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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE102023205198.2, filed on 06/02/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/20/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 35 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the font in Figs. 2, 10, 11A, 11B, and 12 is unclear and nearly unreadable. Fig. 12 is shown below representing what is viewable. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0025], “Fig. index for y axis is mile/hour while x axis in meters” is informal and improper in a figure description. A figure description should describe the content and nature of the figure at a structural level. Axis labeling annotations are not appropriate in the Brief Description of the Drawings section and should be removed or relocated to the Detailed Description of the Drawings.
Paragraph [0061] refers to Fig. 6. The Tx channels 712-1 and 712-2 are not found in the figure. The numerals 712-1 and 712-2 are not introduced, labeled, or defined in any drawing. ].
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 objected to because of the following informalities: “doppler” should be capitalized “Doppler”.
Claim 13 objected to because of the following informalities: The final limitation of Claim 13 recites “combining second unique phase code sequence with the scrambling phase code sequence.” The definite article “the” is omitted before “second unique phase code sequence.” As “second unique phase code sequence” was introduced earlier in the claim with the indefinite article (“a second unique phase code sequence”), subsequent references must use the definite article “the.” See MPEP § 2173.05(e). The limitation should read “combining the second unique phase code sequence with the scrambling phase code sequence.”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US 2021/0333386 A1) in view of Chen et al. (US 2020/0233076 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches:
Park et al. (‘386) teaches a radar apparatus, comprising a transmitter circuit comprising a plurality of transmit channels ([0064]: “MIMO radar apparatus 600 comprises transmitter circuitry 610. Transmitter circuitry 610 comprises a plurality of Tx channels 612-1, 612-2, . . . , 612-N.sub.T.”)
Park et al. (‘386) teaches the transmitter circuit configured to: transmit, via a first transmit channel, a first sequence of FMCW radar chirps, and transmit, via a second transmit channel, a second sequence of FMCW radar chirps concurrently with the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps ([0007]: “transmit, via a first subset of transmit channels of the plurality of transmit channels and during a first time interval, concurrent first frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar signals”; [0071]: “each Tx channel within a CDM subset has associated therewith a different phase modulation vector. In the example of FIG. 8A, the phase modulation vectors are taken from a binary phase modulation alphabet. In the illustrated example, Tx channel TX1 has associated therewith initial phases or phase offsets for its subsequent FMCW radar chirps of [0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°]. Tx channel TX2 has associated therewith initial phases for its subsequent FMCW radar chirps of [0°, 180°, 0°, 180°, 0°, 180°, 0°, 180°].”)
Park et al. (‘386) teaches a control circuit configured to: control the first transmit channel and the second transmit channel to set phases of FMCW radar chirps of the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and FMCW radar chirps of the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps in accordance with a phase modulation scheme ([0068]: “In a TDM time interval or time slot, the respective N.sub.CDM Tx channels of a CDM subset associated with that TDM time interval concurrently transmit their FMCW radar chirps in a CDM(A) MIMO like fashion. Each Tx channel of a CDM subset has associated therewith a unique phase modulation vector.”)
Park et al. (‘386) teaches wherein the phase modulation scheme comprises: a first unique phase code sequence assigned to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps according to the phase modulation scheme and a second unique phase code sequence assigned to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps according to the phase modulation scheme ([0011]: “the transmitter circuitry is configured to assign, to each transmit channel of a subset of transmit channels, a unique sequence of phase offsets applied to a sequence of FMCW chirps of the respective transmit channel. The sequences of phase offsets are different for different transmit channels of a subset.”)
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach wherein the first unique phase code sequence is combined with a scrambling phase code sequence and wherein the second unique phase code sequence is combined with the scrambling phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches applying a scrambling phase code sequence to each transmitted chirp across slow time: “a slow time phase coding scheme is applied to scramble each chirp within each chirp cycle of a full circular chirp cycle radar frame. Specifically, in some examples a random (or quasi-random) initial phase rotator (e.g., a scrambling code) is applied to each transmitted chirp over K chirp cycles of a radar frame,… where c.sub.m,k is the scrambling phase code applied to the mth transmitter of the kth chirp cycle” ([0062]). The corresponding receiver flowchart step is (FIG. 25, step 2504: “APPLY CONJUGATE OF SLOW TIME SCRAMBLING CODE”), confirming the scrambling code is a defined sequence applied consistently across transmitters.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Chen et al.’s scrambling phase code into Park et al.’s CDM/DDM system, applying a common scrambling phase code sequence combined with each channel’s unique phase code sequence, for the following reasons. Chen et al. explicitly identifies that FMCW MIMO radar systems suffer from phantom target generation when strong reflectors beyond the maximum detection range cause a reflected signal from one transmitter’s chirp to leak into an adjacent transmitter’s cross-correlation window ([0061]–[0062]). Park et al.’s concurrent CDM system is equally susceptible to this problem. Chen et al. teaches that applying a random or pseudo-random scrambling code and its conjugate at the receiver spreads any mismatched leakage across the Doppler domain, suppressing phantom targets without increasing noise ([0064]). Applying a single common scrambling code to all transmit channels simplifies receiver descrambling to a single conjugate operation across all transmitter-receiver pairs, a straightforward efficiency recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art. The combination requires no architectural modification to Park et al.’s system — Park’s control circuit already sets the phase of each transmit channel per chirp, and incorporating a scrambling code multiplication (Chen, FIG. 23, step 2312: “MULTIPLY LFM CHIRP BY SLOW TIME SCRAMBLING CODE”) is a compatible baseband operation. A reasonable expectation of success is established because both references operate on the same FMCW LFM slow-time phase modulation platform, and Chen demonstrates the technique’s effectiveness.
Regarding Claim 2, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
wherein a p-th phase value of the first unique phase code sequence is combined with a p-th phase value of the scrambling phase code sequence, and a p-th phase value of the second unique phase code sequence is combined with the p-th phase value of the scrambling phase code sequence.
Park et al. (‘386) teaches per-chirp indexed phase values for both the first and second unique phase code sequences ([0071]: TX1 phase sequence [0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°, 0°]; TX2 phase sequence [0°, 180°, 0°, 180°, 0°, 180°, 0°, 180°] — each entry is a p-th indexed phase value of the respective unique code sequence).
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach combining a p-th phase value of either unique code sequence with a p-th phase value of a scrambling phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches [0062] that c.sub.m,k is the scrambling phase code value for the m-th transmitter at the k-th chirp cycle, i.e., an indexed value at slow-time position k. In the combination, the p-th value of the scrambling code sequence (c.sub.m,p) is combined with the p-th phase value of the respective unique code sequence at each chirp position p. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 3, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) teaches wherein a p-th phase value of the scrambling phase code sequence is added to a p-th phase value of the first unique phase code sequence, and the p-th phase value of the scrambling phase code sequence is added to a p-th phase value of the second unique phase code sequence.
Park et al. (‘386) teaches phase offsets applied to each chirp as additive phase values ([0073]: TX3 phase sequence [0°, 270°, 180°, 90°, 0°, 270°, 180°, 90°] — a progressive 90° phase addition per chirp, confirming that phase combination in this system is implemented as addition).
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach adding a p-th phase value of a scrambling phase code sequence to the p-th phase value of either unique phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches that the scrambling code is applied ([0062]; FIG. 23, step 2312: “MULTIPLY LFM CHIRP BY SLOW TIME SCRAMBLING CODE” — phase multiplication by a unit-magnitude complex exponential is phase addition). The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 4, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
wherein the control circuit is configured to: select phase values of the scrambling phase code sequence in a range from 0° to 360°, control a first phase modulator of the transmitter circuit to set a combined phase for the first transmit channel, and control a second modulator of the transmitter circuit to set a combined phase for the second transmit channel.
The limitation directed to selecting phase values of the scrambling phase code sequence in a range from 0° to 360° is contingent upon the scrambling phase code sequence, which is introduced by Chen et al. as discussed for claim 1. Per MPEP § 2111.04, this contingent element is analyzed under the reference introducing the feature.
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach, but Chen et al. teaches generating the scrambling phase code values as a ([0063]: “uniform random phase rotator”), which draws phase values uniformly from [0, 2π].
Park et al. (‘386) teaches controlling phase modulators per transmit channel to set the phase per chirp ([0068]: “Each Tx channel of a CDM subset has associated therewith a unique phase modulation vector” — the control circuit sets the combined phase per channel at each chirp, corresponding to the first and second phase modulators recited in the claim).
Regarding Claim 5, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach wherein the control circuit is configured to: select phase values of the scrambling phase code sequence in accordance with a random distribution in a range from 0° to 360°, however Chen et al. (‘076) explicitly teaches generating the scrambling phase code as a ([0063]: “uniform random phase rotator”), which is a random distribution across 0° to 360°. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 6, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach wherein the control circuit is configured to: select phase values of the scrambling phase code sequence as uniformly distributed phases in a range from 0° to 360° and with randomly distributed positions within the scrambling phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches generating the scrambling phase code using pseudorandom sequences including ([0063]: “a Hadamard matrix, a (nested) Barker code, a Gold code”). These sequences produce phase values that are uniformly distributed across the phase range by construction (e.g., Hadamard codes distribute values uniformly over the available phases), while the pseudo-random code structure places those values at pseudo-randomly distributed positions within the sequence. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 7, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) teaches wherein the control circuit is configured to: in a first time interval, apply the scrambling phase code sequence to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps, and in a subsequent second time interval, apply the same scrambling phase code sequence to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps.
The application of the scrambling phase code sequence in the first time interval is contingent on the scrambling phase code sequence introduced by Chen et al. as discussed for claim 1.
Park et al. (‘386) teaches applying the same CDM scheme in successive time intervals: ([0016]: “the first subset of the transmit channels uses the same predefined CDM scheme during the first time interval as the second subset of the transmit channels during the second time interval”). In the combination, this same-scheme teaching applies equally to the scrambling phase code sequence component, such that the same scrambling phase code sequence is applied to both transmit channels across successive time intervals. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 8, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
wherein the control circuit is configured to in a first time interval, apply a first scrambling phase code sequence to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps, and in a subsequent second time interval, apply a different second scrambling phase code sequence to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps.
The application of a first scrambling phase code sequence in the first time interval is contingent on the scrambling phase code sequence introduced by Chen et al. as discussed for claim 1.
Park et al. (‘386) teaches applying different CDM schemes in different time intervals: ([0017]: “the first subset of the transmit channels uses a different predefined CDM scheme during the first time interval compared to the second subset of the transmit channels during the second time interval”). In the combination, this different-scheme teaching applies equally to the scrambling phase code sequence component, such that a different scrambling phase code sequence is applied in the subsequent second time interval. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 9, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
further comprising a memory configured to store the first unique phase code sequence and the second unique phase code sequence and/or the scrambling phase code sequence, and/or a random number generator configured to generate one or more scrambling phase code sequences.
The claim recites “and/or,” meaning the art need only teach one of the recited alternatives. Per MPEP § 2143.03, when a claim recites “A and/or B,” the prior art need only teach A or B.
Park et al. (‘386) teaches a memory configured to store the first and second unique phase code sequences ([0100]: “read only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage” — the predefined CDM phase modulation vectors, i.e., the unique phase code sequences, are stored for use by the transmitter circuitry). This meets the memory alternative for storing the unique phase code sequences.
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach, but Chen et al. (‘076) additionally teaches that the scrambling phase code is generated in a ([0063]: “random or pseudorandom manner”), establishing a random or pseudorandom number generator as the source of the scrambling code values, meeting the random number generator alternative. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 10, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) teaches wherein the control circuit is configured to select phase values of the first unique phase code sequence and the second unique phase code sequence from an M-ary phase modulation alphabet, wherein M is an integer equal to or greater than two ([0012]: “the transmitter circuitry is configured to select the different phase offsets from an M-ary phase modulation alphabet, wherein M≥2 is an integer. This means that the different phase offsets for the FMCW chirps can be chosen from a finite number of M alternative phase offsets. Examples of modulation alphabets would be BPSK, QPSK, 8-PSK, and the like.”)
Regarding Claim 11, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) teaches wherein the phase modulation scheme is a doppler division multiplexing (DDM) phase modulation scheme, ([0007]: “This is sometimes referred to as Doppler division multiplexing (DDM).”)
Regarding Claim 12, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches the radar apparatus of claim 1,
Park et al. (‘386) teaches further comprising: a receiver circuit comprising at least one receiver channel configured to receive a receive signal corresponding to reflections of the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps, ([0018]: “the MIMO radar apparatus may further include receiver circuitry which includes at least one receiver channel. The at least one receiver channel is configured to receive, during a first receive time interval, a first receive signal corresponding to reflections of the first FMCW radar signals.”)
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach wherein the receiver circuit is configured to perform a back-transformation based on the receive signal using the scrambling phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches that the receiver applies the conjugate of the scrambling phase code to the received echo signals as the back-transformation: ([0080]: “the phase code analyzer 2114 analyzes echo signals received at the receivers to descramble the signals based on the conjugate of the scrambling code applied at the time the signal was transmitted by a transmitter”); and FIG. 25, step 2504: “APPLY CONJUGATE OF SLOW TIME SCRAMBLING CODE.” The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Regarding Claim 13, Park et al. (‘386) in view of Chen et al. (‘076) teaches:
Park et al. (‘386) teaches a radar method, comprising: transmitting, via a first transmit channel, a first sequence of FMCW radar chirps; transmitting, via a second transmit channel, a second sequence of FMCW radar chirps concurrently with the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps ([0024]: “transmitting, via a first subset of a plurality of transmit channels and during a first time interval, concurrent first FMCW radar signals”; [0071]: TX1 and TX2 transmitting concurrently within a CDM subset, as discussed for claim 1.)
Park et al. (‘386) teaches controlling the first transmit channel and the second transmit channels to set phases of FMCW radar chirps of the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps and FMCW radar chirps of the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps in accordance with a phase modulation scheme ([0068]: “Each Tx channel of a CDM subset has associated therewith a unique phase modulation vector,” as discussed for claim 1.)
Park et al. (‘386) teaches assigning a first unique phase code sequence to the first sequence of FMCW radar chirps according to the phase modulation scheme and assigning a second unique phase code sequence to the second sequence of FMCW radar chirps according to the phase modulation scheme ([0011], as discussed for claim 1.)
Park et al. (‘386) does not explicitly teach combining the first unique phase code sequence with a scrambling phase code sequence and combining second unique phase code sequence with the scrambling phase code sequence, however Chen et al. (‘076) teaches combining each transmitter’s chirps with a scrambling phase code sequence across slow time ([0062]; FIG. 23, step 2312: “MULTIPLY LFM CHIRP BY SLOW TIME SCRAMBLING CODE”), as discussed for claim 1. The motivation and reasonable expectation of success are the same as stated for claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to REMASH R GUYAH whose telephone number is (571)270-0115. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Resha H Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/REMASH R GUYAH/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/RESHA DESAI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648