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 Objections
Claim 19 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 19 recites “means transmitting”. It probably meant to say “means for transmitting”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
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.
Claims 1-9 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.
Claim 1 recites “obtaining a first signal transmission schedule of first available …..”. It is not clear if obtaining a first signal transmission schedule is by the first UWB device, by the second UWB device or any other device. Therefore, it is indefinite and all dependent claims are also rejected for the same reason.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al. (US 2025/0247842, hereinafter “Wu”) in view of Henry et al. (US 2025/0254528, hereinafter “Henry”).
For claims 1, 10 and 19, Wu discloses A method of scheduling a UWB (Ultra-Wideband) ranging session (FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a scheduling method for a UWB according to an embodiment of this application. The method shown in FIG. 6 may be applied to scenarios such as ranging, sensing, positioning, and communication, for example, scenarios such as NBA-MMS-based ranging, DLTDOA- based positioning, and UL-TDOA-based positioning and sensing; see Wu par. 0168 and Fig. 6), the method comprising:
obtaining a first signal transmission schedule of first available signal transmission times of first wireless signals (602: The transmit end sends the scheduling information…. The transmit end separately sends the scheduling information to one or more to-be-scheduled UWB devices (namely, receive ends) in a unicast manner. Correspondingly, the receive end receives the scheduling information from the transmit end; see Wu par. 0179-0180); and
transmitting, from a first UWB device to a second UWB device, a ranging control message ( the transmit end is the third-party device, and the scheduling information is a ranging control message (ranging control message, RCM); see Wu par. 0170) indicating a second signal transmission schedule including second available signal transmission times for second wireless signals that comprise UWB signals (603: The receive end transmits the UWB signal based on the scheduling information. The receive end may be an anchor, or may be a tag. The receive end may be an FFD, or may be an RFD. The receive end is a UWB device scheduled by using the scheduling information, and the receive end receives the scheduling information from the transmit end. The receive end may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication initiator (initiator), or may be a ranging, sensing, positioning, or communication responder; see Wu par. 0181-0182 and Fig. 6).
Wu suggests that the receive end transmits a UWB signal based on a sequence of receiving the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information, and the first scheduling information…The first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are scheduling information sequentially received by the receive end in a control phase (for example, a ranging control phase in a same ranging round) in a same operating time period, and the receive end transmits the UWB signal based on the first scheduling information that is received earlier (see Wu par. -0190-0191). However, Wu does not explicitly disclose wherein the second available signal transmission times are based on the first available signal transmission times. Henry discloses wherein the second available signal transmission times are based on the first available signal transmission times (At block 615, the AP (or the WLC) monitors the network to detect any UWB tag transmissions. As used herein, tag transmission refers to the process of a UWB tag transmitting data to a UWB anchor when it enters the anchor's signal range. The transmitted data may include identification information about the tag, timestamps, and possibly sensor data (if the tag is configured with sensors) (e.g., temperature, motion). When a UWB tag enters the signal range of a UWB anchor, the anchor may detect the signal broadcasted by the tag, and use it to calculate the tag's location. In environments where UWB systems coexist with Wi-Fi systems, the detection of tag transmission may be communicated by the UWB anchor to its nearest Wi-Fi AP, informing the Wi-Fi network about the current active UWB tag transmission and/or potential future tag transmissions ( at unpredictable intervals). If a tag transmission is detected, indicating active tag transmission nearby, the method 600 proceeds to block 620, where AP (or the WLC) determines whether additional adjustments for the Wi-Fi operations are preferred to mitigate potential interference with the UWB tag transmissions. In some embodiments, the AP (or the WLC) may further change Wi-Fi channels, such as by increasing the non-overlapping segment with UWB frequency bands…. In some embodiments, the AP (or the WLC) may schedule Wi-Fi activities for times when UWB activities are expected to be low or absent. In some embodiments, the AP (or the WLC) may reduce the power level of Wi-Fi transmission to minimize the potential for interference with nearby UWB devices; see Henry par. 0076, 0101). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Henry's arrangement in Wu's invention to enhance the operations of UWB or Wi-Fi systems, or both, for the purpose of mitigating interference and improving the network's overall performance (see Henry par. 0018).
Specifically for claim 10, Wu discloses A first UWB device (Ultra-Wideband device) (FIG. 17 is a diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus 1700 according to an embodiment of this Application; see Wu par. 0241 and Fig. 17) comprising:
at least one transceiver configured to transmit and receive UWB signals;
at least one memory (The communication apparatus 180 may further include at least one memory 1830; see Wu par. 0250); and
at least one processor, communicatively coupled to the at least one transceiver and the at least one memory (The communication apparatus may include a processing module 1710 and a transceiver module 1720. In a possible implementation, the apparatus may further include a storage unit. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions (code or a program) and/or data. The processing module 1710 and the transceiver module 1720 may be coupled to the storage unit; see Wu par. 0241), configured to:
For claims 4 and 13, Wu discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the ranging control message indicates at least one second-signal-transmission offset relative to a ranging slot boundary (a list element in the scheduling information includes a time unit bitmap, a bitmap offset, and an address 1. The bitmap offset is used to determine a start time unit in which a UWB device 1 (namely, a receive end) transmits a UWB signal, the time unit bitmap indicates whether a time unit is used by the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, and the address 1 is an address of the UWB device 1. The list element is used to schedule the UWB device 1; see Wu par. 0182-0184) to avoid overlap of transmission of any of the second wireless signals and at least one of the first available signal transmission times (Examiner’s note: this phrase is considered to be an intended use that does not place meaningful limits on the scope of the claims).
For claims 7 and 16, Wu discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the second signal transmission schedule based on at least one of a signal transmission frame duration, a signal transmission subframe duration, a signal transmission symbol duration, a ranging round duration, or a ranging slot duration (The ranging round is a time period of sufficient duration to complete one entire ranging period involving a set of ERDEVs participating in ranging exchange (a ranging round is a period of sufficient duration to complete one entire range-measurement cycle involving the set of ERDEVs participating in the ranging exchange). A minimum processing time unit in each ranging round is a ranging slot (ranging slot); see Wu par. 0121; A unit of the value indicated by the period index field may be a single time unit, or may be a plurality of time units. The time unit may be a slot, for example, a ranging slot, may be an RSTU, or may be a sensing scheduling time unit. The sensing scheduling time unit is a time unit that can be used to determine duration of a sensing block, a sensing round, and a sensing slot. The time unit may alternatively be another time length; see Wu par. 0172).
Claim(s) 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and Henry, and further in view of Barton et al. (US 2022/0070613, hereinafter “Barton”).
For claims 2, 11 and 20, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein the second available signal transmission times are time division multiplexed with the first available signal transmission times. Barton discloses The method of claim 1, wherein the second available signal transmission times are time division multiplexed with the first available signal transmission times (FIG. 7 shows a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) procedure 700 in which a BLE broadcast interval 705, i.e., a time between two BLE UUID broadcasts (710, 715), is divided into a plurality of time slots 720 of a super-frame 725 or other (multicast, broadcast, or unicast) control frame or other TDMA structure. A control device (such as control device 180 or control device 580 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, respectively) is configured to coordinate UWB ranging functions, which may include scheduling for both the UWB anchors and the mobile devices that are performing UWB ranging functions, using the time slots 720; see Barton par. 0091-0094). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Barton's arrangement in Wu's invention to enable UWB interference between UWB anchors to be avoided, with high priority devices being ranged before other devices, which may be queued according to priority (see Barton par. 0024).
For claims 3 and 12, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the first UWB device with a wireless signaling device from which the first signal transmission schedule is obtained. Barton discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the first UWB device with a wireless signaling device from which the first signal transmission schedule is obtained (the control device 580 can instruct each primary UWB anchor in the venue 505 (including primary anchor 510 and primary anchor 565) to send a multicast frame, which can be used for purposes of creating the interference mapping 500 and potentially also for group determination purposes and/or time synchronization or other purposes. In an example embodiment, each receiving anchor (e.g., secondary anchors 515-517 and 570-572) can receive and/or demodulate any UWB transmissions within their range and forward to the control device 580 received frame signal level, emitted source, and/or other information, which the control device 580 can use to create the interference mapping 500; see Barton par. 0075). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Barton's arrangement in Wu's invention to enable UWB interference between UWB anchors to be avoided, with high priority devices being ranged before other devices, which may be queued according to priority (see Barton par. 0024).
For claims 9 and 18, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the first signal transmission schedule comprises detecting a pattern of the first wireless signals that satisfy an interference threshold. Barton discloses The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the first signal transmission schedule comprises detecting a pattern of the first wireless signals that satisfy an interference threshold (the control device can be configured to schedule the timing for transmission by the UWB anchors of the scheduling instructions (e.g., the transmission of the super-frames) based on an interference mapping for the UWB anchors. The control device can compute or otherwise obtain the interference mapping identifying which UWB anchors are within UWB interference range of each other. The control device can stagger the timing for transmission of scheduling instructions by any UWB anchors within UWB interference range of each other; see Barton par. 0032). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Barton's arrangement in Wu's invention to enable UWB interference between UWB anchors to be avoided, with high priority devices being ranged before other devices, which may be queued according to priority (see Barton par. 0024).
Claim(s) 5 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and Henry, and further in view of Manolakos et al. (US 2023/0067569, hereinafter “Manolakos”).
For claims 5 and 14, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the second available signal transmission times corresponds to an unscheduled reception time of a discontinuous reception mode schedule. Manolakos discloses The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the second available signal transmission times corresponds to an unscheduled reception time of a discontinuous reception mode schedule (The processor 510 may be configured to respond to an aperiodic reception (at an unscheduled time) of a positioning signal by implementing ( e.g., changing to) the variable-active-time mode. Thus, if a positioning signal is aperiodically received by a first DRX group during an active time of the first DRX group, then the processor 510 may implement the variable-active-time mode, changing to this mode as appropriate; see Manolakos par. 0125). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Manolakos's arrangement in Wu's invention to measure important positioning methods for discontinuous reception groups while conserving power consumption (see Manolakos par. 0039).
Claim(s) 6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and Henry, and further in view of Golshan et al. (US 2023/0062363, hereinafter “Golshan”).
For claims 6 and 15, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the second signal transmission schedule based on a UWB latency requirement. Golshan discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the second signal transmission schedule based on a UWB latency requirement (During the ranging interval 504A, the mobile device can conduct ranging between one or more participating mobile devices. The ranging schedule can define a predetermined number of ranging time slots (NR) for ranging between the devices… In the advertising period 506, the mobile device can broadcast one or more UAPs, which are UWB packets. In a prior art, these UAP packets necessarily had to be transmitted at fixed offsets from the BLE advertisement, e.g. as shown in FIG. 4, but in various embodiments of current invention, the UWB acquisition packets (UAPs) can be transmitted at random times within the advertising period, i.e. at times unrelated to BLE advertisements. The UAPs contain information for the beginning of the next ranging period. The information can be coded in terms of li.t or a time delay until the next ranging period. In this way, a new mobile device joining the ranging session can receive the UAP packet and know how long until the next ranging period; see Golshan par. 0070, 0073, 0061, 0054-0057, 0024). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Golshan's arrangement in Wu's invention to assign specific time periods to respective participating devices to minimize packet collisions and account for devices entering and leaving the packet exchanges (see Golshan par. 0003).
Claim(s) 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and Henry, and further in view of Ha et al. (US 2022/0397658, hereinafter “Ha”).
For claims 8 and 17, the combination of Wu and Henry does not explicitly disclose The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, from the first UWB device to a wireless signaling device, at least one parameter of an expected UWB ranging signal transmission schedule, the at least one parameter comprising: (1) a beginning of a UWB ranging block and a periodicity of the UWB ranging block; or (2) a first quantity of ranging rounds within the ranging block and durations of the ranging rounds; or (3) a second quantity of ranging slots within each of the ranging rounds and durations of the ranging slots; or (4) a ranging round hopping pattern; or (5) a ranging round slot allocation; or (6) any combination of two or more of (1)-(5). Ha discloses The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, from the first UWB device to a wireless signaling device, at least one parameter of an expected UWB ranging signal transmission schedule (In steps 5030a and 5030b, the responder may transmit a ranging reply message to the initiator in response to the ranging initiation message. The responders may transmit a ranging reply message through an SP1 packet or an SP3 packet. When the ranging reply message is transmitted through the SP1 packet, a first measurement report message may be included and transmitted in the PHY payload of the ranging reply message; see Ha par. 0140), the at least one parameter comprising: (1) a beginning of a UWB ranging block and a periodicity of the UWB ranging block; or (2) a first quantity of ranging rounds within the ranging block and durations of the ranging rounds; or (3) a second quantity of ranging slots within each of the ranging rounds and durations of the ranging slots (UWB configuration parameters may include a UWB session ID parameter, a ranging method parameter, a multi-node configuration parameter, an STS configuration parameter, a scheduled mode parameter, a time-of-flight (ToF) report parameter, an AoA-related parameter, a parameter indicating the number of slots per ranging round, a slot duration parameter, a responder slot index parameter, a MAC address mode parameter, a device MAC address parameter, a parameter indicating the number of controllees, and/or a destination (DST) MAC address parameter; see Ha par. 0127); or (4) a ranging round hopping pattern; or (5) a ranging round slot allocation; or (6) any combination of two or more of (1)-(5) (Referring to FIG. 6, a ranging block is a time period for ranging. A ranging round is a period of sufficient duration to complete one entire range-measurement cycle involving a set of UWB devices participating in a ranging exchange. The ranging slot may be a sufficient period for transmission of at least one RFRAME (e.g., ranging initiation/reply/final message, etc.). As illustrated in FIG. 6, one ranging block may include multiple ranging rounds. Each ranging round may include at least one ranging slot. When the ranging mode is a block-based mode, a mean time between contiguous ranging rounds may be constant. Alternatively, when the ranging mode is an interval-based mode, the time between contiguous ranging rounds may dynamically change. In other words, the interval-based mode may adopt a time structure having an adaptive spacing. The number and duration of slots included in the ranging round may change between ranging rounds, e.g., through a control message from the controller; see Ha par. 0145-0148, 0168). It would have been obvious to the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date to use Ha's arrangement in Wu's invention to provide an efficient UWB service by using a method for providing bi-directional ranging of the disclosure (see Ha par. 0321).
Conclusion
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/CHAE S LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2415