DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1-14 are currently pending and have been examined in this application. This NON-FINAL communication is the first action on the merits.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
The claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
[Claim 1] acronym “RTK” is undefined.
[Claim 1] acronym “RTCM” is undefined.
[Claim 5] acronym “LoRa” is undefined.
[Claim 5], [Claim 9], [Claim 11] “LoRa” is missing registered trademark.
[Claim 5] “Bluetooth” is missing registered trademark.
Appropriate correction is required.
Specification Objections
The specification is objected to because of the following informalities:
[0008], [0012], [0014], [0022], [0027], [0029], [0030], [0031], [0044], [0045], [0053], [0058], “LoRa” is missing registered trademark.
[0008], [0029] “Bluetooth” is missing registered trademark.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawing Objections
The drawings are objected to because of the following informalities:
[Fig. 6] element “500” is not described in the specification.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3-4, 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 3-4 recite “first transmission frequency/second signal transmission is inversely proportional to the first/second distance”. It is unclear how this relationship is expressed when frequency is typically measured in units of seconds and distance in units of meters. Further, frequency does not change as a function of distance and it is unclear how they can have an inversely proportional relationship. The examiner has interpreted this limitation as “first transmission frequency/second signal transmission is measured to obtain the first/second distance”.
Claims 9, 11 recite “NEMA-6 industrial grade enclosure with a cable sealing sleeve”. The structure and components that would constitute a “NEMA-6 industrial grade enclosure” are unclear. It is further unclear how a smart pin/central base station can comprise this enclosure. The examiner has interpreted this limitation as “wherein the positioning system for golf course further comprises: an enclosure with a cable sealing sleeve…”.
Claims 10, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) due to their dependency on claims 9, 11.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1-4, 13-14, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Rodgers (US 20250345690).
Regarding Claim 1, Rodgers discloses the following limitations:
A positioning system for golf course, comprising: (Rodgers - [0012] The present invention describes equipment and systems utilizable to determine the at-rest position of a golf ball, in real-time, of one or more golfers competing in a golf tournament at a golf course.)
at least one RTK user device, movably installed in a golf course; and (Rodgers - [0051] The golf ball positioning system 10 can comprise one or more devices, particularly one or more of a beacon 12, one or more of a portable device 14, and a RTK base station 16 for obtaining real-time kinematic (RTK) correction data. In some embodiments, the RTK base station can be positioned at the golf course itself or off-site (16a and 16b, respectively). Data can be transmitted to or from each of the portable devices 14 and the central management system 30, from either RTK base station 16a or 16b to the central management system 30, and between a beacon 12 and a portable device 14. Finally, each beacon 12 is configured to receive its GNSS location from one or more GNSS satellites.)
at least one central base station, fixed on the golf course, and provided for a RTK connection with the at least one RTK user device; (Rodgers - [0051])
wherein, the at least one central base station comprises a GNSS RTK module, (Rodgers - [0076] Whether located on- or off-site, an RTK base station 16 can correct for the phase shift upon receiving a carrier wave from a GNSS satellite and determining a correction factor upon filtering out the information contained within the wave itself… the above exemplary ranges are non-limiting, and that the accuracy of the beacon or at-rest golf ball location can be any value less than plus or minus 2 meters, and for RTK-corrected locations, any value less than plus or minus 100 centimeters.)
at the least one central base station is capable of generating, transmitting and broadcasting RTCM corrections signals and RTK’s ability to correct signals, and (Rodgers – [0051], [0078] In other embodiments, RTK correction data can be obtained via a service provider that operates an RTK base station 16b outside of the range of one or more of the portable devices 14, and that transmits the collected RTK collection data over the Internet via a Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol (NTRIP).)
the at least one RTK user device comprises a GNSS RTK RX module corresponding to the GNSS RTK module. (Rodgers – [0051], [0076], [0091] In various embodiments, the central management system 30 can be utilized to track the scoring with respect to the play of a plurality of golfers competing in a tournament. Such score tracking may include all operations, elements, and equipment associated with determining golf ball locations, non-limiting examples of which are the beacons 12, portable devices 14, and RTK base station(s) 16.)
Regarding Claim 2, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the at least one RTK user device and the at least one central base station comprise a plurality of satellite navigation systems including GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO and QZSS. (Rodgers - [0051], [0096] In another non-limiting example, the central management system 30 can comprise a cloud server that collects RTK correction data from an RTK base station 16 and relays the data through the communications network to the portable devices 14, which subsequently forwards it to paired beacons 12 along with a request for their GNSS location. The beacon 12 obtains its GNSS location coordinates from a satellite navigation system, non-limiting examples of which are GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, NAVIC, and GZSS, and combines it with the RTK correction data to determine an RTK-corrected GNSS location for the beacon 12. In a further embodiment, for tournaments conducted in the United States, the beacon 12 obtains its location coordinates from the Global Positioning System (GPS) over one or more frequencies selected from the group consisting of the L1 band, L2 band, L5 band, and any combination thereof.)
Regarding Claim 3, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the signal transmission between the at least one RTK user device and the at least one central base station has a first transmission frequency, (Rodgers – [0091], [0095] In a non-limiting example, the central management system 30 communicates with each portable device 14 and RTK base station 16 using a wireless communication medium or protocol, including but not limited to radio, cellular, Wi-Fi, short-range wireless, and Bluetooth. Wireless communication between the central management system 30 and portable devices 14 and RTK base station 16 may operate over multiband systems, including but not limited to cellular networks (5G, 4G, LTE-M, NBIot, 2G, etc.) and/or other frequency bands.)
a first distance is defined between the at least one RTK user device and the at least one central base station, and (Rodgers – [0076], [0091])
the first transmission frequency is inversely proportional to the first distance. (Rodgers – [0076], [0091], [0095])
Regarding Claim 4, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the at least one RTK user device includes a plurality of RTK user devices, (Rodgers – [0076], [0091])
the signal transmission between the plurality of RTK user devices has a second signal transmission, (Rodgers – [0076], [0091], [0095])
a second distance is defined between the plurality of RTK user devices, and (Rodgers – [0076], [0091], [0095])
the second signal transmission is inversely proportional to the second distance. (Rodgers – [0076], [0091], [0095])
Regarding Claim 13, Rodgers discloses the following limitations:
A positioning method for golf course, comprising the steps of: (Rodgers – [0012], [0045] The present description describes methods and systems for locating the golf ball position one or more golfers during tournament play, preferably in real time.)
providing at least one RTK user device, and turning on the at least one RTK user device to transmit a plurality of RTK location information signals; (Rodgers - [0051])
providing at least one central base station, for automatically receiving the plurality of RTK location information signals transmitted by the at least one RTK user device; (Rodgers - [0051])
sending a plurality of location information correction signals to the at least one RTK user device by the at least one central base station; and (Rodgers - [0051], [0078])
decoding the plurality of location information correction signals by the at least one RTK user device, and (Rodgers - [0051], [0076])
returning a plurality of location information to the at least one central base station after confirming the plurality of location information correction signals. (Rodgers - [0051], [0076])
Regarding Claim 14, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the plurality of location information includes a three-axis (X/Y/Z) location information. (Rodgers - [0070])
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 5-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rodgers (US 20250345690) in view of Wanta (US 20250295965), in view of Paruchuri (US 20190109891).
Regarding Claim 5, Rodgers further teaches:
wherein the at least one RTK user device equipped with RTCM correction signal receiving function, comprises (Rodgers – [0051], [0078])
a LoRa centralizer/collector, (Rodgers – [0077] In some embodiments, a single RTK base station 16a can be placed in a central and/or elevated position on the golf course to simultaneously communicate with all the portable devices 14 on the golf course, using such non-limiting exemplary wireless communication protocols as SigFox, LoRaWAN (long-range wide area network), Zigbee, and IEEE 802.11ah (Wi-Fi HaLow).)
a Bluetooth microcontroller, (Rodgers – [0095], [0053] In a non-limiting example, FIG. 2 illustrates an internal hardware diagram for a beacon comprising a GNSS antenna 120, a GNSS receiver 121, a microcontroller (MCU) 122,)
a screen, (Rodgers – [0064] The portable device 14 may also include a user interface 40, for example, a screen, monitor, graphical user interface (GUI), etc.)
an accelerometer (Rodgers – [0070] The accelerometer an include three or more axes of measurement and can output one or more signals corresponding to each axis of measurement and/or can output one or more signals corresponding to an aggregate or combination of the three axes of measurement. In various embodiments, the accelerometer can be a three-axis or three-dimensional accelerometer that includes three outputs (e.g., the accelerometer can output x, y, and z data), and which detects and monitors a magnitude and direction of acceleration, e.g., as a vector quantity, and/or can sense a change in orientation, vibration, and/or shock resulting from impact.)
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Wanta, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
an inertial measurement unit or a compass/gyrocompass. (Wanta – [0024] By way of example, the sensors 90 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, a position sensor (e.g., a GPS sensor, etc.), an inertial measurement unit (“IMU”),)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the accelerometer of Rodgers with the gyroscope, a compass, a position sensor (e.g., a GPS sensor, etc.), an inertial measurement unit (“IMU”) of Wanta in order to provide further telemetry data (Wanta – [0024]).
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Paruchuri, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
a barometric pressure sensor, (Paruchuri – [0140] The sensor circuitry 1121 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information (sensor data) about the detected events to some other a device, module, subsystem, etc.… barometric pressure sensors;)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the altitude location information of Rodgers with the barometric pressure sensor of Paruchuri in order to detect changes in the environment (Paruchuri – [0140]).
Regarding Claim 6, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the at least one RTK user device is a golf GPS watch or a golf GPS rangefinder. (Rodgers – [0091], [0096], [0083] In another non-limiting example, a beacon can be worn by a user associated with a playing group other than the golfer, in which a single portable device 14 can be associated both with a single beacon worn by the user and a laser rangefinder operated by the user to determine the at-rest position of a golfer's golf ball relative to the user.)
Regarding Claim 7, Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Wanta, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the at least one RTK user device is mounted on a golf cart. (Wanta – [0003] Another embodiment relates to a golf cart. The golf cart includes a chassis, a plurality of tractive assemblies, a prime mover configured to drive one or more of the plurality of tractive assemblies, a sensor configured to facilitate acquiring a GPS position of the golf cart based on a GPS signal, a communications interface configured to facilitate communications with a real-time kinematics (RTK) system configured to be positioned at a known location at a golf course, and a controller.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the beacon/portable device of Rodgers with the golf cart of Wanta in order to provide position of a golf cart (Wanta – [0003]).
Regarding Claim 8, Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Wanta, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
wherein the at least one RTK user device is a smart pin fixed onto a flagstick. (Wanta – [0056] In some embodiments, the system 400 is configured to acquire positions of pin placements on the green 508 and the tee locations of the tee box 502 based on GPS data (e.g., tee GPS data, pin GPS data, etc.) acquired by a GPS device)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the RTK beacon/portable device of Rodgers with the pin GPS data of Wanta in order to provide position of pin placements on the green (Wanta – [0056]).
Regarding Claim 9, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the smart pin comprises a NEMA-6 industrial grade enclosure with a cable sealing sleeve, (Rodgers – [0054] In various embodiments, the beacon 12 comprises a compact mechanical enclosure 130, [0094] the communications network is formed between or among any or all the beacons 12, portable devices 14, RTK base stations 16, databases, or management devices comprised within, or controlled by, the central management system 30… cable network,)
a GNSS RTK module, (Rodgers – [0076], [0091])
an accelerometer (Rodgers – [0070]
a LoRa centralizer/collector, (Rodgers – [0077], [0091])
a high capacity battery. (Rodgers – [0009] Further, the continuous obtaining and uploading of location coordinates by the tracking modules over a wireless connection requires a substantial amount of battery power, particularly in tracking modules comprising a cellular modem. Accordingly, for the tracking module to remain operational throughout an entire round, which can last up to about six hours, the tracking module must necessarily be robust in size and weight to house such a high-capacity battery.)
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Wanta, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
an inertial measurement (6-axis) module, (Wanta – [0024] By way of example, the sensors 90 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, a position sensor (e.g., a GPS sensor, etc.), an inertial measurement unit (“IMU”),)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the accelerometer of Rodgers with the gyroscope, a compass, a position sensor (e.g., a GPS sensor, etc.), an inertial measurement unit (“IMU”) of Wanta in order to provide further telemetry data (Wanta – [0024]).
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Paruchuri, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
a barometric pressure sensor and (Paruchuri – [0140])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the altitude location information of Rodgers with the barometric pressure sensor of Paruchuri in order to detect changes in the environment (Paruchuri – [0140]).
Regarding Claim 10, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the smart pin further comprises a battery (Rodgers – [0009])
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Paruchuri, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
solar panel. (Paruchuri – [0140] the utility grid 201, diesel generator 202, diesel generator 203, and solar photovoltaic system (SPV) 204 are virtual power source nodes, and low priority node 211, high priority node 212, and appliances 221-224 are virtual power consumption nodes.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the battery power of Rodgers with the solar photovoltaic system of Paruchuri in order to provide power to a positioning system (Paruchuri – [0140]).
Regarding Claim 11, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the at least one central base station comprises a NEMA-6 industrial grade enclosure with a cable sealing sleeve, (Rodgers – [0054], [0094])
a backhaul network and (Rodgers – [0094-0095])
a database. (Rodgers – [0094])
Rodgers does not explicitly teach the following limitations, however Paruchuri, in the same field of endeavor, teaches:
a network surge protector, (Paruchuri – [0146] The PMIC 1126 may include voltage regulators, surge protectors, power alarm detection circuitry. The power alarm detection circuitry may detect one or more of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage) conditions.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the network circuitry of Rodgers with the surge protectors of Paruchuri in order to prevent over-voltage (Paruchuri – [0146]).
a multi-channel (16 channels) dual-mode LoRa transceiver, (Paruchuri – [0135] The RF circuitry 1112 (also referred to as a “wireless network transceiver,” a “cloud transceiver,” or the like) may be included to communicate with devices or services in the cloud 1101 via local or wide area network protocols. The wireless network transceiver 1112 includes one or more radios to communicate with devices in the cloud 1101. The cloud 1101 may be the same or similar to cloud 302 discussed previously. The wireless network transceiver 1112 may be a LPWA transceiver that follows the IEEE 802.15.4, or IEEE 802.15.4g standards, among others, such as those discussed herein. The appliance 1100 may communicate over a wide area using LoRaWAN™ (Long Range Wide Area Network) developed by Semtech and the LoRa Alliance. The techniques described herein are not limited to these technologies, but may be used with any number of other cloud transceivers that implement long range, low bandwidth communications, such as Sigfox, and other technologies. Further, other communications techniques, such as time-slotted channel hopping, described in the IEEE 802.15.4e specification may be used.)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the RF communication of Rodgers with the LoRaWAN/time-slotted channel hopping of Paruchuri in order to communicate with multiple devices (Paruchuri – [0146]).
Regarding Claim 12, Rodgers further discloses:
wherein the backhaul network comprises Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, 5G and Ethernet. (Rodgers – [0095], [0094] The communications network may also include and be connected to… an Ethernet network,)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's
disclosure or directed to the state of art is listed on the enclosed PTO-892.
The following is a brief description for relevant prior art that was cited but not applied:
Engstrom (US 20110191023) teaches three-dimensional, topographic data (x,y,z) for a golf course navigation device.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRANDON JAMES HENSON whose telephone number is (703)756-1841. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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, Resha H. Desai can be reached at (571) 270-7792. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRANDON JAMES HENSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3648
/BERNARR E GREGORY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3648
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