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 01/09/2026 have been considered by the examiner and been placed of record in the file.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 7-12 and 24-32 are withdrawn from further consideration based on the election to restriction requirements mailed 05/26/2026.
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 1-6 and 13-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou (US 2022/0029871 A1) in view of Gruenberg et al. (Self-directional Microwave Communication System).
Claim 1. Zou discloses A method (FIG. 1 and 2) comprising:
modulating thermal noise in a transmitter based on data to provide a signal (read as … generating data to be transmitted and a modulator 112 for modulating the data to be transmitted [0023]); and
transmitting the signal including the data as output of the transmitter (read as … generating data to be transmitted and a modulator 112 for modulating the data to be transmitted [0023]).
Zou does not explicitly disclose modulating thermal noise. However, in the related field of endeavor Gruenberg et al. disclose the idea of modulating thermal noise for communication throughout the document (…thermal noise (introduction) … Modulation and demodulation (Page 158 right column)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of Zou with the teaching of Gruenberg et al. in order to provide a communication system capable of providing directional transmission and reception between terminals of unknown position without requiring prior scanning on the part of either terminal; i.e., the system is self-directional (Gruenberg et al. - introduction).
Claim 2. The method of claim 1, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the transmitter comprises an antenna (Zou: FIG. 4 and 5 antennas shown), and
wherein said transmitting the signal is performed wirelessly using the antenna (Zou: read as … modulated with data to be transmitted [0025]).
Claim 3. The method of claim 1, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein said modulating the thermal noise comprises modulating a signal intensity of the signal (Gruenberg et al.: read as amplitude modulation (Page 153, line 10 right column)) at least in part based on the data (Gruenberg et al.: page 151, lines 3-6, left column) in a transmitter based on data to provide a signal (Gruenberg et al.: read as this signal becomes a carrier that can be modulated, with the result that directional communication between the two terminals becomes possible (Introduction) … Other types of signal modulation can be used (Page 158, line 10 right column). Signal modulation usually depends on data (i.e. if it is very noisy)).
Claim 4. The method of claim 3, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
further comprising:
coupling an output node of the transmitter to at least one electronic component in the transmitter responsive to each bit of the data having a first binary value (Zou: read as The three control signals VCTL1-3 control the antenna switch shown as a single-pole-3-throw switch (SP3T) to connect one of the multiple impedances Z1, Z2, Z3 to the antenna. For example, when Vin<Vref1, VCTL1=1, i.e. logic high, then the pole of the antenna switch SP3T is thrown to the first position P1 and the impedance Z1 is connected to the antenna… [0044]); and
decoupling the output node from the electronic component responsive to each bit of data having a second binary value (Zou: read as Z1, Z2 and Z3 may be selected as Za*, i.e. match to the antenna impedance, infinite i.e. open circuit, and 0, i.e. short circuit to the ground [0045]),
wherein the thermal noise comprises thermal noise of the at least one electronic component (Gruenberg et al.: read as …thermal noise (introduction) … Modulation and demodulation (Page 158 right column))).
Claim 5. The method of claim 4, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein said decoupling comprises coupling the output node to a reference voltage (Zou: FIG. 4, antenna can be coupled to the ground node).
Claim 6. The method of claim 4, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein a first impedance of the transmitter to the output node when the output node is coupled to the at least one electronic component is a closer impedance match than a second impedance of the transmitter to the output node when the output node is decoupled from the at least one electronic component (Zou: read as Z1, Z2 and Z3 may be selected as Za*, i.e. match to the antenna impedance, infinite i.e. open circuit, and 0, i.e. short circuit to the ground. According to Equation (1) [0045]).
Claim 13. Zou discloses An apparatus (FIG. 1-5) comprising:
at least one electronic component (FIG. 1-5);
a controller (FIG. 5 baseband processor item 550) configured to modulate thermal noise from the at least one electronic component to provide a signal representing data (read as … generating data to be transmitted and a modulator 112 for modulating the data to be transmitted [0023]); and
a transmitter configured to transmit the signal at an output node transmitter (read as … generating data to be transmitted and a modulator 112 for modulating the data to be transmitted [0023]).
Zou does not explicitly disclose modulating thermal noise. However, in the related field of endeavor Gruenberg et al. disclose the idea of modulating thermal noise for communication throughout the document (…thermal noise (introduction) … Modulation and demodulation (Page 158 right column)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, at the time the invention was filed, to modify the teaching of Zou with the teaching of Gruenberg et al. in order to provide a communication system capable of providing directional transmission and reception between terminals of unknown position without requiring prior scanning on the part of either terminal; i.e., the system is self-directional (Gruenberg et al. - introduction).
Claim 14. The apparatus of claim 13, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the electronic component comprises a resistor (Zou: FIG. , resistors R).
Claim 15. The apparatus of claim 13, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the controller comprises a subcarrier generator configured to generate a subcarrier frequency (Zou: read as … multiple subcarriers modulator [0006]. FIG. 2 subcarriers 1 and 2. There must be a subcarrier generator), and
wherein the controller is configured to modulate the thermal noise further based on the subcarrier frequency (Zou: read as modulated signal by modulating a first data stream Data1 with a first subcarrier Sub-carrier1 having a first frequency f1 [0029]).
Claim 16. The apparatus of claim 13, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
further comprising an antenna coupled to the output node,
wherein the transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit the signal through the antenna (Zou: read as The data to be transmitted [0034]. FIG. 1 and 2).
Claim 17. The apparatus of claim 13, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
further comprising a harvester configured to harvest energy and further configured to provide power based on the harvested energy (Zou: read as photo-diodes [0003]),
wherein the controller is configured to modulate the power to provide the signal representing the data (Zou: read as photo-diodes [0003]).
Claim 18. The apparatus of claim 17, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the harvester comprises one or more photovoltaic cells (Zou: read as photo-diodes [0003]).
Claim 19. The apparatus of claim 13, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
further comprising:
a switch coupled to the output node (Zou: FIG. 2, item 210),
wherein the controller is configured to provide a control signal based on each bit of the data (Zou: FIG. 2, controller 270 provides output based on input data S1 and S2), and
wherein the switch is configured to couple the output node to the at least one electronic component responsive to the control signal based on each bit of the data having a first binary value in a first state, and further configured to decouple the output node from the at least one electronic component responsive to the control signal based on each bit of data having a second binary value in a second state (Zou: FIG. 2, controller 270 provides output based on input data S1 and S2. Different connections to items Z1-Z3 depends on the input data S1 and S2).
Claim 20. The apparatus of claim 19, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the switch is configured to selectively change an impedance matching of the apparatus responsive to the control signal (Zou: read as Z1, Z2 and Z3 may be selected as Za*, i.e. match to the antenna impedance, infinite i.e. open circuit, and 0, i.e. short circuit to the ground. According to Equation (1), the corresponding backscatter reflection coefficients are 0, −1 and 1 respectively [0045]).
Claim 21. The apparatus of claim 19, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the at least one electronic component is coupled between the switch and a reference voltage node (Zou: read as …match to the antenna impedance… short circuit to the ground [0045]).
Claim 22. The apparatus of claim 19, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the switch is configured to decouple the electronic component from the output node when the switch is in the first state (Zou: FIG. 2, controller 270 provides output based on input data S1 and S2. Different connections to items Z1-Z3 depends on the input data S1 and S2), and further
configured to couple the electronic component to the output node when the switch is in the second state (Zou: FIG. 2, controller 270 provides output based on input data S1 and S2. Different connections to items Z1-Z3 depends on the input data S1 and S2).
Claim 23. The apparatus of claim 19, the combination of Zou and Gruenberg et al. teaches,
wherein the switch is further configured to couple the output node to a reference voltage when the switch is in the first state (Zou: read as …match to the antenna impedance… short circuit to the ground [0045]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Refer to PTO-892.
Additional prior art included in PTO-892 disclose ideas related to the claimed invention. In this regard Gupta (Application of Electrical Noise) disclose the idea of modulating thermal noise of resistors for communication.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMED RACHEDINE whose telephone number is (571)272-9249. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8-5.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeanette J. Parker can be reached at (571)270-3647. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MOHAMMED . RACHEDINE
Examiner
Art Unit 2649
/MOHAMMED RACHEDINE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2646
Prosecution Insights