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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12-03-2025 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 17 have been cancelled. Claims 2, 3, 5, 8-11, 13-16, 19-22 are pending. Claims 18-22 are new.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 9, 11, 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 9 recites “two active transceivers attached to and in communication with the object and separate from each other by a fixed and predetermined distance.” However, the specification does not describe or otherwise disclose an object having two active transceivers separated by a fixed predetermined distance that are used for determining the position of the object. Instead, the specification consistently describes a system in which a mobile reader transmits a radio frequency signal that is received by a plurality of receivers, and a central processing unit determines the position of the mobile reader based on characteristics of the signal received by the receivers (see, e.g., paragraphs [0014], [0029]–[0033]).
Furthermore, claim 9 recites receiving, by at least one antenna attached to the object, a signal transmitted by an external source that tracks the object, and transmitting data to the external source to enable the external source to calculate the position of the object based on the relative position of the two active transceivers. The specification does not disclose or suggest this. Rather, the specification describes the mobile reader transmitting RF signals to external receivers, which determine the location of the mobile reader based on measurements such as phase, time difference of arrival, or signal strength.
Because the specification does not disclose two active transceivers attached to the object separated by a fixed predetermined distance, nor determining the object’s position based on the relative positions of such transceivers as recited in claim 9, the specification fails to provide adequate written description support for these limitations. The claim therefore includes subject matter that is not described in the specification in a manner sufficient to demonstrate possession of the claimed invention at the time of filing.
Therefore, claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(a) for lack of written description. Claims 11, 13 and 14, which depend from claim 9, are rejected for the same reasons, as they include the unsupported features of claim 9.
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(s) 2, 3, 8-11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WISHERD (US 2012/0013509).
Regarding claim 2,
Wisherd teaches a method of tracking an object, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving, by at least two receiver antennae (receivers 101–104 receiving location signals transmitted by object tag 110 and communicating the received data to central computer 120 via network 130, Fig. 1) an RF signal transmitted by a reader, the at least two receiver antenna having known spatial coordinates (receivers 101–104 positioned at known locations relative to the operating environment for determining the position of tag 110, Fig. 1 and accompanying description. Because [0032] states that receivers 101–104 have known positions relative to the operating environment, it is understood that the system must maintain location information (e.g., spatial coordinates or other positional data) for those receivers so that the position of Tag 110 can be computed relative to them);
calculating a signal characteristic of the RF signal (measuring arrival time of location signals and determining differences of arrival between the received signals in order to determine location, Fig. 4 processing steps);
calculating a position of the object based on the calculated signal characteristic, and the known spatial coordinates of the at least two receiver antennae (processor/controller 122 of central computer 120 determining the position of tag 110 based on signals received by receivers 101–104, Fig. 1); and associating the RF signal with the calculated position of the object (Wisherd teaches associating identifying information of an object with a calculated position. Specifically, the wireless tag transmits location signals including identifying information (e.g., “TAG ID” fields shown in FIGS. 8–10). These signals are received by receivers and processed by a central computer 120 that determines the position of the object based on the received signals. Accordingly, the external processing system determines the object’s position and associates that position with the identifying information contained in the transmitted signal. )
Regarding claim 10,
Wisherd teaches an object comprising:
a mobile device including a transmitter and at least one antenna ([0032] teaches that tag 110 will at least include a wireless transmitter for collectively but individually transmitting a burst of location signals over multiple frequency channels) configured to transmit a radiofrequency (RF) signal ([0026] teaches an object tags that provides adequate location signals for reliable position determination by using frequency channel) conveying identifying information of the object([0032] teaches that tag 110 will at least include a wireless transmitter for transmitting location signals over multiple frequency channels, while [0034] teaches that each location signal typically will include information to identify the specific tag);
wherein the RF signal is transmitted to an external source that tracks the object used for calculating a position of the mobile device based on the RF signal ([0032] teaches that an object tag 110 is located proximate to and in line-of-sight with receivers 1 through n 101, 102, 103, 104 and may cooperate to provide position determination of the object tag 110 relative to receivers 1 through n 101, 102, 103, 104), the identifying information, and known spatial coordinates of at least one receiver antenna ([0032] receivers 1 through n 101, 102, 103, 104, at least one of which may have a known position relative to an operating environment and, thus, by extrapolation, the position of object tag at 110 may also be determined relative to the operating environment; Because [0032] states that receivers 101–104 have known positions relative to the operating environment, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the system must maintain location information (e.g., spatial coordinates or other positional data) for those receivers so that the position of Tag 110 can be computed relative to them); and
wherein the external source associates the identifying information conveyed by the RF signal with the calculated position (Wisherd teaches associating identifying information of an object with a calculated position. Specifically, the wireless tag transmits location signals including identifying information (e.g., “TAG ID” fields shown in FIGS. 8–10). These signals are received by receivers and processed by a central computer 120 that determines the position of the object based on the received signals. As such, the external processing system determines the object’s position and associates that position with the identifying information contained in the transmitted signal.)
Regarding claim 3,
Wisherd teaches that the object includes multiple objects tracked by the external source ( Wisherd teaches tracking multiple objects within an operating environment. Specifically, Wisherd discloses a system in which tags attached to objects transmit signals that are received by multiple receivers and processed by a central computer to determine object positions (see [0023]-[0026], [0032]). Because the system determines positions of transmitting tags within the environment, and the system architecture contemplates multiple tagged assets transmitting signals that are processed by the external system, Wisherd teaches tracking multiple objects by the external source.)
Regarding claim 5,
Wisherd teaches that the signal characteristic includes at least one of a signal strength, a phase time of arrival, angle of arrival, and a time difference of arrival of [[an]]the RF signal (Wisherd teaches determining signal characteristics based on the arrival of RF signals at multiple receivers. In particular, Wisherd discloses determining the position of a transmitting tag based on differences in the arrival times of signals received at receivers located at known positions (see [0031]-[0034]). Determining location based on differences in signal arrival times corresponds to determining signal characteristics such as time-of-arrival and time-difference-of-arrival of the RF signal. Accordingly, Wisherd teaches determining signal characteristics of the RF signal used to calculate the position of the object.)
Regarding claim 8,
Wisherd teaches that the wherein the at least one antenna transmits a timestamp to the external source which calculates the position of the object using the timestamp and the fixed and predetermined distance (Wisherd teaches determining the location of a transmitting tag based on signal arrival times measured at receivers ([0031]-[0034]; [0044] teaches computing the distance between each receiver and the object and further teaches reliance upon location methodology, such as Time of arrival).
Regarding claim 11,
Wisherd teaches that the object includes multiple objects tracked by the external source(Wisherd teaches tracking multiple tagged objects within an operating environment. The system determines positions of transmitting tags by receiving signals from the tags and calculating their positions using receivers located at known positions (see [0023]-[0026], [0032]). Thus, the external system tracks multiple objects within the operating environment.)
Regarding claim 13,
Wisherd teaches calculating by the external source at least one of a phase time of arrival, angle of arrival, and a time difference of arrival of an RF signal from the at least one antenna(Wisherd teaches determining the position of a transmitting object tag based on differences in arrival times of signals received at multiple receivers. Specifically, signals transmitted by the tag are received at multiple receivers positioned at known locations, and the system determines the location of the transmitting tag based on differences in the arrival times of the signals (see [0031]-[0034]). These calculations correspond to determining signal characteristics such as time-of-arrival or time-difference-of-arrival of the RF signal.)
Regarding claim 15,
Wisherd teaches that the first data includes a combination of identifier information and information about the object(Wisherd teaches transmitting identifying information associated with a tagged object. In particular, Wisherd discloses that signals transmitted by the tag include identifying information such as a tag identifier (“TAG ID”) identifying the transmitting object tag (see [0037]-[0039]; FIGS. 8–10). Because the transmitted RF signal contains identifying information associated with the tagged object, Wisherd teaches transmitting data including identifier information relating to the object.)
Regarding claim 16,
Wisherd teaches that the calculating the position of the object by the external source further comprises: measuring a signal strength of the first data transmitted by each of the at least two active transceivers (Wisherd determines object position based on differences in arrival times of RF signals received at multiple receivers ([0031]-[0034]; [0029] teaches using various forms of data to determine the position of an object, such as received signal strength indication (RSSI)); and determining the distance between each active transceiver and the external source based at least in part on the measured signal strength ([0029] teaches to determine the position of an object using received signal strength indication (RSSI)).
Regarding claim 18,
Wisherd teaches storing the calculated position of the object in a database for tracking(Wisherd discloses a central computer that receives information from receivers and determines the position of tagged objects (see [0026]-[0029]; FIG. 1). Because the central computer determines the positions of tagged objects within the system, the determined positions are necessarily stored or maintained within the system for purposes such as tracking objects within the environment. Accordingly, Wisherd teaches storing calculated object positions within the system.)
Regarding claim 19,
Wisherd teaches determining successive positions of the mobile device calculated over time(Wisherd discloses repeatedly receiving signals from transmitting object tags and determining their positions within an operating environment (see [0023]-[0026], [0031]-[0034]). Because the receivers continually receive transmitted signals from the tags and the system repeatedly calculates the positions of the tags, the system necessarily determines successive positions of the tagged objects over time.)
Regarding claim 21,
Wisherd teaches that the data of the RF signal transmitted by the mobile device includes an identifier of the object being tracked(Wisherd teaches that RF signals transmitted by the tag include identifying information associated with the tagged object. In particular, the transmitted position-determination signal includes fields such as a “TAG ID” identifying the transmitting object tag ([0037]-[0039]; see FIGS. 8–10). Accordingly, the RF signal transmitted by the object includes an identifier of the object being tracked).
Regarding claim 22,
Wisherd teaches that the external source associates the identifier with the calculated position(Wisherd teaches associating identifying information with the calculated position of a tagged object. Signals transmitted by the object tag include identifying information such as a tag identifier (“TAG ID”) ([0037]-[0039]). These signals are received by multiple receivers and processed by a central computer that determines the position of the transmitting tag ([0026]-[0034]). Because the identifier is included in the transmitted signal used to determine the location of the object, the system associates the identifier of the object with the calculated position determined by the external processing system.)
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WISHERD (US 2012/0013509) in view of O’Connor (US 5,227,803).
Regarding claim 20,
Wisherd teaches the method of claim 2 but fails to expressly teach that the signal characteristic comprises calculating the angle-of-arrival using phase differences between two or more antennas of at least one receiver antenna.
O’Connor teaches in col. 5:56-60 that the phase angle difference between two channels of the same receiver 107 or 108 is then used to calculate the angle-of-arrival of the wavefront between the two antenna elements associated with the two channels.
Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to modify the Wisherd system per the teachings of O’Conner as recited, for the purpose of obtaining directional information about received RF signals and thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of the determined position of the object in question.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DIONNE PENDLETON whose telephone number is (571)272-7497. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a-5pm.
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/DIONNE PENDLETON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2689