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 .
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 12 and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mayer et al. (US 2021/0072349 A1), hereinafter Mayer, in view of Takayama (US 2021/0055401 A1) and further in view of Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2021, September 17). Voltage-controlled oscillator. Wikipedia. https://web.archive.org/web/20220110212145/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage-controlled_oscillator. Accessed via Wayback Machine).
Regarding claim 12, Mayer teaches (note: what Mayer does not teach is struck through),
An automotive radar system (para. 0002, “Radar sensors are used in motor vehicles”), comprising: a first radar device (fig. 1. The examiner notes para. 0002, “Radar sensors are used in motor vehicles”), the first radar device including: a first clock generation circuit configured to generate a first clock signal based upon a first input signal from a first (para. 001, “For establishing a temporal relationship between starting points in time of the first and second local oscillator signals, a reference clock signal of the first and second high frequency sources of the FMCW radar sensor is preferably supplied”), a first local oscillator signal generator including a first phase locked loop circuit configured to generate a first local oscillator signal using the first clock signal (para. 0027, “Each high frequency component furthermore includes a high frequency source 30, which encompasses a local oscillator 32 including a phase-locked loop 34”) , the first local oscillator signal having a first frequency (para. 0011, “the first high frequency source encompassing the first local oscillator”), first transmitters configured to transmit first transmitted radar signals using the first local oscillator signal, wherein the first transmitted radar signals include radar chirp signals (para. 0016, “In one further specific embodiment of the present invention, the first local oscillator signal is further processed into a transmit signal by a first transceiver part of the FMCW radar sensor, transmitted via at least one first antenna”), a first terminal configured to receive a second local oscillator signal having a second frequency (fig. 1, high frequency component 12 receives second local oscillator signal from second phase-locked loop 32), wherein the second frequency is offset from the first frequency by a predetermined offset value (para. 0010, “The first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal preferably have a frequency offset with respect to one another. A setpoint value of the frequency offset is preferably constant.”), and first receivers configured to, while the first transmitters are transmitting the first transmitted radar signals, process first received radar signals using the second local oscillator signal to generate a first processed radar signal (para. 0027, “Each high frequency component furthermore includes a high frequency source 30, which encompasses a local oscillator 32 including a phase-locked loop 34 and is designed to generate a local oscillator signal, which may be supplied to transceiver unit 20 via a switching network 36. Phase-locked loop 34 includes a frequency divider. The local oscillator signal is mixed at a mixer 38 of transceiver part 20 with a receive signal to form a baseband signal and is supplied to an evaluation via an A/D converter 40 in a conventional manner.” See also para. 0034), wherein the first received radar signals include a reflected signal reflected by the structure of the vehicle (para. 0042, “Optionally, the effect that a cross-talk of a signal transmitted via an antenna 26 on a receiving antenna 28 of another high frequency component takes place in the radar sensor or at radome 52 of the radar sensor may be utilized as a further option of the signal transmission. This transmission path between a first high frequency component and a second high frequency component also has a defined signal propagation time, which may be taken into consideration as a frequency shift Fb during the evaluation.” The examiner notes that fig. 1 shows the radome 52 covering antennae 26 and 28); a second radar device (fig. 1, high frequency device 12) (para. 0002-0003, “Radar sensors are used in motor vehicles in an increasing scope to detect the traffic surroundings and supply pieces of information about distances, relative speeds, and directional angles of located objects to one or multiple assistance function(s), relieving the driver in driving the motor vehicle or entirely or partially replacing the human driver. With increasing autonomy of these assistance functions, increasingly higher requirements are placed not only on the performance capability, but also on the reliability of the radar sensors. It is an object of the present invention to increase the reliability of the frequency generation of a radar sensor.”), the second radar device including: a second local oscillator signal generator including a second phase locked loop circuit configured to generate the second local oscillator signal using the first clock signal (fig. 1, phase locked loop 32 generates a second local oscillator signal using reference clock source 50 and clock signal input 46), a second terminal configured to receive the first local oscillator signal (fig. 0034, “Local oscillator 32 of first high frequency component 10 generates a local oscillator signal, which is supplied to second high frequency component 12 on a transmission path to be described in greater detail below.”), second transmitters (second high frequency component 12 has transmitting antenna 26) configured to transmit second transmitted radar signals using the first local oscillator signal (para. 0032, “During normal operation using a master/slave configuration, the local oscillator signal of local oscillator 32 of first high frequency component 10 is supplied from HF distributor 42, operating as a synchronization signal output, via a signal line of oscillator signal network 44 to other high frequency components 12, 14, 16, operating as slaves. …In this way, the high frequency components operate synchronously, using the local oscillator signal of first high frequency component 10.”), and second receivers (fig. 1, second high frequency component has receive antenna 28) configured to process second received radar signals using the second local oscillator signal to generate a second processed radar signal (para. 0027, “Each high frequency component furthermore includes a high frequency source 30, which encompasses a local oscillator 32 including a phase-locked loop 34 and is designed to generate a local oscillator signal, which may be supplied to transceiver unit 20 via a switching network 36. Phase-locked loop 34 includes a frequency divider. The local oscillator signal is mixed at a mixer 38 of transceiver part 20 with a receive signal to form a baseband signal and is supplied to an evaluation via an A/D converter 40 in a conventional manner.”), wherein the second received radar signals include the reflected signal (para. 0042, “Optionally, the effect that a cross-talk of a signal transmitted via an antenna 26 on a receiving antenna 28 of another high frequency component takes place in the radar sensor or at radome 52 of the radar sensor may be utilized as a further option of the signal transmission. This transmission path between a first high frequency component and a second high frequency component also has a defined signal propagation time, which may be taken into consideration as a frequency shift Fb during the evaluation.” The examiner notes that fig. 1 shows the radome 52 covering antennae 26 and 28); and a controller configured to generate an output signal by: executing a fast Fourier transform on at least one of the first processed radar signal and the second processed radar signal to generate a frequency-domain output signal (para. 0037, “A resulting frequency shift Fab is thus present in the signals supplied to the mixer, which corresponds to the sum Fa+Fb, for example. In the amplitude spectrum of the baseband signal shown on the right side of FIG. 2, a peak is obtained at the resulting frequency shift Fab. This peak is stored in a corresponding bin of the spectrum. The spectrum is calculated in a conventional manner with the aid of a Fourier transform of the digitized baseband signal.”), and
Takayama teaches coupling automotive radar devices to a structure of a vehicle (para. 0048, “The internal reflected waves are reflected waves produced in the vehicle 80, and include reflected waves in which the transmission waves are reflected at the bumper 81. In the case where the radar apparatus 100 is provided outside the bumper 81, the internal reflected waves include reflected waves produced by the transmission waves reflected at a radome protecting the radar apparatus 100 instead of the bumper 81.”), but does not teach a crystal oscillator. Takayama further teaches,
…a controller configured to generate an output signal by: executing a fast Fourier transform on at least one of the first processed radar signal and the second processed radar signal to generate a frequency-domain output signal, and executing a high-pass filter on the frequency-domain output signal to generate the output signal (para. 0052, “In the MTI processing, by applying a high-pass filter to the time series of the FFT complex data S (t, fb) for each channel and each distance bin (that is, for each frequency bin), a signal having no amplitude and phase fluctuations is suppressed.”).
Mayer and Takayama are both analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the automotive radar system of Mayer by coupling it to a vehicle as taught by Takayama. Mayer teaches that radar sensors are used in motor vehicles, but does not explicitly teach that they are coupled to a vehicle structure. Takayama teaches that mounting a radar sensor to a vehicle structure is a common technique in the art of automotive radar (see, e.g., para. 0002), indicating that it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to couple the device of Mayer to a structure of a vehicle.
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the automotive radar system of Mayer with the high-pass filter of Takayama because the high-pass filter of Takayama filters out near-field detections, thus making it easier to detect farther objects without interference from the bumper or internal components skewing the detection threshold (see Mayer, figs. 6 and 8).
Wikipedia teaches using a crystal oscillator as a voltage-controlled oscillator in a phase-locked loop (p. 4, para. 3, “When a wider selection of clock frequencies is needed the VCXO output can be passed through digital divider circuits to obtain lower frequencies or be fed to a phase-locked loop”).
Wikipedia is analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the voltage-controlled oscillator of Mayer to be a voltage-controlled crystal oscillator as taught by Wikipedia because voltage-controlled crystal oscillators can be used for fine frequency adjustments (see Wikipedia, p. 3, para. 6).
Regarding claim 16, Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia teaches the automotive radar system of claim 12. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein a difference between the first frequency of the first local oscillator signal and the second frequency of the second local oscillator signal is between 100 Kilohertz and 300 Kilohertz (para. 0048, “The loop bandwidth may, for example, correspond to a frequency range of 300 kHz around the carrier signal” See also para. 0057, “For example, signals may then be received at 1 MHz and 2.2 MHz at the first high frequency component, signals of 1 MHz and 1.2 MHz may be received at the second high frequency component, and signals of 1.2 MHz and 2.2 MHz may be received at the third high frequency component.” The examiner notes that the difference between the second and third high frequency components’ signals is 1.2 MHz-1MHz = 200 kHz) .
Regarding claim 17, Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia teaches the automotive radar system of claim 12. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein the automotive radar system is configured in a cascade configuration in which the first radar device is a leader device and the second radar device is one of a plurality of follower devices (para. 0032, “During normal operation using a master/slave configuration, the local oscillator signal of local oscillator 32 of first high frequency component 10 is supplied from HF distributor 42, operating as a synchronization signal output, via a signal line of oscillator signal network 44 to other high frequency components 12, 14, 16, operating as slaves.”).
Regarding claim 18, Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia teaches the automotive radar system of claim 12. Mayer teaches that the radar components are behind the same radome but (fig. 1, radome 52) does not teach,
…wherein the structure of the vehicle includes a bumper of the vehicle
Takayama teaches,
…wherein the structure of the vehicle includes a bumper of the vehicle (para. 0048, “The internal reflected waves are reflected waves produced in the vehicle 80, and include reflected waves in which the transmission waves are reflected at the bumper 81. In the case where the radar apparatus 100 is provided outside the bumper 81, the internal reflected waves include reflected waves produced by the transmission waves reflected at a radome protecting the radar apparatus 100 instead of the bumper 81.”).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Mayer with the bumper-located radar of Takayama because coupling radar devices to vehicle bumpers is a well-known technique in the art.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mayer in view of Takayama, further in view of Wikipedia, and further in view of Hasch et al. (DE 10 2016 224 945 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia teaches the automotive radar system of claim 12. Mayer, Takayama, and Wikipedia do not teach,
…wherein the predetermined offset value is at least partially determined by a distance of the structure of the vehicle from the automotive radar system
Hasch teaches,
…wherein the predetermined offset value is at least partially determined by a distance of the structure of the vehicle from the automotive radar system (“2 shows by way of example a principal spectrum of a receiving channel 20a ... 20n in the intermediate frequency range. The from the broadcast channels 10a ... 10c transmitted signal ramps and in the receiving channels 20a ... 20c received signals reflected back are separated in the frequency range with different intermediate frequencies (IF) .sub.IF1 , .sub.IF2 , .sub.IF3 . By the choice of the modulation by means of the DDS components 11a ... 11n incl. D / A converter can be a width of the received spectrum (by a defined ramp steepness of the transmission signal ramp) and a distance of the spectra (by defined intervals of the transmission frequencies) can be set. In this way, in each receiving channel 20a ... 20n, all the transmission signals of all the transmission channels 10a ... contain 10n. Is recognizable in 2 in that an amplitude equalization in the lower region of the respective useful signal spectra can be realized by means of an optional notch filter KF. The amplitude compensation for the received signal spectra carried out by means of the notch filter KF causes spatially close radar reflections (eg bumpers in the case of concealed installation or direct crosstalk in the sensor or on the antenna element 15a ... 15n and 25a ... 25n) are received attenuated.” Fig. 3 shows that notches can be defined using the frequency difference between the chirps from varying transmitters).
Hasch is analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia with the offset value determined by the distance of the structure of the vehicle from the radar system because the invention of Hasch shows that the frequencies at which the bumper reflection occurs are known, as evidenced by the use of a notch filter that filters out specific frequencies. A person of ordinary skill in the art would know that eliminating these frequencies through the frequency offset between the two devices of Mayer would eliminate the need for a notch filter, thus simplifying the radar design.
Claims 19, 21-22, and 26-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mayer in view of Takayama.
Regarding claim 19, Mayer teaches (note: what Mayer does not teach is struck through),
A radar system (fig. 1, radar sensor including four high frequency components 10, 12, 14, 16), comprising: a first radar device (paras. 0002-0003, “Radar sensors are used in motor vehicles in an increasing scope to detect the traffic surroundings and supply pieces of information about distances, relative speeds, and directional angles of located objects to one or multiple assistance function(s), relieving the driver in driving the motor vehicle or entirely or partially replacing the human driver. With increasing autonomy of these assistance functions, increasingly higher requirements are placed not only on the performance capability, but also on the reliability of the radar sensors. It is an object of the present invention to increase the reliability of the frequency generation of a radar sensor.”), including: a transmitter configured to transmit a first transmitted radar signal at a first time using a first local oscillator signal having a first frequency (para. 0016, “For example, the first local oscillator signal is further processed into a transmit signal by a transceiver part of the first high frequency component, transmitted via at least one first antenna” See also para. 0042), wherein the first transmitted radar signal is a radar chirp signa (para. 0016, “a first transceiver part of the FMCW radar sensor”), and a receiver configured to process a first received radar signal received at the first time (para. 0016, “For example, the first local oscillator signal is…supplied to a transceiver part of the second high frequency component with the aid of cross-talk on at least one second antenna. The signal transmitted via the antenna may, for example, cross-talk on an antenna assigned to the second high frequency component in the sensor or at the radome of the sensor.”) using a second local oscillator signal having a second frequency to generate a processed radar signal, wherein the second frequency is offset from the first frequency by a predetermined offset amount (para. 0036, “FIG. 2 schematically shows frequency ramp 54 of the local oscillator signal of the first high frequency component and frequency ramp 56 of the local oscillator of second high frequency component 12, which is shifted by a frequency offset Fa.” See also para. 0037, figs. 2 and 4); and a controller configured to generate an output signal by: executing a fast Fourier transform on the processed radar signal to generate a frequency-domain output signal (para. 0037, “The spectrum is calculated in a conventional manner with the aid of a Fourier transform of the digitized baseband signal.”), wherein the second frequency is a direct-current offset of the frequency-domain output signal (local oscillator 32 is taught to be a voltage-controlled oscillator in para. 0048, indicating that frequency changes are controlled by an input DC voltage).
Takayama teaches,
A radar system, comprising: a first radar device coupled to a structure of a vehicle (para. 0048, “The internal reflected waves are reflected waves produced in the vehicle 80, and include reflected waves in which the transmission waves are reflected at the bumper 81. In the case where the radar apparatus 100 is provided outside the bumper 81, the internal reflected waves include reflected waves produced by the transmission waves reflected at a radome protecting the radar apparatus 100 instead of the bumper 81.”)…
Mayer and Takayama are both analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the automotive radar system of Mayer by coupling it to a vehicle as taught by Takayama. Mayer teaches that radar sensors are used in motor vehicles, but does not explicitly teach that they are coupled to a vehicle structure. Takayama teaches that mounting a radar sensor to a vehicle structure is a common technique in the art of automotive radar (see, e.g., para. 0002), indicating that it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to couple the device of Mayer to a structure of a vehicle.
Regarding claim 21, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 19. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein the first radar device includes a terminal configured to receive the second local oscillator signal from a second radar device (para. 0034, “Local oscillator 32 of second high frequency component 12 generates its own local oscillator signal, simultaneously and synchronously with local oscillator 32 of first high frequency component 10. Both local oscillator signals are mixed in a mixer, for example a mixer 38 of transceiver part 20, to form a baseband signal and are supplied to A/D converter 40.”).
Regarding claim 22, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 21. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein the radar system is configured in a cascade configuration in which the first radar device is a leader device and the second radar device is one of a plurality of follower devices (para. 0032, “During normal operation using a master/slave configuration, the local oscillator signal of local oscillator 32 of first high frequency component 10 is supplied from HF distributor 42, operating as a synchronization signal output, via a signal line of oscillator signal network 44 to other high frequency components 12, 14, 16, operating as slaves”).
Regarding claim 23, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 19. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein the predetermined offset amount is at least partially determined by a frequency offset between the first transmitted radar signal at the first time and the first received radar signal at the first time (para. 0044, “A monitoring of the ramp center frequency of the local oscillator signal or of the frequency offset between two local oscillators may take place as follows. Since the expected frequency of the signal (peak 58) in the baseband signal in the example of FIG. 2 is known and corresponds to the configured or setpoint frequency offset Fa, combined with the expected frequency shift Fb, due to the propagation time of the cross-talk or of the signal transport between the high frequency components, the expected frequency may be compared to the measured, resulting frequency offset Fab. When a difference of the compared values exceeds a threshold value, the fault is detected. In particular, a faulty frequency offset is detected, and a faulty frequency of a frequency ramp is thus detected, for example a faulty ramp center frequency.”).
Although Mayer does not teach adjusting the frequency offset when a fault is detected to avoid the faulty frequency, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Mayer to respond to a faulty frequency offset by adjusting the offset so that future FMCW radar data is processed correctly.
Regarding claim 26, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 19. Mayer further teaches,
…wherein a difference between the first frequency of the first local oscillator signal and the second frequency of the second local oscillator signal is between 100 Kilohertz and 300 Kilohertz (para. 0048, “The loop bandwidth may, for example, correspond to a frequency range of 300 kHz around the carrier signal” See also para. 0057, “For example, signals may then be received at 1 MHz and 2.2 MHz at the first high frequency component, signals of 1 MHz and 1.2 MHz may be received at the second high frequency component, and signals of 1.2 MHz and 2.2 MHz may be received at the third high frequency component.” The examiner notes that the difference between the second and third high frequency components’ signals is 1.2 MHz-1MHz = 200 kHz).
Regarding claim 27, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 19. Mayer further teaches that the radar components are behind the same structure but (fig. 1, radome 52) does not teach,
…wherein the structure of the vehicle includes a bumper of the vehicle
Takayama teaches,
…wherein the structure of the vehicle includes a bumper of the vehicle (para. 0048, “The internal reflected waves are reflected waves produced in the vehicle 80, and include reflected waves in which the transmission waves are reflected at the bumper 81. In the case where the radar apparatus 100 is provided outside the bumper 81, the internal reflected waves include reflected waves produced by the transmission waves reflected at a radome protecting the radar apparatus 100 instead of the bumper 81.”).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Mayer with the bumper-located radar of Takayama because coupling radar devices to vehicle bumpers is a well-known technique in the art.
Regarding claim 28, Mayer teaches (note: what Mayer does not teach is struck through),
A method (abs., “A method for monitoring an FMCW radar sensor”), comprising: transmitting a first transmitted radar signal by a first transmitter using a first local oscillator signal having a first frequency (para. 0016, “For example, the first local oscillator signal is further processed into a transmit signal by a transceiver part of the first high frequency component, transmitted via at least one first antenna” See also para. 0042), (the examiner notes that in paras. 0002-0003, Mayer suggests that the radar is used in a motor vehicle but does not explicitly teach coupling it to a structure of the vehicle); receiving a first received radar signal using a first receiver (para. 0016, “For example, the first local oscillator signal is…supplied to a transceiver part of the second high frequency component with the aid of cross-talk on at least one second antenna. The signal transmitted via the antenna may, for example, cross-talk on an antenna assigned to the second high frequency component in the sensor or at the radome of the sensor.”); processing the first received radar signal using a second local oscillator signal having a second frequency to generate a processed radar signal, wherein the second frequency is offset from the first frequency by a predetermined offset value (para. 0036, “FIG. 2 schematically shows frequency ramp 54 of the local oscillator signal of the first high frequency component and frequency ramp 56 of the local oscillator of second high frequency component 12, which is shifted by a frequency offset Fa.” See also para. 0037, figs. 2 and 4); and generating an output signal by executing a fast Fourier transform on the processed radar signal to generate a frequency-domain output signal (para. 0037, “The spectrum is calculated in a conventional manner with the aid of a Fourier transform of the digitized baseband signal.”).
Takayama teaches,
…wherein the first transmitter is coupled to a structure of a vehicle (para. 0048, “The internal reflected waves are reflected waves produced in the vehicle 80, and include reflected waves in which the transmission waves are reflected at the bumper 81. In the case where the radar apparatus 100 is provided outside the bumper 81, the internal reflected waves include reflected waves produced by the transmission waves reflected at a radome protecting the radar apparatus 100 instead of the bumper 81.”)…
Regarding claim 29,
The method of claim 28, further comprising executing a calibration routine to determine the second frequency (paras. 0038-0041, “The shift Fa of the center frequency is selected within the bandwidth of the baseband. At a sampling rate of 10 MHz, for example, corresponding to a baseband width of 5 MHz, a frequency offset Fa of 2.5 MHz is selected, for example…Optionally, the effect that a cross-talk of a signal transmitted via an antenna 26 on a receiving antenna 28 of another high frequency component takes place in the radar sensor or at radome 52 of the radar sensor may be utilized as a further option of the signal transmission. This transmission path between a first high frequency component and a second high frequency component also has a defined signal propagation time, which may be taken into consideration as a frequency shift Fb during the evaluation.” The examiner notes that fig. 2 shows that Fa + Fb =Fab, wherein Fab is the frequency offset between the first and second signals).
Mayer and Takayama are both analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the automotive radar system of Mayer by coupling it to a vehicle as taught by Takayama. Mayer teaches that radar sensors are used in motor vehicles, but does not explicitly teach that they are coupled to a vehicle structure. Takayama teaches that mounting a radar sensor to a vehicle structure is a common technique in the art of automotive radar (see, e.g., para. 0002), indicating that it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to couple the device of Mayer to a structure of a vehicle.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mayer in view of Takayama and further in view of Wikipedia.
Regarding claim 20, Mayer in view of Takayama teaches the radar system of claim 19. Mayer further teaches (note: what Mayer does not teach is struck through),
…wherein the first radar device includes: a first clock generation circuit configured to generate a first clock signal based upon a first input signal from a first (fig. 1, reference clock source 50 becomes first clock signal input 46 via signal line 48) (p. 4, para. 3, “When a wider selection of clock frequencies is needed the VCXO output can be passed through digital divider circuits to obtain lower frequencies or be fed to a phase-locked loop”); and a first local oscillator signal generator including a first phase locked loop circuit configured to generate a first local oscillator signal (fig. 1, phase-locked loop 34 uses clock signal input 46 to generate first local oscillator signal 32).
Wikipedia teaches using a crystal oscillator as a voltage-controlled oscillator in a phase-locked loop (p. 4, para. 3, “When a wider selection of clock frequencies is needed the VCXO output can be passed through digital divider circuits to obtain lower frequencies or be fed to a phase-locked loop”).
Wikipedia is analogous to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of endeavor. It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the voltage-controlled oscillator of Mayer to be a voltage-controlled crystal oscillator as taught by Wikipedia because voltage-controlled crystal oscillators can be used for fine frequency adjustments (see Wikipedia, p. 3, para. 6).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-15, 24-25, and 30-31 are 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 14, Mayer in view of Takayama, further in view of Wikipedia, and further in view of Hasch teaches the automotive radar system of claim 13. Mayer further teaches executing a calibration routine (see paras. 0043-0056, noting that a monitoring routine is being understood to be a calibration routine) and renders obvious using said routine to determine an offset value, as discussed in reference to claim 23, above. However, Mayer does not teach,
…causing the first radar device and the second radar device to set a frequency of the first local oscillator signal equal to an initial frequency and a frequency of the second local oscillator signal equal to the initial frequency, while increasing the frequency of the second local oscillator signal, measuring a plurality of power levels of the reflected signal at different frequencies, determining the frequency of the second local oscillator signal that corresponds to a minimum power level of the plurality of power levels, and setting the second frequency equal to the frequency of the second local oscillator signal that corresponds to the minimum power level of the plurality of power levels.
Takayama, Wikipedia, and Hasch fail to remedy the deficiencies of Mayer. In reference to claim 14, the prior art made of record individually or in any combination, fails to teach, render obvious, or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the combination of the claimed features of claim 14.
Claim 15 is allowable because it depends upon, and therefore includes all the limitations of, allowable claim 14.
Claim 24 is allowable for the same reasons and using the same citations as claim 14
Claim 25 is allowable because it depends upon, and therefore includes all the limitations of, allowable claim 24.
Claim 30 is allowable for the same reasons and using the same citations as claim 14
Claim 31 is allowable because it depends upon, and therefore includes all the limitations of, allowable claim 30.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anna K Gosling whose telephone number is (571)272-0401. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday, 7:30-4:30 Eastern, Friday, 10:00-2:00 Eastern.
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/Anna K. Gosling/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648