DETAILED ACTION
Non-Final Rejection
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 certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/04/2024 and 08/06/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 16-17 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 1 and 16-17 read “tranducer element” but should read “transducer element”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 13 recites the language of “each respective ultrasonic sensor array are at a distance from one another of half a wavelength of a sound frequency” however it is unclear what applicant is referring to for a sound frequency and exactly what sound frequency applicant is describing. Thus, the claim is left unclear and indefinite to the metes and bounds of the invention. Furthermore, applicant specification is silent to properly describe the limitation in a clear and definite way for a person of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention. For compact prosecution purposes examiner is interpreting “each respective ultrasonic sensor array are at a distance from one another of half a wavelength of a sound frequency” as a specific distance between sensor arrays that is set.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
Claim(s) 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fauss (WO 2019149323 A1, all citations provided from machine translation attached).
Regarding claim 10, Fauss teaches a method for localizing at least one external sound source which is arranged outside a mobile unit (a method and a device for localising and tracking acoustic active sources or acoustic signals), using at least two ultrasonic sensor arrays (13) which each have at least two transducer elements (14) for receiving sound waves (15), the method comprising: receiving, using the transducer elements, sound waves, (microphones (14) arranged to receive sound signals) and generating, using the transducer elements, electrical signals representing the received sound waves (estimating S6 phase offsets using the transformed sound signals and the source frequencies). (Abstract, Page.3, lines 3-8, Page.8, lines 38-47, Claims 1, 6, 8, Fig.2)
Fauss also teaches ascertaining, for each respective ultrasonic sensor array (13) of the at least two ultrasonic sensor arrays, at least one phase offset (estimating S6 phase offsets using the transformed sound signals and the source frequencies to obtain an estimated angle of incidence for each active source) between at least two electrical signals generated by the tranducer elements (14) of the respective ultrasonic sensor array (13). (Page.3, lines 37-40, Claims 1, 6, 8)
Fauss also teaches locating the external sound source by triangulation (the position of the source can be determined by the principle of triangulation) based on the ascertained phase offsets (estimating phase offsets using the transformed sound signals) between the electrical signals and a distance between the ultrasonic sensor arrays (distance between the microphone arrays). (Page.6, last paragraph-Page.7 line 22, Page.2, line 36-Page.3, line 24)
Regarding claim 11, Fauss teaches wherein the generated electrical signals are filtered with regard to different phase offsets. (Page.8, lines 31-37, Claims 1-2, 10)
Regarding claim 12, Fauss teaches wherein each of the phase offsets is ascertained according to an alignment of the at least two transducer elements of the respective ultrasonic sensor array along a height direction, and/or along a longitudinal direction, and/or along a transverse direction. (Page.3, lines 9-15, 20-24, Page.7, lines 7-22)
Regarding claim 13, Fauss teaches wherein the transducer elements of each respective ultrasonic sensor array are at a distance from one another of half a wavelength of a sound frequency, wherein a relative angle to the sound source is ascertained based on the phase offset of the generated electrical signals and the distance between the transducer elements. (Page.6, last paragraph-Page.7, line 22, Page.3, lines 9-24)
Regarding claim 14, Fauss teaches wherein the external sound source is an engine or a compressor or a fan or an exhaust system or an external ultrasonic sensor or a passenger loudspeaker or a brake or an acoustic signal generator or rolling wheels and is localized using at least one ultrasonic sensor array. (Page.2, lines 15-24)
Regarding claim 15, Fauss teaches wherein the phase offsets between the generated electrical signals and the triangulation are carried out continuously, at fixed or variable time intervals, when a level is exceeded by at least one electrical signal. (Page.6, last paragraph-Page.7 line 22, Page.2, line 36-Page.3, line 24, Claims 1, 8)
Regarding claim 16, the claim discloses substantially the same limitations, as claim 10. All limitations as recited have been analyzed and rejected with respect to claim 16, and do not introduce any additional narrowing of the scopes of the claims as analyzed. Therefore, claim 16 is rejected for the same rational over the prior art cited in claim 10.
Regarding claim 17, Fauss teaches a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for localizing at least one external sound source which is arranged outside a mobile unit, using at least two ultrasonic sensor arrays (13) which each have at least two transducer elements (14) for receiving sound waves, the computer program, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the following steps: receiving, using the transducer elements (14), sound waves, and generating, using the transducer elements, electrical signals representing the received sound waves. (Abstract, Page.7, lines 1-6, Page.3, lines 3-8, Page.8, lines 38-47, Claims 1, 6, 8, Fig.2)
Fauss also teaches ascertaining, for each respective ultrasonic sensor array (13) of the at least two ultrasonic sensor arrays, at least one phase offset (estimating S6 phase offsets using the transformed sound signals and the source frequencies to obtain an estimated angle of incidence for each active source) between at least two electrical signals generated by the tranducer elements (14) of the respective ultrasonic sensor array (13). (Page.3, lines 37-40, Claims 1, 6, 8)
Fauss also teaches locating the external sound source by triangulation (the position of the source can be determined by the principle of triangulation) based on the ascertained phase offsets (estimating phase offsets using the transformed sound signals) between the electrical signals and a distance between the ultrasonic sensor arrays (distance between the microphone arrays). (Page.6, last paragraph-Page.7 line 22, Page.2, line 36-Page.3, line 24)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABDALLAH ABULABAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4755. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:00am-3:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Isam Alsomiri can be reached at 571-272-6970. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABDALLAH ABULABAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3645