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 .
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 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.
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the application filed on 03/29/2024.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/01/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4-8, 12-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Forbes (US 20230296751 A1), hereinafter Forbes.
Regarding claim 1, Forbes discloses
a first antenna (See at least Fig. 2, Item 30TX, [0033] “transmit antenna 30TX”);
a second antenna (See at least Fig. 2, Item 30RX, [0033] “receive antenna 30RX”);
a processing device (See at least Figs. 1-2, Items 18, 24, [0032] “wireless circuitry 24 may include processing circuitry (e.g., one or more processors) that forms a part of processing circuitry 18” See also [0021]);
a baseband processor comprising radio logic and radar logic, wherein the baseband processor is coupled to the processing device, the first antenna, and the second antenna (See at least Figs. 1-2, [0032] “control circuitry 14 may include baseband circuitry (e.g., one or more baseband processors), […] that forms part of communications circuitry 26 and/or sensing circuitry 28”), and wherein the first wireless device is configured to establish, using the radio logic, a wireless connection with a second wireless device (See at least [0036] “Communications circuitry 26 may use antennas 30 to transmit and/or receive radio-frequency signals that convey the wireless communications data between device 10 and external wireless communications equipment”);
radio frequency front-end (RFFE) circuitry comprising a transmit (TX) chain coupled to the first antenna and a receive (RX) chain coupled to the second antenna (See at least Fig. 2, [0033] “TX chains 42 or TX circuitry 42) coupled to a first antenna 30 such as transmit antenna 30TX. Sensing circuitry 28 may also include one or more receive (RX) paths 44 (sometimes referred to herein as RX chains 44”); and
a local oscillator (LO) coupled to the TX chain by a first mixer and coupled to the RX chain by a second mixer, wherein the LO generates an LO signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0036] “Mixers 56 and 66 may have second inputs that receive a local oscillator (LO) signal from LO generator 62”), and wherein the first wireless device is configured to generate, using the radar logic, a first baseband signal comprising a set of chirps (See at least Fig. 2, [0036] “signal generator 34 generates chirp signals that are provided to I/Q modulator 52.”);
generate, using the first mixer, a first RF signal by mixing the first baseband signal with the LO signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0039] “Radio-frequency TX mixer 56 may upconvert the chirp signal to radio-frequencies using the LO signal received from LO generator 62”);
send, via the TX chain, the first RF signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0039] “Transmit antenna 30TX may transmit the amplified chirp signal as radio-frequency signals 48”);
receive, via the RX chain, a second RF signal comprising reflected signals corresponding to the first RF signal (See at least Fig. 2 [0040] “Receive antenna 30RX may receive reflected signals 50 and may pass the reflected signals down receive path 44.”);
generate, using the second mixer, a second baseband signal by mixing the second RF signal with the LO signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “Radio-frequency RX mixer 66 may use the LO signal from LO generator 62 to downconvert the reflected signals from radio-frequencies to baseband”);
generate, using the radar logic, digital values representing a beat signal using the first and second baseband signals (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50”, [0041] “ADC 74”); and
determine, using the digital values, that an environment in which the first wireless device is located has been disrupted by a presence or motion of an object. (See at least Fig. 2, Item 80, [0049] “Range detector 80 may then process the recovered SOI to identify (e.g., generate, estimate, produce, compute, calculate, recover, measure, etc.) range R between device 10 and external object 46”)
Regarding claim 4, Forbes discloses
at a first time, sending, using a transmit (TX) chain of radio frequency front-end (RFFE) circuitry of the first wireless device, data to a second wireless device (See at least [0036] “Communications circuitry 26 may use antennas 30 to transmit and/or receive radio-frequency signals that convey the wireless communications data between device 10 and external wireless communications equipment”); and
at a second time, at the first wireless device: generating a chirp signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0036] “signal generator 34 generates chirp signals that are provided to I/Q modulator 52.”);
sending, using the TX chain, the chirp signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0039] “Transmit antenna 30TX may transmit the amplified chirp signal as radio-frequency signals 48”);
receiving, using a RX chain of the RFFE circuitry, reflected signals corresponding to the chirp signal (See at least Fig. 2 [0040] “Receive antenna 30RX may receive reflected signals 50 and may pass the reflected signals down receive path 44.”);
determining, using the reflected signals and the chirp signal, a first set of digital values (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50”, [0041] “ADC 74”); and
determining, using the first set of digital values, that an environment in which the first wireless device is located has been disrupted by an object (See at least Fig. 2, Item 80, [0049] “Range detector 80 may then process the recovered SOI to identify (e.g., generate, estimate, produce, compute, calculate, recover, measure, etc.) range R between device 10 and external object 46”);
Regarding claim 5, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Forbes additionally discloses
generating a second set of digital values (See at least Fig. 2, [0036] “signal generator 34 generates chirp signals that are provided to I/Q modulator 52.”);
converting, via a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) of the TX chain (See at least Fig. 2, [0036] “Signal generator 34 may include a chirp generator 36 having an output coupled to digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 38”), the second set of digital values into a first baseband signal, wherein generating the chirp signal comprises combining the first baseband signal and a local oscillator (LO) signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0039] “Radio-frequency TX mixer 56 may upconvert the chirp signal to radio-frequencies using the LO signal received from LO generator 62”);
determining a second baseband signal by removing the LO signal from the reflected signals (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “Radio-frequency RX mixer 66 may use the LO signal from LO generator 62 to downconvert the reflected signals from radio-frequencies to baseband”); and
converting, via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) of the RX chain, the second baseband signal into a third set of digital values, wherein determining the first set of digital values comprises comparing the second and third sets of digital values (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50” , [0041] “ADC 74”).
Regarding claim 6, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claims 4 and 5. Forbes additionally discloses
comparing the second and third sets of digital values comprises determining a phase difference between the first and second baseband signals (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50”).
Regarding claim 7, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claims 4 and 5. Forbes additionally discloses
comparing the second and third sets of digital values comprises generating a beat signal using the second and third sets of digital values, wherein the first set of digital values is the beat signal (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50”).
Regarding claim 8, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Forbes additionally discloses
the TX chain is configured for Wi-Fi® operations (See at least [0027] “The frequency bands handled by communications circuitry 26 may include wireless local area network (WLAN) frequency bands (e.g., Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11)”).
Regarding claim 12, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all of the limitations of claim 4. Forbes additionally discloses
determining that a value of the first set of digital values satisfies a threshold (See at least Fig. 2, Item 78, [0049] “RF impairment canceller 78 may then subtract the second baseband signals stored on the buffer from the first baseband signals stored on the buffer (e.g., RF impairment canceller 78 may generate a difference value between the first and second reflected signals using a subtractor). The 180-degree phase difference between the first and second baseband signals may cause this subtraction to recover the SOI from the baseband signals while removing the non-SOI produced by the RF impairments” Forbes discloses filtering through cancellation, a threshold such that non signals of interest are removed); and
identifying, in response to determining that the value satisfies the threshold, one or more peaks of the first set of digital values (See at least Fig. 2, Item 80, [0060] “Range detector 80 may then more easily resolve the SOI in the signal (e.g., by peak-detecting peak 108) for accurately detecting range R due to the removal of on-chip leakage from the signal.”).
Regarding claim 13, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 4. Accordingly, claim 13 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 4, shown above.
Regarding claim 14, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 5. Accordingly, claim 14 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 5, shown above.
Regarding claim 15, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 6. Accordingly, claim 15 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 6, shown above.
Regarding claim 16, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 7. Accordingly, claim 16 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 7, shown above.
Regarding claim 17, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 8. Accordingly, claim 17 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 8, shown above.
Regarding claim 20, applicant recites limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as claim 12. Accordingly, claim 20 is rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claim 12, shown above.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forbes, in view of DeSalvo (US 11221404 B1), hereinafter DeSalvo.
Regarding claim 2, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all the limitations of claim 1. Forbes does not explicitly disclose the beat signal indicates a delay between sending the first RF signal and receiving the reflected signals, and wherein the delay corresponds to a physical distance between the first wireless device and a location within the environment that has been disrupted by the presence or motion of the object. However, DeSalvo, in the same or in a similar field of endeavor, discloses
the beat signal indicates a delay between sending the first RF signal and receiving the reflected signals, and wherein the delay corresponds to a physical distance between the first wireless device and a location within the environment that has been disrupted by the presence or motion of the object (See at least Col. 16 Lines 49-52 “the range (e.g., distance) of a target may be determined by measuring a time period of a beat frequency signal associated with a radar signal returned from the target.”).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the wireless device system disclosed by Forbes with the ranging system disclosed by DeSalvo. One would have been motivated to do so in order to advantageously improve beat frequency detection in order to further optimize transponder localization (See at least Col. 8 Lines 9-10 “techniques for improving beat frequency detection in order to further optimize transponder localization”).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forbes, in view of Subburaj (US 20170023663 A1), hereinafter Subburaj.
Regarding claim 10, Forbes, as shown above, discloses all the limitations of claim 4. Forbes additionally discloses
extracting the (See at least Fig. 2, Items 54, 68, 70, [0039] “Signal splitter 54 may pass the chirp signal to radio-frequency TX mixer 56 and to de-chirp mixer 70 over de-chirp path 68”); and
sending the baseband signal to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) (See at least Fig. 2, [0040] “De-chirp mixer 70 may mix the signals received at its first and second inputs to produce or generate baseband signals that correspond to beats associated with the difference in phase between the chirp signal in the transmitted radio-frequency signals 48 and the chirp signal in the received reflected signals 50”, [0041] “ADC 74”)
Forbes does not explicitly disclose generating a delayed chirp signal by causing the chirp signal to propagate through delay circuitry, wherein an amount of delay corresponding to the delay circuitry is associated with a distance between a first antenna and a second antenna, the first antenna being coupled to the TX chain and the second antenna being coupled to the RX chain;
generating a delayed chirp signal by causing the chirp signal to propagate through delay circuitry, wherein an amount of delay corresponding to the delay circuitry is associated with a distance between a first antenna and a second antenna, the first antenna being coupled to the TX chain and the second antenna being coupled to the RX chain (See at least [0097] “Thus, the routing delay on the external path 708 is designed to be equal to the defined delay. A length of the external path 708 is designed such that it achieves the defined delay. […] a matching of the routing delay and the defined delay is limited by the following (but not limited to) distance between a transmit antenna and a receive antenna”, [0003] “This transmit signal is referred as a ramp signal or a chirp signal”);
(See at least [0097] “Thus, the routing delay on the external path 708 is designed to be equal to the defined delay. A length of the external path 708 is designed such that it achieves the defined delay. […] a matching of the routing delay and the defined delay is limited by the following (but not limited to) distance between a transmit antenna and a receive antenna”, [0003] “This transmit signal is referred as a ramp signal or a chirp signal”); and
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the wireless device system disclosed by Forbes with the delay system disclosed by Subburaj. One would have been motivated to do so in order to advantageously reduce cost (See at least [0100] “This would unduly increase the size of the radar apparatus 700 and the overall costs. Therefore, an external path such as external path 708 provides a feasible solution for compensating the defined delay.”).
Allowable Subject Matter
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Allowance of claims 3, 9, 11, and 18-19 is indicated because:
None of the prior art of record teach or suggest the subject matter of dependent claims 3, 9, 11, and 18-19. The prior art of record does not anticipate or render fairly obvious in combination to teach all of the additional limitations of the claimed invention, as best understood within the context of Applicant’s claimed invention as a whole, such as in claim 3, wherein the radar logic comprises a look-up table (LUT) comprising an offset value representing a difference between historical FMCW and OFDM power levels at a frequency or frequency range, and in claims 9, and similarly claim 18, generating the chirp signal comprises repeatedly rotating an index of a circular buffer storing a second set of digital values representing a chirp, and wherein the chirp signal comprises multiple instances of the chirp, and in claims 11, and similarly claim 19, generating the chirp signal comprises determining an offset value representing a difference between historical frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) and OFDM power levels at a frequency or frequency range, the chirp signal being an FMCW signal.
Accordingly, claims 3, 9, 11, and 18-19 are deemed to have allowable subject matter.
Claims 3, 9, 11, and 18-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zoubi (US 20240322935 A1) - An apparatus is disclosed for jammer detection. In example aspects, the apparatus includes a wireless transceiver configured to be connected to multiple antennas. The wireless transceiver is configured to transmit a radar transmit signal using a first antenna of the multiple antennas. The wireless transceiver is also configured to receive a radar receive signal via a second antenna of the multiple antennas, with the radar receive signal associated with the radar transmit signal and comprising a jamming signal component. The wireless transceiver is additionally configured to adjust at least one transmission parameter based on a detected presence of the jamming signal component. The wireless transceiver is further configured to transmit an uplink signal based on the adjusted at least one transmission parameter.
Bourdoux (US 20240201317 A1) - Example embodiments describe a radio device for wireless communication and radar sensing, the radio device including: a transmitter configured to generate a modulated RF signal and to transmit the modulated RF signal via a transmitting antenna; and a receiver configured to receive a modulated RF signal via a receiving antenna and to down-convert the received modulated RF signal. The radio device additionally includes a selector unit configured to provide the receiver with a copy of the transmit modulated RF signal, or, a local oscillator signal for down-converting the received modulated RF signal, thereby enabling wireless communication and radar sensing operation.
Hur (US 20230106793 A1) - An electronic device may include wireless circuitry with one or more antennas that transmit radio-frequency signals and that receive corresponding reflected signals. The wireless circuitry may detect a range to an external object based on the transmitted and received signals. The wireless circuitry may include a receive path having a mixer, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a filter between the mixer and the ADC. The receive path may include a bypass path with a switch coupled around the filter. The wireless circuitry may detect the range to the external object within an ultra-short range (USR) domain when the switch is closed, thereby bypassing the filter in the receive path. The wireless circuitry may detect the range to the external object within a far-field domain when the switch is open. The filter may filter the reflected signals to remove undesired leakage and maximize dynamic range.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH W GOOD whose telephone number is (571)272-4186. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thu 7:30 am - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William J. Kelleher can be reached on (571) 272-7753. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KENNETH W GOOD/
Examiner, Art Unit 3648