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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/9/2023 has been considered by the examiner and an initialed copy of the IDS is hereby attached.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 19 is 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 in reference to limitation “voting mechanism”. For the sake of examination, it is interpreted as a mechanisms of estimation or selection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-6, 9-15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Charvat et al (US 20190173157 A1), hereinafter Charvat.
Regarding claim 1, Charvat discloses:
A method of discovering a radio frequency identification (RFID) target, the method comprising (Charvat US 20190173157 A1, para [0003], Some embodiments provide for a system comprising: a first interrogator device, comprising: a first antenna configured to transmit, to a target device, a first radio-frequency (RF) signal having a first center frequency; a second antenna configured to receive, from the target device, a second RF signal having a second center frequency that is a harmonic of the first frequency; and first circuitry configured to obtain, using the first RF signal and the second RF signal, a first mixed RF signal indicative of a first distance between the first interrogator and the target device; a second interrogator device, comprising: a third antenna configured to transmit, to the target device, a third RF signal having the first center frequency; a fourth antenna configured to receive, from the target device, a fourth RF signal having the second center frequency; and second circuitry configured to obtain, using the third RF signal and the fourth RF signal, a second mixed RF signal indicative of a second distance between the second interrogator and the target device; and at least one processor configured to: determine the first distance based on the first mixed RF signal; determine the second distance based on the second mixed RF signal; and determine a location of the target device using the determined first distance and second distance) and (further reference para [0099] regarding powering) Examiner interprets powering or power signal and interrogation as examples of a discovery signal:
generating a first radio frequency (RF) signal from a first linearly polarized (LP) antenna (Charvat, para [0087], In some embodiments, each of transmit antenna 114 and receive antenna 116 may be a patch antenna, a planar spiral antenna, an antenna comprising a first linearly polarized antenna and a second linearly polarized antenna orthogonally disposed to the first linearly polarized antenna, a MEMS antenna, a dipole antenna, or any other suitable type of antenna configured to transmit or receive RF signals. Each of transmit antenna 114 and receive antenna 116 may be directional or isotropic (omnidirectional). Transmit antenna 114 and receive antenna 116 may the same type or different types of antennas);
generating a second RF signal from a second LP antenna, with the first and second RF signals having a relative phase shift there between (Charvat, claim 24: The device of configuration 23 or any other preceding configuration, wherein the circuitry is configured to generate the second signal by phase shifting the first signal by 180 degrees);
transmitting the first RF signal from the first LP antenna (Charvat, para [0086], In some embodiments, transmit and receive circuitry 112 may be configured to provide RF signals generated by waveform generator 110 to transmit antenna 114. Additionally, transmit and receive circuitry 112 may be configured to obtain and process RF signals received by receive antenna 116. In some embodiments, transmit and receive circuitry 112 may be configured to: (1) provide a first RF signal to the transmit antenna 114 for transmission to a target device (e.g., RF signal 111); (2) obtain a responsive second RF signal received by the receive antenna 116 (e.g., RF signal 113) and generated by the target device in response to the transmitted first RF signal; and (3) process the received second RF signal by mixing it (e.g., using a frequency mixer) with a transformed version of the first RF signal. Such processing and associated and other architectures of the transmit and receive circuitry 112 are described herein including with reference to FIGS. 8A-8D and 11A-11B. The transmit and receive circuitry 112 may be configured to provided processed RF signals to control circuitry 118, which may (with or without performing further processing the RF signals obtained from circuitry 112) provide the RF signals to external communications module 120) and (para [0087]);
and transmitting the second RF signal from the second LP antenna (Charvat, paras [0086-0087]);
wherein transmission of the first RF signal and the second RF signal generate an RF discovery signal (Charvat, Figs. 14A-14B, para [0063], FIG. 14A is a block diagram of an illustrative localization system comprising multiple synchronized interrogator devices including at least one transmit and receive interrogator device and multiple receive-only interrogator device, in accordance with some embodiments of the technology described herein. [0064] FIG. 14B is a block diagram of another illustrative localization system comprising multiple synchronized interrogator devices including at least one transmit and receive interrogator device and multiple receive-only interrogator device, in accordance with some embodiments of the technology described herein).
Regarding claim 2, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 wherein the first and second LP antennas are orthogonal (Charvat, paras [0087]) and (para [0094], In some embodiments, each of receive antenna 122 and transmit antenna 126 may be a patch antenna, a planar spiral antenna, an antenna comprising a first linearly polarized antenna and a second linearly polarized antenna orthogonally disposed to the first linearly polarized antenna, a MEMS antenna, a dipole antenna, or any other suitable type of antenna configured to receive or transmit RF signals. Each of receive antenna 122 and transmit antenna 126 may be directional or isotropic. Receive antenna 122 and transmit antenna 126 may the same type or different types of antennas. In some embodiments, receive antenna 122 and transmit antenna 126 may be separate antennas. In other embodiments, a target device may include a dual mode antenna operating as a receive antenna in one mode and as a transmit antenna the other mode).
Regarding claim 3, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 wherein the RF discovery signal provides a power source to the RFID target (Charvat, Abstract and para [0099], In some embodiments, control circuitry 128 may be configured to turn the target device 104 on or off (e.g., by powering off one or more components in signal transformation circuitry 124) in response to a command to do so received via external communications interface 130. The control circuitry 128 may be implemented in any suitable way and, for example, may be implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a combination of logic circuits, a microcontroller, or a microprocessor. External communications module 130 may be of any suitable type including any of the types described herein with reference to external communications module 120).
Regarding claim 4, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 wherein the RF discovery signal is a vector addition (=combined signal) of the first and second RF signals (Charvat, para [0120], In some embodiments, only one of the interrogators (e.g., the interrogator 214 on module 206) may interrogate a target device by transmitting RF signals to the target device, while all the interrogator devices (including the transmitting interrogator) may “listen” by receiving RF signals generated by the target device in response to receiving RF signals from the transmitting interrogator. So that each of the interrogators may correlate the RF signals received from the target device with the RF signal transmitted by the transmitting interrogator, the master interrogator module 206 may control the interrogators 214, 216, 218, and 220 to operate in a phase coherent manner. In some embodiments, phase coherence among the interrogators may be achieved by providing each of the interrogators with a common reference signal (e.g., a clock, a fixed-frequency signal generated by a reference oscillator, or a direct digitally synthesized reference signal). Aspects of operating multiple interrogators in a phase-coherent manner are further described herein including with reference to FIGS. 14A-D and 17. Phase coherent operation of multiple transmitters may result in the fastest time for obtaining measurements (as compared to the round robin or staggered start schemes described above). For example, when the transmitting interrogator transmits a 1 ms chirp, all four interrogators may receive the responsive RF signals within 1 ms).
Regarding claim 5, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 wherein the phase and amplitude of the first RF signal are independently controlled from the phase and amplitude of the second RF signal, respectively (Charvat, para [0138], Next, process 1600 proceeds to act 1604, where a receive antenna on the target device receives, from the interrogator a second RF signal circularly polarized in the first rotational direction. The second RF signal received by the target device at act 1604 may correspond to (e.g., may be the received version of) the first RF signal transmitted by the interrogator at act 1602. For example, when the interrogator transmit antenna transmits a first RHCP RF signal at act 1602, the receive antenna on the target device may receive a second RHCP RF signal corresponding to the first RHCP signal at act 1604. As another example, when the interrogator transmit antenna transmits a first LHCP RF signal at act 1602, the receive antenna on the target device may receive a second LHCP RF corresponding to the first LHCP signal at act 1604. Although the first and second RF signals may be the same, they need not be, at least because the first RF signal may be altered (e.g., the amplitude, phase, and/or frequency of the RF signal may be altered) as it propagates from the interrogator to the target device).
Regarding claim 6, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a first RF response signal and a second RF response signal from the target (Charvat, para 0073], FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary micro-localization system 100, in accordance with some embodiments. Micro-localization system 100 comprises a plurality of interrogator devices 102, one or more of which are configured to transmit an RF signal 103 (e.g., RF signals 103a, 103b, 103c, etc.). System 100 also comprises one or more target devices 104 configured to receive RF signals 103 and, in response, transmit RF signals 105 (e.g., RF signals 105a, 105b and 105c, etc.). Interrogator devices 102 are configured to receive RF signals 105 that are then used to determine distances between respective interrogator and target devices. The computed distances may be used to determine the location of one or more target devices 104, a number of techniques of which are described in further detail below. It should be appreciated that while multiple target devices 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1A, a single target device may be utilized. More generally, it should be appreciated that any number of interrogator devices 102 and target devices 104 may be used, as the aspects of the technology described herein are not limited in this respect) Examiner interprets RF signals 105 a-c as the RF signals from the target device 104.
Regarding claim 9, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 1 wherein the RF discovery signal is transmitted substantially concurrently with an RF localization signal (Charvat, para [0160], In the illustrated embodiment, the circuitry integrated with die 504 is differentially coupled to antenna 502 via lines 508a and 508b. The circuitry may generate a first signal and a second signal out of phase (e.g., 180 degrees out of phase) with the first signal, and concurrently provide the first and second signals to the antenna 502 via lines 508a and 508b, respectively. In turn, antenna 502 may be configured to transmit a signal based on a difference between the first and second signals. Additionally, the circuitry integrated with die 504 is differentially coupled to antenna 506 via lines 509a and 509b. The antenna 506 is configured to receive an RF signal and transmit it through the differential pair of lines 509a and 509b).
Regarding claim 10, Charvat discloses:
a method of localizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) target, the method comprising (Charvat, para [0073]):
generating a first radio frequency (RF) signal from a first linearly polarized (LP) antenna (Charvat, paras [0086-0087]);
generating a second RF signal from a second LP antenna, with the first and second RF signals having the same phase (Charvat, para [0177], In some embodiments, the interrogator 600 may comprise circuitry integrated with semiconductor die 608 and configured to provide RF signals to the transmit antenna 604 and receive RF signals from the receive antenna 606. The circuitry may comprise circuitry used for generating RF signals to transmit via antenna 604 (e.g., a waveform generator, one or more amplifiers, etc.), circuitry for performing phase coherent processing of received RF waveforms (e.g., circuitry to multiply the frequencies in a copy of the transmitted RF signal to the frequencies in a received RF signal, a frequency mixer for mixing a transformed version of the transmitted RF signal and the received RF signals), and/or any other suitable circuitry, numerous examples of which are provided herein including with reference to FIGS. 8A-8D and 11A-11B) Examiner interprets phase coherent processing as the signals being aligned or of the same phase;
transmitting the first RF signal from the first LP antenna (Charvat, paras [0086-0087]);
and transmitting the second RF signal from the second LP antenna (Charvat, paras [0086-0087]);
wherein concurrent transmission of the first RF signal and the second RF signal generate an RF localization signal (Charvat, paras [0073]) and (para [0160], In the illustrated embodiment, the circuitry integrated with die 504 is differentially coupled to antenna 502 via lines 508a and 508b. The circuitry may generate a first signal and a second signal out of phase (e.g., 180 degrees out of phase) with the first signal, and concurrently provide the first and second signals to the antenna 502 via lines 508a and 508b, respectively. In turn, antenna 502 may be configured to transmit a signal based on a difference between the first and second signals. Additionally, the circuitry integrated with die 504 is differentially coupled to antenna 506 via lines 509a and 509b. The antenna 506 is configured to receive an RF signal and transmit it through the differential pair of lines 509a and 509b).
Regarding claim 11, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 10 wherein the RF localization signal is an LP RF signal at an angle (Charvat, para [0282], The inventors have also recognized that having different multi-spectral target devices squawk at different combinations of harmonics of a center frequency may provide a way of determining which multi-spectral devices are transmitting RF signals. For example, multi-spectral device A may be configured to receive RF signals having a center frequency (e.g., 5 GHz) and transmit responsive RF signals at the first and third harmonics of the center frequency (e.g., 10 GHz and 20 GHz). On the other hand, multi-spectral device B may be configured to receive RF signals having the same center frequency (e.g., 5 GHz) and transmit response RF signals at the first and second harmonics of the center frequency (e.g., 10 GHz and 15 GHz). Thus, receiving an RF signal from a multi-spectral target device having frequency content at 20 GHz may indicate that multi-spectral target device A transmitted the RF signal, whereas receiving an RF signal from a multi-spectral device having frequency content at 15 GHz may indicate that multi-spectral target device transmitted the RF signal. More generally, different multi-spectral target devices may be configured to squawk at different combinations of harmonics of a given center frequency thereby providing a way of “harmonically coding” their respective identities, which may facilitate determining which multi-spectral target device(s) are transmitting RF signals at a given time. Additionally or alternatively, such harmonic coding may be used to encode the angle and/or orientation of a multi-spectral target device relative to a multi-spectral interrogator),
the angle representative of an orientation of the RFID target relative to the first or second LP antenna (Charvat, para [0282]).
Regarding claim 12, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 10 wherein the RF localization signal is transmitted substantially concurrently with an RF discovery signal (Charvat, para [0160]).
Regarding claim 13, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 12 wherein the RF discovery signal and the RF localization signals are transmitted at different frequencies (Charvat, para [0075], Resolving the location of a target with a high degree of accuracy depends in part on receiving the RF signals transmitted by the target with high fidelity and, in part, on the ability to distinguish the RF signals transmitted by a target device from RF signals transmitted by an interrogator device, background clutter, and/or noise. The inventors have developed techniques for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the signals received by the interrogator and target devices to facilitate micro-localization of one or more target devices. As one example, the inventors recognized that by configuring the interrogator and target devices to transmit at different frequencies, localization performance could be improved. According to some embodiments, one or more interrogator devices transmit first RF signals (e.g., RF signals 103) having a first center frequency and, in response to receiving the first RF signals, one or more target devices transmit second RF signals (e.g., RF signals 105) having a second center frequency different from the first center frequency. In this manner, receive antennas on the one or more interrogator devices can be configured to respond to RF signals about the second center frequency, improving the ability of the interrogator devices to receive RF signals from target devices in cluttered and/or noisy environments).
Regarding claim 14, Charvat discloses:
a system for localizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) target, the system comprising (Charvat, para [0073]):
a mobile device including one or more sensors configured to determine a first location of the mobile device in an environment (Charvat, para [0073]) and (para [0115], The product 202 may be any product (e.g., any consumer or commercial product) having a circuit board onto which one or multiple interrogator devices may be mounted. The circuit board may be rigid or flexible. For example, the product 202 may be a computer (e.g., a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, etc.) and the PCB 204 may be a motherboard in the computer. As another example, product 202 may be a smartphone and the PCB 204 may be a rigid board or a flex circuit within the smartphone. As another example, product 202 may be a camera (e.g., video camera, a camera for taking still shots, a digital camera, etc.) and the PCB 204 may be a circuit board within the camera. As another example, the product 202 may be a gaming system and the PCB 204 may be a circuit board within the gaming system. As another example, the PCB 204 may comprise a flexible circuit ribbon having one or more interrogators disposed thereon, which ribbon may be within product 202, affixed to the side of product 202 (e.g., on the side of a gaming system), or affixed near the product 202 (e.g., affixed on a wall in a room containing the product);
an RFID system coupled to the mobile device and configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) signal from the RFID target (Charvat, paras [0115]) and (para [0113], FIG. 2 shows an illustrative system 200 that may be used to implement RF localization techniques, in accordance with some embodiments of the technology described herein. The illustrative system 200 comprises a plurality of interrogators, which are part of a product 202. The interrogators may be used to obtain estimates of distance to one or more of the target devices 225. In turn, these distance estimates (e.g., together with the known locations of the interrogators on PCB 204 relative to one another) may be used to estimate the location(s) of the target device(s) 225.);
and a processor coupled to the RFID system configured to locate the RFID target based on the RF signal and the first location (Charvat, para [0100], As discussed above with reference to FIG. 1A, multiple interrogator devices may be utilized in order to determine a location of a target device. In some embodiments, each of the interrogator devices may be configured to transmit an RF signal to a target device, receive a responsive RF signal from the target device (the responsive signal may have a different polarization and/or a different center frequency from the signal that was transmitted), and process the transmitted RF signal together with the received RF signal to obtain an RF signal indicative of the distance between the interrogator device and the target device. The RF signals indicative of the distances between the interrogator devices and the target device may be processed (e.g., by the interrogators or another processor) to obtain estimates of the distances between the target device and each of the interrogators. In turn, the estimated distances may be used to determine the location of the target device in 3D space.) and (further reference para [0125]).
Regarding claim 15, Charvat discloses:
the system of claim 14 wherein the mobile device includes a camera (Charvat, para [0115]).
Regarding claim 17, Charvat discloses:
the system of claim 14 wherein the mobile device is further configured to determine a second location of the mobile device (Charvat, para [0113]) Examiner interprets “location(s) of the target device(s)” as may determine multiple locations of the same device,
and wherein the processor is further configured to locate the RFID target based on the first location, the second location, and the RF signal (Charvat, para [0113], FIG. 2 shows an illustrative system 200 that may be used to implement RF localization techniques, in accordance with some embodiments of the technology described herein. The illustrative system 200 comprises a plurality of interrogators, which are part of a product 202. The interrogators may be used to obtain estimates of distance to one or more of the target devices 225. In turn, these distance estimates (e.g., together with the known locations of the interrogators on PCB 204 relative to one another) may be used to estimate the location(s) of the target device(s) 225) Examiner interprets “locations” as being multiple locations and may be a first location, second location, third location, etc. of the target.
Regarding claim 18, Charvat discloses:
the system of claim 14 wherein the processor is configured to locate the RFID target based on a plurality of RF signals from a plurality of RFID targets (Charvat, para [0003] and [0073]).
Regarding claim 19, Charvat discloses:
the system of claim 18 wherein the plurality of RF signals are combined in a voting mechanism to locate the RFID target (Charvat, para [0091], In some embodiments, control circuitry 118 may be configured to receive RF signals from transmit and receive circuitry 112 and forward the received RF signals to external communications interface 120 for sending to controller 106. In some embodiments, control circuitry 118 may be configured to process the RF signals received from transmit and receive circuitry 112 and forward the processed RF signals to external communications interface 120. Control circuitry 118 may perform any of numerous types of processing on the received RF signals including, but not limited to, converting the received RF signals to from analog to digital (e.g., by sampling using an ADC), performing a Fourier transform to obtain a time-domain waveform, estimating a time of flight between the interrogator and the target device from the time-domain waveform, and determining an estimate of distance between the interrogator 102 and the target device that the interrogator 102 interrogated. The control circuitry 118 may be implemented in any suitable way and, for example, may be implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a combination of logic circuits, a microcontroller, or a microprocessor) Examiner interprets the estimations of the time of flight and distance as example of the voting mechanism to locate the RFID target.
Regarding claim 20, Charvat discloses:
the system of claim 14 wherein the mobile device is further configured to determine the first location based on the RF signal (Charvat, para [0113])
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 7-8 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Charvat et al (US 20190173157 A1), hereinafter Charvat in view of Ahmed et al (US 20200373675 A1), hereinafter Ahmed.
Regarding claim 7, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 6 further comprising generating an RF discovery response signal by combining the first RF response signal and the second RF response signal with a 90-degree phase shift.
Ahmed discloses:
the method of claim 6 further comprising generating an RF discovery response signal by combining the first RF response signal and the second RF response signal with a 90-degree phase shift (para [0011], In other features, the feed terminal is configured to receive the transmit signal to be transmitted from the antenna. Each of the first coupler, the second coupler, the third coupler and the delay line phase shift the transmit signal by 90)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Charvat with Ahmed to incorporate the features of: the method of claim 6 further comprising generating an RF discovery response signal by combining the first RF response signal and the second RF response signal with a 90-degree phase shift. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose RFID localization of and discovery of RFID devices. The modification would render the predictable results of improved localization accuracy, improved accuracy of direction of arrival estimation, and improved coherent detection.
Regarding claim 8, Charvat discloses:
the method of claim 7 further comprising decoding the RF discovery response signal into RFID target identification information.
Ahmed discloses:
the method of claim 7 further comprising decoding the RF discovery response signal into RFID target identification information (Ahmed, para [0119], In response to receiving the signals from each of the feed circuits 150, the switching circuit 170 is configured to selectively output one of the signals. As an example, in response to providing a control signal (VCTRL) to a first control port of the switching circuit 170, the switching circuit 170 is configured to output the signal associated with antenna 60-1 to the control module 20. In response to providing the control signal to a second control port of the switching circuit 170, the switching circuit 170 is configured to output the signal associated with antenna 60-2 to the control module 20. Likewise, in response to providing the control signal to both the first and second control ports of the switching circuit 170, the switching circuit 170 is configured to output the signal associated with antenna 60-3 to the control module 20. In order to provide the control signals to the control ports of the switching circuit 170, a 2:3 transistor-transistor logic/complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (2:3 TTL/CMOS) compatible decoder of the switching circuit 170 is configured to selectively activate two control ports of the switching circuit 170 that are electrically coupled to a control voltage generator circuit 220. The transceiver 21 may be a superheterodyne style receiver. The microprocessor configures the transceiver 21 and switches, such that the antennas 60, 60′ receive a RF signal that is close to the phase lock loop (PLL) frequency, e.g., PLL+250 KHz)
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Charvat with Ahmed to incorporate the features of: the method of claim 7 further comprising decoding the RF discovery response signal into RFID target identification information t. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose RFID localization of and discovery of RFID devices. The modification would render the predictable results of improved RFID target identification, improved target discrimination, and improved tracking (not limited to detection)
Regarding claim 16, Charvat discloses:
Ahmed discloses:
the system of claim 15 wherein the one or more sensors comprise one of an inertial measurement unit,
an accelerometer (Ahmed, para [0079], The portable device 10 may include a wireless communication chipset (or transceiver) 11 connected to an antenna 13. The wireless communication chipset 11 may be a BLE communication chipset. Alternatively, the wireless communication chipset 11 may be a Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi direct communication chipset. The portable device 10 may also include application code 12 that is executable by the processor of the portable device 10 and stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random-access memory (RAM). Based on the application code 12 and using the wireless communication chipset 11 and the antenna 13, the portable device 10 may be configured to execute various instructions corresponding to, for example, authentication of the communication link 50, transmission of location and/or velocity information obtained by a global navigation satellite system (e.g., GPS) sensor or accelerometer of the portable device 10, and manual activation of a vehicle function ),
or a gyroscope.
It would have been obvious to someone in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Charvat with Ahmed to incorporate the features of: the system of claim 15 wherein the one or more sensors comprise one of an inertial measurement unit,
an accelerometer, or a gyroscope. Both arts are considered analogous arts as they both disclose RFID localization. The modification would render the predictable results of improved motion awareness (such as dynamic localization).
References Cited But Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as thus:
Reynolds US 20070040687 A1 discloses an RFID system that comprises an IMU, gyroscope and/or accelerometer ( para [0023], In some embodiments, the sensor may be or comprise a gyroscope such as, e.g., an Analog Devices ADXRS MEMS accelerometer. This type of sensor allows rotation about one or more axes are to be sensed. This rotation can be used as part of a full inertial measurement unit such as, e.g., the NAV420 inertial measurement system sold by Crossbow Technology of San Jose, Calif).
Hewett US 11543512 B2 discloses an RFID Tag Locating System and Method that comprises a discovery signal i.e. power and interrogation(col. 8, lines 8-15) and col. 12, lines 60-66); and localization signal that comprises a camera (col. 11, lines 53-66)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY JENKINS whose telephone number is (571)272-0404. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8a-5p EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Vladimir Magloire can be reached at 517.270.5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KIMBERLY JENKINS/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648
Prosecution Insights