DETAILED ACTION
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 § 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “a positioning unit configured to receive a satellite signal transmitted from each of a plurality of satellites, decode positioning data included in the satellite signal” which is indefinite, because if the positioning unit is receiving a plurality of satellite signals, it is unclear which of the plurality of signals is being referred to in the recitation of “included in the satellite signal.” Dependent claims 2-10 fail to cure the deficiency.
Claim 1 recites “the positioning data being predetermined data required for calculation” which is indefinite, because it is unclear 1) who or what is determining, or predetermining, the data, and 2) why the positioning data must be received and decoded if it has already been predetermined. In other words, is the positioning data predetermined by the positioning unit, by the respective satellite, or by some other unclaimed element? Dependent claims 2-10 fail to cure the deficiency.
Claim 1 recites “the positioning data being predetermined data required for calculation of…a distance from the satellite” which is indefinite, because it is unclear what distance is being calculated here, i.e., from the satellite to what? In other words, is it the distance between the satellite and the positioning unit, or something else? Dependent claims 2-10 fail to cure the deficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Specifically, Shingyo (US 2017/0090035 A1) discloses a positioning apparatus (abstract) comprising: a positioning unit (16; fig. 2) configured to receive a satellite signal transmitted from each of a plurality of satellites (para. [0028]), decode positioning data included in the satellite signal (para. [0069]), and perform positioning based on the positioning data decoded (para. [0028]), the positioning data being predetermined data required for calculation of a position of the satellite and a distance from the satellite (para. [0028]).
However, the prior art does not appear to teach the combined limitations of the claimed invention, specifically, a control unit configured to control the positioning unit regarding whether the positioning is continued or stopped, based on a decode completion rate of the positioning data by the positioning unit.
Conclusion
The cited references made of record in the contemporaneously filed PTO-892 form and not relied upon in the instant office action are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, and may have one or more of the elements in Applicant’s disclosure and at least claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRADY W FRAZIER whose telephone number is (469)295-9263. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm CT.
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/BRADY W FRAZIER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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