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 .
Preliminary to Amendment
A preliminary amendment filed 10/11/2024 is acknowledged. As a result, claims 1-13 are canceled. Claims 14-26 are added and pending for examination.
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 14-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN LONGLONG et al. (CN115150734B, hereinafter Lin) in view of Gernot et al. (US 20190179035 A1, hereinafter Gernot) and in further view of MCCONNELL (EP 3022585 B1, hereinafter Mcconnell) and IYENGAR et al. (WO 2022192806 A1, hereinafter Iyengar)
Regarding Claim 14, Lin teaches
A system to position along a leaky feeder, the leaky feeder comprising at least a first segment and a second segment
(Lin [n0007] Source module, gateway, combiner, first leaky cable, second leaky cable.)
But Lin fails to teach
a generator to generate a first composite global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal formed from a plurality of GNSS signals defined as those that would be received in an open-sky configuration by points located at ends of the segments of the leaky feeder
each segment being associated with a first GNSS signal that would be received from a first point at a proximal end of said each segment coming from first satellites belonging to a first visibility cone
a second GNSS signal that would be received from a second point at a distal end of said each segment coming from second satellites belonging to a second visibility cone
said plurality of GNSS signals being frequency multiplexed to form the first composite GNSS signal
the first composite GNSS signal being injected at the proximal end of the first segment, the first GNSS signal associated with the first segment being at a reception frequency of a GNSS receiver, fGNSS;
an RF interconnection box, connected between the first and second segments, to demultiplex the first composite GNSS signal by a frequency offsetting said plurality of GNSS signals of the first composite GNSS signal
and to provide the second GNSS signal associated with the first segment at the frequency fGNSS on a first output and to provide a second composite GNSS signal in which the first and second GNSS signals associated with the first segment are eliminated on a second output
the second GNSS signal of the first segment being injected at the frequency fGNSS at the distal end of the first segment, and the second composite GNSS signal being injected at the proximal end of the second segment
an RF termination box, connected to the distal end of the second segment, to offset to the frequency fGNSS, the second GNSS signal associated with the second segment, and to inject the second GNSS signal at the distal end of the second segment
However, in a similar endeavor, Gernot teaches
a generator to generate a first composite global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal formed from a plurality of GNSS signals defined as those that would be received in an open-sky configuration by points located at ends of the segments of the leaky feeder
(Gernot [0008, lines 1-8] generating means for generating first and second GNSS signals, the first GNSS signals being defined as signals that would be received at the same instant at a first point (A′) in an open sky configuration from a first set (S.sub.1) of satellites visible from a first end of the cable in a first visibility cone (C.sub.1) around an axis connecting the first and second ends of the cable and along the direction towards the end opposite to the second end.)
each segment being associated with a first GNSS signal that would be received from a first point at a proximal end of said each segment coming from first satellites belonging to a first visibility cone
(Gernot [0008,lines 2-8] the first GNSS signals being defined as signals that would be received at the same instant at a first point (A′) in an open sky configuration from a first set (S.sub.1) of satellites visible from a first end of the cable in a first visibility cone (C.sub.1) around an axis connecting the first and second ends of the cable and along the direction towards the end opposite to the second end.)
a second GNSS signal that would be received from a second point at a distal end of said each segment coming from second satellites belonging to a second visibility cone
(Gernot [0008, lines 9-14] the second GNSS signals being defined as signals that would be received at the same instant at a second point (B′) in an open sky configuration from a second set (S.sub.2) of satellites visible from the second end of the cable in a second visibility cone (C.sub.2) around said axis and along the direction towards the end opposite to the first end.)
the first composite GNSS signal being injected at the proximal end of the first segment, the first GNSS signal associated with the first segment being at a reception frequency of a GNSS receiver, fGNSS;
(Gernot [0019, lines 1-2] a first injecting step to inject the first GNSS signals into the first end of the radiating cable.
[0011, lines 1-5] According to one embodiment, the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals.)
to provide the second GNSS signal associated with the first segment at the frequency fGNSS on a first output and to provide a second composite GNSS signal in which the first and second GNSS signals associated with the first segment are eliminated on a second output
(Gernot [0011, lines 1-5] According to one embodiment, the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals.
[0011, lines 7-12] the positioning system also comprising second frequency translation means adapted to translate intermediate GNSS signals by a second frequency shift inverse of the first, so as to regenerate the second GNSS signals and supply them to the second injection means.)
the second GNSS signal of the first segment being injected at the frequency fGNSS at the distal end of the first segment, and the second composite GNSS signal being injected at the proximal end of the second segment;
(Gernot [0011, lines 5-8] the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable.)
an RF termination box, connected to the distal end of the second segment, to offset to the frequency fGNSS, the second GNSS signal associated with the second segment, and to inject the second GNSS signal at the distal end of the second segment
(Gernot [0011, lines 7-12] the positioning system also comprising second frequency translation means adapted to translate intermediate GNSS signals by a second frequency shift inverse of the first, so as to regenerate the second GNSS signals and supply them to the second injection means.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin and by incorporating Gernot to have multiple segment leaky feeders so that signal loss does not prevent reception over long distances. It also creates one composite GNSS signal that contains multiple simulated satellite signals at different frequencies instead of running a separate GNSS generator for each segment.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the overall of system to have the best reception in environment that receives weak signal like in underground or indoor locations.
Furthermore, Lin in view of Gernot fail to teach
said plurality of GNSS signals being frequency multiplexed to form the first composite GNSS signal
But Mcconnell, in a similar endeavor, teaches
said plurality of GNSS signals being frequency multiplexed to form the first composite GNSS signal
(Mcconnell [Page 12, lines 20-24] The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiver system to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream are then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) based on a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin and Gernot and by incorporating Mcconnell to have the system enable one source to feed multiple segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the system for efficient transmission with maximum reception.
Moreover, Lin in view of Gernot and in further view of Mcconnell fail to teach
an RF interconnection box, connected between the first and second segments, to demultiplex the first composite GNSS signal by a frequency offsetting said plurality of GNSS signals of the first composite GNSS signal
However, Iyengar, in a similar endeavor, teaches
an RF interconnection box, connected between the first and second segments, to demultiplex the first composite GNSS signal by a frequency offsetting said plurality of GNSS signals of the first composite GNSS signal
(Iyengar[0004, lines 4-8] the GNSS receiver may include a demultiplexing circuit coupled to the first linear polarization antenna and configured to separate the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology. The demultiplexing circuit may include, for example, an n-plexer with n greater than one.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have a RF interconnection circuit so that composite signals can be separated into the parts needed for the next segment.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the system to split the composite feed between segments for efficient and effective performance in transmission.
Regarding Claim 15, Lin, Gernot, Mcconnell and Iyengar teach all of Claim 14 and but Lin, Mcconnell and Iyengar do not teach
wherein the plurality of GNSS signals of the first composite GNSS signal are located at frequencies fGNSS + iδf where i is a relative integer
However, in a similar endeavor, Gernot further teaches
(Gernot [0011, lines 1-7] According to one embodiment, the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals, the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable.)
(Note: “fGNSS + iδf” in the claim limitation is considered to be the “frequency shift” in the reference.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Iyengar and by incorporating Gernot to utilize the methodology of frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled a smooth transmission operation with minimum signal loss.
Regarding Claim 16 as applied to Claim 15, Lin and Mcconnell do not specifically teach
wherein the RF interconnection box comprises a first demultiplexer comprising an RF divider to divide the first composite GNSS signal between a first path and a second path, the first path comprising: a first mixer to mix the first composite GNSS signal thus divided with a first translation frequency such that the second GNSS signal of the first segment is translated to an intermediate frequency;
a first band-pass filter comprising a first passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second GNSS signal of the first segment thus translated; and
a second mixer to mix the second GNSS signal of the first segment thus selected with a first reference frequency so as to transpose said signal to the frequency fGNSS.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the RF interconnection box comprises a first demultiplexer comprising an RF divider to divide the first composite GNSS signal between a first path and a second path, the first path comprising: a first mixer to mix the first composite GNSS signal thus divided with a first translation frequency such that the second GNSS signal of the first segment is translated to an intermediate frequency;
(Iyengar [0004, line 9-13] the demultiplexing circuit may include a first bandpass filter configured to select the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and a second bandpass filter configured to select the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology. Gernot [0011, lines 1-7] the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals, the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have demultiplexing circuit to split the composite feed between segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to have efficient transmission with minimum loss.
Gernot further teaches
a first band-pass filter comprising a first passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second GNSS signal of the first segment thus translated;
(Gernot [0011, lines 1-5] the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals.)
And Gernot also teaches
a second mixer to mix the second GNSS signal of the first segment thus selected with a first reference frequency so as to transpose said signal to the frequency fGNSS.
(Gernot [0011, lines 5-12] the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable, the positioning system also comprising second frequency translation means adapted to translate intermediate GNSS signals by a second frequency shift inverse of the first, so as to regenerate the second GNSS signals and supply them to the second injection means.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Iyengar and by incorporating Gernot for the system to have mixers to restore final segment GNSS signal at receive frequency.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the transmission with minimum loss which is thus suitable to use in places where reception is usually weak.
Regarding Claim 17 and as applied to Claim 16, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the second path comprises a third mixer to mix the first composite GNSS signal divided with a second translation frequency such that the second composite GNSS signal is translated to the intermediate frequency;
a second band-pass filter comprising a second passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second composite GNSS signal;
a fourth mixer to mix the second composite GNSS signal with a second reference frequency so as to transpose the second composite GNSS signal to the frequency fGNSS.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the second path comprises a third mixer to mix the first composite GNSS signal divided with a second translation frequency such that the second composite GNSS signal is translated to the intermediate frequency;
(Iyengar [0004, lines 7-12] The demultiplexing circuit may include, for example, an n-plexer with n greater than one. In one example, the demultiplexing circuit may include a first bandpass filter configured to select the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and a second bandpass filter configured to select the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology.)
a second band-pass filter comprising a second passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second composite GNSS signal;
(Iyengar [0073, lines 3-6] GNSS receiver 300 may include an antenna 310, a radio frequency (RF) front end 320, an intermediate frequency (IF) / baseband (BB) signal processing section 330.
[0003, lines 4-7] a second linear polarization antenna configurable to receive a second linear polarization component of the GNSS signal, a radio frequency signal conforming to a second wireless communication technology, or both; and a hybrid coupler.)
a fourth mixer to mix the second composite GNSS signal with a second reference frequency so as to transpose the second composite GNSS signal to the frequency fGNSS.
(Iyengar [0005, lines 9-14] the GNSS receiver may include an n-plexer between the second linear polarization antenna and the second port of the hybrid coupler to separate the second linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and the radio frequency signal conforming to the second wireless communication technology and then send the second linear polarization component of the GNSS signal to the second port of the hybrid coupler.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have mixers to restore final segment GNSS signal at receive frequency.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the transmission with minimum loss which is thus suitable to use in places where reception is usually weak.
Regarding Claim 18 and as applied to Claim 16, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the first path further comprises a third band-pass filter to filter the second GNSS signal of the first segment; and
wherein the second path further comprises a fourth band-pass filter to filter the second composite GNSS signal.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the first path further comprises a third band-pass filter to filter the second GNSS signal of the first segment;
(Iyengar [0004, lines 9-12] the demultiplexing circuit may include a first bandpass filter configured to select the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and a second bandpass filter configured to select the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology.)
wherein the second path further comprises a fourth band-pass filter to filter the second composite GNSS signal.
(Iyengar [0005, lines 9-14] the GNSS receiver may include an n-plexer between the second linear polarization antenna and the second port of the hybrid coupler to separate the second linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and the radio frequency signal conforming to the second wireless communication technology and then send the second linear polarization component of the GNSS signal to the second port of the hybrid coupler.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar to have filter at various segments to separate specific signal to selects and retune signals between segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled an efficient transmission from one segment to the other.
Regarding Claim 19 and as applied to Claim 16, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises a duplexer, a shared port connected to the distal end of the first segment, an output port connected to an input of the RF divider and an input port connected to an output of the second mixer of the first path.
However, in a similar endeavor Iyengar further elaborates through drawings (Fig 7.)
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises a duplexer, a shared port connected to the distal end of the first segment, an output port connected to an input of the RF divider and an input port connected to an output of the second mixer of the first path.
(Iyengar [0107, lines 12-17] In the example shown in FIG. 7, first linear polarization antenna 710 and second linear polarization antenna 720 may be dedicated antennas for GNSS and may cover the GNSS LI, L5, and/or L2 frequency bands. 90° hybrid coupler 730 may be similar to 90° hybrid coupler 630, and may have two (input) ports connected to first linear polarization antenna 710 and second linear polarization antenna 720, one (output) port, and one (isolated) port terminated by a resistor 732.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have duplexers to restores final segment GNSS signal at receive frequency.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled and efficient transmission.
Regarding Claim 20 and as applied to Claim 16, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises, between an output port of the duplexer and an input of the RF divider, a shared band-pass filter comprising a bandwidth of the first composite GNSS signal in series with an amplifier, a gain of the amplifier being chosen to compensate for an attenuation of the first composite GNSS signal in the first segment.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises, between an output port of the duplexer and an input of the RF divider, a shared band-pass filter comprising a bandwidth of the first composite GNSS signal in series with an amplifier, a gain of the amplifier being chosen to compensate for an attenuation of the first composite GNSS signal in the first segment.
(Iyengar [0073, lines 3-6] GNSS receiver 300 may include an antenna 310, a radio frequency (RF) front end 320, an intermediate frequency (IF) / baseband (BB) signal processing section 330, and a navigation engine 340.
[0074, lines 4-7] An antenna gain pattern of antenna 310 may indicate how well antenna 310 performs at various center frequencies, polarizations, and elevation angles.
[0076, lines 3-4] Preamplifier 324 may generally include a pre-selector filter (e.g., pre-filter 322) that removes out-of-band interference and limits the noise bandwidth.
[0076, lines 7- 13] If antenna 310 has an antenna gain of 4 dB, the received signal power is less than about -120 dBm (about -125 dBm with additional losses, such as atmospheric and antenna losses), while the noise power in the system bandwidth (e.g., about 2.0 MHz) may be about -110 dBm. Due to the direct spread-spectrum modulation scheme, there may be a processing gain of 43 dB, and thus theoretically a GNSS signal may be recovered as long as it is greater than -153 dBm.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have demultiplexing circuit to split the composite feed between segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to have efficient transmission with minimum loss.
Regarding Claim 21 and as applied to Claim 15, Lin and Mcconnell do not specifically teach
The system for positioning along the leaky feeder of claim 15, the leaky feeder comprising a plurality N segments, wherein the RF termination box comprises: a first mixer at an Nth translation frequency SO that the second GNSS signal of the Nth segment is translated to an intermediate frequency first band-pass filter comprising a first passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second GNSS signal of the first segment thus translated;
a first band-pass filter comprising a first passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second GNSS signal of the Nth segment thus translated
a second mixer to mix the second GNSS signal of the Nth segment thus selected with an Nth reference frequency so as to transpose the second GNSS signal to the frequency fGNSS.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the RF interconnection box comprises a first demultiplexer comprising an RF divider to divide the first composite GNSS signal between a first path and a second path, the first path comprising: a first mixer to mix the first composite GNSS signal thus divided with a first translation frequency such that the second GNSS signal of the first segment is translated to an intermediate frequency;
(Iyengar [0004, line 9-13] the demultiplexing circuit may include a first bandpass filter configured to select the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and a second bandpass filter configured to select the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology.
(Gernot [0011, lines 1-7] the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals, the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have demultiplexing circuit to split the composite feed between segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to have efficient transmission with minimum loss.
Gernot further teaches
a first band-pass filter comprising a first passband around the intermediate frequency to select the second GNSS signal of the Nth segment thus translated
(Gernot [0011, lines 1-5] the positioning system also comprises first frequency translation means adapted to translating the second GNSS signals in frequency by a first frequency shift to obtain intermediate GNSS signals.)
Furthermore, Gernot also teaches
a second mixer to mix the second GNSS signal of the Nth segment thus selected with an Nth reference frequency so as to transpose the second GNSS signal to the frequency fGNSS.
(Gernot [0011, lines 5-12] the intermediate signals being injected with the first GNSS signals by the first injection means and propagating from the first end to the second end of the cable, the positioning system also comprising second frequency translation means adapted to translate intermediate GNSS signals by a second frequency shift inverse of the first, so as to regenerate the second GNSS signals and supply them to the second injection means.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Iyengar and by incorporating Gernot for the system to have mixers to restore final segment GNSS signal at receive frequency.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled the transmission with minimum loss which is thus suitable to use in places where reception is usually weak.
Regarding Claim 22 and as applied to Claim 21, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises a duplexer, a shared port connected to the distal end of the Nth segment, an output port connected to an input of the first mixer and an input port connected to an output of the second mixer.
However, in a similar endeavor Iyengar further elaborates through drawings (Fig 7.)
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises a duplexer, a shared port connected to the distal end of the first segment, an output port connected to an input of the RF divider and an input port connected to an output of the second mixer of the first path.
(Iyengar [0107, lines 12-17] In the example shown in FIG. 7, first linear polarization antenna 710 and second linear polarization antenna 720 may be dedicated antennas for GNSS and may cover the GNSS LI, L5, and/or L2 frequency bands. 90° hybrid coupler 730 may be similar to 90° hybrid coupler 630, and may have two (input) ports connected to first linear polarization antenna 710 and second linear polarization antenna 720, one (output) port, and one (isolated) port terminated by a resistor 732.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have duplexers to restores final segment GNSS signal at receive frequency.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled and efficient transmission.
Regarding Claim 23 and as applied to Claim 22, Lin, Gernot and Mcconnell do not teach
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises, between an output port of the duplexer and an input of the RF divider, a shared band-pass filter comprising a bandwidth of the first composite GNSS signal in series with an amplifier, a gain of the amplifier being chosen to compensate for an attenuation of the first composite GNSS signal in the first segment.
However, in a similar endeavor, Iyengar further teaches
wherein the RF interconnection box further comprises, between an output port of the duplexer and an input of the RF divider, a shared band-pass filter comprising a bandwidth of the first composite GNSS signal in series with an amplifier, a gain of the amplifier being chosen to compensate for an attenuation of the first composite GNSS signal in the first segment.
(Iyengar [0073, lines 3-6] GNSS receiver 300 may include an antenna 310, a radio frequency (RF) front end 320, an intermediate frequency (IF) / baseband (BB) signal processing section 330, and a navigation engine 340.
[0074, lines 4-7] An antenna gain pattern of antenna 310 may indicate how well antenna 310 performs at various center frequencies, polarizations, and elevation angles.
[0076, lines 3-4] Preamplifier 324 may generally include a pre-selector filter (e.g., pre-filter 322) that removes out-of-band interference and limits the noise bandwidth.
[0076, lines 7- 13] If antenna 310 has an antenna gain of 4 dB, the received signal power is less than about -120 dBm (about -125 dBm with additional losses, such as atmospheric and antenna losses), while the noise power in the system bandwidth (e.g., about 2.0 MHz) may be about -110 dBm. Due to the direct spread-spectrum modulation scheme, there may be a processing gain of 43 dB, and thus theoretically a GNSS signal may be recovered as long as it is greater than -153 dBm.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell and Gernot and by incorporating Iyengar for the system to have demultiplexing circuit to split the composite feed between segments.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to have efficient transmission with minimum loss.
Claims 24, 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LIN LONGLONG et al. (CN115150734B, hereinafter Lin) in view of Gernot et al. (US 20190179035 A1, hereinafter Gernot) and in further view of MCCONNELL (EP 3022585 B1, hereinafter Mcconnell), IYENGAR et al. (WO 2022192806 A1, hereinafter Iyengar) and Tuttle et al. (US 5825806 A, hereinafter Tuttle)
Regarding Claim 24 and as applied to Claim 15, Lin, Gernot and Iyengar do not teach
wherein the generator is configured to generate in the first composite GNSS signal at least two synchronization signals comprising a frequency gap of 8f
each synchronization signal being obtained by modulating a continuous wave with a pseudo-random spectral spreading sequence
the pseudo-random spectral spreading sequence being chosen identical for all synchronization signals
However, in a similar endeavor Mcconnell further teaches
wherein the generator is configured to generate in the first composite GNSS signal at least two synchronization signals comprising a frequency gap of 8f
(Mcconnell [Page 4, lines 31-34] a low-noise amplifier (LNA) 105 can amplify the output signal from the external antenna 104. Subsequently, the signal from the LNA 105 can be down-converted to an intermediate frequency signal (IF signal) using a down-converter 106. The down-converted signal (e.g., IF signal) is then inputted to a filter and amplifying stage 107. The filter can limit the IF signal to only contains information we want to process.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot and Iyengar and by incorporating Mcconnell for the system to have frequency shift.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to have smooth transmission from one segment to the next.
Furthermore, Tuttle teaches
each synchronization signal being obtained by modulating a continuous wave with a pseudo-random spectral spreading sequence
(Tuttle [Col. 3, lines 18-21] This carrier is modulated in the balanced modulator 2 by a pseudo-random direct sequence pulse code, PN2, generated by the pseudo-noise (PN) generator 3. [Col. 3, line 21-24] The resulting spectrally spread carrier is then modulated 4 by another pulse code waveform generated by combining a data waveform 5 and another pseudo-noise waveform, PN1(t) 6. The resulting signal to be transmitted is sent to a power amplifier 7, and then to the antenna 8.)
Moreover, Tuttle also teaches
the pseudo-random spectral spreading sequence being chosen identical for all synchronization signals.
(Tuttle [Col. 4, lines 37-45] Referring back to FIG. 9, the transition pulse generator 26 acts to differentiate the 1+PN1(t)d(t) waveform, producing "spikes" at the transition times, which are then rectified (absolute value) to furnish a unipolar train of transition derived pulses. Spectrally, this waveform is rich in the PN1(t) code clock frequency. It's injected into a free-running multivibrator 27 (or a phase-locked loop oscillator) which produces a synchronized pulse for every chip of the received signal.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot, Mcconnell and Iyengar and by incorporating Tuttle for the system to have pseudo-random spectral spreading for synchronization signals.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled to improve system performance, robustness and capacity.
Regarding Claim 25 and as applied to Claim 24, Lin, Gernot, Iyengar and Tuttle do not teach
wherein central frequencies of said at least two synchronization signals are located in zones of a low spectral density of the first composite GNSS signal.
However, Mcconnell further teaches
wherein central frequencies of said at least two synchronization signals are located in zones of a low spectral density of the first composite GNSS signal.
(Mcconnell [Page 4, 34-36] the signal can be amplified in the filter and amplifying stage 107. Furthermore, all GNSS signals are modulated so they have no effective carrier; at most the carrier is equivalent to saying the center frequency of the RF signal.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot, Iyengarand Tuttle Mcconnell and by incorporating Mcconnell for the system to have have synchronization signals in low spectral density area
The motivation of doing so would have enabled accurate coordination between transmitter and receiver despite the limited available spectrum and poor signal conditions.
Regarding Claim 26 and as applied to Claim 24, Lin, Mcconnell and Tuttle do not teach
wherein each of the RF interconnection box and the RF termination box comprises a clock circuit to generate a clock signal, the clock circuit comprising a mixer to multiply the first composite GNSS signal by itself, and a low-pass or band-pass filter to isolate from the mixture a component at the frequency 8f.
However, Gernot teaches
wherein each of the RF interconnection box and the RF termination box comprises a clock circuit to generate a clock signal
(Gernot [0051, lines 4-5] the signal GPS sync can be a clock signal tied to the GNSS time and supplied by a remote GNSS receiver.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Mcconnell, Iyengar and Tuttle and by incorporating Gernot to have a clock circuit in the RF interconnection and termination box.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled a stable, low-jittering timing reference for synchronizing digital control, monitoring functions with RF signal chain.
But Gernot does not specifically teach
the clock circuit comprising a mixer to multiply the first composite GNSS signal by itself, and a low-pass or band-pass filter to isolate from the mixture a component at the frequency 8f.
However, Iyengar teaches
the clock circuit comprising a mixer to multiply the first composite GNSS signal by itself, and a low-pass or band-pass filter to isolate from the mixture a component at the frequency 8f.
(Iyengar [0004, lines 9-13] the demultiplexing circuit may include a first bandpass filter configured to select the first linear polarization component of the GNSS signal and a second bandpass filter configured to select the radio frequency signal conforming to the third wireless communication technology.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the examined application to have modified Lin, Gernot, Mcconnell and Tuttle and by incorporating Iyengar to have a mixer in the clock circuit.
The motivation of doing so would have enabled system to have improved measurement andcalibration accuracy, reduced time induced errors.
Conclusion
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/RANA H MAHMUD/Examiner, Art Unit 2644
/KATHY W WANG-HURST/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2644
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