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 .
Examiner’s Note
For applicant’s benefit, portions of the cited reference(s) have been cited to aid in the review of the rejection(s). While every attempt has been made to be thorough and consistent within the rejection it is noted that the PRIOR ART MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS ENTIRETY, including disclosures that teach away from the claims. See MPEP 2141.02 VI.
“The use of patents as references is not limited to what the patentees describe as their own inventions or to the problems with which they are concerned. They are part of the literature of the art, relevant for all they contain.” In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33, 216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006, 1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). A reference may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art, including non-preferred embodiments. Merck & Co. v.Biocraft Laboratories, 874 F.2d 804, 10 USPQ2d 1843 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 975 (1989). See also Upsher-Smith Labs. v. Pamlab, LLC, 412 F.3d 1319, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1213, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2005) See MPEP 2123.
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 and 15 is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “the current epoch” which is suggested to be amended to “[[the]]a current epoch”.
Claim 15 recites “the current epoch” which is suggested to be amended to “[[the]]a current epoch”.
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.
Claim(s) 6, 9, 12-13, and 15 is/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.
Claim 6 recites “responsive to said determining” which renders the claim indefinite, because it is unclear whether “said determining” refers to “determining a signal quality metric […]” or refers to “determining that the subframe is not a repeating subframe […]”.
Claim 9 recites “responsive to said determining” which renders the claim indefinite, because it is unclear whether “said determining” refers to “determining a signal quality metric […]” or refers to “determining that the subframe is a repeating subframe […]”.
Claim 12 recites “responsive to said determining” are rejected for similar reason as claim 9.
Claim 13 recites “the data-free complex-valued correlation results” which renders the claim indefinite, because claim 1, which claim 13 depends on, recites a singular “result”. It is unclear whether claim 13 refers to this singular result or unrecited plurality of results.
Claim 15 recites “one of the data bits” which lacks antecedent basis.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because:
Claim 14 recites a “a computer program comprising computer program code” that performs various functions. The claim is directed to software per se and does not positively recite a physical, tangible structure as part of the claim. The recitation of “one or more physical computing devices” is referenced functionally, but are not positively recited, and does not incorporate those physical devices into the claimed program. Therefore, claim 14 concerns software, and does not fall within a statutory process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter. See Ex parte Mewherter.
Accordingly, claim 14 fails to recite statutory subject matter as defined in 35 U.S.C. 101.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 7, 10, and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Graas et al. (US 2006/0071851 A1 “GRAAS”).
Regarding claim 1, GRAAS discloses a method of processing a GNSS signal received at a receiver, the GNSS signal containing a data message comprising a plurality of data bits, the method comprising:
obtaining samples of the GNSS signal (sample incoming satellite (e.g., GPS satellite) signals [0036])
generating a local carrier signal (1 ms blocks of in- phase signals 2104 and 1 ms blocks of quadrature signals 2106 are formed by multiplying a 1-ms block of the downsampled incoming GPS signal by corresponding 1-ms blocks of in-phase (SIN) and quadrature (COS) replica carrier samples that are computed [0085])
generating a local spreading code (the code component is then stripped of the incoming signal using the replica code 2208 as defined in Eq. (9) [0115]); (PRN is the CA-code pseudo-random noise for the satellite being tracked [0115])
mixing the local carrier signal with the samples to generate carrier-free signal samples (down-converted signal blocks are first multiplied by the in-phase replica carrier (SIN) 2204 and quadrature replica carrier (COS) 2206 that are defined by Equation (8) [0111])
correlating the carrier-free signal samples with the local spreading code to generate a complex-valued correlation result (complex correlators that process In-Phase (I) and Quadrature-Phase (Q) signals are used to estimate GPS signal parameters that include C/A code shift, carrier Doppler frequency shift, and carrier phase [0081])
wiping off at least one of the data bits from the complex-valued correlation result, to produce a data-free complex-valued correlation result (20-ms accumulated is and qs are used to compute signal energy for all possible bit combinations for a 0.1-s interval [0127]); (Im nl and Qm nl are the in-phase and quadrature signals accumulated over the lth 0.1-s interval using the bit combination mnl for the data bit wipe-off [0142])
and processing the data-free complex-valued correlation result to produce at least one of: an indication of whether the GNSS signal is detected or not; and a GNSS measurement for the current epoch (accumulated Doppler at the current measurement epoch (φacm(tm)) is estimated [0119]), wherein a carrier phase of the local carrier signal is controlled based on a Doppler estimate for the GNSS signal (during the energy accumulation process 2140, replica code phase and replica carrier phase are adjusted for the relative satellite/ receiver motion dynamics using the dynamic reference trajectory as formulated by equation (2) through (5) and equation (7) [0106]), wherein the Doppler estimate is based on inertial measurements made at the receiver (the IMU 34 provides IMU data 32 to the inertial computation routine 1144 b, which generates inertial parameters 2006, e.g., position, velocity, and attitude, for the inertial calibration routine. The inertial computation routine 1144 b also generates dynamic adjustments 2008, which are used to adjust replica GPS signals 2010 in the correlators 204 [0080]).
Regarding claim 2, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a data bit based on the complex-valued correlation result (in-phase and quadrature signals accumulated over a 0.1-s interval for the first M bit combinations are saved [0131]); (navigation data bits estimated using the energy-based bit guessing algorithm can be applied to decode the navigation data message [0145]).
Regarding claim 4, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 2, wherein wiping off at least one of the data bits from the complex-valued correlation result is based on the detected data bit (Im nl and Qm nl are the in-phase and quadrature signals accumulated over the lth 0.1-s interval using the bit combination mnl for the data bit wipe-off [0142], cited and incorporated in the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 7, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 2, further comprising storing the detected data bit in a buffer (the interleaved multi-sensor data may be stored in the hard drive 1104 of the host system 1140 for post processing. This stored data may also be played back through the system via a playback buffer 1132 [0066]).
Regarding claim 10, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving a stored data bit from a buffer, wherein wiping off at least one of the data bits from the complex-valued correlation result is based on the retrieved data bit (the interleaved multi-sensor data may be stored in the hard drive 1104 of the host system 1140 for post processing. This stored data may also be played back through the system via a playback buffer 1132. During playback, the playback buffer 1132 presents data to the block engine 202 and the serial correlators 204 as though the data were coming from the ADC 24 and perhaps one or more sensors 34, 1120 [0066]).
Regarding claim 13, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the GNSS measurement comprises a code phase of the GNSS signal, and wherein processing the data-free complex-valued correlation results comprises determining the code phase of the GNSS signal based on the data-free complex-valued correlation results (the accumulated output vector contained in 1046 is processed by a peak detection/ code phase estimation block 1062 that sends the estimated code phase 1064 to the processing software 44, 1144 [0057]).
Regarding claim 14, GRAAS discloses a computer program comprising computer program code configured to cause one or more physical computing devices to perform all the steps of a method as claimed in claim 1 when said computer program is run on said one or more physical computing devices (the exemplary GPS processor 28 may be implemented in a programmable device; the exemplary GPS processor 28 may be implemented in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) [0061]).
Regarding claim 15, GRAAS discloses a Global Navigation Satellite System, hereinafter GNSS, receiver, configured to process a GNSS signal, the GNSS receiver comprising a measurement engine configured to:
obtain samples of the GNSS signal (sample incoming satellite (e.g., GPS satellite) signals [0036])
generate a local carrier signal (1 ms blocks of in- phase signals 2104 and 1 ms blocks of quadrature signals 2106 are formed by multiplying a 1-ms block of the downsampled incoming GPS signal by corresponding 1-ms blocks of in-phase (SIN) and quadrature (COS) replica carrier samples that are computed [0085])
generate a local spreading code (the code component is then stripped of the incoming signal using the replica code 2208 as defined in Eq. (9) [0115]); (PRN is the CA-code pseudo-random noise for the satellite being tracked [0115])
mix the local carrier signal with the samples to generate carrier-free signal samples (down-converted signal blocks are first multiplied by the in-phase replica carrier (SIN) 2204 and quadrature replica carrier (COS) 2206 that are defined by Equation (8) [0111])
correlate the carrier-free signal samples with the local spreading code to generate a complex-valued correlation result (complex correlators that process In-Phase (I) and Quadrature-Phase (Q) signals are used to estimate GPS signal parameters that include C/A code shift, carrier Doppler frequency shift, and carrier phase [0081])
wipe off at least one of the data bits from the complex-valued correlation result, to produce a data-free complex-valued correlation result (20-ms accumulated is and qs are used to compute signal energy for all possible bit combinations for a 0.1-s interval [0127]); (Im nl and Qm nl are the in-phase and quadrature signals accumulated over the lth 0.1-s interval using the bit combination mnl for the data bit wipe-off [0142])
and process the data-free complex-valued correlation result to produce at least one of: an indication of whether the GNSS signal is detected or not; and a GNSS measurement for the current epoch (accumulated Doppler at the current measurement epoch (φacm(tm)) is estimated [0119]), wherein a carrier phase of the local carrier signal is controlled based on a Doppler estimate for the GNSS signal (during the energy accumulation process 2140, replica code phase and replica carrier phase are adjusted for the relative satellite/ receiver motion dynamics using the dynamic reference trajectory as formulated by equation (2) through (5) and equation (7) [0106]), wherein the Doppler estimate is based on inertial measurements made at the receiver (the IMU 34 provides IMU data 32 to the inertial computation routine 1144 b, which generates inertial parameters 2006, e.g., position, velocity, and attitude, for the inertial calibration routine. The inertial computation routine 1144 b also generates dynamic adjustments 2008, which are used to adjust replica GPS signals 2010 in the correlators 204 [0080]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GRAAS, in view of Janky et al. (US 7,158,885 B1 “JANKY”).
Regarding claim 3, GRAAS (Examiner’s note: What GRAAS does not disclose is ) discloses the method of claim 1,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, JANKY teaches a GPS acquisition reference station 36. The GPS acquisition information includes GPS-based frequency and time and the ephemeris, almanac, health and other data for the GPS satellites. A sequence of received GPS data bits for a past time or a sequence of GPS data bits expected at a future time may also be included in the GPS acquisition information [col. 4, lines 26-35].
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 system of GRAAS to include the teachings of JANKY, because doing so would extend coherent integration of the GPS signal and acquire a lower level GPS signal, as recognized by JANKY.
Claim(s) 5, 8, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over GRAAS, in view of Tapucu et al. (US 2006/0126762 A1 “TAPUCU”).
Regarding claim 5, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 4,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TAPUCU teaches to obtain one or more subframes from the navigation data bitstream of each received signal [0028]. A determination is made as to whether there is a right neighbor stored in the buffer for the extended word [0035]. The buffer may contain subframe portions obtained from different occurrences of the subframe in the bitstream [0029]. At step 310, the currently retained subframe portion and/or at least one previously retained subframe portion is inverted to maintain a constant polarity. If the currently retained subframe portion is not deemed to be inverted, then the method 300 proceeds to step 312. At step 312, a determination is made as to whether the subframe has been decoded. That is, a determination is made as to whether the buffer includes each word in the set of words comprising the subframe [0030].
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 system of GRAAS to include the teachings of TAPUCU, because doing so would avoid redundant detection and unnecessary processing, as recognized by TAPUCU.
Regarding claim 8, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 7, comprising:
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TAPUCU teaches to obtain one or more subframes from the navigation data bitstream of each received signal [0028]. A determination is made as to whether there is a right neighbor stored in the buffer for the extended word [0035]. The buffer may contain subframe portions obtained from different occurrences of the subframe in the bitstream [0029]. At step 310, the currently retained subframe portion and/or at least one previously retained subframe portion is inverted to maintain a constant polarity. If the currently retained subframe portion is not deemed to be inverted, then the method 300 proceeds to step 312. At step 312, a determination is made as to whether the subframe has been decoded. That is, a determination is made as to whether the buffer includes each word in the set of words comprising the subframe [0030].
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 system of GRAAS to include the teachings of TAPUCU, because doing so would avoid redundant detection and unnecessary processing, as recognized by TAPUCU.
Regarding claim 11, GRAAS discloses the method of claim 10,
In a same or similar field of endeavor, TAPUCU teaches to obtain one or more subframes from the navigation data bitstream of each received signal [0028]. A determination is made as to whether there is a right neighbor stored in the buffer for the extended word [0035]. The buffer may contain subframe portions obtained from different occurrences of the subframe in the bitstream [0029]. At step 310, the currently retained subframe portion and/or at least one previously retained subframe portion is inverted to maintain a constant polarity. If the currently retained subframe portion is not deemed to be inverted, then the method 300 proceeds to step 312. At step 312, a determination is made as to whether the subframe has been decoded. That is, a determination is made as to whether the buffer includes each word in the set of words comprising the subframe [0030].
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 system of GRAAS to include the teachings of TAPUCU, because doing so would avoid redundant detection and unnecessary processing, as recognized by TAPUCU.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 6, 9, and 12 is/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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art GRAAS discloses a receiver for continuous carrier phase tracking of low carrier-to-noise ratio (“CNR”) signals from a plurality of radio navigation satellites while the receiver is mobile. The receiver may have: a radio frequency (RF) front-end that provides satellite data corresponding to signals received from the plurality of radio navigation satellites; an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that provides inertial data; a processor circuit to perform continuous carrier phase tracking of low CNR radio navigation satellite signals. The receiver may be a GPS receiver for continuous carrier phase tracking of low-CNR GPS signals.
Furthermore, JANKY discloses a GPS information service system for providing supplemental GPS correction and signal acquisition information to subscribers. A remote GPS subscription unit receives the key enablers for the subscription keys in service activation (SAM) messages for the services for which they have subscribed and then uses the subscription keys to decrypt the GPS aiding information.
Further still, TAPUCU discloses method and apparatus for decoding a bitstream of navigation data broadcast by a satellite positioning system satellite. In one example, a portion of a subframe in the navigation data for each of a plurality of occurrences of the subframe in the bitstream is obtained at a satellite signal receiver to produce a respective plurality of subframe portions. The subframe portions are then combined to recover the subframe. The subframe portions may be processed to maintain a constant polarity by comparing a common sequence of data bits among at least two of the subframe portions to identify a mismatch in polarity.
However, Applicant’s claim also encompasses an invention that the prior art does not disclose, teach, or otherwise render obvious. Neither GRAAS, JANKY, nor TAPUCU anticipates or renders fairly obvious, alone, or in combination, to teach all the additional limitations as cited in claim 6, within the context of Applicant' s claimed invention as a whole, that is, “identifying a subframe of the data message that is associated with the detected data bit; determining a signal quality metric associated with the detected data bit; and determining that the subframe is not a repeating subframe that has been buffered previously, and that the signal quality metric exceeds a signal quality threshold; and wiping off the at least one of the data bits from the complex-valued correlation result based on the detected data bit, responsive to said determining” as recited in claim 6 and similarly recited in claims 9 and 12.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ezal et al. (US 2008/0303714 A1) is considered pertinent art for the disclosure overall, and in particular the details of the performance of GPS greatly enhanced when it is coupled with an inertial navigation system (INS). In GPS/INS systems the low-frequency position and velocity measurements provided by GPS help calibrate and reduce the bias and scale factor errors of inertial measurement units (IMUs). The IMUs provide high-frequency measurements that bridge the gap between successive low-frequency GPS measurements. In return, the INS aids in the acquisition and tracking of GPS satellites by allowing a reduction in the GPS receiver carrier- and code-tracking loop bandwidths. Reducing the loop bandwidth decreases the noise (as well as the jamming power) and increases the satellite signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAILEY R LE whose telephone number is (571)272-4910. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, VLADIMIR MAGLOIRE can be reached at (571) 270-5144. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Hailey R Le/Examiner, Art Unit 3648 August 2, 2026
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