CTNF 18/580,661 CTNF 93296 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claim Status Applicant's preliminary amendments filed on 1/19/24 have been entered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 8-10, 12-13, 16-18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Schofield US4960329 . Regarding independent claims 1, 9, and 17 , Schofield discloses, in Figures 1-8, An object detecting device, system, and method (Schofield; Fig. 1-8) comprising: a modulator (Schofield; modulator 10) configured to execute modulation processing of converting an analog waveform of a transmission wave being sent toward an object (Schofield; col. 3:40 “reflecting object”) by a transmission/reception device into a first analog waveform being an analog waveform associated with a predetermined digital code string (Schofield; Fig. 1; conventional chirp encoding circuit 9); a pulse compressor (Schofield; pulse compression filter 45) configured to execute, by using the first analog waveform, pulse compression processing on a second analog waveform being an analog waveform of a reception wave reflected by the object and received by the transmission/reception device (Schofield; col. 3:11-25 “frequency compressing the received echo signal to form a corresponding echo signal pulse… to determine the distance of the reflecting object”); and a distance estimator (Schofield; the assembly of Fig. 8 with data processor 120 and signal processing means 70; col. 13:38-51 deriving a target range/distance) configured to estimate a distance between the transmission/reception device and the object, based on a result of the pulse compression processing (Schofield; col. 3:11-25 “frequency compressing the received echo signal to form a corresponding echo signal pulse… to determine the distance of the reflecting object”). Regarding claim 2, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the first analog waveform (Schofield; SAW pulse compression filter 45) includes a positive first portion and a negative second portion being associated with each code value in the digital code string (Schofield; col. 8:22-27 “crossover points 171 and 17 between C and D and between A and B represent positive and negative Doppler shifts”), and an addition result of waveforms in the first analog waveform is associated to an addition result of associated code values in the digital code string for any two portions in the first portion or the second portion (Schofield; Fig. 5; summation amplifier 91 is downstream of the pulse compression filter 45 after passing the pulse amplifiers 69). Regarding claim 4, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the pulse compression processing includes processing of generating an analog pulse compression waveform having a peak portion for each of the objects by executing convolution of the first analog waveform with respect to the second analog waveform (Schofield; Fig. 5; tracking and peak detector circuit 93 and comparators 96 provide the convolution of the pulse compression waveform). Regarding claim 5, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein information based on a result of estimation by the distance estimator is output (Schofield; col. 15:10-12 “passing it on for storage, display, or further processing”). Regarding claim 8, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission/reception device is a LIDAR device, and the transmission wave is a laser beam (Schofield; Fig. 1; col. 4:30 “laser rangefinder”; laser oscillator 1). Regarding claim 10, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 2. Regarding claim 12, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 4. Regarding claim 13, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 5. Regarding claim 16, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 8. Regarding claim 18, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 2. Regarding claim 20, Schofield discloses the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 4 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 3, 11, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schofield alone . Regarding claim 3, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the first analog waveform (Schofield; SAW pulse compression filter 45) includes a positive first portion and a negative second portion being associated with each code value in the digital code string (Schofield; col. 8:22-27 “crossover points 171 and 17 between C and D and between A and B represent positive and negative Doppler shifts”), and a period relating to each of the first portion or each of the second portion in the first analog waveform is than a period relating to a modulation frequency in the modulation processing (Schofield; col. 5:64-66 “modulation frequency”). Schofield is silent regarding a period relating to each of the first portion or each of the second portion in the first analog waveform is smaller than a period relating to a modulation frequency in the modulation processing. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to configure the period of the first analog waveform as taught by Schofield so that it is smaller than a period relating to a modulation frequency since it is obvious to try from a finite/limited number of options (the period of the first waveform is either smaller than, equal to, or greater than the period of the modulation frequency), in order to yield the predictable result of providing the complete encoding instead of only a portion of the encoding or an incomplete encoding (MPEP 2143(I)(E) "Obvious to try" – choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success). Regarding claim 11, Modified Schofield teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 3. Regarding claim 19, Modified Schofield teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 3 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 6 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schofield in view of Gran US20190076122 . Regarding claim 6, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the digital code string is constituted of codes (Schofield; Fig. 1; conventional chirp encoding circuit 9). Schofield is silent regarding binary codes. Gran teaches binary codes (Gran; [0019] binary coding“ that provides a “coded excitation signal”). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the codes as taught by Schfield to be binary codes as taught by Gran for the purpose of providing a coded excitation signal (Gran; [0019] binary coding“ that provides a “coded excitation signal”). Regarding claim 14, Modified Schofield teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 6 . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 7 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Schofield in view of Agon US20210181327 . Regarding claim 7, Schofield discloses The object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the digital code string is constituted of codes (Schofield; Fig. 1; conventional chirp encoding circuit 9). Schofield is silent regarding multi-bit codes. Agon teaches multi-bit codes (Agon; Fig. 2; [0037] multi-bit words). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill at the effective filing date of the invention to modify the codes as taught by Schfield to be multi-bit codes as taught by Agon for the purpose of providing a coded excitation signal. Regarding claim 15, Modified Schofield teaches the invention substantially the same as described above in reference to claim 7 . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Cegla US20180156907 teaches “modulation to represent a coded signal”. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN MALIKASIM whose telephone number is (313)446-6597. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 8 am - 5 pm (CST). 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, Yuqing Xiao can be reached at 571-270-3603. 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. /JONATHAN MALIKASIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645 6/11/26 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 2 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 3 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 4 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 5 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 6 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 7 Art Unit: 3645 Application/Control Number: 18/580,661 Page 8 Art Unit: 3645
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