DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Status of the Claims
Claims 2-13 are currently pending.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
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Claims 2-13 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-11, 13, and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 8,878,697 in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0117820 (Mitschele).
Claim 2 is rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 9,415,721 in view of US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0117820 (Mitschele).
Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the patented claims disclose each and every claimed limitation of the instant application, or obvious variations thereof (see claim mapping below), except for the limitation “wherein the sensor is coupled to a camera, wherein the sensor system is configured to power-on or wake-up the camera based on the sensor’s determination of a change of state associated with whether a vehicle is present or not in the parking space wherein the camera is configured to capture a license plate of the vehicle”.
However, Mitschele discloses a parking enforcement system (title) wherein (Abstract) a vehicle parking control and enforcement system for a plurality of unmetered parking spaces is provided wherein in-ground vehicle sensors are coupled with a microcontroller or microprocessor to detect the presence or absence of a vehicle in a parking space, determine whether the vehicle is in violation of the parking regulations and communicate a violation to a parking authority; [0017] a parking violation occurs when the vehicle is still detected in the no-stopping zone after a pre-determined interval expires, for example 30 seconds. Where the zone is a no-parking zone 34 as in FIG. 3, the interval may be longer, for example 3 minutes. Upon a parking violation, the microprocessor transmits a signal, preferably wirelessly via cellular network, WIFI, or Bluetooth, to camera 16, or a standalone in-ground camera 51, or a camera 122 of an adjoining sensor 118. Upon activation the digital camera 16, 51 or 122 which is associated with the no-stopping zone 14 takes a digital image of the license plate of the vehicle to obtain the license number. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the invention and have a camera take a photo of detected vehicles license plates as needed for enforcement and furthermore, it would have been obvious to only activate the camera as needed to save on power consumption.
Instant Application No. 18/784,601
US Patent No. 8,878,697
2. (New) A directional sensor system mounted on or within a fixed structure for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest in a parking space, comprising: a timing circuit that generates microwave transmit pulses with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and duration of less than 10 ns; a directional antenna that radiates the transmit pulse by a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated preferentially towards a detection area; a receiver that receives pulses by an adjustable receive window, the receive window being precisely timed in relation to the transmit pulse; a signal processor that integrates signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; a signal conditioner that amplifies and filters the integrated receive signal to further increase the signal to noise ratio; a digitizer that digitizes the combined receive signal using an analog to digital conversion process; and a processing unit that compares the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine a presence or absence of an object in a field of view of the sensor, wherein the sensor is coupled to a camera, wherein the sensor system is configured to power-on or wake-up the camera based on the sensor’s determination of a change of state associated with whether a vehicle is present or not in the parking space wherein the camera is configured to capture a license plate of the vehicle.
1. A method of using a directional sensor for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising: transmitting a microwave transmit pulse such that a total distance occupied by the transmit pulse in air is less than 5 feet; radiating the transmit pulse by a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated preferentially towards a detection area; receiving received pulses by an adjustable receive window, the receive window being precisely timed in relation to the transmit pulse with the receive window being similar or different in duration than the transmit pulse; integrating or combining signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; amplifying and filtering the integrated receive signal to further increase the signal to noise ratio; digitizing the combined signal using an analog to digital conversion process; comparing the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine a presence or absence of an object in a field of view of the sensor; and providing at least one pulse generator with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and capable of generating pulses less than 10 ns in duration for controlling the transmit pulses and receive windows.
3. (New) The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the pulse repetition frequency, transmit pulse width, receive window duration, and the interval between transmit and receive windows is adjustable using a digitally controlled circuit or software control from a microprocessor.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pulse repetition frequency, transmit pulse width, receive window duration, and the interval between transmit and receive windows is adjustable using a digitally controlled circuit or software control from a microprocessor.
4. (New) The system of claim 3, wherein the interval between the transmit and receive windows is continuously adjusted using an analog or digital hardware sweep circuit or software control.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interval between the transmit and receive windows is continuously adjusted using an analog or digital hardware sweep circuit or software control.
5. (New) The system of claim 3, wherein the interval between the transmit and receive windows is adjusted to a programmatically determined zone of interest.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the software is programmed to adjust the interval between the transmit and receive windows to a programmatically determined zone of interest.
6. (New) A system of claim 5, wherein the zone of interest is based on an expected region where a change in occupancy state will happen, including a previously measured distance of an occupying stationery vehicle, a programmed maximum distance if the detection zone was previously vacant, or a predicted zone of occupancy if a vehicle is moving.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the zone of interest is based on an expected region where a change in occupancy state will happen, including a previously measured distance of an occupying stationery vehicle, a programmed maximum distance if the detection zone was previously vacant, or a predicted zone of occupancy if a vehicle is moving.
7. (New) The system of claim 3, wherein the receive window is adjusted by software control in order to dwell on a particular receive time slice region of interest so as to increase the signal to noise ratio of the received measurement.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the receive window is adjusted by software control in order to dwell on a particular receive time slice region of interest so as to increase the signal to noise ratio of the received measurement.
8. (New) The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor is placed at one of (a) a location below a surface of the zone of interest, (b) a location above the surface and in contact with the zone of interest, (c) a location near the surface and adjacent to the zone of interest oriented to radiate preferentially towards the zone of interest, (d) a location on a raised fixture near the zone of interest oriented to radiate preferentially towards the zone of interest, (e) a location embedded within a parking meter or an access control device, and (f) a location embedded within a parking space number sign.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is placed at one of (a) a location below a surface of the zone of interest, (b) a location above the surface and in contact with the zone of interest, (c) a location near the surface and adjacent to the zone of interest oriented to radiate preferentially towards the zone of interest, (d) a location on a raised fixture near the zone of interest oriented to radiate preferentially towards the zone of interest, (e) a location embedded within a parking meter or an access control device, and (f) a location embedded within a parking space number sign.
9. (New) The system of claim 3, wherein the receive window is kept longer than the transmit pulse duration when the parking space being monitored is vacant and when an occupancy change is detected the receive window is made smaller to more precisely range the vehicle.
8. The method of claim 2, wherein the receive window is kept longer than the transmit pulse duration when the roadway or parking space being monitored is vacant and when an occupancy change is detected the receive window is made smaller to more precisely range the vehicle
10. (New) The system of claim 2, wherein the receive window is continuously swept at a fixed or adjustable rate with respect to the transmit window in order to generate a video signal output and optimize the detection latency and signal to noise ratio; and wherein the video signal output is digitized using an analog to digital conversion process using a circuit that is electrically coupled to the receiver and integrator and the digitized output is suitably filtered and compared to a preset or dynamically computed threshold profiles in order to discern whether there is sufficient returned signal from an object in the field of view of the sensor.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the receive window is continuously swept at a fixed or adjustable rate with respect to the transmit window in order to generate a video waveform output and optimize the detection latency and signal to noise ratio.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the video waveform output is digitized using an analog to digital conversion process using a circuit that is electrically coupled to the receiver and integrator and the digitized output is suitably filtered and compared to a preset or dynamically computed threshold profiles in order to discern whether there is sufficient returned signal from an object in the field of view of the sensor.
11. (New) The system of claim 2, wherein transmit and receive windows are pulsed at a rate between 5 MHz and 50 MHz in order to optimize the signal to noise ratio while ensuring compliance with regulatory limits.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein transmit and receive windows are pulsed at a rate between 5 MHz and 50 MHz in order to optimize the signal to noise ratio while ensuring compliance with regulatory limits.
12. (New) The system of claim 2, wherein one of a hardware filter electrically coupled to the receiver and integrator and a software algorithm using digitized signals conducts the filtering.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein one of a hardware filter electrically coupled to the receiver and integrator and a software algorithm using digitized signals conducts the filtering.
13. (New) The system of claim 2, further comprising a mode in which the interval between transmit and receive windows is kept fixed and vehicle movement will result in a Doppler effect on the returned signal due to the phase shift of the returned signal in relation to the transmit and a phase coherent detection is performed returned signal phase varying in relation to the transmit pulse with vehicle movement and the resulting phase difference to combine destructively or constructively with the transmit pulse at the detector.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising a mode in which the interval between transmit and receive windows is kept fixed and vehicle movement will result in a Doppler effect on the returned signal due to the phase shift of the returned signal in relation to the transmit and a phase coherent detection is performed returned signal phase varying in relation to the transmit pulse with vehicle movement and the resulting phase difference to combine destructively or constructively with the transmit pulse at the detector.
Instant Application No. 18/784,601
US Patent No. 9,415,721
2. (New) A directional sensor system mounted on or within a fixed structure for the purposes of detecting the presence of a vehicle or an object within a zone of interest in a parking space, comprising: a timing circuit that generates microwave transmit pulses with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each and duration of less than 10 ns; a directional antenna that radiates the transmit pulse by a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated preferentially towards a detection area; a receiver that receives pulses by an adjustable receive window, the receive window being precisely timed in relation to the transmit pulse; a signal processor that integrates signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; a signal conditioner that amplifies and filters the integrated receive signal to further increase the signal to noise ratio; a digitizer that digitizes the combined receive signal using an analog to digital conversion process; and a processing unit that compares the digitized signal to at least one preset or dynamically computed threshold values to determine a presence or absence of an object in a field of view of the sensor, wherein the sensor is coupled to a camera, wherein the sensor system is configured to power-on or wake-up the camera based on the sensor’s determination of a change of state associated with whether a vehicle is present or not in the parking space wherein the camera is configured to capture a license plate of the vehicle.
1. A directional sensor for the purposes of detecting a presence of a vehicle or of an object within a zone of interest on a roadway or in a parking space, comprising: a transmitter for transmitting a low power microwave transmit pulse such that the effective pulse width is less than 10 ns; a directional antenna system to enable the transmit pulse to be radiated towards a detection area; an adjustable receive window to receive reflected, scattered, and bounced signals of transmit pulses, the adjustable receive window being adjustable in relation to the transmit pulse; an integrator that performs one or more of integrating and combining signals from multiple received pulses to increase a signal to noise ratio; a digitizer that digitizes the integrated or combined signal from the integrator using an analog to digital conversion process; a module for comparing the digitized signal to at least one of preset and dynamically computed threshold values to determine the presence or absence of an object in the field of view of the sensor; and at least one pulse generator capable of generating at least one pulse with rise and fall times of less than 3 ns each or less than 10 ns in duration for controlling the transmit pulses and receive windows.
Conclusion
There are no prior art rejections against claims 2-13; however, they are not allowable due to the double patenting rejections as discussed above.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 8,164,508 (Merli et al.)
US 2013/0176161 (Derham et al.)
US 7,359,782 (Breed)
US 2011/0241857 (Brandenburger et al.)
US 7,489,265 (Egri et al.)
US 7,889,118 (Finley et al.)
US 7,379,016 (McEwan)
US 5,686,921 (Okada et al.)
US 7,675,455 (Hatono)
US 6,873,250 (Viana et al.)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KERRI L MCNALLY whose telephone number is (571)270-1840. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:00 am - 3:30 pm.
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/KERRI L MCNALLY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2686