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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-20 are pending in this office action.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 29, 2024, is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stitt et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,714,184) in view of Sen et al. (U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2016/0226892).
Regarding claims 1 and 16, Stitt et al. teaches an apparatus comprising at least one processor (fig. 3, ref. num 204), and at least one memory storing computer program codes that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to (fig. 3, ref. num 218): store a plurality of activation identifiers, wherein each activation identifier of the plurality of activation identifiers is associated with a respective passive radio (col. 2, lines 4-28); receive a first activation signal (col. 1, line 58 through col. 2, line 3); transmit, in reply to the first activation signal, a response signal that indicates at least one of the plurality of activation identifiers (col. 2, lines 29-51); receive a response from the respective at least one passive radio that has been activated using the respective at least one activation identifier (col. 2, lines 51-57); measure at least a positional characteristic of the response from the respective at least one passive radio that is dependent upon at least a relative position between the respective at least one passive radio and the apparatus (col. 38, line 58 through col. 39, line 4 and col. 39, lines 42-58).
Stitt et al. does not specifically teach of a plurality of passive radios.
Sen et al. teaches storing activation identifiers for a plurality of passive radios (paragraph 0090 and 0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine storing a plurality of identifiers, as taught by Sen et al., with the method of Stitt et al. It would have been obvious for such modifications because the database of identifiers allows the recognition of known good and bad radios.
Regarding claims 2 and 17, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: authenticate a signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios dependent upon the plurality of positional characteristics, wherein the signature is a signature for all of the passive radios, or the signature is a signature for a sub-set of the passive radios (col. 37, lines 12-18).
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the authentication comprises a comparison based on the signature and a reference signature (see paragraph 0008 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claims 4 and 19, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the signature and the reference signature are time-of-arrival signatures, adapted to time-of-flight signatures, before comparison (col. 38, lines 58-64).
Regarding claims 5 and 20, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: receive a second activation signal and for transmitting in reply to the second activation signal, a signature response signal that indicates a signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios dependent upon the plurality of positional characteristics, wherein the signature is a signature for all of the passive radios, or the signature is a signature for a sub-set of the passive radios (see paragraph 0042 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claim 6, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: receive a configuration signal indicating, for each of the plurality of activation identifiers, a configuration for receiving the response from a respective at least one passive radio that has been activated using the respective activation identifier, or receive a configuration signal indicating, for each of the plurality of activation identifiers, a configuration for receiving the response from a respective at least one passive radio that has been activated using the respective activation identifier (col. 12, lines 44-64).
Regarding claim 7, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: receive a first set-up activation signal; transmit, in reply to the first set-up activation signal, a first set-up response signal that indicates some or all of the plurality of activation identifiers; receive, for each of the some or all of the plurality of activation identifiers, a set-up response from a respective passive radio that has been activated using the respective activation identifier; measure at least a positional characteristic of each set-up response from a respective passive radio that is dependent upon at least a relative position between the respective passive radio and the apparatus; generate a reference signature for the some or all of the plurality of passive radios dependent upon the plurality of positional characteristics, wherein the authentication of the signature uses the reference signature, wherein the reference signature is a reference signature for all of the passive radios or the reference signature is a reference signature for a sub-set of the passive radios or the reference signature is a reference signature for a sub-set, being associated with an object, of the passive radios (see paragraph 0066-0067 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claim 8, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to store reference signatures, wherein each reference signature is dependent upon reference positional characteristics for all of the plurality of passive radios in different configurations, or wherein each reference signature is dependent upon reference positional characteristics for a sub-set of the plurality of passive radios in different configurations, receive a configuration signal indicating one of a plurality of configurations, and transmit a reference signature indication signal that indicates a reference signature for the indicated one of the plurality of configurations (see paragraph 0052 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claim 9, Stitt et al. teaches an apparatus comprising: at least one processor (fig. 3, ref. num 204), and at least one memory storing computer program codes that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to (fig. 3, ref. num 218): transmit to another apparatus a first activation signal (col. 1, line 58 through col. 2, line 3); and receive from the another apparatus, in reply to the first activation signal, a response signal that indicates one or more activation identifiers wherein each activation identifier is associated with a respective passive radio of a plurality of passive radios (col. 2, lines 29-51).
Stitt et al. does not specifically teach of a plurality of passive radios.
Sen et al. teaches storing activation identifiers for a plurality of passive radios (paragraph 0090 and 0093).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to combine storing a plurality of identifiers, as taught by Sen et al., with the method of Stitt et al. It would have been obvious for such modifications because the database of identifiers allows the recognition of known good and bad radios.
Regarding claim 10, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: use at least one of the plurality of activation identifiers to activate the respective passive radio of the plurality of passive radios (see paragraph 0042 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claim 11, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: transmit a second activation signal to the another apparatus, and receive, in reply to the second activation signal, a second response signal providing a result of authentication of a signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios; and/or transmit a third activation signal to the another apparatus, and receive in reply a third response signal enabling at the apparatus authentication of a signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios (col. 42, lines 7-27).
Regarding claim 12, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: send to the another apparatus a second activation signal; receive from the another apparatus in reply to the second activation signal, a signature response signal that indicates a signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios dependent upon relative positions between the respective passive radio and the another apparatus; and authenticate the signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios (col. 37, lines 12-18).
Regarding claim 13, Stitt et al. as modified by Sen et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: determine whether the signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios matches a reference signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios (see paragraph 0008 of Sen et al.).
Regarding claim 14, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: receive responses from some or all of the plurality of passive radios that have been activated; adjust the signature for some or all of the plurality of passive radios based on the received responses from the some or all of the plurality of passive radios that have been activated (col. 35, lines 30-38).
Regarding claim 15, Stitt et al. teaches wherein the at least one memory and the computer program codes, when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to: transmit a configuration signal indicating one of a plurality of configurations, and receive a reference signature indication signal that indicates a reference signature for the configuration (col. 12, lines 44-64).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON HOFFMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3863. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey Pwu can be reached at (571)272-6798. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BRANDON HOFFMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2433
Prosecution Insights