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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-5 and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhang et al. (US 20250385742 A1), hereinafter Zhang.
Regarding claim 1, Zhang teaches a harmonic radar system for detecting an electronic device, comprising:
a signal generator that generates one or more transmit radio frequency (RF) signals, a transmitting antenna for sending the transmit RF signals into an environment, a receiving antenna for receiving signals re-radiated by the electronic device in the environment in response to the transmit RF signals (Fig. 6A, signal generating baseband digital module 201, transmit antenna 206, receive antenna 301; para. 217, “In an embodiment of the present disclosure, two-way ideal signal such as I-way digital baseband signal and Q-way digital baseband signal generated by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201, pass through the digital-to-analog conversion module 202 to obtain a very ideal complex signal, and a phase of the complex signal can be accurately controlled by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201. Through a receiver structure in the signal transceiving link as shown in FIG. 6A or FIG. 6B, phase information of a radio frequency signal of the signal transmitting link can be effectively acquired, and phase modulation of multi-antenna can be achieved.”), and
a spectrum analyzer for identifying a harmonic frequency of the transmit RF signals in the received signals (para. 265, “In some optional embodiments, based on the transmitting link of the digital phase shifter architecture described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, when calibrating and compensating the IQ Imbalance is performed, a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on spectrum analysis in the Time-Domain, or a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on a spectrum peak ratio in the Frequency-Domain.”; paras. 289-291, “The collected acquisition signal is input to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator is at least one circuit in the compensation unit. The cancellation signal generator is connected with the first signal generator such that a signal received by the radio frequency transmitting circuit includes both a baseband signal and a cancellation signal. For example, the cancellation signal generator includes the aforementioned cancellation signal generator, and a digital circuit for extracting harmonic information. Wherein, the digital circuitry for extracting harmonic information may be independently configured or at least partially used in common with a digital circuitry in the radar chip. For example, the digital circuit for extracting harmonic information extracts harmonic information such as harmonic frequency, main frequency, main frequency power, etc. by using the digital circuit used for processing a difference frequency baseband signal in the radar chip, and then supplies it to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator generates the cancellation signal according to the received parameters.”; Fig. 8 contains the same mentioned components as Fig. 6A in addition to a cancellation signal generator within TX IQ imbalance calibration on RX side).
Regarding claim 2, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 1, further comprising
one or more low-pass filters for removing harmonics from the transmit RF signals coupled between the signal generator and the transmitting antenna (Fig. 6A, LPF 207 is between baseband digital module 201 and transmit antenna 206; similar organization in Fig. 8; LPF implicitly filters harmonics above the cutoff frequency).
Regarding claim 3, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 2, further comprising
a transmitting amplifier coupled between the signal generator and the one or more low-pass filters (Fig. 8, PA is between TX baseband module and LPF on RX side).
Regarding claim 4, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 1, further comprising
one or more high-pass filters for filtering the received signals coupled between the receiving antenna and the spectrum analyzer (Fig. 8, HPF on RX side between TX IQ imbalance calibration module which contains cancellation signal generator which performs spectrum analysis and receive antenna).
Regarding claim 5, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 4, further comprising
a receiving amplifier (Fig. 8, LNA on RX side).
Regarding claim 10, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 1, further comprising
a processing computer coupled to the signal generator and spectrum analyzer (para. 299, “A baseband processor in the transmitter (such as a baseband box in FIG. 7B) controls a quadrature digital baseband signal generated by a TX DDFS, which is combined with a quadrature digital cancellation signal generated by a TX compensation unit and sent to an IQ DAC to be converted into an analog baseband signal.”; transmitter is coupled to baseband module and TX IQ imbalance calibration module).
Regarding claim 11, Zhang teaches a harmonic radar system for detecting an electronic device, comprising:
a signal generator that generates a transmit radio frequency (RF) signal (Fig. 6A, signal generating baseband digital module 201, transmit antenna 206, receive antenna 301; para. 217, “In an embodiment of the present disclosure, two-way ideal signal such as I-way digital baseband signal and Q-way digital baseband signal generated by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201, pass through the digital-to-analog conversion module 202 to obtain a very ideal complex signal, and a phase of the complex signal can be accurately controlled by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201. Through a receiver structure in the signal transceiving link as shown in FIG. 6A or FIG. 6B, phase information of a radio frequency signal of the signal transmitting link can be effectively acquired, and phase modulation of multi-antenna can be achieved.”),
a coupler for receiving the transmit RF signal, an antenna for (i) transmitting the transmit RF signal from the coupler into an environment including the electronic device and (ii) receiving signals re-radiated by the electronic device in response to the transmit RF signals and sending them to the coupler (Fig. 8, coupler linking TX and RX sides receives transmit signal; para. 421, “According to other embodiments of the present disclosure, an electromagnetic wave sensor is further provided. The electromagnetic wave sensor may include an antenna, as well as the integrated circuit as previously described. The integrated circuit is electrically connected with the antenna and is used for transmitting and receiving an electromagnetic wave signal.”), and
a spectrum analyzer for identifying a harmonic frequency of the transmit RF signals in the received signals (para. 265, “In some optional embodiments, based on the transmitting link of the digital phase shifter architecture described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, when calibrating and compensating the IQ Imbalance is performed, a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on spectrum analysis in the Time-Domain, or a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on a spectrum peak ratio in the Frequency-Domain.”; paras. 289-291, “The collected acquisition signal is input to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator is at least one circuit in the compensation unit. The cancellation signal generator is connected with the first signal generator such that a signal received by the radio frequency transmitting circuit includes both a baseband signal and a cancellation signal. For example, the cancellation signal generator includes the aforementioned cancellation signal generator, and a digital circuit for extracting harmonic information. Wherein, the digital circuitry for extracting harmonic information may be independently configured or at least partially used in common with a digital circuitry in the radar chip. For example, the digital circuit for extracting harmonic information extracts harmonic information such as harmonic frequency, main frequency, main frequency power, etc. by using the digital circuit used for processing a difference frequency baseband signal in the radar chip, and then supplies it to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator generates the cancellation signal according to the received parameters.”; Fig. 8 contains the same mentioned components as Fig. 6A in addition to a cancellation signal generator within TX IQ imbalance calibration on RX side).
Regarding claim 12, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 11, further comprising,
coupled between the signal generator and the coupler, an amplifier and one or more low-pass filters for removing harmonic frequencies in the transmit RF signal (Fig. 8, LPF and PA are coupled between baseband module and coupler linking TX and RX sides; LPF implicitly filters harmonics above the cutoff frequency).
Regarding claim 13, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 11, further comprising,
coupled between the antenna and the spectrum analyzer, one or more high-pass filters for filtering the received signals (Fig. 8, HPF is coupled between RX antenna and TX IQ imbalance calibration module).
Regarding claim 14, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 11, further comprising
a processing computer coupled to the signal generator and spectrum analyzer (para. 439, “According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program is proposed, the computer program includes a computer program or an instruction that, when executed by a processor, can perform the above-described method. In an optional embodiment, the above integrated circuit may be a millimeter wave radar chip. The types of digital function modules in the integrated circuit can be determined according to the actual requirements.”; the method described in Zhang involves the system including the baseband module and TX IQ imbalance calibration module of Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 15, Zhang teaches a method of using a harmonic radar system for detecting an electronic device, comprising:
generating a transmit radio frequency (RF) signal, transmitting the transmit RF signal into an environment including the electronic device, receiving a signal re-radiated by the electronic device in response to the transmit RF signal (Fig. 8, baseband module generates),
removing environmental and system-generated noise from received signal (para. 376, “An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a solution for calibrating the transmitting link and/or receiving link based on an auxiliary link mode, so as to achieve real-time calibration of the analog device and circuit while achieving accurate calibration, without participation of a peripheral device, and effectively reduce an influence of changes in a parameter index of radio frequency device caused by environmental change.”), and
identifying a harmonic frequency of the transmit RF signal in the received signal (para. 265, “In some optional embodiments, based on the transmitting link of the digital phase shifter architecture described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, when calibrating and compensating the IQ Imbalance is performed, a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on spectrum analysis in the Time-Domain, or a compensation coefficient of the IQ Imbalance may be obtained based on a spectrum peak ratio in the Frequency-Domain.”; paras. 289-291, “The collected acquisition signal is input to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator is at least one circuit in the compensation unit. The cancellation signal generator is connected with the first signal generator such that a signal received by the radio frequency transmitting circuit includes both a baseband signal and a cancellation signal. For example, the cancellation signal generator includes the aforementioned cancellation signal generator, and a digital circuit for extracting harmonic information. Wherein, the digital circuitry for extracting harmonic information may be independently configured or at least partially used in common with a digital circuitry in the radar chip. For example, the digital circuit for extracting harmonic information extracts harmonic information such as harmonic frequency, main frequency, main frequency power, etc. by using the digital circuit used for processing a difference frequency baseband signal in the radar chip, and then supplies it to the cancellation signal generator. The cancellation signal generator generates the cancellation signal according to the received parameters.”; Fig. 8 contains the same mentioned components as Fig. 6A in addition to a cancellation signal generator within TX IQ imbalance calibration on RX side).
Regarding claim 16, Zhang teaches the method of claim 15,
wherein the transmit RF signal comprises a single tone (para. 418, “In some exemplary implementations, the transmitting-end digital baseband signal is a single-tone signal, and the transmitting-end local oscillator signal is a frequency sweep signal; or the transmitting-end digital baseband signal is a frequency sweep signal, and the transmitting-end local oscillator signal is a single-tone signal.”).
Regarding claim 17, Zhang teaches the method of claim 15,
wherein the transmit RF signal comprises a swept range of tones (para. 418, “In some exemplary implementations, the transmitting-end digital baseband signal is a single-tone signal, and the transmitting-end local oscillator signal is a frequency sweep signal; or the transmitting-end digital baseband signal is a frequency sweep signal, and the transmitting-end local oscillator signal is a single-tone signal.”).
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.
Claims 6-7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Lowe (US 12259281 B2).
Regarding claim 6, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 1, but fails to teach
wherein the signal generator is tunable to generate signals between approximately 9 kHz and 6 GHz.
However, Lowe teaches
wherein the signal generator is tunable to generate signals between approximately 9 kHz and 6 GHz (col. 6 lines 32-36, “In an embodiment, the signal generated by the transmit circuit 15 can have at least two discrete frequencies [i.e. a plurality of discrete frequencies], each of which is in the range from about 10 kHz to about 100 GHz.”; Examiner is construing 10 kHz as approximately 9 kHz, and a maximum of about 100 GHz encompasses the frequency range from the minimum up to 6 GHz).
Zhang and Lowe are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang with the teachings of Lowe through a simple substitution of the signal generation frequency range of Zhang with that of Lowe.
Regarding claim 7, Zhang in view of Lowe teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 6,
wherein the signal generator generates a signal at f0 (Zhang; para. 217, “In an embodiment of the present disclosure, two-way ideal signal such as I-way digital baseband signal and Q-way digital baseband signal generated by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201, pass through the digital-to-analog conversion module 202 to obtain a very ideal complex signal, and a phase of the complex signal can be accurately controlled by the transmitting-end baseband digital module 201. Through a receiver structure in the signal transceiving link as shown in FIG. 6A or FIG. 6B, phase information of a radio frequency signal of the signal transmitting link can be effectively acquired, and phase modulation of multi-antenna can be achieved.”; signal generators are implicitly able to generate a signal at a fundamental frequency, which Examiner is construing is f0).
Regarding claim 18, Zhang teaches the method of claim 15, but fails to teach
wherein the transmit RF signal comprises multiple simultaneous tones.
However, Lowe teaches
wherein the transmit RF signal comprises multiple simultaneous tones (col. 6 lines 46-49, “The complex signal can be generated by blending or multiplexing multiple signals together followed by transmitting the complex signal whereby the plurality of frequencies are transmitted at the same time.”).
Zhang and Lowe are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang with the teachings of Lowe with the motivation of increasing data throughput and speed.
Claims 8 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Lowe and further in view of Huang et al. (CN 113433521 A), hereinafter Huang.
Regarding claim 8, Zhang in view of Lowe teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 7, but fails to teach
wherein the spectrum analyzer has a frequency range of approximately 2f0.
However, Huang teaches
wherein the spectrum analyzer has a frequency range of approximately 2f0 (para. 9, “In this invention: the offline calculation of the refinement parameters involves each detection unit calculating and caching the complex analytical filter coefficients and complex modulation frequency shift coefficients offline according to the detection requirements; each detection unit uses the UWB pulse transmission repetition frequency fa as the center of the analysis spectrum, and determines the lower limit of the analysis frequency f1=(2λ0fa)/( hfa+2λ0) according to the required detection depth h and the transmission rate of electromagnetic waves in the loose soil layer of the minefield λ0. The analysis bandwidth B=2 f1, the sampling frequency fs≥2( fa+ f1), and the analysis spectrum window width Q=2N are selected.”; f1 is the lowest analysis frequency, i.e. the fundamental frequency, and thus corresponding to f0 as claimed).
Zhang, Lowe, and Huang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang in view of Lowe with the teachings of Huang through a simple substitution of the spectrum analysis parameters of Zhang with that of Huang.
Regarding claim 20, Zhang in view of Lowe teaches the method of claim 19, but fails to teach
wherein the identified harmonic frequency is 2f0.
However, Huang teaches
wherein the identified harmonic frequency is 2f0 (para. 9, “In this invention: the offline calculation of the refinement parameters involves each detection unit calculating and caching the complex analytical filter coefficients and complex modulation frequency shift coefficients offline according to the detection requirements; each detection unit uses the UWB pulse transmission repetition frequency fa as the center of the analysis spectrum, and determines the lower limit of the analysis frequency f1=(2λ0fa)/( hfa+2λ0) according to the required detection depth h and the transmission rate of electromagnetic waves in the loose soil layer of the minefield λ0. The analysis bandwidth B=2 f1, the sampling frequency fs≥2( fa+ f1), and the analysis spectrum window width Q=2N are selected.”; f1 is the lowest analysis frequency, i.e. the fundamental frequency, and thus corresponding to f0 as claimed).
Zhang, Lowe, and Huang are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang in view of Lowe with the teachings of Huang through a simple substitution of the spectrum analysis parameters of Zhang with that of Huang.
Claims 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Wulff et al. (US 11916605 B2), hereinafter Wulff.
Regarding claim 9, Zhang teaches the harmonic radar system of claim 1, but fails to teach
wherein a center frequency of one or more transmit RF signals is approximately f0 = 2.4 GHz.
However, Wulff teaches
wherein a center frequency of one or more transmit RF signals is approximately f0 = 2.4 GHz (col. 26 line 66 – col. 27 line 5, “Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, RF tuner[s] 216 may be configured to scan among multiple channels within a receive frequency band. For example, RF tuner[s] 216 may be adjustable among multiple channel frequencies, such as for several 22 MHz channels near a center frequency of 2.4 GHz, by providing down- and/or up-conversion by a discrete number of channel bands.”).
Zhang and Wulff are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang with the teachings of Wulff with the motivation that 2.4 GHz waves are able to penetrate most structures and materials within a building.
Regarding claim 19, Zhang teaches the method of claim 15, but fails to teach
wherein a center frequency of one or more transmit RF signals is approximately f0 = 2.4 GHz.
However, Wulff teaches
wherein a center frequency of one or more transmit RF signals is approximately f0 = 2.4 GHz (col. 26 line 66 – col. 27 line 5, “Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, RF tuner[s] 216 may be configured to scan among multiple channels within a receive frequency band. For example, RF tuner[s] 216 may be adjustable among multiple channel frequencies, such as for several 22 MHz channels near a center frequency of 2.4 GHz, by providing down- and/or up-conversion by a discrete number of channel bands.”).
Zhang and Wulff are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of radar scanning devices. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhang with the teachings of Wulff with the motivation that 2.4 GHz waves are able to penetrate most structures and materials within a building.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC K HODAC whose telephone number is (571) 270-0123. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 8-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE can be reached at (571) 270-5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC K HODAC/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3648