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 § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 5, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because:
Eligibility Step 1 (MPEP 2106. 3, subsection II): The claims, after reviewing the entire application disclosure, considered as a whole, are determined to be directed to one of the statutory category (processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter): A method/apparatus/system.
Eligibility Step 2A (MPEP 2106. 4, subsection II):
Prong One: The claims recite the limitation of determining the UWB anchor location according to the level pin status. This determination as analyzed can “practically be performed in the Human Mind” with/without sketching on paper. As stated in MPEP 2106.04(a)(2), III. Mental Processes, “A claim that encompasses a Human Performing the step(s) mentally with or without a physical aid recites a mental process”; as a result, the claim recites a mental process that falls within at least one of the abstract idea groupings (MPEP 2106.04(a) Abstract Ideas: The enumerated groupings of abstract ideas: Mathematical concepts, Certain methods of organizing human activity, Mental processes). As a result, the claims recite a judicial exception.
Prong Two: The additional steps/actions/elements recited in the claims:
- Obtaining the pin level status – obtaining information (MPEP 2106.05(g));
When viewed in combination of as a whole, the recited additional steps/actions/elements do no more than add insignificant extra-solution to the judicial exception. As a result, these additional steps/actions/elements do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because they do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. These claims are therefore directed to an abstract idea.
Eligibility Step 2B (MPEP 2106. 5: Whether a claim amounts to significantly more):
The additional steps/actions/elements recited in the claims, obtaining the pin level status according to the pin connection to ground/power, as well known in the field addressed in the rejection below, do not add an inventive concept to the claim because they do is no more than adding insignificant pre-solution and post-solution activities to the judicial exception.
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.
2. Claim(s) 1-5, 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruitang et al. (CN 113630714) in view of Carlesso (GB 2543324).
Regarding to claim 1, 5, 14, 17:
Ruitang et al. discloses a method of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) anchor calibration in a system comprising a plurality of UWB anchors, wherein the method comprises a step of determining a position of a UWB anchor in the plurality of anchors (Abstract).
Ruitang et al. however does not teach wherein the position determination comprising obtaining a level status of a pin of a UWB anchor, the level status being a low level when the pin is grounded, and the level status being a high level when the pin is floating; and determining a location of the UWB anchor according to the level status and to a correspondence between level statuses of pins and locations of UWB anchors, and outputting the location of the UWB anchor.
Carlesso discloses a pin connection autodetection system for automatic setting of identifiers of identical devices based on the configuration of outputs of the device pins (Abstract and FIGs. 1-2: Each device in the plurality Devices has three pins), wherein each of the pins is configured to connect to ground (GND) as a low level, a high voltage (+BAT), or floating BUS; As a result, each combination of the pin connection identifies a device uniquely (Abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify each of the UWB anchors in Ruitang’s system to include pins connected in the manner as disclosed by Carlesso to be able to set an identification of each of the UWB anchors uniquely (Abstract).
Carlesso also discloses the following claims:
Regarding to claim 2: wherein the UWB anchor comprises a first pin and a second pin; and
the method comprises: obtaining a first level status of the first pin and a second level status of the second pin, and arranging the first level status and the second level status according to an order (Page 8, Table 1).
Regarding to claims 3-4, 15-16: wherein the determining the location of the UWB anchor comprises: forming address information according to the arranged first level status and the second level status, and wherein the determining the location of the UWB anchor comprises: determining the location of the UWB anchor according to the address information and the correspondence between the level statuses of pins and the locations of UWB anchors (Table 1 (page 8) provides the information of the level status of each of the device pin. The combination of the level status of all pins forms an address of a device uniquely).
3. Claim(s) 6-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ruitang et al. (CN 113630714) in view of Carlesso (GB 2543324), and further in view of Zhang et al. (CN 208300031).
Ruitang et al., as modified, disclose the claim invention as discussed above, except a first resistor and a second resistor, wherein the power input end being connected to an output end of the power supply, a first end of the first resistor, and a first end of the second resistor, a first level signal input end of the controller being connected to a second end of the first resistor and the first pin, and a second level signal input end of the controller being connected to a second end of the second resistor and the second pin.
Zhang et al. discloses a position system for determining a position of the components of the system based on the identification (ID) of each component (Abstract). The system comprises a dial switch for setting ID of the components (page 4, 4th paragraph) by configurating the connection of the pins of the dial switch to the power source and ground via resistors (FIGs. 7-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify each of the UWB anchors in Ruitang’s system, as modified, to connect the device pins (as in Carlesso) to the power end and the ground via resistors as disclosed by Zhang et al. to set the voltage level of each pin as desired (FIG. 7).
Regarding to claims 7-9, 11-13: wherein the controller is further configured to: receive a first level status of the first pin and a second level status of the second pin; and arrange the first level status and the second level status according to an order, wherein the controller is further configured to form
address information according to the arranged first level status and the second level status, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine the location of the UWB anchor according to the address information and the correspondence between the level statuses of pins and the locations of UWB anchors (Table 1 (page 8) in Carlesso provides the information of the level status of each of the device pin. The combination of the level status of all pins forms an address of a device uniquely).
Regarding to claim 10: each of the one or more of the UWB anchor being connected to a main controller by a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus (Zhang et al.: page 4, 4th-5th paragraphs).
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAM S NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2151.
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/LAM S NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853
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