherein the multiuser interference interferes with both trained and blind UWB systems, with the trained UWB system using pilot symbol assisted modulation. The method passes a received UWB signal through a band pass filter (BPF), wherein the BPF is located at a UWB receiver and the UWB signal is a Hanning modulated pulse centered at 4 GHz frequency. The method further measures a plurality of test functions, determines a number of active users, notch filters NBI signals, based on the determined number of active users, passes the notch filtered signal through a quadratic programming algorithm, to perform joint decoding, estimates an arrival of a UWB payload, and demodulates the UWB payload, based on the estimated arrival of the UWB payload.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KABIR A TIMORY whose telephone number is (571)270-1674. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Hannah S Wang can be reached at 571-272-9018. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KABIR A TIMORY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2631