CTNF 18/866,007 CTNF 86755 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Claims 1-25 have been cancelled and Claims 26-45 have been added as per the amendment filed on 11/14/2024. Currently Claims 26-45 are pending and prosecuted. Double Patenting 08-33 AIA 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. The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA/25, or PTO/AIA/26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer. 08-36 AIA Claim s 26, 37, and 41 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claim s 1, 12, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 12181931 in view of Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, and in further view of Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0225320 . Regarding Claim 26, US Patent 12181931 discloses a compute device (Claim 1: A computing device for determining an angle of a lid relative to a base of the computing device, the computing device comprising) comprising: a lid portion (Claim 1: A computing device for determining an angle of a lid relative to a base of the computing device; a second housing of the computing device ) ; a base portion (Claim 1: A computing device for determining an angle of a lid relative to a base of the computing device; a first housing of the computing device) ; a hinge by which the lid portion and base portion are rotatably coupled (wherein the second housing is connected to the first housing by a hinge and is able to rotate relative to the first housing) ; receiver circuitry to receive a signal ( Claim 1: microphone controller circuitry to sense, by one or more microphones in a second housing of the computing device, the one or more ultrasonic sounds) ; and lid angle determiner circuitry to: determine one or more parameters based on the signal; and determine, based on the one or more parameters, an indication of an angle of the lid portion relative to the base portion (Claim 1: lid angle determiner circuitry to determine an angle of the second housing relative to the first housing based on a time between generation of the one or more ultrasonic sounds by the one or more speakers and sensation of the one or more ultrasonic sounds by the one or more microphones) . However, Lawrence doesn’t explicitly disclose an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna; and determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, teaches the use of position sensors, used to determine the location of objects on a surface. The positions sensors can include ultrasonic sensors that utilize time-of-flight technique, or can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). 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 disclosure of US Patent 12181931 to further include the teachings of Verplaetse in order to provide wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal; and determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Verplaetse teaches that an alternative to using ultrasonic sensors that utilizes time-of-flight technique can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (Verplaetse: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). However, the combination of US Patent 12181931 and Verplaetse doesn’t explicitly teach an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna. Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0225320, teaches that a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna ([0064];) . Therefore, 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 combinational disclosure of US Patent 12181931 and Verplaetse to further include the teachings of Belshkikh in order to provide an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna. The motivation to combine these arts is because Belskikh teaches a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna (Belshkikh: [0064];) . Claim 37 corresponds to Claim 12 of US Patent 1218931, in view of Verplaetse, and in further view of Belshkikh for the same reasons as stated above for Claim 26. Claim 41 corresponds to Claim 20 of US Patent 1218931, in view of Verplaetse, and in further view of Belshkikh for the same reasons as stated above for Claim 26 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 26-28, 32, 37, 38, 41, and 42 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lawrence, US Patent Publication 2021/0325940, in further view of Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, in further view of Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/022532 . Regarding Claim 26, Lawrence discloses a compute device (Abstract; Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a computing device ) comprising: a lid portion (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; lid portion 102) ; a base portion (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; base portion 104) ; a hinge by which the lid portion and base portion are rotatably coupled (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; hinge 106 that connects the lid portion to the base portion) ; receiver circuitry to receive a signal ( Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a microphone that senses sound) ; and lid angle determiner circuitry to: determine one or more parameters based on the signal; and determine, based on the one or more parameters, an indication of an angle of the lid portion relative to the base portion (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; lid angle determiner 306 that compares the timing of the generation to sounds and the timing of the sensing of sounds and uses that determine the angle of the hinge 106, i.e. the angle of the lid portion and the base portion, based on the position of the speaker, the position of the microphone, and the distance between the speaker and the microphone) . However, Lawrence doesn’t explicitly disclose an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna; and determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, teaches the use of position sensors, used to determine the location of objects on a surface. The positions sensors can include ultrasonic sensors that utilize time-of-flight technique, or can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). 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 disclosure of Lawrence to further include the teachings of Verplaetse in order to provide wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal; and determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Verplaetse teaches that an alternative to using ultrasonic sensors that utilizes time-of-flight technique can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (Verplaetse: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). However, the combination of Lawrence and Verplaetse doesn’t explicitly teach an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna. Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0225320, teaches that a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna ([0064];) . Therefore, 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 combinational disclosure of Lawrence and Verplaetse to further include the teachings of Belshkikh in order to provide an antenna; wireless receiver circuitry to receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the antenna. The motivation to combine these arts is because Belskikh teaches a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna (Belshkikh: [0064];) . Regarding Claim 27, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh teaches further comprising wireless transmitter circuitry to transmit the RF signal before receipt of the RF signal (Verplaste: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18; Belshkikh: [0064]; teaches transmitter 88 that comprises of an antenna for transmitting the RF signal, which inherently occurs before the receipt of said RF signal) Regarding Claim 28, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh teaches wherein to transmit the RF signal comprises to transmit the RF signal on the antenna (Verplaste: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18; Belshkikh: [0064]; teaches transmitter 88 that comprises of an antenna for transmitting the RF signal) . Regarding Claim 32, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh teaches further comprising wireless transmitter circuitry to send a wireless beacon, wherein to receive the RF signal from the antenna comprises to receive the wireless beacon ( Verplaste: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18; Belshkikh: [0064]; teaches transmitter 88 that comprises of an antenna for transmitting the RF signal. The examiner considers the RF signal as a “wireless beacon”) Regarding Claim 37, Lawrence discloses a method (Abstract; Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a computing device that performs the following method ) comprising: receiving, by a compute device, a signal from the compute device (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a microphone that senses sound from the speaker) , wherein the compute device comprises a lid portion and a base portion (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; lid portion 102, base portion 104, and hinge 106 that connects the lid portion to the base portion) ; determining, by the compute device, one or more parameters based on the signal; and determining, by the compute device and based on the one or more parameters, an indication of an angle of the lid portion relative to the base portion (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; lid angle determiner 306 that compares the timing of the generation to sounds and the timing of the sensing of sounds and uses that determine the angle of the hinge 106, i.e. the angle of the lid portion and the base portion, based on the position of the speaker, the position of the microphone, and the distance between the speaker and the microphone) . However, Lawrence doesn’t explicitly disclose receiving, by a compute device, a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device, determining, by the compute device, one or more parameters based on the RF signal. Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, teaches the use of position sensors, used to determine the location of objects on a surface. The positions sensors can include ultrasonic sensors that utilize time-of-flight technique, or can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). 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 disclosure of Lawrence to further include the teachings of Verplaetse in order to provide receiving, by a compute device, a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the compute device, determining, by the compute device, one or more parameters based on the RF signal. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Verplaetse teaches that an alternative to using ultrasonic sensors that utilizes time-of-flight technique can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (Verplaetse: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). However, the combination of Lawrence and Verplaetse doesn’t explicitly teach receiving, by a compute device, a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device. Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0225320, teaches that a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna ([0064];) . Therefore, 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 combinational disclosure of Lawrence and Verplaetse to further include the teachings of Belshkikh in order to provide receiving, by a compute device, a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device. The motivation to combine these arts is because Belskikh teaches a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna (Belshkikh: [0064];) . Regarding Claim 38, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh teaches further comprising transmitting, by the compute device, the RF signal before receipt of the RF signal (Verplaste: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18; Belshkikh: [0064]; teaches transmitter 88 that comprises of an antenna for transmitting the RF signal, which inherently occurs before the receipt of said RF signal) Regarding Claim 41, Lawrence discloses one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising a plurality of instructions stored thereon that, when executed, causes a compute device to (Abstract; Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a non-transitory machine readable medium that stores and reads instructions, that when executed by processor causes a computing device to perform the following ): receive a signal from the compute device (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; a microphone that senses sound from the speaker) ,; determine one or more parameters based on the signal; and determine, based on the one or more parameters, an indication of an angle of a lid portion of the compute device relative to a base portion of the compute device (Figure 1, 3, 4; [0011]; [0016-0017]; [0034-0039]; lid angle determiner 306 that compares the timing of the generation to sounds and the timing of the sensing of sounds and uses that determine the angle of the hinge 106, i.e. the angle of the lid portion and the base portion, based on the position of the speaker, the position of the microphone, and the distance between the speaker and the microphone) . However, Lawrence doesn’t explicitly disclose receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device; determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, teaches the use of position sensors, used to determine the location of objects on a surface. The positions sensors can include ultrasonic sensors that utilize time-of-flight technique, or can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). 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 disclosure of Lawrence to further include the teachings of Verplaetse in order to provide receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from the compute device; determine one or more parameters based on the RF signal. The motivation to combine these analogous arts is because Verplaetse teaches that an alternative to using ultrasonic sensors that utilizes time-of-flight technique can be radio-frequency sensor, such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor, that uses angle of arrival measurement techniques to determine the location of objects (Verplaetse: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18;). However, the combination of Lawrence and Verplaetse doesn’t explicitly teach receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device. Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0225320, teaches that a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna ([0064];) . Therefore, 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 combinational disclosure of Lawrence and Verplaetse to further include the teachings of Belshkikh in order to provide receive a radiofrequency (RF) signal from an antenna of the compute device. The motivation to combine these arts is because Belskikh teaches a transmitter may scatter ultra-wideband RF signals by using a transmit antenna (Belshkikh: [0064];) . Regarding Claim 42, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh teaches wherein the plurality of instructions further cause the compute device to transmit the RF signal before receipt of the RF signal (Verplaste: col. 9, ll. 4-13; col. 11, ll. 38-col. 12, ll. 18; Belshkikh: [0064]; teaches transmitter 88 that comprises of an antenna for transmitting the RF signal, which inherently occurs before the receipt of said RF signal) 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 29 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lawrence, US Patent Publication 2021/0325940, in further view of Verplaetse et al., US Patent 11740689, in further view of Belshkikh et al., US Patent Publication 2020/022532, in further view of McLaughlin et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0252101 . Regarding Claim 29, The combination of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh doesn’t explicitly teach wherein to transmit the RF signal comprises to transmit the RF signal on a second antenna different from the antenna. McLaughlin et al., US Patent Publication 2020/0252101, teaches an ultra-wideband communication system comprising a transmitter having two transmit antennas (Abstract;). 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 combinational disclosure of Lawrence, Verplaste and Belshkikh to further include the teachings of Mclaughling in order to provide wherein to transmit the RF signal comprises to transmit the RF signal on a second antenna different from the antenna. The motivation to combine these arts is because MCLauhgling Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 30, 31, 34-36, 39, 40, and 43-45 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combination, teaches or fairly suggests the features present in dependent claims 30, 31, 33, 34, 39, 40, 43, and 44, in conjunction with the intervening claims from which they are dependent from . Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK F MARINELLI whose telephone number is (571)270-3383. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday: 8:00AM - 5:00PM PST. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /PATRICK F MARINELLI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 2 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 3 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 4 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 5 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 6 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 7 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 8 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 9 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 10 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 11 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 12 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 13 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 14 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 15 Art Unit: 2699 Application/Control Number: 18/866,007 Page 16 Art Unit: 2699
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