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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references listed in the Information Disclosure Statements filed on 04/30/2024 have been considered by the examiner (see attached PTO-1449 forms).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Petrov [US Patent Application 2024/0310505 A1].
Regarding claim 11, Petrov a radar system for processing a radar signal using Doppler Division multiplexing (DDM), the radar signal being transmitted from a plurality of transmitters each using a different phase shift keying scheme, an order of at least one of the different phase shift keying schemes not being a power of two, wherein the radar signal is transmitted from the plurality of transmitters each using a different respective phase shift keying scheme, and received at a plurality of receivers, each combination of transmitter and receiver representing a virtual antenna (figure 1 radar system, 0011, 0015, 0018, 0019);
the radar system comprising:
a received radar data input for receiving digital received radar data converted from received signals at the plurality of receivers (received radar data - 0028);
a range Fourier transform unit connected to the received radar data input and having an output (performs a range FFT - 0029);
a Doppler Fourier transform unit having an input connected to the output of the range Fourier transform unit and having an output for providing a plurality of bins each containing a complex number value as a function of range and Doppler (performs a Doppler FFT - 0030); and
a DDM decoding unit having an input connected to the output of the Doppler Fourier transform unit and having an output for outputting a complex number value as a function of range, Doppler and virtual antenna (optional steps 345, 350, 355 – 0031-0033); and
a centering unit centering data in the bins of the Doppler Fourier transform unit on zero connected before the input of the Doppler Fourier transform unit or a phase shift correcting unit connected to the output of the Doppler Fourier transform unit (performs phase correction - 0034-0035).
Regarding claim 12, Petrov the plurality of transmitters each using a different phase shift keying scheme, the plurality of receivers, and a demodulator connected to the plurality of receivers for outputting the digital received radar data (figure 1 radar system, 0011, 0015, 0018, 0019) (0022-024).
Regarding claim 13, Petrov a phase correction data unit connected to the output of the DDM decoding unit (figure 1, signal processor 180, performs phase correction - 0034-0035).
Regarding claim 14, Petrov a phase correction unit to each transmitter for applying an angle correction phase shift to the radar signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitters (performs phase correction - 0034-0035).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 and 15 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claim 1 is allowed because the closest prior art, Petrov [US Patent Application 2024/0310505 A1], fails to anticipate or render obvious (a) correcting for angle estimation distortion resulting from phase components injected as a result of the at least one of the different phase shift keying schemes not being a power of two; (b) correcting for rotating phases in the complex number values of the transformed data cube resulting from the order of at least one of the different phase shift keying schemes not being a power of two; and (c) avoiding amplitude distortion caused by inter-bin misalignment of odd DDM (ODDM) shifted peaks in a spectrum of the Doppler Fourier transform, in combination with all other limitations in the claim(s) as defined by applicant.
Claim 15 is allowed because the closest prior art, Petrov [US Patent Application 2024/0310505 A1], fails to anticipate or render obvious a mixed radix Doppler Fourier transform unit connected to the output of the range Fourier transform unit and an output for a number of bins each containing a complex number value as a function of range and Doppler, the number of bins being an integer multiple of the order of each of the different phase shift keying schemes; and a DDM decoding unit connected to the output of the mixed radix Doppler Fourier transform unit for outputting a complex number value as a function of range, Doppler and virtual antenna, and at least one of: a phase correction data unit connected to the output of the DDM decoding unit; or a phase correction unit connected to each transmitter for applying an angle correction phase shift to the radar signal transmitted from the plurality of transmitters, in combination with all other limitations in the claim(s) as defined by applicant.
Relevant Prior Art / Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Rao et al. (US Patent Number 11,846,700 B2) discloses a radar system for determining a phase shift induced in a subset of chirp signals;
MANNESSON et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2024/0103129 A1) discloses a radar comprises an array of physical receivers with a first spacing in a first direction and a plurality of physical transmitters arranged with a second spacing in said first direction;
Roger et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2021/0364599 A1) discloses a radar receiving system for determining and compensating for phase offsets.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICKY GO whose telephone number is (571)270-3340. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arleen M. Vazquez can be reached on (571) 272-2619. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/RICKY GO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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