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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/28/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 35 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 11, and 20 objected to because of the following informalities: each claim recites “a duration of thirty second” (singular) in the hot start reradiation window limitation. This should read “thirty seconds” (plural). Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 9, 18, and 19 objected to because of the following informalities: each claim recite. Appropriate correction is required.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0019] refers to “an operating system 1340.” FIG. 1 labels the operating system as element 1330. The reference numeral should be corrected to 1330.
Paragraph [0078] recites “one or ore of the multiple devices that performs B.” This should read “one or more of the multiple devices.”
Paragraph [0081] recites “the terminology ‘a processor’ and ‘the processor’ indicates one or processors.” This should read “one or more processors.”
Appropriate correction is required.
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, 10-18, and 19-20 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.
The recitation of “zero or more” in claims 1, 10, and 19, renders the claims indefinite. If “zero” receivers are present, the limitation “reradiate satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals … to zero or more second … receivers” is directed to reradiating signals to nothing, rendering the claim scope unclear. Additionally, claims 9, 18, and 19 further recite that the “zero or more second … receivers are spatially located within the vehicle bay” and “are obstructed from otherwise receiving” — these affirmative spatial and functional limitations are paradoxical when applied to “zero” receivers.
Claims 2-9, 11-18, and 20 are rejected because they depend upon a rejected base claim.
The recitation of “satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay” in claims 8-9 and 17-19 is ambiguous. This compound modifier is ambiguous. It is unclear whether the claim requires (a) a vehicle bay that obstructs satellite signals, or (b) a bay for vehicles that obstruct satellite signals, or (c) some other construction. The specification at [0053]–[0054] supports interpretation (a), but the claim language is susceptible to multiple reasonable constructions.
Claim 20 is rejected because it depends upon a rejected base claim.
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 1-9 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lovinggood et al. (US 7,068,973 B1) in view of Wang et al. (US 2008/0117103 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches:
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches A method comprising: operating a first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver having an unobstructed signal path with respect to at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from a constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time”; col. 3, lines 1–5: “antenna system 5 includes a link antenna 12 for receiving the GPS signal 6 from a GPS transmitting antenna 8”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach operating, in accordance with a minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches this element ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”; claim 1: “alternating between a sleep mode and a wake up mode; and downloading current ephemeris if a last downloaded ephemeris is no longer current”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the GPS re-radiation system of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) with the time-controlled scheduled operation of Wang et al. (‘103). One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) expressly teaches that operating a GPS-related device only during defined time windows conserves power and reduces unnecessary signal transmission ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process…to conserve power so that the required download can be accomplished with minimal power drain from the battery”). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying this same scheduled, time-controlled operation to the GPS re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) would similarly conserve power and minimize unnecessary reradiation and potential interference with other GPS receivers — well-understood design goals in GPS retransmission systems at the time of the invention. There is a reasonable expectation of success because both systems operate on the same GPS signal infrastructure and the scheduling mechanism functions independently of whether it controls a receiver or a re-radiator, making the combination a straightforward application of a known technique to a known system to yield predictable results;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator operatively coupled with the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver via a wireline electronic communication medium (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal; a primary repeater coupled to the link antenna”; claim 5: “the primary repeater is coupled to the broadcast antenna by a transmission line”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator includes a satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna (col. 3, lines 4–7: “a broadcast antenna 16 for retransmitting the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach wherein operating the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator in accordance with the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule includes: automatically preventing the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator from reradiating satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals at temporal locations other than temporal locations in one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches this element ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the sleep/wake-up scheduling of Wang et al. (‘103) to the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) such that the re-radiator is prevented from reradiating outside of defined operational windows. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that preventing GPS device operation outside of defined windows is the direct mechanism by which power is conserved and unnecessary signal activity is eliminated ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying this same on/off control mechanism to the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) would yield the same well-known benefits of power conservation and reduced interference, with a reasonable expectation of success because the on/off control of an electronic device during defined time windows is a basic and predictable engineering technique that requires no more than ordinary skill to implement;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach automatically operating the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator to reradiate satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals obtained from the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver at temporal locations in the one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule to zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers, but Wang et al. (‘103) in combination with Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches this element, as Wang et al. (‘103) teaches operating a GPS device during defined wake-up windows ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode”; claim 1: “alternating between a sleep mode and a wake up mode”) and
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches retransmitting GPS signals inside a structure to GPS receivers located therein (col. 3, lines 11–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the automatic wake-up operation of Wang et al. (‘103) in the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) so that the re-radiator automatically reradiates GPS signals during defined operational windows. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that automatic operation during defined windows is the mechanism by which GPS devices efficiently serve their intended function while conserving power ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that automatically activating the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) during such windows would similarly enable efficient, unattended operation of the GPS re-radiation system. There is a reasonable expectation of success because automatic timer-based activation of electronic devices was a well-understood and routinely implemented technique in the art at the time of the invention.
Regarding Claim 2, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one hot start reradiation window having an interval of one hour and having a duration of thirty seconds; at least one warm start reradiation window having an interval of three and a half hours and having a duration of one minute; and at least one cold start reradiation window having an interval of four thousand hours and having a duration of fifteen minutes ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”; claim 3: “going into the wake up mode at periodic, aperiodic, random, regular or pre-scheduled intervals”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define specific interval and duration parameters for each reradiation window based on the well-known GPS receiver start state timing requirements. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS scheduled operation windows are driven directly by the known timing characteristics of GPS signals and ephemeris validity periods ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that the hot start, warm start, and cold start operational states of GPS receivers have well-established timing parameters that dictate how frequently a GPS receiver needs to acquire updated signals. Applying those same well-known GPS timing parameters to define the interval and duration of each reradiation window would have been a straightforward and predictable design choice, with a reasonable expectation of success because the specific timing parameters for GPS hot, warm, and cold start states were part of the common general knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the GPS arts at the time of the invention.
Regarding Claim 3, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one hot start reradiation window having an interval of one hour and having a duration of thirty seconds ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a hot start reradiation window with a one-hour interval and thirty-second duration. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are scheduled based on known ephemeris update cycles ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a hot start condition — where the GPS receiver retains valid ephemeris and recent position data — requires only a brief reradiation window at a relatively frequent interval to maintain receiver synchronization. There is a reasonable expectation of success because defining a short-duration, frequent-interval window for a hot start scenario requires only the straightforward application of known GPS timing characteristics to the scheduling framework taught by Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 4, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one warm start reradiation window having an interval of three and a half hours and having a duration of one minute ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a warm start reradiation window with a three-and-a-half-hour interval and one-minute duration. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are scheduled based on known ephemeris validity periods of approximately four hours ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a warm start condition — where the GPS receiver retains some valid data but requires updated ephemeris — necessitates a slightly longer duration and moderately frequent interval compared to a hot start window. There is a reasonable expectation of success because selecting a window interval within the known ephemeris validity period and a duration sufficient for ephemeris acquisition is a straightforward application of known GPS timing parameters to the scheduling framework of Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 5, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one cold start reradiation window having an interval of four thousand hours and having a duration of fifteen minutes ([0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a cold start reradiation window with a very long interval and extended duration. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that when GPS signals cannot be acquired, the device stops its scheduled operation until manually restarted ([0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a cold start condition — where the GPS receiver has no valid stored data — occurs rarely and requires a longer reradiation duration to allow full GPS signal and almanac acquisition. There is a reasonable expectation of success because defining a long-interval, extended-duration window for a cold start scenario is a straightforward application of well-known GPS cold start timing characteristics to the scheduling framework of Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 6, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver has: a first unobstructed signal path with respect to a first satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites; a second unobstructed signal path with respect to a second satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites; and a third unobstructed signal path with respect to a third satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time. Consequently, accurately determining the position of a GPS receiver requires the GPS receiving antenna to be in the line-of-sight of these GPS transmitting antennas at all times”).
Regarding Claim 7, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein operating the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver includes operating the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver such that the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver substantially continuously receives satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time”; col. 3, lines 1–5: “antenna system 5 includes a link antenna 12 for receiving the GPS signal 6 from a GPS transmitting antenna 8”).
Regarding Claim 8, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 1.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver is mounted on an exterior surface of a satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay proximate to an exit of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal”; col. 2, lines 8–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”).
Regarding Claim 9, Claim 9 depends from claim 8. Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the method of claim 8.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator is mounted on an interior surface of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay such that satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals reradiated by the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator are directed away from the exit (col. 3, lines 11–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches at least a portion of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna proximate to the exit is shielded (col. 1, lines 32–41: “The isolation depends on the antenna type, front to back (F/B) ratio, beamwidth and antenna placement/separation”; col. 1, lines 21–30: “a link antenna which is directed/aimed at the transmitting antenna…The broadcast antenna has a larger beamwidth which is determined by the intended area to be covered”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches: the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are spatially located within the vehicle bay such that the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are obstructed from otherwise receiving the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites is a contingent element. Pursuant to MPEP § 2111.04, this element is contingent upon the presence of second receivers and need not be separately addressed; however, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does teach this concept (col. 2, lines 8–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”).
Regarding Claim 19, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches:
Claim 19 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations. The operative claim elements track those of claim 1 with the additional structural limitations of claims 8 and 9 incorporated directly into claim 19. Each element is addressed below in the sequential order as written in claim 19.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches operating a first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver having an unobstructed signal path with respect to at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from a constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites such that the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver substantially continuously receives satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time”; col. 3, lines 1–5: “antenna system 5 includes a link antenna 12 for receiving the GPS signal 6 from a GPS transmitting antenna 8”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver is mounted on an exterior surface of a satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay proximate to an exit of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal”; col. 2, lines 8–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach operating, in accordance with a minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches this element ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”; claim 1: “alternating between a sleep mode and a wake up mode; and downloading current ephemeris if a last downloaded ephemeris is no longer current”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to apply the time-controlled scheduled operation of Wang et al. (‘103) to the GPS re-radiation system of Lovinggood et al. (‘973). One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that operating a GPS-related device only during defined time windows conserves power and reduces unnecessary GPS signal activity ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process…to conserve power so that the required download can be accomplished with minimal power drain from the battery”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying this same scheduled operation to the GPS re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) would yield the same well-known benefits. There is a reasonable expectation of success because the scheduling mechanism of Wang et al. (‘103) functions independently of whether it controls a receiver or a re-radiator, making the combination a straightforward application of a known technique to a known system to yield predictable results;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator operatively coupled with the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver via a wireline electronic communication medium (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal; a primary repeater coupled to the link antenna”; claim 5: “the primary repeater is coupled to the broadcast antenna by a transmission line”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator is mounted on an interior surface of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay such that satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals reradiated by the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator are directed away from the exit (col. 3, lines 11–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator includes a satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna (col. 3, lines 1–7: “a broadcast antenna 16 for retransmitting the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein at least a portion of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna proximate to the exit is shielded (col. 1, lines 31–41: “The isolation depends on the antenna type, front to back (F/B) ratio, beamwidth and antenna placement/separation”; col. 1, lines 21–30: “a link antenna which is directed/aimed at the transmitting antenna…The broadcast antenna has a larger beamwidth which is determined by the intended area to be covered”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach wherein operating the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator in accordance with the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule includes: automatically preventing the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator from reradiating satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals at temporal locations other than temporal locations in one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches this element ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sleep/wake-up scheduling of Wang et al. (‘103) in the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) such that the re-radiator is prevented from reradiating outside of defined operational windows. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that preventing GPS device operation outside of defined windows is the direct mechanism by which power is conserved and unnecessary GPS signal activity is eliminated ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process…to conserve power”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying this same on/off control mechanism to the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) would yield the same power conservation and interference reduction benefits. There is a reasonable expectation of success because the on/off control of an electronic device during defined time windows is a basic and predictable engineering technique that requires no more than ordinary skill to implement;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach automatically operating the at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator to reradiate satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals obtained from the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver at temporal locations in the one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule to zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers, but Wang et al. (‘103) in combination with Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches this element, as Wang et al. (‘103) teaches automatic operation during defined wake-up windows ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode”; claim 1: “alternating between a sleep mode and a wake up mode”) and
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches retransmitting GPS signals inside a structure to GPS receivers located therein (col. 3, lines 11–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement automatic reradiation during defined operational windows in the system of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) as taught by Wang et al. (‘103). One would have been motivated to do so because automatic operation during defined windows is expressly taught by Wang et al. (‘103) as the mechanism by which GPS devices efficiently serve their intended function while conserving power ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process…to conserve power”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that automatically activating the re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) during such windows would similarly enable efficient, unattended operation of the GPS re-radiation system. There is a reasonable expectation of success because automatic timer-based activation of electronic devices was a well-understood and routinely implemented technique in the embedded systems arts at the time of the invention;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches: wherein the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are spatially located within the vehicle bay such that the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are obstructed from otherwise receiving the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites is a contingent element. Pursuant to MPEP § 2111.04, this element is contingent upon the presence of second receivers and need not be separately addressed; however, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does teach this concept (col. 2, lines 4–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”).
It would have further been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the combined system’s control operations as executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. One would have been motivated to do so because encoding control logic in such a medium was a well-known, routine, and predictable design choice in the electronics and embedded systems arts at the time of the invention, and there is a reasonable expectation of success because non-transitory computer-readable storage media for storing executable control instructions were widely available and commonly used in GPS and embedded system applications at that time.
Regarding Claim 20, Claim 20 depends from claim 19. Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one hot start reradiation window having an interval of one hour and having a duration of thirty seconds; at least one warm start reradiation window having an interval of three and a half hours and having a duration of one minute; and at least one cold start reradiation window having an interval of four thousand hours and having a duration of fifteen minutes ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define specific interval and duration parameters for hot, warm, and cold start reradiation windows in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are driven by the known timing characteristics of GPS ephemeris validity and satellite signal acquisition requirements ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that the hot, warm, and cold start states of GPS receivers have well-established timing parameters that directly inform how frequently and for how long a GPS re-radiator needs to operate to serve each state. There is a reasonable expectation of success because the specific timing parameters for GPS start states were part of the common general knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the GPS arts at the time of the invention, making their application to the reradiation window schedule a predictable design choice.
Claims 10-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lovinggood et al. (US 7,068,973 B1) in view of Wang et al. (US 2008/0117103 A1) and further in view of Snyder et al. (US 6,707,424 B1).
Regarding Claim 10, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches:
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches A system comprising: a first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver having an unobstructed signal path with respect to at least one satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from a constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 45–52: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time”; col. 3, lines 1–5: “antenna system 5 includes a link antenna 12 for receiving the GPS signal 6 from a GPS transmitting antenna 8”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches a satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator operatively coupled with the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver via a wireline electronic communication medium (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal; a primary repeater coupled to the link antenna”; claim 5: “the primary repeater is coupled to the broadcast antenna by a transmission line”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator includes a satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna (col. 3, lines 4–13: “a broadcast antenna 16 for retransmitting the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach wherein the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator includes a microcontroller configured to control the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator in accordance with a minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches a microprocessor in the GPS re-radiation context (col. 12, lines 3–7: “A user programmable memory 156 is associated with microprocessor 155 such that coordinates defining the space where no line of sight exists between GNSS beacons…may be stored in memory 156 and accessed by microprocessor 155”) and
Wang et al. (‘103) teaches the time-controlled scheduled operation concept ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a microcontroller into the GPS re-radiator of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) to implement the time-controlled scheduling of Wang et al. (‘103), as taught by Snyder et al. (‘424). One would have been motivated to do so because Snyder et al. (‘424) expressly teaches that a microprocessor with programmable memory is the appropriate component for controlling when GPS signals are used or disregarded in a GPS re-radiation context — specifically in a system comprising a first exterior antenna collecting satellite signals coupled to a second interior antenna that rebroadcasts those signals (claim 3: “a first antenna exterior to said line-of-sight barrier collects data transmitted by said satellites, a second antenna within said line-of-sight barrier coupled to said first antenna to rebroadcast said data collected by said first antenna”). A person of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that incorporating such a microcontroller into the repeater of Lovinggood et al. (‘973) to implement the scheduling of Wang et al. (‘103) is a straightforward combination of known elements, each performing its known function, with a reasonable expectation of success because microcontrollers were well-known, widely available components for implementing scheduling and control logic in electronic systems, and Snyder et al. (‘424) specifically demonstrates their suitability in the directly analogous GPS re-radiation context;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach wherein to control the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator in accordance with the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, the microcontroller controls the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator to: omit reradiating satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals at temporal locations other than temporal locations in one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches this element ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process in which the receiver alternatively operates in a sleep mode and a wake up mode to conserve power”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”) and
Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the microcontroller used to control GPS signal operations (col. 13, lines 30–34: “receiver/processor is instructed by a suitable algorhythm to disregard the GNSS data being received by the GNSS receiver 154 of the receiver/processor”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement in the microcontroller of the combined system the function of omitting reradiation outside defined windows, as this is the direct operational mechanism by which the sleep/wake-up scheduling of Wang et al. (‘103) is carried out in hardware. One would have been motivated to do so because preventing device operation outside defined windows is expressly taught by Wang et al. (‘103) as the mechanism for conserving power and reducing unnecessary GPS signal activity ([0023]: “the receiver uses a background sleep/wake up process…to conserve power”), and Snyder et al. (‘424) confirms that a microprocessor executing an algorithm is the appropriate means by which GPS signal operations are selectively controlled in a GPS re-radiation system (col. 13, lines 30–34). There is a reasonable expectation of success because programming a microcontroller to disable a device output during defined time periods is a basic and well-understood embedded systems design technique that was routine in the art at the time of the invention;
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches reradiate satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals obtained from the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver at temporal locations in the one or more reradiation windows defined by the minimal time controlled reradiation schedule to zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers (col. 3, lines 8–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”).
Regarding Claim 11, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one hot start reradiation window having an interval of one hour and having a duration of thirty seconds; at least one warm start reradiation window having an interval of three and a half hours and having a duration of one minute; and at least one cold start reradiation window having an interval of four thousand hours and having a duration of fifteen minutes ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define specific interval and duration parameters for hot, warm, and cold start reradiation windows in the system of claim 10. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are driven by the known timing characteristics of GPS ephemeris validity and satellite signal acquisition requirements ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that the hot, warm, and cold start states of GPS receivers have well-established timing parameters that directly inform how frequently and for how long a GPS re-radiator needs to operate to serve each state. There is a reasonable expectation of success because the specific timing parameters for GPS start states were part of the common general knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the GPS arts at the time of the invention, making their application to the reradiation window schedule a predictable design choice.
Regarding Claim 12, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one hot start reradiation window having an interval of one hour and having a duration of thirty seconds ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a hot start reradiation window with a one-hour interval and thirty-second duration in the system of claim 10. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are scheduled based on known ephemeris update cycles ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a hot start condition requires only a brief reradiation window at a relatively frequent interval to maintain GPS receiver synchronization. There is a reasonable expectation of success because defining a short-duration, frequent-interval window for a hot start scenario requires only the straightforward application of known GPS hot start timing characteristics to the scheduling framework of Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 13, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one warm start reradiation window having an interval of three and a half hours and having a duration of one minute ([0022]: “In the case of GPS, the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”; [0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a warm start reradiation window with a three-and-a-half-hour interval and one-minute duration in the system of claim 10. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that GPS operational windows are scheduled based on known ephemeris validity periods of approximately four hours ([0022]: “the transmitted ephemeris are updated every two hours even though they are valid for a period of four hours”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a warm start condition necessitates a moderately longer duration and moderately frequent interval compared to a hot start window to allow sufficient time for ephemeris update acquisition. There is a reasonable expectation of success because selecting a window interval within the known ephemeris validity period and a duration sufficient for ephemeris acquisition is a straightforward application of known GPS warm start timing characteristics to the scheduling framework of Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 14, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does not explicitly teach, but Wang et al. (‘103) teaches wherein the one or more reradiation windows include: at least one cold start reradiation window having an interval of four thousand hours and having a duration of fifteen minutes ([0026]: “the receiver may determine when the stored ephemeris for a satellite is due to expire, e.g., four or six hours after the time stamp on the ephemeris, and schedule the next wake up when the ephemeris expires”; [0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to define a cold start reradiation window with a very long interval and extended duration in the system of claim 10. One would have been motivated to do so because Wang et al. (‘103) teaches that when GPS signals cannot be acquired the device stops its scheduled operation until manually restarted ([0027]: “if no signals can be acquired after several wake up trials, then the receiver may stop the background sleep/wakeup process until the user makes a manual start”), and a person of ordinary skill in the art would have known that a cold start condition occurs rarely and requires a longer reradiation duration to allow full GPS signal and almanac acquisition. There is a reasonable expectation of success because defining a long-interval, extended-duration window for a cold start scenario is a straightforward application of well-known GPS cold start timing characteristics to the scheduling framework of Wang et al. (‘103).
Regarding Claim 15, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver has: a first unobstructed signal path with respect to a first satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites; a second unobstructed signal path with respect to a second satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites; and a third unobstructed signal path with respect to a third satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellite from the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time. Consequently, accurately determining the position of a GPS receiver requires the GPS receiving antenna to be in the line-of-sight of these GPS transmitting antennas at all times”).
Regarding Claim 16, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver substantially continuously receives satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites (col. 1, lines 46–53: “a GPS receiving antenna must have an unobstructed view of the sky such that a minimum number of GPS satellites are always in view at any particular time”; col. 3, lines 1–5: “antenna system 5 includes a link antenna 12 for receiving the GPS signal 6 from a GPS transmitting antenna 8”).
Regarding Claim 17, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 10.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches wherein the first satellite-based navigation and positioning system receiver is mounted on an exterior surface of a satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay proximate to an exit of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay (Claim 8: “a link antenna, positioned generally to receive signals from outside of the structure, for receiving the GPS signal”; col. 2, lines 8–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”).
Regarding Claim 18, Claim 18 depends from claim 17. Lovinggood et al. (‘973) in view of Wang et al. (‘103) and further in view of Snyder et al. (‘424) teaches the system of claim 17.
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator is mounted on an interior surface of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signal obstructing vehicle bay such that satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals reradiated by the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiator are directed away from the exit (col. 3, lines 8–13: “The GPS repeater 14 boosts the received GPS signal 7 and drives an internal broadcast antenna 16 that radiates the second GPS signal 15 inside the structure 10”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches at least a portion of the satellite-based navigation and positioning system re-radiating antenna proximate to the exit is shielded (col. 1, lines 31–41: “The isolation depends on the antenna type, front to back (F/B) ratio, beamwidth and antenna placement/separation”; col. 1, lines 21–30: “a link antenna which is directed/aimed at the transmitting antenna…The broadcast antenna has a larger beamwidth which is determined by the intended area to be covered”);
Lovinggood et al. (‘973) teaches: the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are spatially located within the vehicle bay such that the zero or more second satellite-based navigation and positioning system receivers are obstructed from otherwise receiving the satellite-based navigation and positioning system signals transmitted by the constellation of satellite-based navigation and positioning system satellites is a contingent element. Pursuant to MPEP § 2111.04, this element is contingent upon the presence of second receivers and need not be separately addressed; however, Lovinggood et al. (‘973) does teach this concept (col. 2, lines 8–13: “GPS receivers are blocked from communicating with GPS satellites when the receivers are inside a structure such as a building, a car garage, a tunnel, etc.”).
Conclusion
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/REMASH R GUYAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648