DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to 7/12/2024.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Claims 1-11, 13, and 16-20 are rejected.
Claims 12 and 14-15 are objected to.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 7/12/2024 and 12/22/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-3, 6, 10-11, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ettes et al. US20150341085A1, hereinafter Ettes, in view of Wu et al. US20230119907A1, hereinafter Wu.
Regarding Claim 1, Ettes discloses a wireless communication method, wherein the method is applicable to a terminal device (Ettes Fig. 5), and the method comprises:
receiving an energy supply signal (Ettes [0081] discloses there is provided power receiver for receiving power from a power transmitter using a wireless inductive power signal), wherein the energy supply signal carries synchronization information for the terminal device and/or a synchronization sequence for determining the synchronization information (Ettes [0175] discloses the power transmitter comprises a synchronizer which is arranged for synchronizing the repeating time intervals to the power source signal; [0185] discloses the power receiver comprises a synchronizer arranged to synchronize the repeating timer intervals to an amplitude variation of the power signal; [0200] discloses the synchronizer of the power receiver uses suitable approach for synchronizing to the communication interval introduced by the power transmitter; if the power transmitter generates a carrier signal in the communication intervals, the synchronizer may proceed to detect the presence of this carrier signal and synchronize to these detections) …
Ettes fails to explicitly disclose sending a reflected signal to a network device based on the synchronization information.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Wu more specifically discloses sending a reflected signal to a network device based on the synchronization information (Wu at least Fig. 7 and [0140, 0148-0150] discloses the tag device generating an uplink reflection signal according to the downlink excitation signal and uplink information and sending the uplink reflection signal to a network device).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes with the teachings of Wu for providing backscatter communication system.
Claim 2 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claim 1. Claim 2 recites similar features as in claim 1 for an apparatus for a terminal.
Regarding Claim 3, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2. In the obvious combination, Ettes further discloses wherein the sending a reflected signal to the network device based on the synchronization information comprises:
in a case that the synchronization information comprises a timing error value for the terminal device, sending the reflected signal and/or a frequency error value to the network device based on timing adjusted by using the timing error value; and/or in a case that the synchronization information comprises a frequency error value for the terminal device, sending the reflected signal to the network device based on a frequency adjusted by using the frequency error value (Ettes [0175] discloses the power transmitter comprises a synchronizer which is arranged for synchronizing the repeating time intervals to the power source signal; [0185] discloses the power receiver comprises a synchronizer arranged to synchronize the repeating timer intervals to an amplitude variation of the power signal; [0200] discloses the synchronizer of the power receiver uses suitable approach for synchronizing to the communication interval introduced by the power transmitter; if the power transmitter generates a carrier signal in the communication intervals, the synchronizer may proceed to detect the presence of this carrier signal and synchronize to these detections; Fig. 9).
Regarding Claim 6, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2. In the obvious combination, Ettes further discloses wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to perform:
in a case that the energy supply signal carries the synchronization information, demodulating the energy supply signal to obtain the synchronization information (Ettes at least [0209-0211] discloses the data to be communicated can be modulated onto the carrier signal; the receiver communication unit comprises a demodulator which is capable of demodulating the carrier signal).
Regarding Claim 10, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2. In the obvious combination, Ettes further discloses wherein the energy supply signal is a signal obtained by modulating the synchronization information by using at least one of the following modulation schemes: amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation (Ettes [0059-0060] discloses a modulator for modulating data onto the carrier signal; the modulation may for example be an amplitude modulation, frequency modulation and/or phase modulation of the carrier).
Regarding Claim 11, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2. In the obvious combination, Ettes further discloses wherein the energy supply signal is a signal obtained by modulating the synchronization information or the synchronization sequence onto a continuous wave (Ettes see at least Fig. 9).
Claim 16 is rejected on the same grounds set forth in the rejection of claim 1. Claim 16 recites similar features as in claim 1 from the perspective of an energy supply node.
Regarding Claim 17, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 16. In the obvious combination, Ettes further discloses wherein the synchronization information comprises a timing error value for the terminal device, and/or the synchronization information comprises a frequency error value for the terminal device (Ettes [0175] discloses the power transmitter comprises a synchronizer which is arranged for synchronizing the repeating time intervals to the power source signal; [0185] discloses the power receiver comprises a synchronizer arranged to synchronize the repeating timer intervals to an amplitude variation of the power signal; [0200] discloses the synchronizer of the power receiver uses suitable approach for synchronizing to the communication interval introduced by the power transmitter; if the power transmitter generates a carrier signal in the communication intervals, the synchronizer may proceed to detect the presence of this carrier signal and synchronize to these detections; Fig. 9).
Claims 4-5, 7-8, 13, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ettes in view of Wu as applied to claim 2 and 16 above, further in view of Jantunen et al. US 20110274141 A1, hereinafter Jantunen.
Regarding Claim 4, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to perform:
in a case that the energy supply signal carries the synchronization sequence, demodulating the energy supply signal to obtain the synchronization sequence; and
obtaining the synchronization information based on an estimation result obtained by performing correlation estimation on the synchronization sequence.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein the processor is further configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, to cause the terminal device to perform:
in a case that the energy supply signal carries the synchronization sequence, demodulating the energy supply signal to obtain the synchronization sequence (Jantunen [0014-0016] synchronization sequences; [0057] discloses a pulse demodulator for detecting the transmission pulse signal); and
obtaining the synchronization information based on an estimation result obtained by performing correlation estimation on the synchronization sequence (Jantunen [0014-0016] discloses a tag listening to the synchronization sequences transmitted by the reader, and correlating the input data with the (local) reference sequence; [0130]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 5, Ettes in view of Wu and Jantunen discloses the terminal of claim 4. In the obvious combination, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein the obtaining the synchronization information based on an estimation result obtained by performing correlation estimation on the synchronization sequence comprises:
performing correlation estimation on the synchronization sequence and a local sequence generated by the terminal device, to obtain first timing and/or a first frequency (Jantunen [0014-0016] discloses a tag listening to the synchronization sequences transmitted by the reader, and correlating the input data with the (local) reference sequence; [0130]); and
determining, as the synchronization information, an offset value between the first timing and timing used by the terminal device and/or an offset value between the first frequency and a transmit frequency used by the terminal device (Jantunen [0014] discloses After each correlation round it may pause so that the incoming sequence will finally match with the reference sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 7, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 6 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein in a case that the energy supply signal further carries the synchronization sequence, the reflected signal carries the synchronization sequence.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein in a case that the energy supply signal further carries the synchronization sequence, the reflected signal carries the synchronization sequence (Jantunen at least Fig. 10, [0132] discloses that after the synchronization period the pulses are then transmitted from the reader and reflected from the tag according to a pre-defined sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 8, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the synchronization sequence comprises at least one of the following sequences:
a PN sequence, an M sequence, and a Gold sequence, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, or a constant amplitude zero auto-correlation (CAZAC) sequence,
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein the synchronization sequence comprises at least one of the following sequences:
a PN sequence, an M sequence, and a Gold sequence, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, or a constant amplitude zero auto-correlation (CAZAC) sequence (Jantunen at least [0121] discloses the utilization of pseudo-randomized pulse sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 13, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein a frequency used by the energy supply signal is the same as a frequency used by the reflected signal.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein a frequency used by the energy supply signal is the same as a frequency used by the reflected signal (Jantunen at least [0128] discloses that after the frequency synchronization step (S21) the clocks of the reader and the tag run on the same frequency).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 18, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 16 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein in a case that the energy supply signal further carries the synchronization sequence, the reflected signal carries the synchronization sequence.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein in a case that the energy supply signal further carries the synchronization sequence, the reflected signal carries the synchronization sequence (Jantunen at least Fig. 10, [0132] discloses that after the synchronization period the pulses are then transmitted from the reader and reflected from the tag according to a pre-defined sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Regarding Claim 19, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 16 but fails to explicitly disclose wherein the synchronization sequence comprises at least one of the following sequences: a PN sequence, an M sequence, and a Gold sequence, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, or a constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequence.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Jantunen more specifically discloses wherein the synchronization sequence comprises at least one of the following sequences: a PN sequence, an M sequence, and a Gold sequence, a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) sequence, or a constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) sequence (Jantunen at least [0121] discloses the utilization of pseudo-randomized pulse sequence).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Jantunen for providing an improved synchronization procedure in a RFID system.
Claims 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ettes in view of Wu as applied to claims 2 and 16 above, further in view of Namikawa et al. US 20230222298 A1, hereinafter Namikawa.
Regarding Claim 9, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 2, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein autocorrelation of the synchronization sequence is greater than or equal to a first threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Namikawa more specifically discloses wherein autocorrelation of the synchronization sequence is greater than or equal to a first threshold (Namikawa at least [0045] discloses that it is preferred that the predetermined code sequence generated by code sequence generation section 112 have a good autocorrelation characteristic … thus, a Pseudo Noise (PN) code (e.g., an M-sequence code) is preferred, for example).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Namikawa for providing better configuration in the RFID detection system.
Regarding Claim 20, Ettes in view of Wu discloses the terminal of claim 16, but fails to explicitly disclose wherein autocorrelation of the synchronization sequence is greater than or equal to a first threshold.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Namikawa more specifically discloses wherein autocorrelation of the synchronization sequence is greater than or equal to a first threshold (Namikawa at least [0045] discloses that it is preferred that the predetermined code sequence generated by code sequence generation section 112 have a good autocorrelation characteristic … thus, a Pseudo Noise (PN) code (e.g., an M-sequence code) is preferred, for example).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Ettes in view of Wu with the teachings of Namikawa for providing better configuration in the RFID detection system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12 and 14-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Goulier US 20220200659 A1
Wang et al. US 20230189269 A1
Asahina US 20080279287 A1
Fouad et al. US 20250219775 A1
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/Y.K./ Examiner, Art Unit 2465
/PAO SINKANTARAKORN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2409
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